THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1691, 5 January 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1874.

The nominations for tho Provincial Council will take place at nooti to-day throughout the Province. Although this election has generally been regarded as of less importance than that for the Superintendency, we think it is a mistake so to regard it, for the Superintendent is, iv reality, only an administrative officer appointed to carry out the wishes of the Council and enforce its legislation. He can, indeed, reserve ordinances passed by the Council for the signification of the Governor's pleasure thereon, but he has no. absolute veto, and on the other. hand it is just as impossible for him to carry out any policy as regards education, construction of public works, expenditure of the revenue, without the assent ,of the Council; as it was i for the ' County Chairman. That a proposal of the Superintendent with re3pect to any one of these will receive* more attention than a similar proposal emanating from a private member, is. probable enough, as he is naturally supposed from his position to have a ' more' intimate acquaintance with the requirements, of the districtj and how best they may be met. But the real decision rests with the Council, and without its concurrence the Superintendent cannot stir hand or foot. ■ The future educational system' of Westland will, then virtually be decided bj the elections which are now abouj to • take place and of. which the first step will be n the nominations to-day. It 13 highly desirable that on this point there should be no misconception, arid we dwell upon it more particularlj because from questions which were put tc the candidates- for the' Superintendent it appeared to be a prevalent idea thai the Superintendent had the power ol inaugurating any system he might choose! This will perhaps be the most important i subject with which' the : Council wil attempt to deal in its first session, and we hope that before the '■ polling day comes the several aspirants -for seats will hay( cast off that reticence which ; has hithertc been observed, and have given the elector! ,an opportunity of hearing their opinions on the subject of education/ ; - . ; ; Scarcely second, in. importance to the : constituencies which will .bow be callec upon to exercise the franchise — consti tueneies which it' must be rememb'erec are different from the few electors of the Province," and r those»' rnqstly townspeople who returned the Superintendent— wil ■be ' the questioniofL lroaa—^ M*^ta— a^t -)joards7~7OrTne pressing ,n v eed .for. tota re-organisation- in 'this' respect it \% hardly necessary to '•]' say more ; ' than? that . 'the effects' of two of the boards which ej^istet a nder the ' County i ' system ■ were seizet under distress warrant. Concerning, thi manner in which their affairs have ii some instances been misconducted it; i hardly needful to go into detail,' and a it mu3t be admitted that' they have ha< very great difficulties to struggle against it would perhapn. bo.- unkind "tof refer :tp< pointedly to their, shortcomings. It i apparent enough, however, 'that a radica change is urgently required, and we hopi that electors will m.akg a point of gettiaj a clear enunciation of their yjpws on thi ihatter . frotn. thoae who see£ thjeir yotei for 'the Provincial Council. ! Other subjects which will have to be deal with .at an early date will be the Polici Or,dinaneft. apd the ; Fencing Ordinance .but we hardly anticipate that any actioi respecting these will be taken in the opening, session. - ; Afl .for its financia arrangements, it does not appear that the Council can well do otherwise than peyse vere ,jn the same policy as .was initiatec by the last County Council, namely, tha of strict economy;; With only £8000, 01 thereabouts,. .40 appropriate over anc 'above the ordinary expenditure, jt is im possible Tthat 1 . any large! works' can' ■bj! undertaken, and there does not appear tc be any great probability of a material in--in /revenue' at ; 'present, ' Jn' whai mariifer ; his 'Honor the^Superintehdeni elect proposes tb' carry ptft' those works ol which^he- has avow ed himself ail advocate we%re uhaole to guess, 'unless. -it. is. bj borrowing, and how the^borrowing is tc be effected, without-'the ; passage , of some such, measure as the Provincial Loan' Bill of last session, to which Mr Bonai was opposed, is a problem equally perIplexing. Water-races, we firmly believe, might toe constructed by private capital, if; only some pains w^re taken to show those who are possessed of the mon/jy the advantageous. nature of the investment whicHiso'ffered, and it would then be for the CounciHo secure them in such rights as might be conceded for the purpose of inducing them to embark in the speculation. We have not heard what response has been made to Mr Vogel's request to Mr. Robinson;* that he would supply an account of ' Wesiland, ijfo resources, industries,\&c\, to be enibodied in the handbook of jjew Zealand, which' js now bping prepared. We :; bpheve that some steps ' have been taken towards a compilation of the hj&tbry ! of the Province ; but . jbh^t is -not all, --or nearly all that is required. Among other things there should certainly be' a succinct account given of the ffhoje water-supply question ab initio, and it should.be: shown by such reliable data as are available how lucrative a field of investment is > 'here open; this subject w.e an early opportunity of ireturijingj flsrv^e believe withJVEr Bpnar that, so far as material -progress is con- '■ c'erned,< it is pfi infinitely. >rgr£a£erinio|3e'nt than! any othett -with: : whielii the i 'province ' f 6'an 'be- called" Upon to 1 ideal, and' oil this ' acoouh't if is f desirable -that the' 1 vie wk" or ' ithe'Gbun'cil' sb'ri'cierhirig' r ife

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should be expressed in unmistakeable language. As to the advisability of having a paid Provincial Executive, on which the Council will be early called upon to decide, we cannot but think that all candidates will be agreed to dispense with that encumbrance, if possible, especially as, in order to facilitate this, the Assembly has provided the . Superintendent -of Westland with a seat in the Council. 1 If therefore there is an Executive, liable to be thrown out by a want of confidence motion, and replaced by others possessing a majority in the Council, but possibly not coinciding with the Superintendent's views, we may yet have the ludicrous farce of the head of the Executive Government voting against his own colleagues. If, on the other hand, there is a paid Executive, not liable to be thrown out of office by an adverse vote, the evil will be still greater, since in case of collision, the Council will be unable to enforce its views of the proper administration of affairs, except. only in matters of finance; and through the Appropriation Ordinance. It will thus be saddled, Sinbadlike, with an old man of the sea, in the form of paid officers, of whom it cannot get rid.

It seems probable that there will be quite a lively contest for the representation of Greymoutb. in the Provincial Council. We understand that Messrs E. Wickes, H. H. Lahmany C. Woolcock, and E. B. Fox, have defiinitely signified their intention of coming forward, and besides these Messrs F. Hamilton; E. Masters, and G. Simmons are spoken of as probable candidates. ' ' ' : Referring to a paragraph which appeared ■ in Jtie Evening Star of Saturday, stating that Mr James Kerr was a probable candidate for : a seat in the Westland Provincial Council, we have authority to say that it is not that i gentleman's intention to offer himself as such, : 1 and that he Will not contest the' election, if nominated. ' The seventh half-yearly general meeting ' : of the Red Jack's Benefit Society was held; )\ at the late Mr Muit's store, Red Jack's Creek, on the 22nd ult. The, treasurer's abVtract of receipts and disbursements for the 1 past six months was submitted to the meet--1 ing and highly approved of. The statement 4 was as follows :— Received from 'members, ' L4S ; expended, L 24 : leaving in all a balance 5 in hand of L 74 to the credit of the society. l , ■ The following are the names of the committee of management elected for the ensuing six months:— Patrick Fallen, John Amer, 5 Henry Williamson, John M'Caskill, Jacob Schillerman, Saml, Frankm'tt, hon. treasurer, I John Flync, hon. sec. . j By the Dispatch, yesterday, the members t I; of the Greymouth Town Band returned from I a Hokiti^a, an event which they announced ' to : the townspeople by playing "Home, 3 Sweet Home." as the vessel was coming up 3 the river. The Hokitika papers speak in > high terms of the services rendered by the f band at the Exhibition concerts. 5 The cost to the Colonial. Government of f effecting the telegraph extension from Reeft ton to Lyell will not be less than; L4OOO, and; f very nearly the whole of this sum will be . expended during the ensuing three months t chiefly in labor. 1 The time for closing of the English mail , i 'via San Francisco, has been altered -to'the 3 , Gth instant, instead of the Bth, as previously 3 announced. The Suez mail will leave aboin > a week after. , „-,-.. 3 The draWiug for the Monster Derby Sweep, s got up by Mr Tonks, of the Albion Hotel took place on Saturday evening . The num--3 bers which were, drawn against horses are 1 ißotified in 1 our advertising columns/ The settling m'ght will be the third night after j 'arrival" of 'authentic!' information of the re--isult pf^tho Two r Year. Qld rape. ■ j.^rj ;; „'• \ ■ The Ross ijuardian represents Mr l£en->" ' nedy to have said at a recent' ineeting, held i_ Jn.-fch»fc town, that "he had effected the reJ ' 'mov"al»-(.c^i.u^air^~^ jJ °«* il V t " v 1 "'" yu. uilj^ ■1 n^oijth." . As .Mr Kennedy did not make y any motion, to that' effect, and as the Waste b Lands Office has nofe been removed, we think 1 if.just oflf c^ntemporary'B report I may be incorrect. • :. Q : "Remarking upon the result of the, election a for Superintendent of Weat'lahtl, the Register '■■ says; — .'.-' GreymoutU will neyeF have cause regret ,-that . snepess did not iajl to, her f chosen champion, while those electors of Hokitika and elsewhere who evinced their '> preference for other gentlemen will in' time 3 acknowledge that fortune has for oncp de--3 cided aright., Suc'i at le^st will, we feel •1 assured, be Mr Bonar's asp' rations. For the c defeiated but not dishonored candidates y there are places to be found in which ,they b can contribute their full share of beneficial a service to the public, and so secure that in- . c^'easAd .experience for themselves and enj.,' large'd jjonfidenco from, their; constituents which shall, in d.u'e 'time, entitle them to claim with success that position which this ' time they have failed to attain. The contest ! 1 itself has been nearly a model one in its chae racteristics of good temper and honorable ■1 conduct, and is' the best possible evidence b that the politicians and people of Westland -i .pro' fairly entitled to be trusted with- the 1 ||ulest powers pi self-government which the t constitution r ot the Coloay permits them to r enjoy. So much- we 'may say, "for' the first j public act resulting from our hew position. ' Nothing authentic appears to be yet known ; cpn.cerning the projected visit of MrVogel to Westland. A rumor was circulated about a fortnight ago that this would take place on " the 1 6th;' We bbserye,' hoyevof, th|t a y, banquet was to be given to L Mr Yogel in t D-imedin on the sth ;it is therefore imposf &ibj[e. he shoßld be here for some days after' 3 that. It is further stated that .the Premier' r is expected in Wellington about the 10th. > Thefollowing extracts are. from. Mr Vogel's 5 speech on the occasion of the distribution of , prizes at the Girls'. High School, Dunedin i— , "I. am one of the disciples of John iStuart ' Mill's theory of the right of the female sex to the franchise. I am one of those who 1 ho v )e tb.at amongst the reforms which we in--1 trbduce into thi3 Colony we shall be 'among the first of the Colonies or countries to recog- ■ nise the right of women to the franchise. If J' I' may b,e ijllowod to say, so, I think that ' frpm an institution of this kind a very atrong i argument in its fayQr may be aHdupgd. I ' believe t^at Jam right in saying thatthis is : . really the only publig girls' school, not only , iv; this Colony, but, I think, ia any, of the ( Colonies.' K one of us' -I am now speaking of : persons of my own sex — are admirers of what are known as strong-minded females ; : ; nor do' we, 1 think', care much, for bluestockingisni; but on the other band there 'j 1 are fe ( w men, indeed; who dopotliketoOmeet ; ■ in the otjb'er sex with tbo§e who . have minds 1 ! of their own," i^edp of tEeir dwii f -«rho have ■ pultivated thoviglits,'. an&'yho are abje to exchange' thought for thought^ and idea'fbr jidea." '. ' ; - .'..,.. •;. . ; ,. li: -. ft is reported tbac a yalda^le antimony lode has been discovered Dfiar :: jlndeoiyor Inlet, in Quegn 'Charlotte's Sound. "There is no doubt tljat iintitnemy ex ists also in .these West Coast Ranges, specinjens of the brg having frequently ' beou brought to town although hitherto no. defined lode has been. ' ; uncovered.'/ 'The value, of antimony in „the(; .hbme market is now, very: corisHbrab^e, the pripe having ; advanced materially 'during'ihe lasb few years. This, therefore,' may fairly 1 be 'rec|{oued amongst New^ Zealand's |Uijde-. vclop'ed' Ebiitces of wealt.b^ of which there are ,^ m^C^ vr:»' ■"■'■

A man named Richard Campion lost his ' life at Takaka, Nelsou, on Christmas Eve, through a stab in the abdomen inflicted with a pitchltork. Deceased, and a farmer named Charles Lewis were unloading a hay waggon, the former being on the waggon and the latter on the Btack, when some words appear to have taken place between them, and Lewis threw the fork he had in his hand, inflicting the fatal injury. Before his death Campion is stated by one of the witnesses; at the inquest to have said to Lewis, who was bending over him in great distress, "Charlie, Charlie, don't fret. .It was not your fault. 1 ' Lewis said, "Do you forgive me ?" The deceased replied, " I have nothing to forgive." A verdict of' manslaughter was returned against Lewis, who was accordingly committed to take his trial at the Supreme Court.

A house at Parapara, near Collingwood,, belonging to Mr Johnston, Collector oE; Customs at Nelson, and occupied by a. Mr Schwasa, was burned on the 30th ult., through one of the children dropping a candle among some clothes.

We sincerely trust that it will be a long time before the Mayor of this town thinks it needful to support his dignity by the adoption of . gaudy trappings similar to those worn by the Mayor of Chrristchurch on a ree.ea.fc occasion. It might have been fairly presumed that in whatever other respects colonists would display a lack of wisdom, thiey would at least not have perpetuated such old-fashioned fooleries as that of allowing a public officer to don a mountebank's rig like that described by an admiring contemporary as worn by his Worship of Christchurch : — "The robe is- composed of purple velvet, with train of eighteen inches, trimmed with ermine, and lined with ambercolored silk, and large open . sleeves. The band or collar is made of black velvet edged wiuh handsome gold braid, . and four . gold stars, on breast of same, and attached to the' point is the city coat of arms, embroidered in gold and, silver^ with gold border. The first link rtf a chaia is also appended to the coat of arm's, the intention being to add the links of tho preceding Mayors. The cap is made of the same velvet, with gold button and srmine border." There were no bells on the cap as far as we can learn.

Everything is done by water in Dunedin.; the printing machines, the lifts in warehouses, and pretty well every class of machinery are worked by this useful agent. The pressure is so great that, fire engin.es are unnecessary; a real of hose is all that i 3 required, secured to the nearest turn-cock.

The astronomers report a new comst, unusually splendid, with a tail of extraordinary splendor, . The report of the catching of a salmon in a Tasmanian stream is porrect. The successful angler— a man named Crowley, has received a reward of L3o.from the Tasmaniau Government. Mr Wbolley has been authorised to check the levels for the proposed race for the Inangahua Gold-mining and Quartz Crushing Company, and he will execute the survey . to-day. . • . On and after to-morrow the Inqngahua JieraM will be published tri-weekly, on Tuesday, Thursday, and r Saturday in each. week. Matters theatrical do not seem to be going smoothly in Dunedin when we. can take the following from the report, of the Resident Magistrate's CourD :— J. P. Hydes, one of the lessees of the Piincess Theatre, summoned Rpfeert Glover, lately a member of the company' f Ol having assaulted him on the night of the '16th 'ult. 1 From the statement of both plaintiff and defendant things seem to be in a pretty "mixed- up" condition at this theatre. The Bench found that i the assaults had been committed, .and i fined defendant 303. Upon this complainant said he did apt wish to press the case. The I Court withdrew the penalty, and. complainant : aud. defendant shook) hands and left the Court together^. ."Charles O'Brien, another j lessee J oC this theatre, then sumnionod one of jthe.lat'e members of his company, named :F. Drury, for : 'aß3a,ulting him on the night of the

rtnmciv • — *-•■■ ~-.. l >- ■ • xii^~ ou.oiJCAa 11a, tug jbeen proved, the defendant was fined 20s and costs, or in default of payment ordered Ito be imprisoned for seven days.. ..;■-■■ i An important new find on the Coromandel JGold : fie!ds is thus described by the local paper:—" The new gc>ld-field -rfor new goldfield we may' ca)l it,' considering that .gold has not before.been found within a half mile pf the prospectors' claim— is likely to turn put a squrce of renewed prosperity to this cold-fjeldi One cwt.of stQn« taken \ root the new reef has just yielded '6O0? of retorted gold, ao.d from 1 the circumstances connected pththp finding. of thg ree|it ; raay b,e fairly surmised that if wjll turn out to bo' exrich, Qreat credit js dije to the prospectors, who, under considerable difficulties and privations ran the gold to earth,. It was first found by them in the oreek. They thfen followed it up the creek till it was no lpnger to be found ; they then searched the hill on either side, and getting upon the .run o£ it traced^ it in the surface soil some 600ffc iip the 1 'hjll sjde, when they qaine upon the lode and at once self' to s^y6rj^. We'understand that already several cjajms liaye been taken up oontiguous to Mat Quintou's aud indeed before long we Hope fr> ohi>oniclQ a continuous line of workings from tho Baddle to the Waikoromiko group, ;between. which two points this new claim, the 'Who'd Have , Tjhought It ' is a sort of half-way house."