Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 514, 4 May 1869, Page 2

A meeting of delegates from Friendly Societies and other bodies was held last evening at Hunt's Club Hotel, for the purpose of making arrangements for holding a grand fete on the Queen's Birth-day, for the benefit of the Grey Kiver Hospital. The delegates present, numbering about twentyfive, represented the M.U.1. 0.0^F., A.O.F. Rechabites, Greymouth Temperance Society, Volunteers, Freemasons, and Fire Brigide Mr Ancher, on behalf of the Freemasons, stated that by their constitution they could only co-operate in their private capacity, which they were ready to do. It was resolved that the Queen's Birth-day be celebrated by athletic sports, and a programme was partly drawn up, to be submitted to each society previous to confirmation. The meeting adjourned until Monday next, for the making of final arrangements. It will be seen by an advertisement in another column that Messrs W. H. Harrison, M.H.E., and George Gilmer have consented to form a deputation from the Central Committee to the various diggings up-country for the purpose of explaining the objects of the proposed new County for the Grey River District, and of obtaining the co-operation of the. inhabitants. Weather permitting, they will hold meetings at the following places : — Brunnerton, Saturday evening, Sth inst. ; Red Jack's, Monday, 10th inst. ; Nelson Creek, Tuesday, 11th inst. ; New Ahaura, Wednesday, 12th inst. ; Napoleon's, Thursday, 13th inst. A meeting of the Volunteer Fire Brigade was held last night in the Hall, Boundary street, Captain Whall in the chair. There was a fair attendance of members. The minutes of the previous meeting were read aud confirmed. The Secretary read a letter from the Oddfellows' Society, asking the co. operation of tbe Brigade at a fete to be held on the Queen's birthday, and requesting the attendance of a delegate at a meeting to be held at eight o'clock last evening at Hunt's Club Hotel. Captain Whall was elected to attend as a delegate. The Captain reported that the Borcugh Council had agreed to pay the liability on the engine. The helmets for the members were handed over to those present, but it being considered necessary that they should be numbered, they were left in the room till next meeting for that purpose, Mr Sewell kindly volunteering to stamp them. The Captain requested the attendance of the Rose Company for practice on Friday eveniug. The contract for the erection of the large two-storey building for Mr J. Taylor's store at the comer of Albert street is being; rapidly pushed forward, and already shows the outline of a large and handsome addition to that part of the town. We are glad to hear that the contractor is a local man (Mr C. Holder), and that he has obtained another large contract which is to be completed within six weeks. Rumors are current at Kyeburn, Otago, of a quartz reef having been discovered there by aMr Young, an experienced miner. It is stated that, if it should be found to be payable, a company TV jll be formed to work it. At the 1 Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., U.M., Henry Dearing was charged with having assaulted his wife, Ellen Dearing, by throwing a tumbler at her head. It appeared from the defendant's statement that he had been much provoked by his wife, who had led him a miserable life for years past, and he stated some very peculiar incidents of domestic felicity to the Bench. The Magistrate severely reprimanded both parties, and fined the defendant Is. and costs. — Yesterday, William Potham was charged with having three unregistered dogs in hi>s possession. He did not appear, and was fined £2 and costs.— Mrs Lj nch, for keeping > ne unregistered dog in her following, was fined £1 and costs.— William Riley, charged with a similar offence, stated that the dog had been, registered ten days previous to the summons being served, the case was dismissed. —Peter White

was charged with keeping and exposing for sale spirituous liquors in his store on the South Beach, on the 27th ult., without a license. Mr Perkins, for the defendant, applied for an adjournment until Wednesday, for the production of witnesses. Adjournment granted. -—Sergeant John M'Min was charged with a breach of the Police Regula tions by receiving gratuities in the discharge of his duty. Hugh Stanley, a miner at Rutherglen, stated that on the 19fch February last he called at the Police Camp for water-right forms He saw the defendant, who charged him Is. for each set of forms, and Is. for filling up each set. On the 10th March he called again to see whether any objection had been lodged to the application. It was. after office hours, and he had to call next morning. Then he took out a summons for the Warden's Court, and paid the defendant 12s. for it. 11s. ought to have been the charge ; that was what was refunded to him when he won the case. Mr Perkins took objection to the proceedings, the defendant being brought before the Bench without any information charging him with a distinct offence; Twenty charges might be brought against him in this manner ; already two had been gone into. The Magistrate thought these embraced one single office. In crossexamination, the witness stated that the forms required filling up, and he asked the defendant to do it for him, and was told what the charge would be. He had taken out forms in Greymouth ; they were not filled up for him. The defendant filled up the summons, but did not say that he charged Is. for doing it. Sub-Inspector James stated the defendant was under his orders, and he did not give him any authority to receive gratuities in any shape whatever. It was a breach of the Police Eegulations to receive gratuities without special permission from the Inspector. The defendant had been acting as Warden's Clerk, in addition to his other duties, under the authority of Mr Warden Keogh. He could not swear whether Mr Keogh had not ■ given the defendant authority to -receive gratuities. . At this stage, the case was adjourned for a day, for the attendance of Mr Keogh. The Westport Times of the 29th ult. says that a new lead of gold is reported to have been struck by some prospectors who have lately been at work midway between the Buller river and Aidison's, or in the vicinity of what is generally known as tbe Bald Hill. Gold had previously been got in the same neighborhood, but the leads were thin and not very rich. The party by whom this discovery is said to have been made sunk deeper, aud have come upon a richer and larger Jead of wash-dirt, which is likely to be reached most easily by tunnelling from Dirty Mary's Creek. The wash-dirt is said to be of a different character from that of the other leads, and the gold is rougher than that obtained at Addison's Flat, and is of a deep red color, caused probably by the ferruginous deposits by which some of tbe leads of the neighborhood are characterised. The statement is that the gi ound prospected is capable of paying from £10 to £14 per week, and that there is an area sufficient for a considerable number of men. During the past month, the Eight-mile district has gone on steadily, both in the increase of population and the development of the terrace claims. Early in the month a slight increase of population took place, the new arrivals principally coming from the Greenstone having heard of a rush to a gully known as Maori Creek, about a mile from the Eight-mile, towards Liverpool Bill's Gully. A rush took place about a week ago, in consequence of its becoming known that parties of miners had been working there for a considerable time, supposed to be making good wages, but as yet nothing definite is known as to how it will turn out. Several parties are engaged sinking and tunnelling, but it will be some days yet before the ground can be properly tested. It is noticeable that a good deal of gold is offered for sale in the township on the Saturday evenings. This comes principally from the terrace and flat below the township, on both of which places there are many good payable claims giving from £6 to £10 per week. The population of the district is estimated at about 500 who are all quiet and orderly, no crime whatever having been reported from the district during the month. The number j of business licenses in operation during April was seventeen. . Now that most of the crops .iv Otago have been gathered in, the usual cases of incendiarism begin to make their appearance. A very serious case occurred only the other day on the Tokomairiro Plain. A petition to the Otago Provincial Govern. I ment, which has already obtained a largj number of signatures, is circulating at Switzers. It asks for the erection of two snow sheds on the Switzers road, for the shelter of travellers in stormy weather. The Tuapeka Times says : — The memorialists propose that one of these sheds should be situated about fifteen miles from Switzers, on th,e Dome Creek Eange, and the other ten miles hirther on. The necessity of some provision of this kind has long been felt, and the want of it has had fatal results. Most of our readers will remember the melancholy death of three poor fellows on the very ranges where it is proposed to ereufc the storm sheds. To prevent ' a second catastrophe of this kind, we trust there will be no delay in proceeding with the work, as winter rapidly approaches. The Presbyterians in this town have very frequently been twitted with want of spirit, or something else, because they had not yet erected a place of worship for their denomination. It must not be forgotten that the Presbyterians were among the first to move in the matter of the erection of a church and secure the services of a minister. Three years ago subscriptions amounting to close on £100 were collected oue afternoon by the Rev. Mr Fraser, of Christchurch, for the purpose of paying the outfit and passagemoney of a minister from home, nnd since that day nothing whatever has been heard by the subscribers of 'either the expected minister or the uiqney, except one short explaiia-

tion from the Rev. Mr Fraser about eighteen months ago, to the effect that the money had been duly sent home for the purpose for which it was collected, to, if we remember aright, the Colonial Committee of the Free Church of Scotland. There does not exist the slightest, suspicion but that the money was forwarded as stated, but the matter ought not to have been allowed, to remain so long without further investigation by the rev. gentleman who collected the subscriptions. A meeting of Presbyterians was held last night far the purpose of taking steps to erect a church, and the matter to which we have referred above was mentioned. It "was stated, we believe, that a request had been sent home for a minister fm Greymouth, but no money had been received. It is to be hoped the matter will yet be satisfactorily explained. Another meeting is to be held at the Melbourne Hotel ou Friday evening. The IF. C. Times of Saturday gives the following account of a serious fire which occurred at Okaiito : —lntelligence was brought to town last night by Mr Bell, of Waitaha, that a fire had broken out at Okarito on Tuesday last. The fire was first discovered about three o'clock on the above day, at Mrs Dean's Sweeny's Hotel, by Mr Mace and Mr Thomas M'Fettrick. The flames by this time had taken a great hold of the building, and although the whole of the townspeople made every effort to subdue them, their exertions were unavailing. The flames quickly spread to the adjoining buildings, and in a very short space of time three hotels, a butcher's shop, and a bank were on fire. These continued to burn furiously, notwithstanding the efforts of the people, and at last, to save the rest of the buildings near, a cottage was pulled down, which stopped the further progress of destruction. Had this building not been removed nothiug could have saved the remainder of the houses in the street. A large store, full of goods, stood next to the cottage. The hotels burned were the Victorian, Prince Alfred (unoccupied), and Sweeny's. The origin of the fire is supposed to have been the woodwork about the chimney in Sweeny's Hotel having caught fire during the day and smouldered until night, when it burst into flames. Messrs M 'Goldrich and Friend are reported to be the heaviest losers. For the information of our up-country readers, we may state that in a few days a qualified medical practitioner, Dr. Lee, will commence practice at the new Ahaura township. As the want of a medical man has been long felt in that district, Dr. Lee'a arrival will doubtless be welcomed. A report was current in town on Saturday that the body of the lad Geghan, who was drowned in the river some weeks ago, had been picked up at the Eight-mile Beach. In consequence of this Constable Davidson was despatched from Cobden to make search, and the result . proved that the remains found were not those of the lad but the lower half of the body of a mau. The constable reported, for the information of the Wardeu, that he proceeded to the Ten-mile Beach, and, having obtained assistance, carefully examined all tl?e gorges and caves between there and the Twelve-mile, and in one of them found the remains of a body from the hips downward, in a state of decomposition. On examining the remains there did not appear to the constable to be any marks of external violence other thau what might have been occasioned by contact with the rooks. After measuring the remains the constable is of opinion that they belonged to a full-grown man of about 5 feet 10 inches in height, and could not be those of the boy Geghan. The foot measured from 10 to 11 inches. The remains were buried above high-water mark, about half-way between the Ten and Twelvemile Beaches, and stones piled up on the grave to make it easily distinguishable. They were nude, with the exception of a boot on the right foot, which the constable brought back with him to the station. From the appearance of the remains, the constable is of opinion that they had been in the water for over four weeks, and the remains could not have been on the beach for more than a day when picked up. A new province is in contemplation. The Southern Cross states a number of gentlemen having property in the northern portion of Auckland contemplate the formation of a Northland Association, for the purpose of securing the separation of . Hokianga, Bay of Island?, and Mongonui, and its erection into a new province, to be palled Northland. At a late meeting of the Westport Separation Committee, it was arranged that a copy of their petition should be sent to the Legis-. lative Council; 'and that a copy should bs sent specially to Mr Bonar, Hokitika. A report reached the police at Waipori on the evening of Saturday last, says the Otago Daily Times, that a Chinaman had been discovered lying dead in a deserted hut in the vicinity of the Black Bock. The story was to the effect that the informant had been travelling the district, and that the night previous he got benighted ou the ranges. Wandering down into a gully he discovered a light, and in following it up he found that it proceeded from the devices of one of two huts. After knocking at the door, and receiving no answer, he forced au entrance, when, to his surprise, he found the dead body of a Chinaman lying on a stretcher and six candles burning around it. The candles had apparently been burning for a few hours, but no trace was found of auy one in the vicinity. The story is considered an improbable one ; still Constable Dunn proceeded the following day to the place indicated to make enquiries into the matter. The result had not transpired when our informant left. Mr Adam Porter, who has been engaged collecting signatures to the Westport Separation Petition in the Lyell and Inangahua districts, crossed the saddle, and made a descent upon the Napoleon diggings on Thursday. In the evening he held a meeting at Craig's Hotel, at which Dr. Grant presided, for the purpose of taking into consideration the movement for the Separation of the Nelson South-west Gold Fields from Nelson! The Westport memorial, to which ho w ; shod to obtain, signatures, was read by

Mr Porter, and at the conclusion of his remarks he was asked if he was prepared to propose a resolution in support of the memorial with which he was entrusted. He declined to do so, whereupon another person came forward ami proposed a, resolution to this effect ; — "That whilst this meeting fully admits the unsatisfactory and anomalous circumstances of the position of the Grey dis-. trict, yet it enters its decided protest against any further sub-division of government on the principle of County. Councils, believing such principle to be incompatible with good government ; and, furthermore, it believes that whilst the Nelsou Government may not have proved itself perfect, yet it has so far discharged its responsibilities to the public as to, have secured public, confidence, and has thereby shown its capability of governing the whole of the West Coast— an arrangement preferable it believes, to any yet proposed." Xo, seconder could be found for this resolution, and, on the motion of Dr. Donovan, the meeting was adjourned until Saturday evening. ■ : .