THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY DECEMBER 9, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1668, 9 December 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY DECEMBER 9, 1873.

As an event of local interest the election of Superintendent of the new Province of Wesiand is likely to be overshadowed during the month of December or of January by the election of the lesser gods, the members of the Provincial Council. The practice in connection with Provincial 1 elections has hitherto been to elect first the Superintendent, and afterwards the Councillors, but this practice, without any reason given or apparent, has been altered. In Nelson Province, in point of time, the election of Superintendent was placed after that of the Council, and in Westland it would seem that the same plan is to be pursued. While places have been fixed for the polling, the time for electing a Superintendent does not appear to have been gazetted, but both the time and the place for the return of Councillors have been appointed, subject to the discretion of the Returning Officers. This, at least, may be authoritatively Baid with regard to the Grey district, and no doubt similar arrangements have been made in relation to other parts of the new Province. Yesterday the writ for the return of three members for the electoral district of Greymouth. was received by the Returning Officer, Mr Matthew Price, and it will be Mr Price's duty to intimate early to the public the dates of nomination and polling. The writ is dated the 4th oE December, and is returnable on or before the 19th of January, but according to the letter of the electoral laws the nomination will require to take place either after

seven days, or before thirty days, of the date of its announcement. If announced to-morrow, the nomination will therefore have to take place subsequent to the 17th of the present month, or before the 9th of January. 1873. To the discretion of the Returning Officer has to be left the , decision of the precise date, and the presumption is that the election will take place in January instead of during the present month, but it is possible that it may depend upon what is done in other districts. It is usu d and proper, or, if it is not usna 1 , it ia always proper to afford candidates and electors some time for action and consultation, and the occurrence oi the election before Christmas might be inconvenient, as it would be abrupt, wlule to hold it during the Christmas and New Year's holidayswould be altogether unusual and unseemly. The members to be elected for the Greymouth district, we may repeat, are three in number, and of the Paroa district there are to be two representatives. For the return of that number in Greymouth writs have been received, the Court House being the appointed pollingplace, and we believe that the writs for Paroa are also to hand ; but, although a Returning Officer has been appointed in the person of Mr fl. Wolters, there is no mention made in the Gazette of pollingplaces in that district. One qualification for voting in these Provincial Council elections, it is scarcely necessary to say, is the fact of a person having his name on the electoral roll, and another is the possession of a miner's right or business license under certain conditions, one of these conditions being that the right or license should be six months old at the date of election. Such, at least, is tho understanding, on the presumption that, by the repeal of the County of Westland Act, " the Qualification of Electors Act, 1870" comes into force, but it would be well if the authorities sufii■ciently explained the facts. Presuming that the Act aforesaid does apply, the clause affecting the miners' franchise is to thiß effect : — " And whereas doubts have arisen as to the power of holders of miners' rights and business licenses to vote \inder the qualification of their miners' rights and business licenses : It is hereby dechijed and enacted that the holder of a miner's right or business license which shall have had a currency of not les3 than six months immediately before the day of election, or of two or more miners' rights or business licenses which shall consecutively have had a currency of not less than six monlhs immediately before the day of election, may vote on the election of members of the House of Representatives or of the Provincial Council within such one Electoral District for the election of members of the House of Representatives, and such one Electoral District for the election of members of the Provincial Council, as he may think fit, provided it he situate wholy or partly within a Gold-field proclaimed within the Province in which the said miner's right or rights or business license or licenses as the case may be was or were issued : Provided also, that within such district the holder of such miner's right or rights or business license or licenses is not otherwise a qualified and registered voter."

The funeral of the late Mr George Muir, of Camptown, took place yesterday affcernoou. The hearse containing the remains of the deceased left Johnston's Family Hotel, Mackay street, at half -past two o'clock in the afternoon, followed by the chief mourners, M essrs Frank Hamilton, Donald Maclean, William Barrett, and Frederick Davis. After these came a number of the principal merchants and other residents of Greymouth on foot, with a large concourse of the business men and miners from the up-couufcry districts bringing up the rear on horseback. The Arnold, No Town, Nelson Creek, Ahaura, and the Upper Grey districts were well represented on the melancholy occasion. When tbe hearse reached the Greymouth cemetery, the coffin was taken out and borne on the shouJdersof the more intimate friends of the deceased to the grave, when there was a simple burial service conducted by the Key. J. M'lntosh. By four o'clock the last sad duties were paid the remains of the late Mr Muir. who it may sincerely be said enjoyed during his lifetime the esteem of all who had the privilege of his friendship, and the respect of those who . had only a casual acquaintance with him, for he leaves behind him the reputation of having been a genial, generous, honorable man. The polling for the election of Superintendent of the Province of Nelson takes place 'to-morrow, Wednesday, the 10th inst. The polling-place closest to Greymouth is Cobden, and, although Greymouth is not within the Province, several of its residents are on the roll, and should exercise their privilege— especially if they intend voting for the better of the two candidates, Mr Curtis. The result of the election can scarcely be known until Thursday or Friday, but, with facilities afforded by the Telegraph Department, as they ought to be afforded, we. should have the returns from the principal places ou Wednesday night. The Greymouth Post Office was never a very magnificent structure, but it has lately become not only insignificant, but exceedingly inconvenient for the public and its official occupants, by reason of alterations in the level of the footpath. The matter having been represented to head-quarters by •Mr M'Beth, an improvement has been agreed to, and it is intended by the expenditure of a small amount, to raise the building, and to improve the facilities for posting and receiving correspondence. It is to be hoped that, at the same time, the convenience of the Postmaster and his assistants will be consulted, for more limited and less convenient accommodation for the extensive work of such an office as. that of Greymouth could scarcely be contrived. Judged by its exterior, at any rate, the office is one which is more suited for the accommodation of hens than men. ! Mention has been made of the Governor, i during his visit to Greymouth, undergoing that painful or pleasant operation— having his portrait taken. ' The portrait-taker, it' should be added, was Mr Tait, and an excellent likeness and picture were the portraits —superior to any other portraits of theGovernor that have yet been seen in these parts. We learn that at the Fiery Cross claim, Inangahua, the plates were cleaned on Monday, and yielded 868 ounces of amalgam. This makes 1515 ounces of amalgam from 300 tons of stone, and the boxes have not yet been cleaned up. The nomination of three members of the Paroa Road Board, in room of Messrs John ! O'Connor, John M'Gratb, and John Griffen, who retire by rotation, took place yesterday at Paroa. Mr Colton acted as Returning Officer. Mr R. Williams proposed, and Mr P. Morrissey seconded Mr Patrick Foley, of Greenstone ; Mr P. Morrissey proposed, and Mr John Walsh seconded Mr Charles Travers, of Marsden j Mr J. Walsh proposed^ 1

and Mr John O'Connor seconded Mr E. Williams, of Paroa ; Mr Foley proposed, and Mr J. Dowling seconded Mr Michael Dowling. Mr Dowling said that as only three members were required, he would retire in their favor, sn as to avoid a contest. The Returning Officer then declared Messrs Williams, Morrissey, .and. W«alsh duly elected^ The usual vote of .thanks to the Returning Officer terminated the proceedings. At the Resident Msigistrate's Court, Cobden. yesterday, before Messrs Lahman and Reid J.P., Surah. Low was charged with drunkenness and dismissed. Judment was given in a case Thomas Lambert v. P. Warren for L 2 7s 6d, being an amount claimed for wages for ten (days' work. It is said by the West Coast Times that arrangements have been made for an expedition to explore the country in the vicinity of Browning's Pass, with the object of reporting as to the practicability of constructing the overland railway by that route. Mr Browning will lead the party, which will most probably start for the ranges in three or four weeks. An infant daughter of Mr S. Brown, at Kanieri, died somewhat suddenly on Thursday last, and was buried iv the Hokrika cemetery on Saturday afternoon. The West Coast Times states that in consequemce of information which has reached the authorities, it has been thought advisable to hold an inquest, and the body will be exhumed for that purpose. Neither of the tenders for the construction of the road' from Hokitika to the Hau flau has been accepted, and fresh tenders have been invited for the work. This, it is said, is due to the fact of the Government being now in possession of the tramway. An incident of the Governor's visit to Westland is thus related by tbe West Coast Tones:— "The recent visit of the Governor to the Hokitika Gaol has hot been without its effect. His Excellency had the prisoners paraded before him, and discharged on the spot a prisoner named Hicks, who was undergoing a sentence for perjury, and promised to communicate from Christchurch concerning the further detention of ' German Charley.' The promised telegram arrived yesterday, and the prisoner was at ouce released from custody in obedience to the order it contained. " The Westland Register observes that Messrs Jisher, to whom Victoria is so much indebted for the advanced position she has taken in racing matters, have been sojourners in Hokitika for a day or two past. We observe that an attempt is about to be made at Port Chalmers to form a Caithness and Sutherland Association of the same character and for the same purposes as the similar associations in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A movement in this direction was made a few years ago in one of the up-country districts, but the project was allowed to fall through. The present movement, if; is to be hoped, will have a different fate. There are enough Caithness and Sutherland men in the Province to form a strong and useful association of the kind. The Otago Daily Times records a very serious accident which occurred to Mr Grogan at the Forbury Race-course, Dunediu, on the Ist insfc. VTith one or two friends he drove out in a buggy, to the racecourse, and arrived at the gates in safety. In driving along the green between the gates and the grand stand, the buggy wheels got into some deep ruts, and the gentleman driving was thrown out. He escaped unhurt, with the exception of scraped hands, but the horse took fright and bolted. Mr <Trogan tried to secure the reins, but failed to do so, and he then jumped out. Instead of getting out at the back of the buggy, he jumped out at the side, and in doing so got an awkward fall, his head coming in contact with one of the wheels. He was at once placed, in an express waggon, and removed to the Hospital, where he now lies in a pre.carious condition. He has an ue;ly wound over the left eye, and has sustained concussion of the brain, the latter of course being the chief injury.

We (Westport Times) have just received news of a most encouraging character from the Mokihinui. Mr Ninnis, junr., well known in the Auckland reefing district, has just returned from a visit to the Halcyon prospecting claim, and he is so thoroughly satisfied with the prospects that he has already made an offer to furnish the necessary machinery, erect it on the ground, and bring in the water. The prospectors have sunk upon most excellent stone in the north drive to the depth of GOffc, and in the south drive to a depth of 16ft, the reef having an average width of 2ft, and in all parts showing a highly payable prospect. Mr Ninnis is of opinion, from the striking resemblance ef Mokihinui reefing district to the Thames, that an immensely valuable gold-field will be discovered, and which only awaits the necessary influx of population. Telegrams have been received intimating that the election for the Central Buller district has terminated in the return of Mr M'Lean, who beat his opponent, Mr M'Gregor, by a majority of nineteen. The Nelson Mail publishes the following telegram from Westport :— " The Nelson papers publish a protest, signed by Westport citizens, against an article in the Westport Times of the 15th November, stating that therein it is plainly stated that the supporters of Mr O'Conor are, as such, expectant of shares in personal gain, out of the public estate of the province. The paper never expressed this. The werds were contorted by Mr O'Conor's committee, and they referred solely to the ring of E. J. O'Conor and Co. as deeply interested in the Mount Rochfort coal-field schemes." It is stated by in the Australasian (a quizzical, but usually correct writer), that just before the Cup day, 37 branch bank managers became suddenly unwell, and needed a visit to town in order to consult a metropolitan doctor— that a few hundred commercial travellers were compelled to come in for fresh samples. Would they, he asks, have as readily recognised a day for humiliation and prayer ? Under the heading " Almost an Exodus," the Nelson famine?' says:— "The steamer Wellington, which arrived yesterday morning from Taranaki and Manukau, and sailed again in the evening for Picton, Wellington, aud the South, carried away a large number of passengers, some of whom left Nelson to settle elsewhere. His Honor Judge Richmond, and his assistant, Mr Atkinson, proceeded to Picton to open tlie sittings of the Supreme Court there; Mrs Allen and child were also passengers for Picton, and Dr Cotterill left the city for a time in search of health. Among those who left; us, and to whom it will be 'Lochaber no more,' were Mr and Mrs T. Garrard, Mr W. and Mrs Garrard and. family ; Mr and Mrs Bonnington and family, of Richmond ; and Mrs W. Davies and family, who proceed to Wellington. We should much rather see a la?ge influx of passengers than old friends leaving us for • fresh fields and pastures new. ' " The Great Extended Company at the Blue Spur (Otago) sold shares in their claim last week for L 2200. From a Sydney telegram, which appears in the Argus of the 22nd November, we observe that Colonel White of Fijian notoriety has had both hia thighs and arm broken through the capsize of an omnibus, in which" he was a passenger. Colonel White was formerly a Volunteer officer in Canterbury, an i is well known both in that Pro--1 vinoe and in Otago,

The following curious cricketing item is from the New Zealand Herald, of the 24th November : — " Mr W. L. Rees, of cricketing as well as legal fame, played a novel game ' with tbe ' willow' upon Saturday last, at the North Shore. He matched himselt against eleven other players, at single wicket, he being allowed men to field for him, and the result, as reported to us, was that he beat the eleven in one innings, and had seventeen runs to s;iare. The eleven in their two innings made only twelve rnns, whilst Mr Rees iv his first innings scored twenty-nine. A large concourse witnessed the match, which caused much amusement and not a little excitement. Mr Rees's slows it was that did the mischief." The Claud Hamilton, on her last trip, took to Dunedin 352 merino ewes and 10 rams, to the order of Mr John Roberts, of Gradbrook Station, South Taieri. '1 hese sheep have been selected from the wellknown flocks of Mr J. L. Currie, Larra, Victoria, and they represent the pick of his stud sheep. They are mostly about six years old, aud, although young sheep of good, quality might have been procured at a much less cost, Mr Roberts thought it advisable to take the very best woolled and best trained animals he could get. This he has succeeded in doing, and, taking them altogether, we believe that no finer lot of merino sheep was ever introduced into the Province than ihat which came by the Claud Hamilton. Only one sheep — one of the ewes — died on the passage. A writer of "occasional notes" in the Otago Daily Times makes the following remarks : — "When a notable political character assured the House of Commons that the Colonies would be defended with the last ship and man, the hearts of loyal cblonists rejoiced that tbe bonds of union between all portions of the mighty empire were cemented afresh by the assurance. A good many people, however, thought that the rumored confidence was a little mis placed— in fact, that the speech was ' bunkum,' nothing more, As Mr Trollope and others discovered, good colonists were utterly disgusted at the withdrawal of every redcoat from our shores, Both here and in Australia the public grieved over their departure, nob only because of the good they did (not at all) but because of the sentiment of natiocality which their presence provoked. We have got on very well without them, and never think mucli of the regiments now. I notice, however, that we have got a good share of the blue jackets in these waters — out of 96 pennants, 602 guns, and 13,746 men upon, foreign stations, there are on the Australian station 10 pendants, 44 guns, and 1098 men. This is a liberal allowance, considering that we do not pay a shilling towards their support. Such a fact gives some color to the statement about 'the last ship and man.' And, after all, ships beat regiments for one purpose beyond all doubt. Better one or two lively steamers than a whole battalion of regulars. Possibly the next move of an economic administration will be to charge each Colony per visit of ship Until then I don't see that we have any right to grumble, or suspect the Imperial authorities of an indifference to the interests of the3e communities." The Cromwell (Ofcago) Quartz Mining Company finished a crushing on Friday last of 110 tons, with a result ,of 318oz. The same description of stone is being raised still at No. 1 shaft but in No. '£ the men are employed sinking. The latter is down about 100 ft, through payable enough stuff, but has not yet reached the richer lot which is being taken from No. 1. The company will be able to have two or three more crushings with an equally good result before Christmas. Speaking without any pretensions to, absolute certainty, the three shares in this company cannot have paid their fortunate possessors miKih less than the handsome sum of L2OOO a-piece for the last twelve months ; and this, be it remembered, in the face of the stoppage which the compauy experienced last summer for nearly six months, on ace >unt of the scarcity of water and the break down of the water-wheel. By the Claud Hamilton a telegram has been received in Dunediu dated. London, 12th November, stating that the Rev. Joseph Upton Davies has neeu appointed minister for the Baptist Church, Hanover street. Mr Davie3 is a B A. of London University, and removed from the Baptist Church, Br mpt >n, London. He appears to have entered the U iversity in 1859. He was to have sailed froai London on the 26th November.

Mr A. R. C. Strode, who, for upwards of thirty years has been emoloyed in he Civil Service of New Zealand, principally as Resident Magistrate in Dunedin, will shortly retire from the service. With respect to the approaching visit of the All England Eleven to Australia, the Argus says :— " Cricketers will be interested to learn that, by the mail just .arrived, full particulars have been received of the All England Eleven, now on its way to these shores to do battle for the cricketing honor of the old country. Mr Grace has had many difficulties to contend against, and not long before he started was disappointed in receiving a letter from Mr A. N. Hornby, saying that he would be unable, through business engagements, to visit Australia. However, every obstacle was overcome, and of the quality of our coming opponents, the following extract from Mr Grace's latest letter speaks for itself :— ' I am proud to say that I have succeeded in getting together a' very strong team, and if we lose a single match, all that I can say is that your teams of 22 must- be a good deal stronger than those we pla> in England.' Mr W. G. Grace was married on the 9fch ultimo, and later on in that month the following All England Eleven started from Southampton in the Mirzapore . — Gentlemen : Messrs W. G. Grace, G. F. Grace, F. H. Boult, A. J. Bush, and W. R. Gilbert. Professionals — H. Jupp, R. Humphrey, Jas. Lillywhite, J, Oscroft, Martin M'lntyre, J, Southerton, and A. Greenwood." A strange case has just been heard in Melbourne, which admirably shows the value a British jury places -on the rights and liberty of the subject. A man named Roberts, who is of a very eccentric aud excitable character, brought an action against Dr Hadden for getting him locked up as a lunatic by giving a false certificate of madness. A number of witnesses were examined with the view of showing that although the plaintiff was odd and queer in his ways, he was not regarded as mad or dangerous. At the end of the case, the Judge committed the evidence to the jury, and also requested them to give answers to a series of questions. The jury soon returned into Court with a verdict for the plaintiff; damages, one farthing. The Judge, with some difficulty, then got them to give answers to the questions -laid before them. From these replies it appeared that they considered that the doctor had given his certificate, pf insanity with great carelessness, that he gave it with no reason to believe it was true ; aud according to another reply — with the full knowledge that it was untrue, that it was false, and that he knew it to be false. This was their belief, and upon these findings they based their verdict. The case was summed up in a very caustic way by the Judge, who said, •' This man (the plaintiff) has been locked up and imprisoned for six months, for which he gets a farthing damageg. That is the verdict." From which, of course, we have additional reason for admiring that time-honored^ and quite infallible institution, the British jury.