THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 187O.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 632, 5 February 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 187O.

We learn from good authority that some busy bodies have bean aemling sensational , telegrams to Christchurch ahont the Moonlight reefs, more particularly with regard to tin late trial crushing, and thereby creating quite a wrong impression amongst oiir Canterbury friends. .This; is done gratuitously, and by. parsnns quite ignorant of the reef, and only o'>t;uniiig their information frp^n ignorant tattlers like themselves. We see that Mr Hawley, the oV.ying telegraph agent here, has received a months' leave of absence, and thali his successor pro. tern., Mr . Mountfort, is now in charge. The mete >rolop;ioal report oF yestei-day is of a very even character, as in all the different towns ri the Island the weather is said to he calm, M'ith bai - 3 good, seas calm, and rivers low. At Dunedin, the Bl off, &c , light S. W. windspvevailefl, while light Jf.E. onesruleJ at Christehnrch and Lyttelton. The Barometer was rcporto/l »s sbeady. The thermometer in the slw'e showed a differeuoe of 60deg in Hokitika ns to 74deg. in Jfelsmi. .; ' The Court House is rapidly approaching completion, and when finisheil will till a desideratum in Grcymonth that' has heen long felt. Tt is really wnnderfnl to think what an ainon:it «.f patience ha 3 been shown bj' the })eople here in this matter, and how conteiitodly they have. put up with storm, rain, wind, and the blazing sun, with the exception of an occasional j.rowl. However, all things are-iiiw remettted, and wa are altout to havj a really commotlioaxs aud, wellfitted Court lions/.'. We are sorry- at haying to record another fatal mining accident. The following parti cnlars are from a correspondent at Twelvemile: — I beg to forward you a short and hurried outline of a sad and fatal accident which occurred at No Town about 9 o'clock a.m. on the 2nd inst., by whiyh a miner named James Slattery was. instantly, killed by the.falling in of a tunnel. It appears that about a week ago decenssd and, liis mate (a Hum named Mark C'oxon) staricd a tunnel at tlw base of a high ten-ace, from the side of >yhich, about 12 months ago, a very heavy slip took place, and settled immediately Over where the imrortnnatc m-ih and his incite selected to put in. a tunnel. .;. Having got in about 15ft, with v«ry little sound ground overhead, the timber, which was rather light, soon began to show evident proof that it whs unable to bear tl:c burthen of about 12ft of unsettled slip. The niiCorturiatQinan, although a practicnl miner; toi)lv"no heed to the warning thus, given, but still persisted in the woik, until nbout 0 o'clock a. in. 2ud iust., when Slattery was at work in the faco and Cjxcm a little i. carer the jnquth of tlic tunnel, with<mt a moment's; warning, down came tons of stutf, burying poor Slattery, at the ftamc tnriie. knocking Coxon down, wherqhe lay coyc;ejV,up,t4,t|\e kii^eswith sluff, frniu -\yiuVh 'his BiK-cc'ileitinektii-cating himself witli.-ut iewi\hiy any seno'us I injury, and g;:vo the HlaimW tfio ;i ii(l joining niiiiiis, who; v/ih tliui. iiisu.il acts of humanity, f.iiil ha\ ing in i ni/l; chscs come in ddzuns, f.ftcr working a. ith tlsc'r ufci.-icst vigour for about five houis >hoy ..it lciiuLh rciiclicd : thu ifi (.5-8 ).| d lMltiiMul It llliiillS of [(IK! Wl:OU'

they all so highly esteemed, and who a few hours before, was full of health and vigour. The body was lying on its face, the right arm stretchod <mfc and broken, and the left doubled under the body ; the pick with which the deceased was working was found lying across- his iieok, 'from the -effects of which tlie, head was almost severed from the body. .Xhobody wiis then removed' by a con- : siderable nvim|>or Of miners to the OldTwelve•mile town-ship, . where it was, most kindly received by the proprietor of Mr Goodhia's old hotel, where it now lies awaiting a l coronet's inquest. Decoased was about 33 years of age, and \ a native of County Clare, Ireland. : He was a man who had received a very good eduoatio 11 , and, from his hiimorous manner, manly principle, and witty expres- • sions, he was muoh respected by all who knew him. . . : Those interesled in aquatic matters [in ; England will be glad to learn that Charles Brown, the American champion sculler,' a,ftei defeating Young Sadler, has- again,; iWeh matched against the champion, James Rev- , forth. The stakes are £200 a-side. The Treasurer of .the Grey River Hospital acknowledges receipt of the f following subscriptions from, M essra James Hamilton and . Pp. :— Ruthergie'ii; list, ; ! Mr Joseph ; Steele, collector, Ll6 14s ; Welshman's list, Mr H. " Tinkler, collector, La 8s ; Mar3den list, Mr C. H. Edwards, L 5; Limestone list, Mr S, B. Walton, Lll 10s ; Clifton list, Mx Wm. M'Kediuie, L 23 Is 6iL; Total amoiint collected, L611356d. . :■■-:.■••-.": The petition of the inhabitants of Qreymouth praying for a moi'e equitable distribution of the revenue and a fairer consideration of the wants of this district was forwarded yesterday to Mr Lahman for presentation. The. rest of the signatures i:i the outlying districts of Parpa will be also forwarded, as soon as they come to hand. The W. C. Times of Thursday states that a boat laden with wool was observed coining slowly down the Hospital Creek ; when opposite the Hospital the man in the boat was seen to unship his oar and fall down, at the same time singing out for help. Assistance, was. at on.cc rendered, as he had been seen by souie. of the patients. A boat was sfirit off to him, and he was conveyed to the Hospital. Very fortunately ■ Dr Garland 'warf in attendance at the time in; his capacity of Honorary Surgeon to, the Institation, and consulted with the Surgeon-Superintendent on the case, which, on examination, proved" to be sun-stroke. The Volunteers here recognise thie desirability of having many rifle matches amongst themselves, as a means of keeping up the efficiency aud strength of the corps, and their adoption of this course of policy has, we are glad to learn, led to. several accessions to their ranks. On Weduesday last one of the most interesting matches in which the members of a corps can bs ptted against ea;h other came off at; the bufcts, resulting in a hollow victory for the younger members.: When the match between married and single H-fis first mooted*, |.aVid until it -jnfos feh6t off; the married men from thoir contin.ious previous f oid shooting were made most prominently the favorifcts, and it was a matter of surprise, no less than of congratulation to the well-wishers of the corps, that the youngsters could come to the fore aud wrest the victory from the grasp of the well-trained veterans. Volnriteer Hardy, of the bachelors^ headed the list with the splendid score of 45, out of 14 shots, at 500 and 600 yards, being an average of over centres. At the former range, put of seven shots he made six bull'seyes and a centre. The regulation targets were ussd . We subjoin the several scores : — . . Marbier. 500 yds. OOOyus. Total. 5mith. .....2002322— 11 ... 2332333— 19 ... 30 Moss .2032444—19 ... 2032000—7 ...26 J0h.i5f0n,.0540320~12 ... 3030232— 13 ... 25 llevell ...2022300-r 9 .1. 2023,(122-11 . . 20 Simmons. 2132202— 11 ... 002220&— 8 ... ID Average for sixth man ...... 54Total ... .... -M; . S^NGLK, :■ 500 yds. 600 yds. Total. Hardy ...4444434—27 ... 4430034— 1S ... 45 Butt ......4404424—22 ... 33.30030—12 ... 34 Forsyth ...2234302-16 >v 3332204^17 .; 33 5mith..:, .,0324222— 15 ..." 3230402— 14 .;. 29 Carter .. .3323400— 15 .. 2300i)42-lf ;'. 26 Shepherd. 42332o4— lß ... 0003020— 5 :.. 23 Total : . ... .;..., ... A poor fellow named Jamos M 'Turnuck, was carried' dowii on a stretcher yesterday, . jsays. the IF. C. Times of Thursday^, from the Bine. Spuri.. and "taken to the Hospital. It appeal 8 that aborit two p m. a party of miners were hydrauleing i:i claim, at Kullot's Hill, Bine Spur, when a block of cemeiit gaye way and two.of the men .>v,ere covered with it. Both men were received into the Hospital, M'Turnuek being carried don on a Bbretcher. On examination it .was .found that one had his hand smashed, and the other (M'Tnrnuck) had sustained the folio whig in-juries—both-bonefe of,- the right le"? buoken, fracture at tlie juaefcioii of ' the middfe Mvnd itower thjrd of r the. limb, also, comminuted fracture of the right clavicle, with severe bruises. The Surgeon-Superintendent, js of opinion that; although the injuries are :of a severe nature; there is no danger to life, but ib is probiible the case will.be a protrdctal ■ohe.r '5: !. : - -,- „ .". ]h / .j. It wa§ announced on parade last that Lieut. -Ooloiiel' Harrington, Inspector of Volunteers for New Zealand, will inspect the GreyinoniJi Rifle Corps at the . I>;-ili Shed on Monday evening next, ai 7 o'cliick, and that absentees are liable to a line of Lp for nonattendance. „'.". A ftre, which at' due time th'reiitene*! t^lbe of a serious- nature^ broke'- out at Stafford Town oiv Wednesday la^t at.niidnight. From what we { IV. G. Times) have bsen alile to learn of the occurrence ib appoara. tliat the fire was rirst <UscoVcrei\ at O'Keef'^ Hotel, by a bratherlof the proprietor, who was returning home at the above hour.;. Thiukiug the tire .was at the rear of. the premises— th3ie.l>eiu^ up nie-piacia at £\ny othci* 1 place in the: house -Mr O'Keof, prpic?eiled thero, ing noilinrj, but tlie wlmlo of the back'pieimses were- full \,i ampltfo ' ; (>if going- round to the i. front, the bar wa'sdlscovercd to be on lire ; he at' <mcc jjavc thY VliirVn. and ran j

round to the back to get out the family who were in be<l As the back premises were by this time full of smoke, it became necessary to break in a window to save the family, who were resoued in a half-suffocated state. Meanwhile a number of diggers who were in town oollecfced. vessels of every description for the carrying of water to extinguish the flames, which had now-,been carried by, the wind to. the next hojise?. The difficnlby of obtaining water in sufficieiifc wiiS' soon apparent, and thY tiames spread rapidly? 1 It was decided to pull down some buildings which had the effect; of stopping the progress of the flames, but not before it had razed four hous^g.v There. ;were four houses burnt . in all, including O'Keef's Hotel, from which nothing waa savtd. Ueod's Hotel was among the number, but Mr Reed succeeded in saving the greater part of hia furniture and a piano. The , third waa Johnston's, a bootmaker's store, and the fourth was the premises oucupiecl by Mr Bennett,' as a livery stable. With the exception of O'Keef's, all, or at least the greater part of the furniture and clothes were saved. The damage to the buildings alone is roughly estimated at from five to six hundred ;pounds. ■"•■•• ■'•■'• : Parents of children attending Mr Thomas's school will see by- an advertisement in the next page that lie has remover! to the premises formerly occupied by Messrs P. F. Sinyth and Co., Richmond Quay, There were no cases yesterday for hearing in the llesident Magistrate's Court, and only one in the Warden's.. From a notice posted by the telegraph agent here we learn that a new station — Marton, in the Province of Wellington— has been opened for the transmission and receipt of messages. : Another accident occurred in the Shotover River on Wednesday morning, . 18th ult. As Mr Whittinghara (of Whittingham Bros) and Mr Beal, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, were proceeding apross, in a twohorse buggy, the two inside traces broke at the buckles, while the horses were attempting to drag the trap out of «i soft place. Mr D. M. Mackay, who had just crossed the stream, noticed the 'dangerous fix, and at : once returned to render assistance. He had, however, to get off his horse, and with great difficulty- while standing up to his waist in the stream- managed to supply the place of the couplings with rope. Had the horses been restive the consequences might have been serious ; a$ it was, the accident passed off without any great damage or loss. While the s.s. Lord Ashley was lying in Wellington harbor previous to her passage down, a child playing on the gangway of a steamer lying alongside the wharf there slipped and fell into the water. ,Mr Austin.: the third officer of the s.s. Lord Ashley, at once sprang overboard, aud at the risk of his life succeeded in saving the child. It was determined that so gallant an act should not piss unnoticed ; and according a testimonial subscribed for by the passengers and officers, was presented to him, at the offices of Messrs Bright Bros, and C«»., Duuediiii by Mr Dawson and Mr Barr. The testimonial consists of a very powerful neld glass and a silver pencil case, the former of which bears the following inscription :— " Presented by the passengers and officer? of the s.s. Lord Ashley, to Mr Arthur Austin, third officer, as a mark of their appreciation; of hisigal; lantry in reselling a child from drowning in Wellington harbor." • ' . ■ - : .