West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, 7, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 351, 7 November 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, 7, 1866.

Although the authorities muy well congratulate themselves on the efficiency of the police, and the public morale, which enabled justice so swiftly to overtake the perpetrators of the Mauugatujiu tragedy, we yet cannot say that the people of Westland have equal reason to be satisfiel with the authorities, who appear to be suffering from a lassitude superinduced by the unwonted excitement of hunting down and executing Messrs Burgess, Kelly, and Levy. Nearly 'six months have elapsed since the disappearance of Mr Dobson. which caused such painful and, as it happened, correct suspicions ; and nearly five since the mangled remains, ot the poor young man were disinterred from their unhallowed grave, and leceived Christian burial. But still his death lemains unavenged — ."till his blood cries in vain for justice on his murderers; while every day the chance of the perpetrator being discovered becomes less and less. Who can think over the details of that awful tragedy without emotion ? The imagination painfully depicts the young man in the full glow of health and strength, the centre of family affection and friendly regard, encountering the hloodtbirsty crew, and laughingly offering them the few valuable lie possessed, utterly unconscious that tlu-ir brutal instinct could induce them to add to the crime of highway robbery tiiu heavier one ot murder, and that, too, a useless and profitless one. One can imagine the savage blow— the cry of " help " pealiug through the stillness of the forest depths — the short and ineffec-

tunl struggle — the agonies of stmugulit tion — tho hasty burial of the minima 1c1 c evidence of their brutality, and the stealthy flight of the butchers from the hcene of blood — only, us it has bince appeared, to recommence in another locality, their nefarious trade of' robbery and murder. Painful as it is to r« open so appalling a page in the annals of crime, we cannot refrain from doing so when we see every likelihood of the possible perpetrator or perpetrators escaping from justice, and let loose again to prey upon society, through the culpable negligence of the authoiities thrmselves It is not sufficient for the ends of justice that tlie wretched men who have just expiated their crimes on the scaffold, should close with their lives a chapter so grim in our history, when other malelactors m.iy exist in our midst perhaps equally guil'y with them, and equally deserving of a shameful death. Though justice has overtaken some of the members of the felon gang who have left footsteps of blood wher ever they have trod, her task is not yet ended, nor, we are assured, will the public mind be satisfied till the death of George Dobson receive as close an investigation as those of the unfortunate Maungatapu victims. Our' readers will doubtless remember the arrest, at the Grey aud Hokitika, of several individuals who.-c complicity in the murder of Air Dobson ■ was either suspected or declared, and also the regular remanding of these men from week to week, during a period of nearly three months : the <\elay in their trial being caused by theabsence of the chicf — if not only — evidence against them, viz., the approver Sullivan, whose appearance here has been anxiously looked for b\ both the police anil the public, ever since the conclusion of the Nelson trials. To the numerous telegrams forwarded, from Hokitika one stereotyped reply has been received — that the Crown Prosecutor had not been able to obtain a writ of lubeas corpus, but that he had applied to ihe AttorneyGeneral, and expected to send down Sullivan in a few days. Weeks have" now passed, however, and his arrival has become more a matter of uncertainty than before ; so that we can understand the disinclination of the Resident Magistrate to extend to any greater length the incarceration of -men against whom not a tittle of evidence has been brought ; and about whose punishment^ if guilty, the- authorities have proved themselves so utterly indifferent. Accordingly, they were liberated under heavy bail ; then their own recognizances .vere deemed sufficient; and now some # have been discharged altogther. The only one still retained in custody is the prisoner Wilson, against whom a stronger suspicion of guilt exists 1 ; but we understand on very good authority that unless Sullivan makes his appearance within a shorter space of time than there appears any likelihood of his doing, the magistrate will be reduced to the necessity — however reluctantly —of discharging him ; so that the hope, once so fondly entertained here, that the murderers of Dobson might be > iscovered and meet with the fate their forfeit lives deserve, is getting weaker and weaker, and will now, probably, never be realised. It is with great pain that we confess this belief, and with equil indignation do we observe the culpable indifference which has thus baffled the best exertions of the police, and. permits murderers to walk unharmed in our midst We do not wish/ to excite the public mind against the unfortunate men who have been arrested on this charge, or c< unhel anything that may be construed into vindictiveness, or into our belief of their 1 abs >lutr guilt. On the contrary, it is ah I much on account of the treatment they ha\e received that we have spoken so strongly on the subject. If they are guilty, it is a crime to the pubhc to allow them to go free : and if innocent, the long aud unjust imprisnnmnent they have sustained will be the least heavy part of their misfortune. Sent among their fellow-men with the half-erased brand of Cain upon their brow, what will be their fate? One to which a life-imprisomeut would be far preferable. Subject to the suspicion, hatred and abhorrence of all with whom they may come in contact, it will be .a miracle indeed if they do not at a future time become as hardened and vicious us they arc now only supposed to be. The authorities have no right thus to tamper wiih justice — no right thus to endanger society by casting felons loose in our midst, or to wrong men who may be unfortunate but who have not as yet been proved guilty. We trust therefore, that before it is too late, action will be taken to clear away the myhtery that shrouds the murder of poor George Dobson, that justice may ! done both to the eiead and the living. The parable of the "mote and the beam" has received another illustration. The editor of yesterday's " Grey River Argus" waxes wroth with us because we have, a.s he sajs, " appropriated in the coolest, possible manner" I items of news from his paper without putting ourselves to the troublo of making any acI knowledmuent. We regret to observe that/ we have the smne complaint to muke of him ; for triuce-the establishment, of the "Argus," it has been his constant practice to steal — we beg pardon, -'adapt" our matter to his requirements. We overlooked this little weakness for some time, excusing our contemporary on the ground that " habit is se>»nd nature ;" till even our proverbial milk of human kindness turned sour, and we resolved to try whether the rule would not work both ways, hoping that the "Argus" would take iv hint. We observe it has done so, but in a foolish uiauner, and we can only excuse its petulant, complaint on the assumption that the gentleman who does the " extractiug" and he who does the " original" are not, as « c have hitherto believed, ode and the sumo, for we cannot understand a man crjing out "thief" while his own hand is in his neighbor's pocket — or at least but jusfc withdrawn. No, uo, " Grey Eivar Argus j" " honor among thieves !" We plead guilty to our brother's soft impeach-

nii'iit, nnd promise that wo will not otVend in future, c-liould ho not njjain, by a similar ( iMjuiye, provoke us fo do so. As the sweep, last night, on the Melbourne Cup, which was drawn at the Cafe do Ptiris, filled up and came off so satisfactorily, it has been determined, by .special request, to have a Calcutta on the same event, at the Criterion Hotel this evening. The news just received from Victoiia states that no leas than thirty - one horses have accepted, and Mik tickets for the drawing will be limited to that number Early application should therefore be made for shares, as several parties were disappointed yesterday in getting shares, by being too late. Rowdyism seems for the nonce to have left Bruce Buy. only to take up quarters at, Ross. On Sat urday evening last, a mob of drunken ft-llows went roaming about the town, break ing and demolishing everything that crossed their path. The depredations committed we-r e somewhat extensive ; doors were smashed, windows broken, hotel lamps destroyed, and a coffee stand at the corner of Bond street was capsized into the gully beneath. It happened that one of these onslaughts was made on a house where a number of diggers were sitting, and us stouts were freely used by the ruffianly assailants, one of the men inside the house whs seriously hurt. The police were energetic in their endeavors to quell the disturbance, and succeeded in safely locking up 3even of the rowdies, who, on being charged on Monday before the Resident Magistrate, were fined — two in the amount of LlO each, three in L 5, and two discharged. -A'lie progress of Hokitika seems in .a fair way of steady development, as evidenced by the fact of the introduction from time to time of new industries, anotker of which has just been established amongst us. We have for weeks past been aware that Messrs Hawkins Brothers have been preparing extensive business premises and machinery for the ex" ercise ol the art of cleaning, dyeing, and dressing velvet, silk, woollen, and other fabrics," either new or old, and we see that the s.b. Keera has brought them an exteusive stock of dyes and chemicals, lo enable them at once to commence operations. We are given to understand that they are now prepared to undertake every description of work at, their new establishment; aud we can only say wo heartily wish the proprietors sueeoss in their undertaking. We are glad to observe that Messrs R Reeves & Co. have again actively commenced the practice of their profession, anil will hold a sale at their premises in Wharf street on Friday next. Independently of a quantity of merchandise, several valuable buildings and sections of land will bo offered for sales for which'we doubt not there will be a good attendance and brisk bidding. The old landmarks of the towu of Hokitika j I «re gradually disappearing, and the visitor of a twelvemonth ago would have a difficulty in recognising former well-known objects in their i new dress and " surroundings." The primitive building belonging iv the old times to Messrs DcCostu and Isaacs, and used by them as an auction mart, aud subsequently by Messrs Cohen, as a furniture dep&t, has been lately . purchased by Air T. R. Procter, the wellknown watchmaker and jeweller, who is about to transform it into a jeweller's shop of no mean pretensions, judging from a view of the plans and specifications. Messrs Cohen have effected a settlement in Weld street, where they hare erected a -large store, and purpose carrying on Hieir extensive furniture business Mr Seed, the Inspector of Customs, not having returned from Greymouth, .the adjourned meeting to be held at the Eire Brigade Hall yesterday afternoon, at half-past four o'clock, was I urther adjourned to this day, at 4.30 p.m., pending his arrival. As an illeistriitiouof the exceeding richness of some of the claims on Scandinavian Hill, we may instance that out of the claim known as No. 1 tunnel, on its northern slope, from from 19ozs to 300/.s of gold is washed daily. The adjoining tunnel is also puj ing well, as the shareholders can make from L 2 to L 3 per Jay each man. A ludicrous incident occurred at the Revell sf.i-eel police camp yesterday afternoon. A man in a glorious state of jolliticution, but who was evidently uneasy in mind at having so far outstepped the bounds of sobriety, presented himself to Sergeant; Hicksou, and insisted on being louked-up as p, punishment, confessing himself to be in a state of beer. | The sergeant laughed, and persuaded him to go home, but to no purpose, as locked up lie would be, " willy nilly " His wishes in this respect were not doomed to long remain ungratified, as, calling for a stout warder, the sergeant delivered into his keeping the luckless wight, who soon found himself cafe under lock and key. But the solitude of his abode effected a sudden ehaugo iv his opinion, as be commenced kicking the door furiously, ami clamored to be released. This, however, could not be, «o to .-ilence him the constables took hia boots off, aud again left him, but hud scarcely drtiwu the bolts when a 'most furious racket was heard inside, accompanied by shouts and cries for release. Tho door was again opened, and there the prisoner was seen standing with a lurge bucket in hand, which he had battered out of tdl shape against the door. This was taken from him, aud the door once more closed, but without any good results, as when we left the prisoner was indulging in battering his naked feefc against the panels, and yelling for that sweet liberty he had but a short time beforo so rashly abandoned. The rush in the Big Paddock (Hau Hau) is not turning out according to the anticipations induced by the first prospects obtained there. A miner who arrived in town from there yesterday informed us that the gold seems to be scattered over a liat reef, as several claims adjoining each other have bottomed, and all seem to get the same quantity and quality of gold in the prospects tried. About two grains to the dish is the best that our informant saw washed out, the gold moreover being remarkably fine. It is reported that two pennyweights to the dish was washed by one lucky party, but if so, the party in question has not yet been found out. The depth of sinking ranges from 40 to 70 feet, through perfectly dry strata which repose on a soft sandstone bottom, Mr Dale, tho gaoler, has supplied us with tlie district gaol returns for the »eek ending Saturday, November 3rd : — Admitted, 0 j discharged, 2 debtors. The following shows the number and classification of the confinees at the above date : — Under cdinmittal, 11 ; hard labor gang, 24 ; imprisonment only, 1 ; debtors, 10 ; total, 40 maleij,

At me Kovell Htreei penui csiu.ijiibiu"k»«» during the week ending Saturday, Nor. 3rd, 5 prisoner* wen* admitted to nerve in the hard labor gang, nnd 5, having completed their sentences, were discharged. A inun under treatment for lunacy was al*o set free na cured. The number and classification or inmates at the above date were — committed for trial, 1 female ; hard labor gang, 9 maloß and 2 females ; imprisonment only, 1 male ; under remand, 2 males and 2 females ; total, 12 mules and 5 females. The diggings at Bushy Point Southland, are thus reported on by Mr Commissioner Weldon in the " Southland Times ."— " I have to report for your Honor's information, that yesterday I visited the diggings at Bushy Point. They are situated midway between the Maraura and Seward Point, on the ocean beach. There are two routes from here to those diggings, v'nf., one which turns oft" at West's public bouse, upon the Bluff road, and the other by CampbeHjown and Seward PointThe former can only be used by persona travelling on foot ; the latter is an excellent road the whole way, and Mr Fordhum'a ferry between Oampbelltown pier and Seward Point is efliciently conducted. There avo only seventy miners at Bushy Point ; their operationsin mining are exclusively confined to beach claims, which are more difficult to work than similar claims at Orepuki, in consequence of the elept'i of sinking, and scarcity of water. The sinking goes as deep as twelve and fourteen feet : and the washdirt bus to be carted about a quarter of a mile, at the cost of 30s per day, for the services of a horse and cart. The only ground between the Matanra and Seward Point that it is supposed will pay to work, is that in the immediate neighborhood of Bushy Point, and thi6 is very limited, and not; at all likely to give employmeal to a larger population than what are there at present. It is very difficult to say what the individual earnings of the miners have been, or will be, inasmuch as that hitherto they have been chiefly engaged collecting in heaps, or paddocking, their washdirt., and aro now washing up, which will be completed in about a month from this date. No* the least encouragement can be given to persons on other diggings to rush oil' to this — it would be positively wrong to do so ; and as I am led to believe that in two or threo months these diggings will be worked out, I presume it is unnecessary for me to furnish your Honor with further details j upon this subject."