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Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 946, 8 August 1871, Page 2

The District Court sits at Greymouth on Saturday next. The cases on the list for hearing are Patrick Smith, surgeon, Greymouth, v. John Cheffings and William Whitten, tramway proprietors, Hokitika. This is a claim of L2OO, for damages sustained through the defendants' negligence in not maintaining the tramway-line in good order. Hearty and Party v. Venables and Party. This is an appeal from a decision of Mr Warden Revell and assessors. We have been informed, officially, that Mr Elmer, of Paroa, has been appointed to the office of bailiff to the Resident Magistrate's Court, Greymouth, in room of Mr Gourlay, who recently resigned. We are sure the appointment will give general satisfaction in the • town and dictrict. The Seymour Troupe assisted by several amateurs, will give another performance in the Volunteer Hall, to-morrow evening, for the benefit of Mr George Seymour. In addition to the usual wonders, magic, music, second-sight, &c, which will be given at the hall in the evening, in the afternoon the Young American will perform the daring feat of crossing the Grey River, between Greymouth anil Oobden, on the punt-wire. The usual monthly meeting of the Volunr? e !'i r B "B ade wa « held last night at the Hall. There were thirty members present. A conversation took place with regard to the Tainui street fire-bell, which has become quite useless, as on the occasion of the last alarm, the members of the brigade in the

vicinity did not hear the bell. The secretary was instructed to write to the Borough Council, drawing attention to the fact that the bell is quite useless at present, and recommending that some steps should be taken to make it serviceable. Two new members | were elected, and the meeting adjourned. Considerable apprehension was felt early this morning as to the safety of an elderly man named Joseph O'Neill, who had charge of the boats at the upper end of the wharf. He had gone out during the evening to look after his charge and haa not since been seen. As a dingy belonging to him is also missing, it is feared he has been drowned. The prospectors in the recently discovered Adam's line of reef, at Inangahua, have taken out a large quantity of stone j and the reef is now looking better than ever. The funeral of the two miners, Nicholas Panam and George Nelson, who were smothered in the Greek's claim at HalfOunce last week, took place at the Ahaura on Sunday. The remains were buried in the Ahaura Cemetery, and were followed to their last resting-place by a large concourse of miners and storekeepers from the district. Among the passengers leaving Greymouth by the Charles Edward, on Friday last, were Mr and Mrs Clement Winter, of this place. Mr Winter had been for some time agent of the Bank of Australasia here, and is now on his way to Auckland, to which place he has been transferred. During his stay in Greymouth, Mr Winter has succeeded in making himself much respected in his business connections, as well as esteemed by his private friends, and we are sure his departure will be regretted by none more than by the constituents of the Bank which he represented, and in whose interest he was always a careful and i zealous servant. Mr Winter has also always * taken an active part in any public underi taking, and in non-commercial affairs, more , particularly as Honorary Secretary to the Greymouth Hospital, has rendered good service to the place. Shortly before his depar--1 ture, he was presented a farewell address, [ signed by the principal business men and inhabitants of Greymouth, and accompanied 1 by a substantial mark of esteem in the shape 1 of a purse of sovereigns, but the shortness of » the time would not allow the presentation to t be anything but strictly private. In common j with the rest of his friends we regret Mr t Winter's departure, and wish him every sue- ) cess in his new home. s At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yes--1 terday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M., s Patrick Ryan was brought up, having been * arrested on a warrant, charging him with having made a violent assault on Constables ' Adam Bissett and Martin Cashion, while in 3 the execution of their duty, at the Green--8 stone, on the 21st February, 1869. Sub- * Inspector Hickson asked for a remand fo r the production of -witnesses. Mr Guinness, y for the defendant, asked that at least some I- evidence should be given that the defendant t was the man charged in the warrant, before tl he was remanded. The following evidence ,f was then given :— Constable Martin Cashion: [4- Last Sunday morning between six and seven o'clock, I in company with Sergeant Boyle proceeded to Liverpool Bill's for the £ purpose of arresting the defendant. Boyle 0 had the warrant, told the defendant the r charge, and cautioned him. He replied, "I it am here ever since ; why didn't you take me d when I was down in Greymouth at Christi- mas?" He also said, "You passed me on V the bridge going to the races, why didn't is you take me then?" I replied that 1 did not t remember him. Cross-examined : I was staj' tioned at Greenstone on 21st February, ,' 1869, and remember an assault being made ' on me and Constable Bissett. I knew the " d«f«vHp*. Jflwae .:. /M, not J£naw.^here_he |J the time, but I could nob swear to their " Christian names. The police made some l * arrests for that assault. One of the men c arrested was named Ryan, but only heard it that his Christian named was Malachi. He c was not arrested because of his name, but ts for the offence he had committed. Ryan , a got away from us about three o'clock in the y morning, just after arresting him. There n was no moonlight, but it was a clear night, j It is my firm belief the defendant is the man , we arrested. I had been speaking to him several days before, and had beeu making 8 inquiries about him, as he was so rowdy in r the streets. I don't recollect seeing the dee f endant or speaking to him from the time he r escaped until yesterday morning. He was , under arrest at the Greenstone something . under five minutes, while we were taking y him about thirty yards. The remand was y then granted for eight days, and bail allowed, c the defendant in LIOO, and two sureties of . LSO each. Bail was at once found. j At the District Court, at Hokitika, on b Saturday last, William Dollimore, on remand, y was again charged with perjury. After the f Judge had summed up, the jury retired for 3 about half-an-hour, when they came into j Court and returned a verdici of guilty. The prisoner was then sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. J By the published statement of the affairs of the Nile Cement Crushing Company, we » learn that the total amount of dividends de--3 clared was L 970. 1 The Boss Guardian, of Saturday last, [ says:— "The Morning Star Company have ' declared the sum of JL3OO in dividends to | the shaieholders, payable to-day at the coml pany's office. This speaks well for th« mine, i seeing that they have been only four days at E work since they were flooded out by the ; temporary stoppage of the Drainage Corns pany. That once-promising claim, the Band , of Hope, is now a sad wreck. The engine, , with the exception of the fly-wheel, has gone | to the Totara to saw timber. The boiler is . on a waggon ready for lemoval, and the office ■ has vanished out of sight. The poppet-heads ; are still standing, bub no doubt, in due course, they will likewise be transferred to some more useful sphere. Nearly all the Chinamen who lately arrived at Dunedin from Hong Kong went up the country on the Ist instant. They intend to scatter themselves over the Waipori, Tuapeka, Bannockburn, and Wakatip districts. Mr R. A, Sherrin, mining engineer, who claims to have been the first discoverer of the Grey River Coal Beds, has discovered a seam of coal in the vicinity of Mount Hamilton, Southland. The coal has been tested, is pronounced to be of excellent quality. The Thames Advertiser contains a full report of the circumstances connected with the death of Mr S. G. Hall, as stated in our telegrams last week, together with the evidence taken at the inquest, from which we have selected the following :— " A fearful accident occurred at some time between 12 o'clock on Saturday night and 7 o'clock yesterday morning, by which a man named Seymour Gilbert I Hall was killed by falline; down the Tookey shaft, a distance of a hundred feet. At 7 o'clock this morning it was reported to the police that a man was found lying dead at the 100-feet level of the Tookey shaft. A constable proceeded to the spot and found the report to be correct, for the deceased, who was recognised as Seymour Gilbert Hall, was found there with his neck broken and his head lying under his body. The right thigh was also broken, and the bone protruded through the skin. The body was removed to the All Nations' Hotel, to await an inquest. Deceased was iast seen at 12 o'clock on Saturday night, proceeding towards the Moanataicri Creek, where he resided. The night was very dark and stormy, and apparently by some means the side-door of the collar of ; a

the shaft under the shoot had been blown open. Deceased, in trying to make his way through the storm, must have stumbled and been precipitated down the shaft . Deceased belonged, we believe, to a respectable and wealthy family in England." At Dunedin, the ladies are petitioning for admission as students to the University. An important decision was lately delivered in chambers, at Dunedin, by His Honor Mr Justice Chapman, on a point which affects a practice in force in some of the Resident Magistrate's Courts, [t has been usual in several of these courts to allow a plaintiff in an action to withdraw at any time previous to the case being called on for hearing. Such a course not unfrequently necessitates the defendant bringing another action against the plaintiff for the recovery of the expenses to ■which, the former had been put in employing professional assistance, subpesnaing witnesses, &c. The circua stance which called forth the present decision are as follows:— On the 3rd April last, M" Tyson sued Mr J. F. Herbert in the Resident Magistrate's Court, at Lawrence, for fifty pounds alleged to be due. The summons was duly served, and the hearing fixed for the 6th of the same month. On the 4th, however, Tyson, through his solicitor, delivered to the Clerk of the Court, and also served on Herbert, a notice of withdrawal of the case. The latter disregarded the intimation, and attended with bis solicitor before the Magistrate at the time appointed for disposing of the suit ; but neither the plaintiff nor his solicitor appeared. The defendant's solicitor claimed judgment for his client's costs, and contended that the alleged termination of the action could not affect these. The Magistrate adjourned the hearing for a short time and gave the plaintiff notice of the application for costs. Both steps, however, were unnecessary. Ultimately judgment was given in favor of the defendant for two guineas. Execution was afterwards issued against the goods of the defendant, but after seizure he paid the amount under protest, and instituted an action in the Supreme Court against the Magistrate for damages, alleged to have been sustained through the latter having acted without jurisdiction, and for committing an alleged trespass in causing Tyson's goods to be seized. The Magistrate applied, under the Justices Protection Act, 1866, to his Honor to have the action stayed, on the ground that he (the Magistrate) had acted in the matter in which he had by law a discretion. Against this was cited Arundel v. "White, 14, East, 216. His Honor held that after a plaintiff has issued a summons out of a Resident Magistrate's Court, and has caused the defendant to be served with a copy thereof, he (the plaintiff) has no power to withdraw the action until he has satisfied the defendant's claim for all costs to which he may be entitled, and that notwithstanding any attempt to sooner put an end to the suit, the Magistrate may give judgment in favor of the defendant for hia costs — if any. The action against the Magistrate was accordingly ordered to be stayed. An important mining case was settled at Brighton on Saturday last by Mr Warden Broad. It was John M'Neille and William Lynch v. Buckley Weston. After evidence had been taken, the Warden said : This is a peculiar case. The plaintiffs allege that defendant has altered the head and course of his race without the written sanction of the Warden. From the evidence it appears that the defendant is the holder of a registration certificate for a head race, commencing at the Nile boxes and terminating at the Red Jacket beach. The defendant is the transferee from one Archibald Simpson, the race being originally granted in 1869. The race was not constructed to the Nile boxes to" Wre^TNMe bo°xestew^lptek ai s would appear that since the race was originally granted, the Nile boxes have been altered in position three different times, and that the present water course joining the portion of the race cut was formed long after the race was granted, by the United Company sending down a quantity of water to sluice away a slip that had taken place in the terrace. It did not therefore appear that the present water course could be considered as forming a portion of the race originally granted to Simpson. The plaintiffs claim the water course as a tail-race, under a certificate of registration granted in January, 1871, but no tail-race has been constructed, and it did not appear to him that the water course above where the race held by Weston is cut has any private owner whatever. He must rule that no head-race or tail-race having been constructed in accordance with the certificate of registration granted, and that the watercourse being accidentally formed, it partakes of a public character until it arrives at where defendant's race heads, down which any parties would be at liberty to dispose of their tailings, so long as no injury is done to prior rights. As regards the present complaint, as he had ruled that there had been no construction, it followed that defendant could not have altered the course of the race, and, therefore, plaintiffs mußt be nonsuited, but without costs. One of the Maori prisoners, named Ruka Awauru Te One Kura, aged 30, a Roman Catholic, died in the Dunedin Hospital, on the 31st ultimo, of consumption. Deceased was under a sentence of seven years' penal servitude for high treason. He is supposed to be the murderer of the late Mr Broughton, who acted generally as peace agent in the year 1869, and was killed at the Patea River, having been shot and then tomahawked in a most barbarous manner. Tn his last annual report on Dunedin Gaol, the Governor (Mr Caldwell) take 3 the opportunity of making the following remarks upon education and crime ; — " We have no evidence that education, as commonly understood, is a prevention to crime. Those perpetually reiterated newspaper paragraphs, in which the ratios of instructed to uninstructed prisoners are so triumphantly stated, prove just nothing. Before an\ inference can be drawn, it must be shown that those instructed and uninstructed prisoners come from two equal sections of society — alike in all other respects but that of knowledge. So far, indeed, from proving that morality is increased by education, the facts prove, if anything, the reverse. Thus we are told in the reports of the prisons in Great Britain, Ireland, United and Continental States, that the proportion borne by the educated to the uneducated convicts is fully as high as that which exists between the educated and the uneducated classes in the general population. Where the character is defective, intellect — no matter how high— fails to regulate rightly, because predominant desires falsify its estimates. Nay, even a distinct foresight of evil consequences will not restrain, when strong passions are at work. How else does it happen that men will get drunk? though they know drunkenness will entail on them suffering and disgrace, and, as with the poor, even starvation. How else is it that medical students, who know the diseases brought on by dissolute living better than other young men, are just as reckless and even more reckless ? How else is it iihat the professional Jihief who has been in gaol a dozen times will steal again as soon as he is at liberty ? How is it that people who have all their lives been iught Christianity will not behave as Christians, though they believe that dire penalties are entailed by behaving otherwise ? Is there some parallel between the habitual criminal and the habitual drunkard— so that crime becomes an omnipotent passion which must indulge itself, at whatever risk of seen and dreadful consequences?" , ,