THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1662, 2 December 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY , DECEMBER 2, 1873.

By the arrival of a vessel at Auckland we have three days' later news from Australia than was brought by the Claud Hamilton to tbe Bluff, and a s<#itary item of English intelligence. Thejty*tt er is in itself satisfactory, inasmuch //as it goes to allay the fears which were entertained as to the occurrence of a monetary panic, the report now being that the rate of discount had been reduced from the .extraordinary amount which it had reached, to seven per cent. The Melbourne news is minute, but in some particulars suggestive. There is, for instance, some consolation to be found in the fact ;that, while our Legislative Council is obstructive, that of Victoria is more soothe Council having, during its last session, rejected as many as twenty-three bills 'which had been passed by the Assembly. And it is suggestive of much, in the direction of the advent of the millennium, that " the Rev." Miss Turner had entered upon the duties of pastor of the church of that highly intelligent body, the Unitarians. As illustrating the progress of the Melbourne University, it is mentioned that so numerous were the applicants for matriculation that the Town Hall had to be engaged for the purpose of admitting the applicants. From Sydney there is news of a series of crimes and casualties, and from Queensland of further trouble with the blacks. At Palmer's river, the scene of the most modern rush, payable gold had been got, but there had been nothing discovered to warrant excitement.

His Excellency the Goyepoor is now well on his way to Hokitika, and will probably arrive-there at a sufficiently early hour this afternoon to enable the inhabitants to receive him during daylight, and with all the -demonstration that they could desire. He left Christchurch early yesterday morning by a special coach, and was expected to make a stage at the house ofiWr .Hawden, rnnholder, at Grasmore, not far 'from the Cass, whose guest he would-be for the night. There, if her ladyship j accompanied him, as was 'intended^ iiady Fergusspn was id remain, His Excellency proceeding on his journey, and, from present appearance, he is likely to dq 'so (under more . favorable circurn-: stances for, vie wing the. wonderful scenery of ,the o rputejthan/was' the fortune of Sir George Spwen on the occasion of hisvisit to the Coast. .Here it is still a matter of speculation/how' he will make his entry into i'Greymbuthi but as beach travel would r bel a* mild form of doing penance, and the inland route would be a sore trial to the yi^ue of patience, it is expected that he will; paitrohwß ope i or other of the steamers which' now 1 ply bo regularly between Hokitika and Greymouth, His adopting that mqde'.of travel might tend to make the present cheap fares fashionable, and, although it might disappoint some loyal lieges, it would certainly favor His Excellency s first impressions of Greymouth, while it would save time, and simplify ceremony. As His Excellency's visit is necessarily limited, and cannot possibly extend to the country, except as far as the coqjrmine, it is to be hoped that there will be a general muster of the inhabitants of the district. With proper arrangements as to the keeping of the yoad clear, ! the opportunity should be a good one for exhibiting the diatriot's wealth in horse* .

flesh, of which His Excellency is no mean judge, and a possibly successful, as well as pleasing, feature of the programme would be the making of the return journey from the coal-mine by the river, instead of by the road. So far as the local authorities are concerned, though their experience is scarcely equal to their spirit, active preparations are being made for His. Excellency's reception, and, while he is likely to be well received in town, there are, no doubt, also gentlemen of position in the Province who will properly fulfil the duty of representative hosts beyond the boundaries of the borough.

The installation of officers of the Grey River St. Andrew Lodge, No. 528, S.C., took place in the Masonic Hall, Mackay street, yesterday afternoon, Bros Bowman, P.M., and Kent, P.M., acting as installing masters. The ceremony, which was very efficiently performed, was rendered more impressive by the choral services of Bros. Hindmarsh, W. M. of the Greymouth Lodge, who presided at the harmonium, Hill, Lawn, M'Kenna, May, and Bryant. The following were the officers installed : — John Arnott, R.W. M .; S. Roulston, W.D.M.; T. Finston, S.W.; R. Wilson, J.W.; J. Bryant, Treasurer; H Young, Secretary ; J Macgregor, Sceward ; P. Boylan, J.D.; R H. Rugg. 1.G.; E. B. Fox, Tyler. In tbe evening the brethren assembled in the Hall, the newly-installed R.W M. presiding, and did full justice to the plentiful board spread by Bros. Jones and M'Lean. That purely formal proceeding, the declaration of the poll, Wits performed yesterday at Cobden, in connection with the return of Mr Boase as a meinher of the Nelson Provincial Council Mr Whitefoord, as the Returning Officer, was present to intimate' the sufficiently kaowa result, aud tu* member elect was also present to acknowledge his return, which he did to two intelligent representatives of the constituency. Mr Wright, the Government Commissioner in connection with Assurance and Annuities, is at present on a visit to the West Coast. After visiting Hokitika, he arrived in Greymouth yesterday, and proceeds today to Keefton ami the centres of population in the Grey Valley. . . A meeting of the Borough Council was held yesterday forenoon to determine what steps should be takeu with the view of giving the Governor a suitable reception on his arrival on Thursday next. An address was brought up by the address committee which was adopted and ordered to be engrosed. It was resolved to invite the Governor to visit the Brunnar Coal-mine.. and with this intention, Messrs Reid and Smith, with the Mayor, Dr Acheson, and Mr Hamilton were appointed a committee to confer with Mr Whitefoord, R. M., on behalf of the Nelson Government, and to make the necessary . arrangements. The Mayor, Dr Acheson, and Mr Hamilton were appointed to arrange a Decoration Committee, and Messrs Smith, Dupre, Kerr, aud Reid were appointed to arrange for liotal acc>modaeion for his Excelleucy while in Greymouth. A challenge to seven of the Greyinouch Eleven (Oricketers) emanates from the Brian Boru Hotel, an*l from somebody representing sp.ven of the navvies engaged on the Greymouth railway. There are conditions attached to the challenge —the playing for money — which suthciently indicates that this somebody is "playing the fool." Tenders, it will be seeu, are called for the supply of telegraph poles between Keefton and the Lyell. Mr Cassius, says the Boss Guardian, has sold . one of the boilers lately used in the Cassius claim. It has been removed from the position it occupied, and is now awaiting transition to Hokititca. Its destination is Greymouth. One of the engines at the drainage is also likely to be sold to a Canterbury firm, to be used in a sawmill. Several parties are returning to Okarito from the Haasfc — A correspondent of the Boss Guardian says; — "I saw a man who left there this day week, and he informed me that a good number are waiting for the steamer to come to take them away. The prospectors' claim is almost worked out. There are a few parties working in the main creek, some of whom are doing pretty well. M'Kenna and party and Robert Dee's party have both got good payable claims in this creek. Beyond thia nothing new has beeD struck." Tbe postmaster of German Bay, Akaroa, has, for the public convenience, a letter box iplaced alongside the public road. A vagrant swarm of bees, one day last week, thought the box would suit their convenience, and without consulting either postmaster or public took up their abode withiu. The astonishment of the postmaster, and tke trouble of dislodging what were not her Majesty's mails, can be better imagined than described. The following uncomplimentary opinion as to the political conscience of the people of Auckland, is expressed by the ITawke's Bay Herald: — "The fact appears to be that the political conscience in the Auckland people— the Auckland politicians, at any rate— is in a totally undeveloped condition ; that they belong, in short, as Judge Richmond says of the Maoris, • to an age prior to morality.' " During the forenoon of Monday week two sons of G. L. Mellish, Esq , R.M., Kajapoi, aged six and eight years respectively, were fishing out of a flat- bottomed punt at a part of the river near his residence, part of the time under the eye of Mrs Blakiston, and then in care of the governess, when one of the two leaning too much over the punt caused it to capsize, both boys being thus thrown into the strong current and ebbing tide. The eldest managed to get ashore while the other was carried out with the stream and drowned. The punt was close in shore and their governess was near at the time, but could do no more than assist in rescuing the boy who managed to get to the shore. Mr John White, as a candidate for the Superintendency, was to address the electors of Ross on Tuesday evening. . A woman died lately in Dunedin somewhat suddenly. It became necessary that an inquest should be held. It appeared that the heart, being affep ted, was the . immediate cause of death. Dr Bakewell, Tyho made the examination, gave evidence that the liyer was very much enlarged, and appeared to be marked by tight lacing. ; " Why,' 1 asks an exchange, " can not New 2Jealand manufacture agricultural implements? In 1872, we imported these implements to the value L 15.515. a U the profit included in this large sum could, one would suppose, have been kept in the Colony. A similar remark applies to washing materials, wearing apparel, arms and ammunition, bags and sacks, beer, biscuits, boots and shoos, candles, canvas, carriages, carts, and even chaff. Th '■ importati >n of cheese s neary at an <nd. We still import coal. 5At the importation of coffee we oan-iot wonder, but why cannot we make our own lollies? Drapery importation may bo excused for some years to come, but surely our importation of fish should not b* equal to L 25,764, exclusive of duty, which amounted in 1872 to LIB9B lls sd. A necessary of life— flour — w« imported to the tune of L 59.345, duty 1.3599 lls 2d. Indeed it may be generally said that, excepting gold and wool, we ioiv PO'-fc almost every luxury and necessary of waitedce.? :

The tender of Mr Peter unn, for the erection of an export goods-shed at luvercarjzill, to the amount of L 2216 4s, has bsen accepted. Tbe shed is to be used fo* 1 tbe storage of wool. It will be 200 ft long, with double platforms, each 20ft wide, and a storage height of 16ft. The structure, except the tie beams, which are to be of Oregon, will be entirely of native timber. Very little interest seems to be taken in "Okarito about the elections. * Ttiere are only some twelve or sixteen votes for the Superintendency. ;Mr o'Donovan,it is said, does not intend to stand for the place again.