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Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1897, 4 September 1874, Page 2

We very much regret to announce the sudden death on Wednesday, at Invercargil', of Mr James Johnston, one of th« oldest residents iv this town. For many yeai'3 Mr Johnston was the owner of the Melbourne Hotel in Maclaggan street, Dunedin, aud for about eight years of the Melbourne Hotel, Greyuvmth, in both of which places, when nis bus ness was at its "eat aud everything *vas looking prosperous, he was burned out. He was not only one of the most enterprising cs 1 dents here, but also one of the most unfortunate, ana the news of his sudden death will be received with deep regret by all classes of the community. The Albion '-irand Derby Sweep on the Sydney Great Metropolitan Stakes was Irawnlasb night at the Albion Hotel. There were present a large number of the subscribers, who took a lively interest in the drawing. The committee took every pre- [ caution that there should be no mistake, and they were happily successful, the drawing proceeding from beginning to end without the slightest interruption or hitcb. It is a remarkable coincidence in connection with the drawing, that on each occasion the last ticket taken from the box has been successful in getting a horse, and the drawing last night was no exception to the rule — the last ticket drawn representing "Stirling" — a not at all unlikely winner. We learn by telegraph from the Ah aura that at the sicting of the I district Court, Bennett, who assaulted Constable vleredith at Antonio's Flat, was, on the 2nd instant found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The "Herald 1 ' says that the Energetic Company cleaned up on Saturday, with a result of 2480z of amalgam -a small return relatively to the length of time that the b itteri< s have been crushing. The machinery is now, however, working well, and future results will be very much nice encouraging. There remain 500 tons of inferior stone still to put through, but it is possible that other stone of a better quality will be operated upon immediately, so as to test the tr-ine. One huudred and twenty-five shares were purchased yesterday at a high figure by Messrs Levy and Ashton, two directors of the com iany, evidencing their confidence in future- results. The extension of the coal tramway, rendered necessary by th« recent landslip, will be completed so far as laying the rails, by the end of the week, and the new bridge is expected to be completed by the 7th instant. Mr Bray resigned as mining manager early last we< k, but it was not accepted by the directors until yesterday. We are glad to learn that on leaving the service of che company Mr Bray takes with him the esteem and good-will of all concerned, and none more than the directors. One of the late telegrams by the San Krancisco mail says :— " The Freemasons of Italy have expelled the » ope from their order, which he had joined in his youth. The ground of expulsion was his refusal to answer certain charges preferred againsr him in 1865." The "New Zealand Tablet" gives the following "characteristic" version of the same: — "The telegraphic wires state that the Italian Freemasons have expelled the Pope from their Society. We do not know 1 ill we receive our usual files the precise meaning of this ; but we may state that the Holy Father has never been a member of that accursed society ; and that if such a sentence bus been passed, the meaning of it is— as in the case of Napoleon 11^— that an attempt will be made to assassinate His Holiness " [In the inter sts of a free and enlightened Press, in a new country, we enter our earnest protest against such scandalous assertions ] Th" following, taken from the " Ross Guardian" ot Tuesihiy, will tie of interest, to our Presbyterian portion of the community as w«ll as others : — '' We regret to state ihat the Rev. William Hogg has signified his iutention 4 to re-ign the charge of the Presbyterian congregation iv this tow u. Although it does not redound to the credit of the members of that persuasion, sti 1 it is true that the support given to the church has not been at all commensurate with its requirements ; and the committee cannot see their

way to guarantee Mr Hogg hi-? s.xlary. Of course, the decadence of the district is the sole reason, as out of 130 persons who signed the call, there are now only about a dozen resicleuts here. The committee have done their utmost to raise money to meet the expenses, and retain the Pastor, but without avail. The "Wanganui Chronicle" has the following : — "A couple, very well known in the country, are arranging terms for a separation, to avoid the scandal of a judicial divorce, and a friend has been employed by the husband to negotiate the matter. The latest mission was in reference to a valuable ring given to the wife before marriage by the husband. For this he would make a much desired concession. • What !' said the indignant wife, 'do you think I could tear myself away from a gift which alone recalls to me the days when my husband loved me ? No ! this rintf is my only souvenir for happiness departed ! 'Tis all ' — and here she wepfc — 'that I now possess of a once fond husband ' The friend, however, insisted. The lady supplicated— grew obstinate, grew desperate— threatened to submit to a public divorce as a lesser evil than parting with the cherished ring, and at last confessed that she has sold it six months before." At about 12 o'clock on August 18, the body of a man was found in a hole of about 4ft deep, in the very centre of the townshin of Ashburton. It is supposed to be the body of a man named Alex. Blaney, who about four or five weeks ago in a tic of delirium tremens, got out of his bed one morning in his night clothes from Klingenstein's hotel, and was never afterwards heard off. The latest news from the Italian Gully Quartz-mining Company's Mine is very favorable. The tunnel is in 80ft, and discloses a reef varyiug from Gin to 18in iv thickness and increasing in thickness as the hill is penetrated. The stone is very superior, as admitted by all hands, and a sample is now lying at vlr Brennan's (the manager's) office, which speaks for itaelf. The leaseholders on both sides of the company's mine await ; with much anxiety the receipt of their leases for execution, so as to commence o erations. The following brief biographical sketch of the Maiquis of Normanby, who has been appointed successor to Sir James Fcgusson as (Governor of New Zealand, appears in " Men of the Time": "The Most Noble George Augustus Constantine Phipps, onlj son of the first Marmis, born 23rd, July, 1819. entered the Scots Fusiliw Guards in 1838. and was Controller and. subsequently Treasurer of the Queen's Household from 1853 till 1858, when he was appointed 'Tovernor of Nova Scotia. As Lord Mulgrave, he was member for Scarborough in the Liberal interest from 1847 till 1851, and from 1852 till 1857 He was sworn a Privy Councillor in 1851. and succeeded to his father's title 28th July, 1863, when he resigned his foreign appuintmeut and returned to England. He was appointed Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at-arms 17th December, 1869. and held that office till Bth April, 1871, when he was nominated Governor of Queensland." The following extract is made by the " Newcastle Pilot" from a letter addressed to a resideut of Newcastle by a friend at Noumea New Caledonia. The letter is dated July 15th, 1874 :— • We have had no less than five duels here in one day The first was between two mounted troopers with swords, and resulted fatally ; one of the combatants being run through the neck, expired shnrtly afterwards. The others were all with pistols, and the results were not s rious There was also a very lar^e fire at the Government stores to-day. 'I he military were all called out for the purpose, it appeared, of compelling all who were in the neighborhood of the fire to assist in extinguishing the flames. One Knglish digger who was there was walking away from the fire when a French soldier ordered him back. The Englishman refused with great determination. :uid the Frenchm n struck him with the fiat of his sabre The Englishman thereupon rushed upon his adversary, whom ac immediately deprived of his sword and gave him a good thrashing. Six or seven French troo ers, sword in hand, attempted to arrest the Britisher, when two more Englishmen arrived, and a general fighf- ensued, which was quelled with some difficulty by a number of the troops " Mining in the Woodstock district has been much more lively of late than for a long time past. The " West Coast Times" says that the whole of the tunnel and sluicing claims beyond the township are now in full work, there being plenty of water both in the company's race and dams, and in those belonging to the claimholders themselves. This being the case, and the miners having, aa a general rule, claims that will last for some years yet, there has been no inducement for any of the settled population no seek employment on the various public works jobs which at present absorbs so mauy men, whose, usual occupation is mining. There is at the present tim« plenty of work in this and the Kanieri district for the whole of the available labor, and in consequence there are no idle men. At Axe Creek and Back Creek the news is also favorable, the whole of the claims being plentifully supplied with water. The Brighton Lead, which some few years ago yielded a considerable quantity of gold, is still being worked. Tnere are about half-a-dozen parties tunnelling, and as the allurement of obtaining steady wages on the water-races and public works have had. no charms for th^se engaged on this terrace, it may be taken for granted that at least small wages is being made. Mr George Fawcetfc Rowe, in a letter on the production of his new drama of "The Geneva Cross," trusts, that " it may nob be long before he shall renew in person associations with the kind and generous public" of the Colonies. Dr Paterson, of Adelaide, advocates the establishment of a Government station on which lunatics can be made self-supporting. During the ten years, from 1864 to 1874, there were 93,370 children of European pareuts born iv the Colony of New Zealand. During the same period there were 25.480 death recorded, leaving 64,881 as the excess of births n r er deaths. A short time ago we ("Otago Times") were shown a sample called adipoc j .re. which is now made useful in a variety of ways. As it is probable that live persons out of ten do not know what adipocere is, it may be as well to state that it is a substance of a peculiar nature, being something intermediate between fat an' l wax, and is formed by the placing of animal bodies in water or moist ground. It was first discovered iv 1786 by M. Fourcroy, at a time when a large cemetery in Paris was being removed. It was then found that the hundreds of thousands of human bodies that had been buried there had turned into adipocere, which, when analysed, proved to consist of a large quantity of magaric acid, and a small quantity of oleic aci'l, combined with a little ammonia, potash, and lime. The adipocere to which our attention was called was obtained by burying the bodies of sheep in moist ground, ami it is said to be of great value in wool scouring. It is also said to make splendid camiles. With reference to the making of candles from adipocere, we lately heard a good story. A smart Yankee, who did not see any opening for himself at home, started for Russia, and visited some of the fields where the great battles between the Russiaus and the allied troops had taken place. He found that his surmises were correct, and that the bodies of the slain had turned into

adipocere. He marie arrangements to purchase the rujht to remove the stuff, and not many months afterwards put in the English market in the shape of caudles. An action has been tried in the Court of Exchequer (says the' " European Mail") to recover LIOOO the amount of a policy of insurance effected with the defendauts on the life of a Dr I'easley. Tt appeared that Dr B-asley had been insured with the British Imperial Insurance Company for a few years. He went on a voyage to New Zealand in 1872, having previ usly obtained leave from the company to do so, and paid the usual extra sum demanded for the risk After a short stay at that colony he returned home. Early last year he again started on a similar voyage, and soon after his arrival at Zealand was acci 'ental^ drowned. His life policy for LIOOO having been assigned to another party, the plaintiff, as such assignee or his executor, claime I the amount from the defendants. His claim, however, being disputed, he brought the present action. The Insurance company put in a variety of pleas, but the main question raised was whether Dr Beasley in respect to his second voyage to New Zealand had obtained leave and license fiom the insurance company to travel beyond Europe. On the park of the defendants it was contended that no such leave had been given, and it was further objecied that they had received no legal evidence of the death of Dr Beasley in New | Zealand or elsewhere. By a curious coincidence, however, one of the jurors stated that he was in New Zealand at the time, and could testify as to the truth of the fatal occurrence that occasioned the death of the gentlt-man in question. It was further urged on behalf of the plaintiff that the leave granted to Dr Beasley by the company to go to New Zealand held good for twelve months, aud that his death took place actually a day or two before its expiration. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for the amount claimed, with interest.