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Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 761, 10 January 1871, Page 2

The European mail, via ia'dae in Auckland to-day, and in the event of its arrival to date, the subsidiary mail steamer may be expected in Nelson on Wednesday or Thursday. The dates for.the sittings of the District Court of Westland North have been once more altered, and are now fixed' as follows: —Westport—on the 24th"of February, April, June, Augnst, October, and December 22nd; Charleston; on-the. 20th of each of the above montns.

Half-yearly statements; pf. the affairs of the Perseverance, Murray Creek, Mawhera, and Golden Hill Mining Companies are published. In none pf the eompanieß has a dividend been declared. A sale, by public auction, ctf 63 sections of town lands, situate, at t Hampden, Matakitaki, will take place, at the' Crown Lauds Office, Nelson, on ! the ; 4th proximo. The upset price is fixed at .£571, or an average of £9 per section.

Mr Kynnersley proceeded to Charleston on Saturday, where he would address tho electors. A lease of seven acres, for gold-mining purposes, situated on the north side of thu river iNjlcy Charleston, has been granted by the Superintendent to George Brown., .;I

The Treasurer of the Hospital acknowledges the following subscriptions :—Jesse r-'rilh,"Westport, £1 Is; E. J. O'Conor, Westport, ,£1; Alex. Berne, Addison's, XI ;

and tho not amount of proceeds from the"* amateur entertainment amounted to .£3O 10a 6d.

It is notified by order of the Telegraph Commissioner that from this ditto telegrams for Thames, Auckland and all Wuikato stations, will be received up to 4 p.m. each day, Sundays eyceeted. The messages will be forwardedms fjar|s Tauranga/toy wire, and from there k mail 'will 'be' despatched- daily for, Auckland .and other northern ..stations. Telegrams so despatched are not subject to any extra charge. The Warden, Dr Giles, accompanied by •Mr Home and Mr Pitt, left Westport early yesterday morning for the Inau"-a-hpa, ,wher*.a.Watden.'tt Court; will be }"&£ to-day, and also on Saturday next. On the present visit of the Eeturning Officer to this district we trust that some provision •will be made for an additional polling place at Boss. If even the road was in good ■ order, the distance from Murray's to "the" Ipapgahua Junction is so great as practi-, cidly to disfranchise the large population at present occupying this Held.

A proclamation in the " Gazette" of the 22nd ult., notifies that his Excellency has been pleased to appoint Mr Percy Wakefield to be clerk of the 'Warden's Court and the Resident Magistrate's Court at Ahaura. The census of the Colony is to be taken in February, and the forms of returns are to be delivered by the sub-enumerators at the dwelling-houses in their respective subdistricts between tho Ist and 27th, both days inclusive, and the forms are to be collected on Tuesday, the -28 th, or as soon thereafter as practicable. ' Gerald G. Fitzgerald, Esq., has, been appointed Superintendent Collector under the Census Acts, for the County of Westland.

The "Grey Argus," of Saturday, contains a notification from Mr W. H. Revell, Returning Officer,i! that, the nomination of candidates to serve as member for the Grey Vallej Electoral District in the House of Representatives, wiU' take place on Thursday, January 19th, and that the poll, if demanded, will be taken on tho Thursday ■ followingi-Jahuary 26th. Mr W. H, Harrison and Mr Bucklev are the contending candidates. We' presume that the writ tor the return of a member for the District of Buller has alse been received, but, such being the <»sei it would not appear to be deemed a matter of sufficient importance'by the Returning Officer for the district to exercise the customary despatch in notifying the same to the electors.

I A small rush has taken place within the last.f few days to a portion of the oldDarkie's Terrace, Grey mouth in consequence of the darkie who . originally discovered it, striking another rich patch, although, so far as is yet known, not so rich as his last one. Off the bottom of a paddock he took one pound weight of gold. The locality is about a quarter of a mile on this side of the old terrace, and there were over one hundred men on the ground.

A fatal mining accident occurred to a miner named Patten, a Scotchman, at the head of Connolly's Creek, a tributary of Maori Gully iu the Arnold district, on Thursday, sth instant. The deceased was paddockiug by himself when the ground gave way and smothered him, killing him instantly it is supposed. In connection with ,the reported disagreement between the United States and Prussia, the following telegram in a San Francisco paper is of interest:—"New York, November 14^—The steamer Vanderbilt arrived this afternoon, laden to the water's edge with guns from the United States Arsenal at West Troy for Prance. This makes the fourth load the Vanderbilt has brought, and guns are being shipped by numerous barges besides, and from here forwarded by every French steamer." When arms are being forwarded to France from a State arsenal in this open manner, it is not to be wondered at that the Prussian Government should complain." The following are the details of the murder at Le Bon Bay, recently reported by telegraph.. At the inquest, .the"first witness examined was Bobert Hodgson, who; stated that he resided in Le Bon Bay, and was there on the 22nd lilt., at the house of George Hall, Thomas Grogan being- present. During the ..day Hall and,Grogan quarrelled. On 'the'following day, the 23rd, he was also at Hall's house, in the same company, when David Wright was called about 9 in the morning by Grogan to have a drink. Wright went away and returned about two p.m., and then commenced drinking with the others. They were quarrelling amongst each other from three'to five o'clock. Soon after that' time Grogan knocked the pipe out of Wright's mouth and Wright took up a bottle partly filled with rum <o strike Grogan. Mrs Hall then : turned Wright out of the house who started towards his home, calling upon Grogan to come on. Witness waslioldin> Grogan back. Hall started after Wright" and Grogan who had got from followed and knocked Hall down, about thirty yards, from ".his (Hall's) house. Grogan followed and overtook Wright, whom he struck three times, and thenfeli with Wright. On getting up,from Wrght, Grogan made another attack upon Hall'. Hall then- struck iGrogan with a bottle which he held in his (Hall's) right hand, and was guarding himself with, his open left hand from Grogan. Grogan did not fall from the effects of the blow from the bottle, which struck him on the left temple. Grogan then knocked Hall down and fell with him. Witness then went and took Grogan from Hall. Wright' at this time being again-on his, way home. On Grogan standing .up, he. said to witness, lifting°his shift at the same time, " Look here, Bob, Wright has stabbed iine," showing me the, wound in his left side. He shortly after again said, "Oh dear ! I am stabbed," and then fell,' never speaking again. Witness then went for assistance. Grogan was still breathing, and Hall was rubbing his (Grogan's) pulse. Between the time of Grogan • falling and my leaving, Wright had returned, and 'Hall accused him (Wright) of stabbing Grogan. Wright's answer was, " How could I stab him." Previously Wright had said excitedly, "Odear! Tom is dead." On my return Grogan was dead. Wright was sitting by tbe b'odyl and Hall was in his house. It was about two minutes from the time Grogan left Wright until he said he was stabbed and fell. The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful Mnrder" against Geprge Hall and David Wright. The Volunteer Encampment of the Canterbury Volunteers at Sumner appears to have been a great success. There were 300 men in camp all told. The official inspections, and sham fights were, to come off on Monday last.

An important link towards telegraphic communication between England and Australia has been'completed. Tho sub-marine cable between Java and Singapore has been successfully laid. The reception of the Southland members when they returned from the Otago Provincial Council was not a very inviting one. Some of the members were mqbbe<i. Accord ing to t ho In vevcarrfill telegraphic correspond' dent of the Dunedin " Star," —" They wero

met at the railway station'by.a crowd. Toahaclq Wood, and Kinross were recemd indignantly. An i|istantje.xpl;i,uatioa *fis demanded for thejir vote against the 'enlargement of the bounSarijeki. Their egress was intercepted until the; demand was complied with. A written'explanation •was handed out and read aloud. It was immediately vpte*d ap unsatisfactory, andfthe denouncement that t they -were traitors arid had sold the Province, was loudly cheered. Mr Wood assured them they did not know their friends, ,an<J denounced .the 'lying telegrams'which had been received. The* reply, ' Deliver us from such friends !' was cheered. They left the station, and were howled and groaned amid cries of—' How muahdid you get.for.yoiu* votes, traitors ?'"

A Sydney telegram reports that a Mr F. C.-Lane, lately arrived from Auckland, jumped overboard from the Morpeth steamer -when she was out at sea, and was drowned.