THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1874.

We draw the attention of those interested to a notification in another column of a monster sale oi Crown lauds, which is to take place in the Province of Wellington, on 25th October. The prize-holders in Mr Tonks's Albion Sweep on the Great Metropolitan Stakes, are requested to present their tickets for payment. The general settling night will be on Tuesday, 29th inst. A public meeting is called by the Mayor, to be held on Monday evening, at 8 o'clock, at Gilmer's Hall, to receive the report of the Committee appointed to secure the removal of the Telegraph and Post Offices to a more central portion of the town. We are in receipt of a batch of Acts of Parliament, Gazettes, and official documents from the Government Printing Department. We take the present opportunity of acknowledging the courtesy aud promptitude of Mr Didsbury in forwarding "Hansard" as it was printed, and other important official papers and returns during the late session of Parliament. We do this the more readily, because we may have sometimes omitted to make the customary return of thanks promptly as the favors of the Government Printer came to hand. i There was a larger public attendance at ' the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday than has been the case for months, in anticipation, no doubt, that "something spicey" would transpire during the hearing of a case arising out of the disgraceful proceedings of a gang of overgrown larrikins, at the Volunteer Hall, en a recent occasion. The re marks of the Magistrate in dismissing the case are worthy the consideration of those whom it may concerD, for assuredly the playful practical jokes of the class which has become a scandal and a trouble in all Australian towns, will meet with but little appreciation or toleration here if the authorities take the difficulty in haad. The Stephenson-Burford Dramatic and Burlesque Company is announced to make a first appearance in Greymouth under the new combination, at the Volunteer Hall, on next Monday evening. The season opens with Buckstone's " Flowers of the Forest," in which Miss Stephenson, as Cynthia, •will be supported by Miss Jessie Raymond as Starlight Bess, Mr Burford as the Wolf, Mr J. P. Hydes as "the Kinchen," and a full and complete caste in the minor characters. Miss Stephenson, Mr Burford, and Mr Hydes are old favorites with the theatregoing public of Grey mouth, and the other ladies and gentlemen of the company come with good recommendations from the Press in other places as to ability in their several walks in the profession. We have to acknowledge with thanks the receipt, from the Victorian Mining Depaatment, of the Beports oi the Government Mining Surveyors and Registrars of the several mining districts of that Colony foe the quarter ending 30th June, 1874. The ic^m-to , vahioTa «~ "° "siial singularly complete and exhaustive, are accompanied by a full sheet drawing of the Sovereign Quartzmining Company's Works, White Horse Ranges, Ballarat, and a plan showing the position of the Freestone Creek Deep Lead Company's shaft, near Stratford, in Gipps Land. There are also well executed sketches of the geological formation of the Durham Lead, Buninyong, the whole supplemented by a " General Geological Summary " of the country through which the Durham Lead runs. This latter is particularly interesting, as the Durham Lead is supposed to be one, if not the main, outlet of all the Ballarat deep leads, and as such its further development and the speculations as to its ultimate destination are of interest to old Victorian miners, and to the students of the science of geology as applied to the formation of auriferous deposits generally. We propose doing ourselves the pleasure of reviewing the report at length at an early opportunity. The Press of Hokitika and Greymouth recently drew attention to the case of the widow of the late James Johnston, formerly of the Melbourne Hotel, Mawhera Quay, whose death at Invercargill, was recently announced. It was stated that Mrs Johnston was left in straigtened circumstances, and it was suggested that an effort should be made to give some assistance to her, and to afford her a practical proof of sympathy in her bereavement, by the former townsmen of her husband. We are glad to be able to announce that the appeal was not made in vaiD, as will be seen by the contents of the subjoined communication from Mr J. S. M. Thompson, late of the firm of Messrs Thomson, Smith. andßarkley, of Greymouth, but now of Wellington, to Messrs Kerr, Arnott, and Co. The letter is dated at Wellington on 22nd inst, and is as follows :— "This day I noticed in a late issue of the Gkey River Argus that an appeal to the public is likely to be made on behalf of Mrs Jas. Johnstone, late of Greymouth, but now of Invercargill, and having seen so much of the old lady's kindness and attention during a long residence in Greymouth, I have great pleasure in forwarding you my cheque for L 5 5s towards the above object. — I am, &c, J. S. M. Thompson." This piece of true generosity does credit to Mr Thompson, and we trust his example will be followed by others nearer home. We need scarcely add that contributions towards the above object may be forwarded to this office, where they J will be taken charge of until a committee is formed to take future action in the matter. There is it seems no probability of the Superintendent acceding to the request made by Messrs Gninness and Dungan, M.P.C.'S, on behalf of their constituents, that pollingplaces would be proclaimed at Maori Gully and Greenstone, in addition to the one at Marsden, for the forthcoming election of Local School Committees. The following reply has been received by Messrs Guinness aud Dungan from his Honor : — " I feel bound to accept the legal advice tendered by the Solicitor to the Govarnment, and must take the wording of the Act as passed, without reference to the intentions of its framers. Mr Button's opinion has also been confirmed by other high legal talent." The "Register," in alluding to the subject, remarks that ." beyond doubt the inconvenience which will be caused by the absence of other polling places in the large district of Parpa will be considerable, but we have reason for stating that the fault does not lie with the Government, The point was

not overlooked, but ifc was found that the ( Ordinance specified only a ' time and place ' in each, district, the same words occurring in Clause 6 and 10. Consequently it was held that the. Superintendent had not the power to appoint more than one place in any district," There is nothing said about the suggestion of the members for Paroa, that if, in making such an important concession to the wishes of a large number of electors and tax ratepayers, the Superintendent should commit an error he could rely on the passing of a Validation Ordinance to legalise the election. So it is clear that for some reason, not now apparent, it was not the policy or intention of the Government from the first to have the new Committees elected from as wide a basis aa possible Green peas were offered for sale in a greengrocer's shop in Auckland in the last week of August. They were grown at the North Shore. A fire occurred at Greytown in Mr Caselburg's store. It was soon extinguished, the damage being under LlOO. The property was insured in the National and New Zealand offices. Captain Hutchinson of Dunedin intends to prefer a claim of L2OO against the Government for injuries sustained by his mare Spritsail, in the recent accident to her on the railway line. The Superintendent of Nelson has cancelled an agricultural lease, dated October 1, 1871, granted to James M 'Naught, of section 7 square 123, containing fifteen acres two foods, Grey district. The City Council of Nelson want a Town Clerk and Rate Collector ; salary, L3OO a year ; applicant to find security to tie amount of L5OO. Applications to be sent to the Mayor of Nelson up to 2nd October. Mr A. J. Magianity, chief clerk in the Telegraph Office at Wellington, has received the appointmeat of Assistant-Manager of Telegraphs. Mr Lemon, the manager, will now be in a position to visit the outstations. Major Gordon's recklessness in expressing opinions, and his unfitness for the office he held, have, says the " Tribune," been practically acknowledged by the Defence Minister, who has quietly ignored almost every recommendation made by Major Gordon in his report. In the Court case at Dunedin, Edniond and Co, v. White (captain of the ship Hindostan), an action for the recovery of L 23 ss, through the alleged abstraction by defendant's crew of a quantity of platedware from a box of: merchandise, judgment was given for the plaintiffs for the sum of Ll5 16s 6d. The Wellington correspondent of the " Otago Times " states that much of the evidence given before the Ward-Chapman Committee was of a most extraordinary character. He says : — " Conspiracies, bribes, fennle influences and treachery, plot and counter-plot, seductions, and even, it is said, something in the nature of a double murder and the burial of the bodies in a back yard, all find a place. It would be a highly profitable spec to publish the evidence in a cheap and popular form." The Wellington "Tribune" asks:— "ls the Luna maintained at the expense of the Colony as a pleasure yacht for the hon. Mr Fox? It really looks very much like it, lately the Luna was sent up to Wanganui with the hon. gentleman and his wife, although other steamers were also leaving, and when Mr Fox wanted to come down, the Luna was also placed at his disposal. This is rather too much of a good thing." Sly-grog selling finds a very determined opponent in Mr Woolcombe, the Resident Magistrate at Timaru. On the 11th instant one Neill M'Gowan, who keeps an accommodation house on the Canterbury side of the Waitaki, was fined on two information LlOO for selling without a license. An outcome of the case was that a witness named Win, Ogilvie has been committed to take his trial before the District Court for perjury. It is proposed to form in Dunedin what is termed a '• Working Men's Club and Mechanics' Institute." Referring to the project, the "Star" says :—" We trust it will not fall to the ground, although we should have been glad to have seen a title chosen better calculated to enlist the sympathies of the artisans in the Colony. We think it very unwise to perpetuate those class distinctions that have arisen out of circumstances in the Old World that do not exist in the Colonies." A good story has been going the rounds of the Empire City. A member of the Lower Chamber rec-ived an invitation to dine at Government House; and on a certain evening presented himself, in full evening costume, to the astonishment of his Excellency's household. There was nothing for it but to show the hon. member for Someplace into the dining-room, where were only seated the members of his Excellency's family. Ultimately the truth flashed across the hon. gentleman's mind that there must be a mistake, and a glance at his card showed him that he came the wrong evening. His feelings may be imagined ; and there are some people spiteful enough to say that he was never before known to have so completely lost his appetite. An inquest was held at the Morgue, Wellington, on the 21st inst., before the City Coroner, Dr Johnson, on the body of the man which was found in the Bay on Sunday. The first witness called was the man who discovered the body. He stated that it was in the water, but exposed, and he pulled it out and then gave information to the police. The third officer of the Euterpe identified the deceased by his clothing, &c, to be Archibald Sinclair, late quartermaster on the Euterpe. The steward of the ship deposed that he last saw the deceased on Saturday, the sth inst., about 7 p.m., when he met him on the wharf, and Sinclair said he was going on shore to get a nobbier ; he was then under the influence of drink. The jury returned a verdict of found drowned. The deceased was a native of Scotland, forty-eight years of age, and married. The captain of the ship was present at the inquest, and at the close of the proceedings remarked on the insufficient lighting on the wharf. The Westland "Begister," of 25th inst., makes the following pertinent remarks with respect to the highly colored accounts now goiug the rounds anent the Palmer goldfields : — " Whilst in no way questioning the fact that there have been rich finds in the district, or that the diggings about Sandy Creek— the scene ofj the rush — are superior to any yet discovered in the north of tne Australian continent, we confess that we are unable to attach much credence to the lastaccounts which have been published by the ' Cooktown Herald.' In the composition of those accounts there is evinced such a desperate anxiety to escape from the charge of exaggeration, no less than six disclaimers in the course (of about half a column being inserted, that suspicion is at once excited. We venture to think that miners who have long followed reported rushes are not too ready to swallow the accounts of newspapers whose direct interest it is to attract the mining population from other Colonies. As to the alleged private accounts, the dodge has been so often tried before that we utterly disbelieve in their reality. There are sufficient newspapers in the Colony to find room for any narrative which appears of an authentic character and as there is no reason why the recipients of such accounts should keep them dark, we feel sure that any private information which was of much value would be published instead of being vaguely hinted at,