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Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1201, 11 August 1874, Page 2

The not ; co of despatch of mails posted st tbe office last evening slated that instead of mails being' made up per Charles Edward, they would be kept open until Wednesday morning at 8.30, for despatch per Kennedy. From tliis it is understood that the Charles Edward will proceed direct from Greymouth to Nelson. The uncertainty as to movements of the boats has caused much annoyance to a number of intending passengers for Nelson, and their perplexity was increased last night by the report of a steamer bc'ng off the bar. A spee ; a! meeting of the Hospital Committee will be held this afternoon to consider the question of ways and means to carry on the establishment. As yet subscriptions from neither town or country have been given at a l ', commensurate with expenditure absolutely needed to carry on any longer, even on a limited scale. A delicate surgical operation was performed at the Hospital, on Friday last, by the House Surgeon, Dr Thorpe, assisted by l)r Giles, on a patient named Charles Shepherd, of Addison's. The operat : on was the removal of a cancer which had formed in the cheek and across the angle of the lips. It was successfully accomplished, and the patient is progressing favorably. There was a full attendance, both morning and evening, at the Wallabi street Church on Sunday last. The series of special discourses now ia course of delivery by the Rev. E: Taylor meeting with very general acceptation and growing favor. They arc in fact carefully prepared and eloquently delivered condensations of biblical instruction and pure doctrine, and as such welcome to all creeds and classes. Two or three till robberies have been perpetrated at Eoefton Hotels lately, and a man named Smith, a recent arrival, has been proved the thief. The police kept him under surveillance, and feeling assured that he was the delinquent, placed a marked coin in the till of the Reefers' Arms Hotel, and requested the person in charge to remain in the back. Constable Jeffries kept on the watch in William's Hotel, which is situated opposite, and very shortly saw Smith enter the house opposite and go behind the bar. As soon as Smith left the house he was arrested, and on beinjr searched the marked co'n was found on his person. Great is the outcry at present raised in the Lyell District at the neglected state of of the roads and tracks there and the supineness of both local and provincial authorities in failing to attempt repa'rs. The Local Road Uoard is without funds, and has wisely determined not to attempt the collection of rates until receiving some definite assurance of subsidy from the Provincial Government. Application has been made to the Provincial Treasurer for £l5O to cover most urgent needs, and if this is refused the Board will very probably decline further responsibilities, and leave provincial authorities to their own devices. It is with groat regret that we have to announce the sudden death of Mr John Do Cean, compositor, lately of the West Coast Times Oitico, and previously on the staff of the Register. Ho left Hokitika for Timaru on an engagement to the Herald, but he died on the road between Rakaia and Ash burton, on the Southern side of Christchnrch. The deceased was induced to come over from Jlelbou-ije to the Lyell A' gus office, but shortly left there, and up to the time of his death had becu in no regular employment. The following is the evidence detailed at the inquest:— Thomas Shad rack, platelayer, on the Ashburton railway, said: I have seen the body now on view. I recogivise it as that of a man I saw on Thursday, the 23rd July, about 5. 30 p.m., at the middle gvavel pit hut. He was then in one of the bunks between the blankets. I told him to got out, and he did so. Ho told mo not to bo

angry with him, a3 bo had a bad leg, Ho seemed much shaken. Ho warmed himself at tho fire, and had some tea, which he said he enjoyed. About 9. !K) p.m., he turned iuto tho bunk. Wo gave him a blanket and three bags. After Ins laying down ho had a little tightish cough. We asked him if he was ill. He said not. The cough continued until about 4 o'clock next morning. Ho seemed ensy from that until he rose at about G. 12 a.m., when he bolted outside the door, retching heavily, and in about two minutes later returned still reteb'ng. I gave him a drink of cold water, but he did not appear to swallow a ay. He had gono into his bank on b ; s return and died aboub a minute after. I gave deceased bread, beef, and tea for his, tea. He did not appear ill from hunger, and took a very good feed that eveniug. He hnd nothing to drink but tea from me. I had never seen deceasad before. Deceased said ho bad been thrown by a horso in coaling from the West Coast, and hurt his leg, Wheu deceased retched, ho did not throw up anything from his stomach. He said that bis reason for being on foot was that he had missed the coach to Timaru. The medical evidence proved that tho vessels of the brain were greatly congested, and that the cause of death was serous apoplexy. Residents along the Orawat-.i road e .e anioyed by the wolfish propensities of several useless dogs kept in the neighborhood, for no good purpose. At night these brutes, either impelled by hunger or mischief, worry goats and sheep, scare fowls from roosting places, and play general havoc among domestic live stock. A few weeks ago a goat the property of Mr W. Fagg was killed, and another injured, and a few nights siueo two valuable pet sheep, a 1 so his property, were worried to death by dogs. By telegram from Rcefton, received last week, we learn that a mishap has occurred in No. 2 Lu-rys. The pinion wheel has broken and the crushing will be delayed until repairs arc effected. The stampers had been going seven days previously aud the stone crushed shows promise of a very good return. The Government printer, probably from press of work in his department, has not, according to usual custom, forwarded copies of Bills brought forward in Parliament. Possibly as the session is likely to be a brief one it is intended to only send at the termination such as actually pass through all siagas. Oats are now selling at Rjofton at 10s 6d per bushel. In competition for university scholarships at Christchurch students of Nelson College have distinguished themselves. In Classics, Bavnicoat, and A. B. Campbell have gained scholarships; in Mathematics, A. B.Campbell, J. 11. Harkness, and A. L j Filleatre; and in Physical Science, A. Le Filleatre, and J. M. Speed. The Eeefton Courier says:—Trie duration of the frost this season in the Inangahua district is au elemental enigma. So far a" general experience in Eeefton goes the visitation is generally confined to a month or five weeks, but this year the frost has been upon us for nearly three months, and still the eud is not. This morning, 3rd inst., the freezing process was resumed with as great intensity as ever, and though the day was beautifully fins, the temperature in the shade has been what is understood as a caution to brass monkeys. The Eeefton Hospital is in a no botte: financial position than tho Westport establishment. The salaries are in arrears, aud considerable liability has accrued upon the contracts for supplies. In Hokitika a member of the police force has been detailed for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the " Females Employment Protection Act," carried through the Assembly last session by Mr Bradshaw. By the Act, shop and factory girls, dressmakers, etc., are prohibited from working more than eight hours a day, but it has not been regarded at all hitherto in that town. It will in future be strictly insisted on.

The notice appearing to-day, calling for 400 mon for the railway works, shows that Mr M'Lean, the contractor, is not likely to let the grass grow beneath his feet in pushing on the work. The influx of hands should give a rapid impetus t) Westport trade in all its branches. Mr M'Lean is expected up by first boat. The Mayor, at the request of some membars of the Council, has convened a special meeting of the Council to bo held at the Court House this evening at 7.30 to appoint a Committee for carrying out arrangements for the public ceremony of turning the first sod of the railway.

We have received the August number of the monthly Educational Gazette. This publication improves on acquaintance. The present number, besides giving a mass of information interesting to the brotherhood of teachers, contains a forcibly written article on National Education as a State duty, and the second chapter of what promises to be an ably written History of New Zealand.

A correspondent of the Nelson Colonist suggests that the Provincial Government should help forward the chance of the General Government undertaking the construction of the West Coast railway by offering a reward or bonus to the discoverer of a route to the West Coast that would not cause the railway to be so extremely costly in its construction; and suggests also that £IOO might bo given towards cost of testing the Para Para iron one. In the following issue another correspondent says the first must be mistaken in the composition of the present Executive as its object is to get money, but not to spend it. The following paragraph, from the Lyell Argus of the sth instant, should receive the widest publicity:—"Just previous to the adjournment of the Kcsident Magistrate's Court, on Tuesday, Mr Broad, from his seat on the bench, expressed his regret that the government should have deemed it necessary to dispense with the services of Constable Chichester, who had acted for so long a term as clerk to the bench. The duties had been performed to his entire satisfaction, and he had found the constable at all times attentive and very anxious to carry out whatever instructions ho had given him. Mr Pitt, on behalf of the profession, also added his mite to the remarks that had fallen from the bench. He had much pleasure in certifying that the legal gentlemen who had practised in that court had received great assistance from,the late clerk, who had always been ready and anxious to give information when sucli was required, which, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the district, was often at most inconvenient hours. He and another member of the profession greatly regretted the step that had been taken. The Grey River Argus states that the Ah aura Road Hoard is now somo £450 in debt, and that as the provincial government refuses to give any nioney, the creditors live threatening to sue the members in their individual capacity for the amount of the claims. Wo are tempted to

think that one might about this period get from tho members of the Ahaura Board some impartial views about tho Nelson Government. A telegram has been received from Mr M'Lean, the contractor for the railway, that he will be i r Westport on Wednesday, and intends commencing the railway work on Monday. Tho entertainment as arranged to come off last evening at the Masonic Hall, has been postponed until next Monday evening. At tho corner of Palraerston and Lyttelton street a new building is in course of erection, and the peculiar angle at which it is placed attracts attention. It is the new photographic studio building for Mr Vorley, constructed expressly to catch the best light for camera portraiture. Mr Graham L. Greenwood, formerly Clerk of the Court at the Ahaura, has been appointed Clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court at Wanugauui. A subscription list is in circulation to raise a fund for presenting William Rathbun with a testimonial of the public appreciation of his bravery in jumping into the Buller and rescuing the woman Benzie from drowning on Sunday the 3rd instant—an object for which few will refuse to make donation. The police sub-district of the Inangahua has beeji dissevered from the Grey Valley the attached to the Buller district, under the superintendence of Sub-Inspector Kiely. At Recfton during tho past week tho change in the weather has been delightfu l . Tho Herald says the nights are frosty, but during the day the sun has considerable power. The trees are budding, and farming and gardening operations are proceeding vigorously throughott the district. A Wellington telegram received at Ree?ton, states that the Bill passed by the Assembly, providing for the acquiescence of the Executive in the acts of the Superintendent, has been thrown out by the Upper House.