THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1669, 10 December 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1873.

The inhabitants of the Grey Valley owe to themselves this day an eyery-day duty — self-respect. But it is a duty which should be observed more strictly and more prominently than on ordinary occasions, because the occasion is important, and will be influential for many years, even upon posterity. They have to contribute their share — and it is. a large share — in the expression of the public opinion of one of the principal Provinces of New Zealand, regarding the character of man fitted to be tbe chief administrator of their general affairs, and promoter of their general interests. In thi3 expression of opinion they are unfortunately limited to choosing one of two men, neither of whom may even remotely represent their ideal of a Superintendent, but, as perfection is not attainable in the selection of Superintendents or in many other mundane matters, it will be prudence to achieve the next best thing to it, and that is the selection of a man of most merits and fewest faults. Judging the two men according to that simple standard, there can surely be little question as to the propriety of selecting Mr Oswald Curtis. ! His sins of omission as a Superintendent, it must be admitted, have been many, He has indifferently appreciated , the active, lively, hard exertions of a mining community such as is principally reprc-. sented in the population of the West Coast, and may have failed in promoting, as he might have done, their proI sperity and the settlement of the Province by proper encouragement of their enterprise and industry. Remiss as he has been in that particular, there cannot, however, be brought against him accusations of sins of commission in the despisal of manly proprieties, in the wilful misdirection of natural abilities, or in self-seeking and misuse, for personal purposes, of his public position. Rather, : he has recommended himself to the manly sense and likings of the community by the discreetness of his personal conduct-, ■ by adherence to his convictions, by candid expression of them, and by respectful consideration of the convictions of his fellpw-men — all of which qualities, when they are by any man, cover a multitude of political sins. The one

alternative is for the community to select a man whose thoughts and actions, as they have been exhibited in public position, have been repulsive to ordinary instincts, who has not one good word to say for any man saving himself, whose public conversation on political matters is the commonest clap-trap, and whose public conduct, as it has come before men who have been his colleagues, and who have had no wish to do otherwise than think well of him, has been the subject of grave suspicion. Not a bad signification of the estimation in which he deserves to be held is the opinion formed by those who have been fellowCouncillors with him for a series of years, and that estimation, we believe, will be expressed by not a single vote being recorded in his favor by those who have been so associated. Men of age, experience, and integiity, such as the Speaker of the Provincial Council, have declared that they cannot vote for him, and no one of his colleagues for the full period of the Council's sittings, , from whatever part of the Province he may have come, has announced that he will support him. In every case, in fact, has the announcement been to the opposite effect. So with men who are members of the House of Representatives. Those who once found him on their side have ho appreciation of a member who, after the most sophistical speech that has been spoken for many sessions, contributed by his vote to the temporary overthrow of the Government which has done more for the West Coast than any Government since Governments existed in New Zealand. That the public can condescend to adopt the alternative of electing a candidate so estimated by the leading men of the country is more than can be anticipated by any reasoning being. Should they be misled into doing so, it will be a mistake and a misfortune against which they have certainly been sufficiently warned. With all possible respect for the candidate in his private capacity, it will be preferable to permit him to act for the future in that capacity solely, instead of elevating him to a position where all his antecedent actions suggest that he will study first, last, ever, and never least — Number One.

Ttiere was a meeting of ihe Borougl Council lasb evening, at which there attendee the Mayor (Mr Glenn) and Councillor! Achescn, Dupre, Kerr, Moore, Reid, anc _ _H<amiltQn,__Amo"a- < "4 I°""°*™*"i'''1 °""°*™*"i'''" a ' 7rico ~ 1 cni by-EUe TovmClerk, there was a letter fron Messrs Keovvn dnd Frost, requesting the us* of the pile-driving machine in the construe fcion of the new road towards the Austral asiau Hotel — a request which was complied . with. The Town Clerk also reported thai Mr M'Kenzie, contractor for works ir Tarapuhi and Leonard streets, had for feited the deposit made, and declinec to proceed with, his contract. After dis cussioD, the tender "of Mr R. O'Mallev, foi the same works, was accepted From Messrs Strike and Blackmore a petition was re ceived, in reference to the abatement of * nuisance on their premises in Murray anc Alexander streets, and tbe Clerk was in structed to write to tbe firm requesting ~fch.< immediate abatement of the nuisance, as decided at a former meeting of the Council. On the motion of Mr Moore, seconded by Mr Dupre, it was agreed that the Surveyor should be instructed t< prepare plans for works in Arney, Gresson, and Johnston afcreefcs. Several accounts wenreceived, and were referred to the Finanot Committee. Here is a chance for somebody j— "£s( reward. Whereas a malicious scandal is being freely circulated to defame the mora! character of Mr E. J. O'Conor, and to injure him in the approaching election, fifty pounds will be. given to any person who can giv« such information as will lead to the conviction of the slanderers to E. J. o' Conor : or, his solicitors." The foregoing is a copji of an advertisement -which appears in the Nelson papers. It was previously advertised that proceedings would be taken against some malicious scandal-mongers who were "defaming his moral character," whatever that n?ay mean, and that these proceedings would be taken "on his return." But the "malicious scandal/ though being "freely circulated," apparently requires for its discovery a prize of £50. It is a pity that the prize is only to be given on the " conviction of the alandeiers," that being such a remote contingency that nobody but one of the very meanest sort would endeavor to make the money. Members of the Cricks Club are requested to meet at Gilmer's Hotel this evening. Something bewitching is coming this way —to wit, Madame Selene, who is called "the only female Wizard of the North" in the Southern Heinisphere-'nay, even in the world. The difficulties which were thrown in the way of granting publicans' licenses, through the unworkable Act of the last session of the Assembly, have, says the West Qoast Times, been for the time evaded. The County Chairman, or, as the Wellington authorities now term him, his Honor the Superintendent, disposed of all the applications on Monday at noon, by granting interim licenses which, will remain in operation until the end of June. With, one exception, all the applications were granted. A County of Westland^ Gazette, published on Saturday last, contains a proclamation under the hand of \S, L. Robinson, granting to Oliver and party a special plaim of five acres, aituated at the Three- Mile Creek. There is also a proclamation containing a notification that on Y/ednesday last H. L. Robinson intended to grant to John Andrews a gold-mining lease of two acres thirty-six perches for the term of fifteen years. There is also an extract from the jy"ete Zealand Gazette, declaring the boundaries of the districts of the new Province of Westland, and the number ani distribution of members. At the .Resident Magistrate's Courb, yesterday, Margaret Cain, on a charge of drunkenness, was fined 5s ; for a second charge, being an habitual drunkard, was sentenced to one month's imprisonment in the Hokitika Gao l; and-on a further charge of wilful destruction of Government property, she was' fined LI, and ordered to pay cost of damage done, amounting to Ss (3d, The Collector of Customs, Greymouth, wishes to draw the attention of importers of goods from Melbourne to a circular issued by the Victorian Customs, which refers to certain alterations in the drawback regulations. A copy of the circular can be seen at the Custom-house. Messrs W. Stavert and Co., of Nelsor, held an important sale of land last week, and succeeded in disposing of several allotments, with buildings thereon, in Bridge street, realising in all LI2S3 ; also an allotment in Wellington street, Pictou, for Lsl. The Dun Mountain property, owned by Mr B, Fieyien, and offered at auction but withdrawn, was disposed of after the sale to Mr James Newport. The price, however, has not transpired. Mr George Miller, one of the masters of the Scotch College, Melbourne, has been appointed Rector of the Invercargill Grammar School, vacant through the death, of the late lamented Mr Fleming.

Our Tuapeka contemporary says the commencement of the Lawrence -Tokomairiro railway is to be commemorated by a viceregal ball during the Governor's visit to the district ; and tv the ball admission will nos be refused to gentlemen wearing coats of a cut other than swallowtail, provided that the color is dark, and the appearance "dressy;" but the ladies-are expected to dress in their "very best." - To which information is added that " Uis Excellency is what may be called a 'hereditary' gentleman, and will thoroughly appreciate a graceful and gracious reception." In noticing the retirement of Mr Strode, TJ.M., the Otago Guardian says : — " Several gentlemen are mentioned as likely to be his successor, amons; them being the Minister of Justice himself." In a notice of recant "local improvements" the Canterbury Times says t— The erection of buildings in Christchurch. continues with unabated spirit. Messrs Montgomery and Co. have made considerable progress on their steam saw mill premises, Colombo; street, not the least notable feature of which is a brick chimney, which has now attained a height of from 60 to 70ft. Mr Pratt's eleven brick shops in the Triangle are also going up very rapidly, and it is stated that the whole of them were let at good rentals almost before the work was commenced. Messrs Shand and Co. are erecting a large brick store in rear of their bonded warehouse, Oxford terrane, the intended dimensions being 81 x 60ft, witti I " JJTt walls The uooi is to be made of concrete, and Mr J. Rankin is the contractor. In Cashel street, Mr W. Jones has commenced the erectipn of a large brick shop, which id intended to be one of three, with stuccoed fronts, similar in design to those recently pub up by Mr George Gould, in. the Market-plaoe. Port Chalmers is said by the Otago Guardian to be progressing fast. Many were the fears and disconsolate forebodings of the residents while the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway was in course of construction, and the future of the Port was debated by everyone, and the majority would have it ' that the opening of the line would be the worst thing that could happen to it. But Jiow agreeably. disappointed have they been. Men of business, who were afraid that all the trade wou!d lea,ve them and go up to Dunedin, are still doing as good, if not a better business than before. Before, it bore the appearance of au isolated village where a strange face was seldom seen. Now it is , thronged with visitors. And whereas before there were always empty houses, there is not now one dwelling-house without a tenant. But, withal, it is the -vrorst^bif for entertainments, exbher amusing or intellectual, to be met with in a lons d?y's journey, Were it jao.t. that it is impossible at present to get carponfcers, there would be a great deal of work going on. As it is, there are several huildiugs in course of erection, and there are others waiting until the men are at liberty to work at them. Writing of gas - making machines the Southern Ci-oss says :— " The prosperity of the Melbourne Gas Company is about to be 1 subjected to a severe test, by a wide-spread competition as was not dreamt of when they were established. It is well known that' for a couple of years past portable apparatus for the manufacture of coal gas on a small scale has been perfected in Britain and America, and vast numbers of them have gone into use ; and it is found that in every establishment where six or more burners are used, an immense saving ia effected by using the domestically manufactured article Mr Duffy* of Melbourne, has purchased the patent of onp of these portable gas manufacturing apparatus, and has called for tenders therefor the manufacture of 400 gas machines oi various sizes. The Taapeka paper states that a lady recently excused herself from joining the Lawrence Templars on the ground that she was " very anxious to have the pleasure of a glass of wir.e with Sir James Fergusson."