THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1874

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1818, 3 June 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1874

Tenders closed on Monday for the con struction of the Grey Gorge bridge, but the name of the successful tenderer has not yet transpired. We hear that a large number of tenders were deposited here and at Hokitika, so it may be expected that with so much competition the bridge will be constructed at a moderate cost. Mr Hawley, the officer in charge of the Greymouth Telegraph Office, and who, during his term of office, has discharged its duties with the utmost satisfaction, alike to the Government and the public, is, we are informed, to be removed to take charge of the office at Timaru. The Greymouth public will regret his departure, but as we -presume Mr Hawley's removal means also his promotion in the service, deservedly earned, we must offer him our congratulations. We have to. acknowledge the receipt, through Messrs Gordon and Gotch. of Melbourne, ofaeopv of the "Family Herald," containing the first part of a serial story, the incidents of whi h are fixed in New Zealand, the story itself being written by a lady resident in Otago. We are unable from the first chapter to express any opinion on the stnry itself, but it appears to be well written and offers promise of being interesting. From the. same source we have received a copy of a publication entitled a " Pictorial Souvenir of the f-'reat Tichborne Case, Printed at the office of the Penny Illustrat d Paper, London, price 4d." It contains a large number of well-executed engravings of the principal incidents of the trial, with copious explanatory njtes. Its cheapness and general excellence should secure for this work a large circulation. In another column we publish a copy of the Responsible Executive Ordinance, passed by the v elson Provincial Council. It may be of use in regard o the Executive Bill now before the Provincial Council of Westland. The West Coast Times of yesterday says:— An accident occurred on Monday forenoon to the Hospital boat, which very narrowly escaped being attended with fatal consequences. Lennie, the Hospital boatman, was going over as usual with supplies, and also a person named Mrs Worrall, who was going over to see a sick daughter now in the Hospital. When the boat had accomplished only a small part of the journey, a violent squall occurred, and before the sheet could be let go, a capsize took place. The woman, of course, was thrown into the water, and there seemed every probability of her being , drowned, but Lennie caught hold over her , and placed her in as safe a position on the overturned boat as was possible. At this time a furious gnst of wind was blowing, and in a minute or two quite a heavy sea was raging in th river, and. despite all Lennie's efforts, his passenger twice fell from her insecure position, but by undaunted pluck he restored hur to her place ami stuck to her. [n the meantime, the accident had been noticed from the wharf, and two boats belonging to Sinclair and Reed were mann-d in a moment by willing and able hands for the purpose of rercue. They were fortunately in tini", the woman beintr taken off first, aud Lennie, after placing his boat on a shoal, and gathering up as much of the debris .as was possible, als» came ashore But for . the gallant conduct of Lennie, Mrs Worrall .must unquestionable have been drowned; but as it was, beyond the shock and fright, . she sustained no material injury. She had only landed the same morning from the Tararua, and was, as before stated, on a visit to her daughter in the Hospital when the ; accident took place. At the Resident Magistrate's Coutt, yesterday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M., the following cases were disposed of : — Smith v. Pothan, L 2 6d, medical attendance; no appearance; judgment by default. Trustee in the estate of Henry Young v. Whitmore. iraud Bummons for L 6 9s ; defendant being out of employment, no order W!is made. Same v Evans, for a similar amount ; defendant was ordered to pay LI per month. I). M 'Mi Han v, Griffen, L 3, for board, lodging, and refreshments ; judgment was given for plaintiff by default. Goram v. M'Lean, a fraud summons for the amount of a verdict previously obtained ; for the defence a receipt was produced Jfrom the plaintiff's solicitor for the amount, and the case was dismissed: Reardou v. Hungerford, L 9 0s 4d ; this case was adjourned until Friday, to enable plaintiff to file a set-off. Marshall v. Walsh, fraud summons for L 9 16s 2d ; order made for defendant to pay L 2 per month. Hooker v. Gardiner; this was a friendly suit brought to recover Ll4, balance of money due to plaintiff as a sub-contractor, for paperhanging and painting a house belonging to Mr Drew in Hospital street. After evidence had been taken, the Court gave judgment for the plaintiff for the amount claimed and costs. The Okarito correspondent of the Register says that in mining matters (iillespie's Beach still takes the lead of the other beaches in the district. R. Whelan and Co.'s water-race has been renovated; the shareholders have been busy at this work for some time past.- They are making* a substantial job of it. Every one here appears busy and contented. At the Five-mile Beach the Ten-acre Company are working a night and day shift. They had a tough job on Monday night last ; their pumps got blocked up several times, and they had to get more hands to assist them. It was a bitter cold night, and these hardy fellows were working drenched to the skin. Still they persevered, and by uay light had their water-wheel in motion again. There are a good few miners settled along the beaches between the Fivemile and (iillespie's At the Three-mile there has been a scarcity of water, but it has not affected the miners here much, as they • had plenty of stripping they could go on with. I Quite a chapter of accidents (says the Register) occurred on board the steamer Tararua while in the roadstead. Previous to the steamer Waipara going alongside on Sunday evening, the crew were engaged heaving up the anchor by means of the patent windlass, which is connected by cogwheels to the capstan on the forecastle. In consequence of the steamer pitching a good deal in the heavy sea, the capstan pawls became unshipped, and of course the whole of the strain wib then thrown on to the cap Btan bars, and the men being unable to resisr

the strain, were hove about in all directions, some being seriously injured, aud one man was hove overboard, but was fortunately rescued. Another accident occurred subsequently. It appears that one of the secondcabin stewards was proceeding along the deck, and losing his equilibrium through the rolling of the vessel, he to save himself from falling, grasped at the steam winch while it was working, and his hand unfortunately came in contact with the cog-wheels, whereby he sustained a severe laceration of the fingers, so severe indeed, that it ia probable amputatiou of some of them will be found necessary, The Hawke's Bay Daily Telegraph says that the idea that the Maori race is rapidly dying out is erroneous, as any one can see by the large proportion of children to be found at those Native kaiangas remotely situated from European settlements. As long as the Maorie3 were kept in a constant state of excitement by inter-tribal dissention* and intermittent warfare with the colonists, their numbers were not only greatly thinned, but the proportion of births to deaths gave little promise of a long continuance of the race. These evidences of a moribund condition have given place to others, which stow that no expenditure of Colonial revenue for Native purposes could be spent to better advantage than in educating and civilising Ma ri children. At Grahamstown the other day, a man named Waterworth cut his throat and stabbed himself in ten places in the breast. He was removed to the b-spital, where he ■ now lies in a precarious state. The windpipe was severed, but the jugular vein was untouched. It ia reported that he had been drinking heavily. Latest advices from the Thames Goll-field are of an eucouratjiim character. Many of the mines are yielding well, and, to judie of the market quotations in the Auckland papers, a considerable business is doing iv share jobbing. We give a few of the fields as published by our . contemporary :— Queen of Beauty mine, for the fortnight, 600nz sdwt retorted gold ; Mountain, for the fortnight, 3630z from 350 tons of stone ; Golden Crown, 950z from 60 tons ; Caledonian Company, for the month, 5590z melted gold ; Long Drive, for the month, 1650z 17dwt ; Old Whau, for the fortnight, 3290z melted gold; Red, White, and Blue tribute, 330z of gold from 23 tons of stone. A new leader, described as a very rich vein, has been cut in the Kuranui mine ; and both the Coliban and Crown Prince f ompauies are said to be on good stone The Manukau mine; continues to yield richly. The run of gold in the face of the lode is said to be twenty-six ffot wide Quantities of specimen stuff are taken out daily. The Alburnij* is also reported favorably, and promise of a long course of uood yielding. The bronze halfpenny is exactly an inch broad, and therefore gives us a very convenient measure. The penny weighs just the third of an oun »c. The Kawakawa. coal-mines ( Auckland) are going a head. A second locomotive had been erected there, and a number of new buildings are being built in the neighborhood. A new Maori movement has originated in a meeting near Whanganni, and apparently an agitation is to be carried on over the whole of Maor dom, for we are told that the Waikato is next to be visited. The Maori* at present,. besides having the right to vote the same as any European, have four special repiesentatives in the Lower House, and three or four in the Legislative Council, one of their representatives in the Lower House being a member of the Ministry. They are, however, not content with this, but seek an increase in the number of their representatives. We have heard natives contend that they should have as many members in the House of Representatives as the Europeans have, so that the two races may be on that equal footing which we boast we are willing to allow them. Probably the Whanganui agitators will be content with no less We are told also tha*; it is desired to form a land league, which is not to interfere with land purchases in the past, but to form a bond of uniou to sell no more, but to lease only. This agitation may have important consequences, and can hardly fail in any case to strengthen the authority of the Maori King It is a league of resistance to European influences, and sooner or later, Tawhiao will be at the head of every such combination. ' Writing on the subject of the release of Gardiner, the bushranger, the Sydney correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says : — "as may be supposed, this decision of the Government has not passed without a good deal of public discussion. The release is denounced in the Press— l mean in the country Press; good old grand-motherly Sydney Morning Herald never denounces anything — and is severely condemned in the Parliament. It was determined upon in opposition to the report of the late Chief Justice, Sir Alfred Stephen, and Mr Parkes disclaims all responsibility iv connection with it. The act ia said to be solely that of his Excellency Sir Hercules Robinson, who has exercised the prerogative of mercy, as he has the power to do, without th 3 advice of his responsible advisers, and against the opinion of, at any rate, the Premier. " "Tichbornia," is the latest patlor pastime. Tt is a game for a family circle. You are supposed to think of some old mutual friend at that time absent, then take pencil and paper, and, in a given time, jot down his personal appearance and every little noticeable peculiarity. When this is done, these little biographies are massed, and an average struck, the amusement being -to see what contradictory descriptions will be given ; how different even marked characteristics appear when seen from diverse points of view, and how utterly irreconcilable the general bulk of them are, one with another, although -by clever manipulation, results not totally at variance may be struck from the most. Late news from England says that the European Assurance Arbitration discloses some astounding facts as it proceeds. The other day Lord Romilly ordered a call to be made on the British Provident Life and Fire Assurance Society of LBO per share ; the sum thus called up amounts to one million sterling, while out of former calls there remains unpaid about a quarter of a million of money. This Company has been in liquidation under the Court of Chancery since 1861, and the shareholders may be said to have been completely pumped dry for calls. Lord Romilly decided that this company was bound to indemnify the creditors of the Auglo-Australian society, hence the cause of the enormous amount of the present call. The following from the European Mail will be of interest to Freemasons: — "The other night a ceremony connected with the higher orders of Freemasonry took place in the Royal Masonic Hall, Regent street, L'ondon, it being the nnsual assembly of the Grand Conclave of the Masonic and Military Ordei of the Red Cross of Constantine, and the enthronement of Sir W. Williams, Bart., M.P., as the illustrious Grand Sovereign of the Order. The knights appeared in the full insignia of the Orde» , and the ceremony observed was precisely the same as that adopted at the entronement of the late Duke of Sussex, who was also Grand Sovereign. The elaborate customs peculiar to the order were duly observed ; all the high officers were in attendance, and performed their several functions with scrupulous exactness, and the ceremonial was m<>st. brilliant, the array of robes and jewels being very considerable."