THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1874

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1760, 26 March 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDA Y, MARCH 26, 1874

Knowing the difficulties which the manager of the Anglo- Australian Press Association in New Zealand has to contend with in the negligence of his local agents, we have frequently abstained from making complaints, although often sorely aggravated by the frivolous items sent, and the omission of more important news. : But we must now complain londly of the g oss neglect of tbe Hokitika' agency in not forwarding to U3 on Tuesday night tbe aummary of English and Australian news brought by the Albion. The steamer arrived at Hokitika at 6 p m., and was promptly tendered, and we have no doubt that every paper in New Zealand, except the Grey River Argus, received the intelligence. It is ; altogether too bad that whilst the.Press of the Colony from one end to the other shculd receive the news in time for publication yesterday, a paper published twenty miles, away from Hokitika, should not only go without its telegrams, but be compelledito fossick out the news from tbe papers, instead of receiving the message prepared- in Melbourne. We. trust that this neglect will not occur again, ; . The WeistlantL Register abate i that a fata accident occurred as Woodstock on Tuesday afternoon, to a miner named I homas Service. He was engaged working in a drive taking out stone, with ■ a (man named John Flanagan, when it suddenly gave way, and brought down ; two sets of timber, burying Service, but the timber striking Flanagan on the breast, threw him into an old drive, and he escaped. A. number of men set to work to take out Service, but on succeeding, he was dead. ■ At the christening of some new machinery at Charleston, the proprietors, Messrs Parker, Thompson, and Sullivan stated that they were really sanguine of being able to clear LIOO per week per man now that they had proper machinery for working their claim, and that it would be years before their ground was exhausted. This speaks well for Charleston. The following notice under the head of " missing friends" appears in the Melbourne ArgvA of the 13th mat. Perhaps it may refer in part to the late editor of the Register : — "William Sheppard, chemist, and James Sheppard, draper (brothers), formerly of Tisbury, Wilts, England, who left England for Melbourne about 20 years ago, will hear of something to their advantage by communicating with M>- John Howell, Donhead, St. Andrew, Salisbury, Wilts ; or to Mr William Snook, Perth, W. A." It is generally supposed that, although illegal to sell liquor on Sunday to any but travellers, it is quite lawful to sell it to them. The Licensing Act, however, lays it dowD most distinctly that no liquors shall be sold at all on Sundays excepting to such persons as actually have slept in the house on the Saturday night, or are about to sleep there on the Sunday night Hence the most thoroughly bona fide travellership gives no right to the purchase of liquor on Sundays, and, as tbe law now stands unless the buyer be actually a lodger in the house, and any one desirous of "shouting " on Sunday must, as an imperative preliminary, first order his bed -tv c which is absurd." Mr Hayden held a meeting at Ah aura on ■ Saturday evening, at Moonlight on Monday, at Totara Flat on Tuesday, at Noble's Creek on Wednesday afternoon, and at Half -Ounce on Wednesday evening ; the same candidate was to address the electors at Nelson Creek on ! Thursday, and at No Town on Friday evening. Mr J. W. Jones held a meeting at Granville on Saturday, at Napoleon Hill and Orwell Creek on' Sunday^ at Noble's on Monday, and at Half-Ounce on Tuesday evening ; Mr Jone3 was to address the electors at Ahaura on Wednesday, at Nelson Creek on Thursday, and at No Town on Friday. Mr W. H. Lash addressed the electors at Half-Ounce on Monday, at Nelson Creek on Tuesday, and was to be at Ahaura on Wednesday ; he also intended to hold a meeting No Town on Thursday,: and at Moonlight on Friday evening. Mr Maguire has confined his attention entirely to No Town and Ted Jack's districts. The several candidates were well received at the various localities and the usual formal vote of coufidence in each was passed at etery meeting, In addition to the honors conferred on 'Mr Tallerman, two of the Agents-General for the Colonies have had marks of distinction from Vienna in connection with the late Exhibition, both Dr Featherston and Mr Button, Agents-General for New Zealand nd South Australia, having had the Order f Francis Joseph bestowed on them.

The contest for tbe seat in the "Velson.Prt* vincial Council, vacated jby Mr, Guinness, appears likely to be a warm one, - There"' are four candidates, Messrs Jones, Maguire, Lash, and Hayden. The electors will no doubt exercise a wise choice, and if we could presume to dictate to them we. should most undoubtedly ask them to return Mr Jones, the Chairman of tbe Ahaura Road Board, he being to our mind decidedly the best man of the four. Mr Jones has, in an unobtrusive manner, taken an active interest in the" affairs of the Grey Valley, and would, we are certain, prove a most useful member. By order of the Emperor of Germany, Mr Collier, brassfounder, at Berlin, lias- cast three bells from captured French guns for a German church at Christchurch. Their total weight is 18Jcwt. The largest shows the Empereis's head in basso-relievo, and the opposite side has the following inscription in German : — "To the German Evangelical parish of Christchurch, New Zealand." The other bells are similarly ornamented with medallions of the Prince Imperial and Prince Bismarck, but are without inscription. The Tribune, a new Wellington paper, speaking of thistles as cultivators, says "their long roots penetrate the soul and bring up from it elements of fertility especially potash," and, that lands that have long been subjected to exhaustive cropping, had by the means of thistles been restored to a "groin bearing state." This information must be highly interesting to physiologists and — printers. On her last trip hence to Wellington the Alhambra was much behind time from Nelson, and considerable anxiety was felt in Wellington owing to adense fog in the strait 3 Had she not made her appearance by five in the evening the Luna was to have been despatched in quest of the missng steamer.The Wellington Tribune says :— "We learn that not only have cases of diptlieria appeared at tho Hutt (some of them, we regret to say, proviu<* fatal), but that there have also been cases of scarlatina or scarlet fever." The Independent says it is the intention of: th 6 Government to make some alterations in the present method of obtaining information of the state of the wind,, sea, and bars on the coasts of the Colony, and to establish a central office where daily reports will be collected and studied with a view of obtaining a forecast of weather, and issuing storm warning signals. The management will be placed iv the hands of Commander Ec win, R.N., of the Marine Department. Gold-miners are paid 8s per day at the Thames, and a strike is threatened at Coromandel for an i crease. Owing to the rush, to the Palmer River diggings, and the opeaing of new payable ground at Coromandel, the men are obliged to work twelve hours a day in the old mines. Referring to the new exploring expedition, the South Australian Register states :— " Air John Ross is waiting at the Peaite for the arrival of supplies from Beltana, and will start for Western Australia on March 20; Mr Ross commences his arduous journey under the most favorable auspices. Mr Forrest, the well-known West Australian explorer, we understand, leaves Champion Bay in May next to follow up the Murchison and, find his way across to the telegraph line in about lat. 26Jeg, so that it is not unlikely the two parties may fall iv with each other. At all events, the resu"t of these expeditions will furnish us with ample information respecting a hither untrodden portion of the interior of Australia." The s.s. Kennedy, which arrived yesterday, brought another addition to our Chinese population from Otago, having been transshipped at Nelson from the s. s. Ladybird. ; The Westland Register very properly directs public attention to the failure of justice which occurred in the case of the man Levj', charged with attempt to murder, through the badness of the indictment. Our contemporary says : — " The case broke down dismally, not on weak or doubtful testimony, not from any stupidity or misapprehension on the part of the jury, not because the acts of the prisoner were not criminal in the eye of the law, but simply because the irjdictment was, in rail: its counts bad. We are not by any means seeking to throw blanp on the Crown Solicitor, who, doubtless, brought a vast amount of legal acumen and patient investigation to bear on the. case. We are merely alluding to the indictment because it naturally forms part of the subject which we are discussing." We would add-f---if the indictment was bad in all its counts, the blame must of necessity rest upon the Crown Solicitor, who is clearly responsible, not oily for this, but for the absence of counsel for the Crown in Hayes case, when the Judge ordered anew trial. I At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Hokitika, on Tuesday, : Mr Perkins, solicitor, pf this towd, sued Mr Clarke, livery-stable-keeper, for damages for breach of implied warranty. From the evidence, it appeared that on the 19th March the plaintiff hired .'a horse from Mr Clarke to carry him to Greymouth. The horse got knocked up after proceeding sfx or seven miles, and the plaintiff, after getting a stick and beating the horse, was compelled to return to Hokitika. The horse was hired about half-past three in the afternoon, and had travelled from Ross the same morniug. The plaintiff now sought to recover the sum he paid to Mr Clarke for the hire (L 2), together with other expenses for detention. For the defence, it was contended that the horse was perfectly able to go to Greymouth, but was lazy, and required great inducements in the way of whip and spur, f-ome slight aspersion was also cast on the expertness of Mr Perkins in matters ; equestrian. Mr Newton observed that the defendant appeared to think a man who hired a horse should work his passage. The Magistrate said that a horse taken out for hire, who would not go, had to be tormented by, and was a torment to, his rider. A man who hired a horse was no; supposed to drive or carry him. It was a clear case. The plaintiff hired a horse to go to Greymouth; and the horse wouldn't go. Judgment was given for the plaintiff for L 2 2s with c«3ts.