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Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 275, 18 June 1868, Page 2

A vestry meeting of the Church of England was held yesterday afternoon, the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, the Kev, W. B. Harvey, Messrs Williams, Moore, Parry, Whiteford, Garland, Haskins, and Winstanley (church warden) being present. The meeting had been called in consequence of the Bishop being in Westport, and was for the purpose of considering the advisability of taking immediate steps towards gathering funds for the erection of a church in Westport for the use of this denomination. Several resolutions were passed to the effect that the time had come, for the erection of a suitable building to be proceeded with. The cost is estimated at about £3OO, and it will be built in the immediate vicinity of the present parsonage. His Lordship, it appears, has been some two months away from Nelson; church business, laying a foundation-stone in that place compels him to hurry back instead of holding a meeting at once, but he will return in a few weeks, when he will preside at a public meeting, at which a committee will be appointed to co-operate with the present church authorities iu raising the required funds and carrying out the object in view. In the interval, his Lordship expressed his belief that he could obtain some assistance in Nelson towards the building fund. He has, on his late trip, visited Christchurch and other places on the eastern side of the island, Hokitika, the Grey, Charleston and other places on the West Coast. On returning, he will hold a confirmation during his visit. In reference to the parsonage, he expressed his great satisfaction at the manner in which the committee had fulfilled the duties entrusted to them, but expressed a hope that the offertory in future would be larger than of late, as it was not sufficient to meet the demands on it. Our episcopal friends will, we hope, take this hint. The stipend of the minister is £3OO, out of which the district is only called to pay £2OO, the diocesan supplying the balance. In addition to this, there are other neces-

sary expenses, and we are sure we only need state the fact, that the funds hitherto supplied through this source proved deficient for the objects intended, to induce the members to come forward liberally. As will be seen by advertisement in another column, the hospital meeting, appointed to bo held this evening, for the purpose of receiving the report of the provisional committee and other business, is postponed till .Tuesday next. The reasons for this adjournment are threefold. In the first place the people of Addison's Flat have intimated that they will not have their returns complete before that time. In the second, the Caledonians are in very much the same position ; and in the third, because a portion of Westport has not yet been canvassed. On all hands, however, we are happy to say the most satisfactory accounts have been received, Addison's and the Caledonian intending to enter into a generous rivalry in aid of the cause, whilst on a canvass by Messrs Cotterell and Neil yesterday of the least populous half of the town, not less a sum than £7O was obtained. The other portion, that east of Gladstone-street, has been undertaken by Messrs Reid and Somner, and we have no doubt they will be as successful at least as their colleagues above mentioned. Altogether there is little doubt that somewhere near £4OO will be raised from all sources for a beginning, and surely there will be no difficulty in making up a similar amount during the currency of the ensuing twelve months. The Hokitika Literary Institute has sustained a serious loss. The Observer says :—" The two cases of books which we reported in our last issue as having been thrown overboard from the p.s. Bruce when she was on the Grey bar, were, we are sorry to inform our readers, the property of the Hokitika Literary Institute. These books had been selected with great care in England, and although insured, their loss is greatly to be regretted, as a considerable time must of necessity elapse before they can be replaced." At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, three drunkards, named J. White, J. Brown, and J. Smith, forfeited their bail.

The escort arrived last evening from Charleston, with a very large amount of* gold, all three banks having availed themselves of this opportunity. The amount we have not been able to ascertain.

It was reported yesterday that new ground has been opened near the Waimongoroa, by B.irry and party, who have now been at work there for some weeks. They either have applied or intend to apply for a prospecting claim, we are told, but cannot vouch for the correctness of the statement. The ground is between Deadman's and the "Waimongoroa, and is abont nine miles from the Orawaite bridge. We shall be able to supply reliable information on the subject in our next. We hear that a gentleman named Thorpe has been appointed surgeon to the Westport Hospital, but we do not know where he comes from or any other particulars respecting him. We are told however that he is a gentleman of standing and skill in his profession, and if such is the case, his appointment will no doubt be a welcome one.

On Tuesday last some boys found a large fish thrown up on the beach, on which the gulls had just commenced operations. They brought it into town and it was exhibited in Mr Carpenter's shop, in Gladstone street, where it attracted much attention. It was said, by fishermen who should be qualified to judge, to be a true turbot. If such is the case, it is only another proof of the marine wealth that is waiting the first adventurous fishermen. A rather celebrated character on this coast, named Samuel Symms, has come to grief in Otago. His last exploit in this part of the world was persuading our Nelson friends that he had found gold at the Moutere, and on his report turning out colored in more senses than one, he went to Otago. When there he was arrested for obtaining money under false pretences, and was tried and convicted on the 4th instant, but sentence was deferred till the 6th. We extract from the Daily Times the evidence given by the prosecutor— Hyman Cohen, who said—l am a publican residing in Dunedin, and know the prisoner. He was for seme time staying at my house. He. told me that an uncle of his had died in India, and had left him some money. He showed me a number of documents supporting his assertion, and upon the faith of the promises and representations he made, I advanced him about £2OO. About 10 o'clock on the morning of the 27th April last, he came to me, and handed me a letter. I opened the letter, and read it as follows: " Administrator-General's Office, Feb-' ruary 2Xat.—Dear Sir —I am in receipt

of your letters of 20th July and 20th August, the first bearing a power of attorney, which I regret to say, was perfectly useless. However, the whole of the dividends, with the interest added, will be paid by the Agra and Mastennan's Bank, during the present month, when I will pay the same to your credit into the Oriental Bank, of courtte deducting charges and expenses. I find they have no branch nearer than Melbourne, so the draft will be upon that place. I have instructed them to advise you of the same, so that you may calculate upon hearing from them by the next mail. I am, &c, J. C. Hogg. P.S.—You will have to sign a receipt in full for the amount before the bank will pay the draft; this is as a protection to me. I enclose a statement of accounts, which I trust you will deem satisfactory." I said to him " Symms, how is it that you did not show me this before," and he said " I have only just received it." He then gave me the statement of accounts, and asked me for some more money. I told him that, as I found the legacy was to be paid in Melbourne, I would require a proper voucher, authorising me to receive the money there. He said he would give what I wanted, and I went and consulted a solicitor as the form of document to be drawn up. Upon my return, he signed the following order to the Oriental Bank Corporation, Melbourne:— " Please pay the sum as per receipt sent herewith, dated 27th day of April, 1868, to Mr Hyman Cohen, publican, of Dun* edin." He also signed a receipt in full as required by Mr Hogg. "While the witness to his signature was signing the documents, Mr Fargie, the wine and spirit merchant, came and took the prisoner away. He came back again at about half-past three or four. I told him that I had heard i'rom Mr "Ward that the latter had seen a letter bearing the imprint of the Oriental Banking Corporation. He denied that such was the case, and assured me he had not received the money. I then gave him £B. It was upon the order, and upon his representations, that I gave him the money. Two days afterwards when I told him that I had been to the Bank, and found out that he had received the money, he denied that he had done so. By Mr "Wilson : I was with him when he was arrested. I took a cheque from him for £l2O. It was dishonored. I am sure that it was on Monday, April 27th, that I gave the money, and I swear that it was between half-past three and four o'clock. I swear that there was not fifty pounds worth of drink supplied to him during the ten months that he stayed with me, and I deny that I furnished a house, and supplied the prisoner with liquor while he was living with a woman. There was no person present when I gave him the money. He had been staying with me for some months. He has had above £l7O in cash from me."

The New York correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald reports that Professor Anderson, the well-known Wizard of the North, has met a sad end, having committed suicide in Cincinnati, where he was performing, first having killed his little son. Domestic trouble is assigned as the cause, the despatch stating that Mrs Anderson had the day before left Cincinnati in company with an employe of her husband's. She was telegraphed to on the road, and on receiving the terrible intelligence, she returned to the city. The Argus of May 23 says :—" The Attorney-Greneral announces in the Gazette of yesterday that the ' Act to make permanent provision for a branch of the Royal Mint in Victoria' has been left by Her Majesty to its operation. "We hope, therefore, soon to see a mint in full work in Melbourne. We are informed that the demand of the tunnel company to drain the twenty claims, in the third township at Addison's, has been rejected, the company having demanded more than £2OO, for which they originally offered to relieve those claims of water. The proprietors of the claims are constructing a tunnel for themselves, and have altogether relinquished any assistance from the tunnel company* The Welliugton Independent of June Gth, states that Dr Hector has not yet reported upon the specimen of gold-bear-ing quartz submitted to him for analysis, but it is quite understood that the golden specks in the stone, so eagerly looked at by many pretended connoisseurs, and pronounced by them as the right metal, are nothing but some kind of pyrites, many of which often assume the appearance of gold, having, however, a much higher hue. Mr Coutta Crawford brought into town, some years ago, specimens quite similar to those now creating such a temporary furore. They contained metallic indications similar to Mr Groves' specimens, and a number of them, we believe, were obtained by tbat gentleman from some leaders of

the same reef which Groves han proBpected. Some of the specimens in question were placed at the time in the Museum. , The New Zealand Herald, of the 2nd inst., says—" It will be in the recollection of our readers, tliat during the month of March, last year, considerable excitement was manifested

when it was made known that Mr D. Kirkwood, of Ouehunga, had absconded from Hokitika, in the schooner Stanley, and duped his creditors to the extent of about £20,000. A meeting was immediately held and attended by the most influential merchants of Auckland and Onehunga. At that meeting, Captain Davis, formerly of the schooner Stanley, made anaifidavit that he had shipped to go down with Kirkwood to Hokitika, and onhisarrival j there, Kirkwood had requested him :

to ship further on, out of the colonj altogether. This the captain refused to do, as did the crew. Kirkwood thereafter cleared the ship (Stanley) for G-uam, and immediately before he sailed he gave Captain Davis a cheque on the bank for upwards of £3,000, which Davis took to the bank, and for which he received the amount in sovereigns. He hanedd the sovereigns to Kirkwood, who Immediately afterwards sailed away. Davis saw the vessel

sail and was aware that Kirkvvood was on board. An application was then made for a warrant to apprehend Kirk, wood a3 an absconding debtor, which was immediately granted by the Resident Magistrate, and was forwarded to the British Cousuls stationed in various places. A deed was also signed by each creditor, agreeing to pay a sum not exceeding 2| per •cent, on the amount of the expenses of his capture, and his being brought back to Auckland. Photographs of Kirkwood were also obtained and sent to all known porte, offering a reward of £SO for his apprehension. One of the creditors also undertook to proceed to Melbourne and Sydney, thinking he might call there before proceeding on a long voyage. Nothing, however, was heard of the delinquent, or the vessel, until very Teeently, whei: Mr C Davis, the mortgagee of the vessel, received an intimation that he was trading between some of the ports in Japan. That gentleman immediately

sent instructions, with full power to seize the vessel, to Melbourne, San Francisco, and Japan, and it will be aome satisfaction to those creditors who interested themselves on hi 3 disappearance, to learn that the vessel has been seized at a place called Iliago, a new colony recently established near Yokohama, in Japan. The Stanley arrived at Hiago during the mouth of March last, in command of Captain Clarke, the same person who shipped in her when she left Hokitika, and was seized by Mr E. Von der Heyde, a brother to Mr Von der Heyde, of the firm of Henderson and Macfarlane. When the vessel was taken possession of Mr David Kirkwood was on board, but as no instructions had been received there to arrest him, nothing could be done in the matter. The Stanley is now in possession of the mortgagee, Mr C. Davis, and it is probable she may soon return to her native waters with a cargo of eastern produce."