THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1874

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1929, 12 October 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1874

Owing to a pressure of accumulated matter, we have to omit our usual leading article.

We remind the members of the Volunteer Fire Brigade that the adjourned monthlymeeting will be held this evening, at eight o'clock. The secretary of the Literary Society desires to acknowledge the receipt, through Mr W. M. Cooper, of a number of scientific pamphlets and reports from Dr Hector. We are indebted to the courtesy of Messrs Glenn Bros, for copies of the Melbourne "Argus" of the Ist and 2nd inst., which contain two days later news, particulars of which appear in another column. We remind the owners of sections having a frontage to Richmond Quay that they are requested by an advertisement, signed by Mr George Simmons, to attend a meeting to be held at the European Hotel, Mawhera Quay, this evening, at 8 o'clock. In the notice of the banquet given to Mr Warden Whitefoord, at Ahaura, which appeared in our Saturday's issue, it is stated that LSOOO of revenue had been derived, from the Grey Valley during that gentleman's term of office. The amount should have been printed L 50.000. Our telegrams announce amongst other things that Sir Tames Fergusson has received the additional titular distinction of K.C.M.G. It is understood that the next New Zealand recipient of this honor will be the Hon. the Premier, who is already a companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. An inquest was held on Thursday at the Lunatic Asylum, Hokitika, on an unfortunate named James Morgan, who was admitted ! into the institution in 1871. It appeared that he had been subjected to epileptic fits, and the medical evidence shewed that death had been occasioned through natural causes. A verdict to that effect was returned. We take the following from the " West Coast Times," of Saturday: — "There is a i chance of the vigneron. industry being established on the West Coast. Two hundred two-year old grape vines, designed to form the nucleus of a vineyard, have been imported per Sea Bird, to the order of an Italian settler in the Lake Brunner district;, who understands vine-culture thoroughly." At the Volunteer Hall on Saturday night, " The Streets of London" was produced to a tolerably well-filled house. Miss Stephenson as Marian Seaborne, Mr Burford as Tom Trumper, and Mr Hydes' as Gabriel, fairly took the house by storm. The remainder of the parts were very well filled, especially that of Patty by Miss Raymond. To-night, " East Lynne," which created such a favorable impression on a former occasion, will be re-produced. Judges differ. Our telegrams inform us that an appeal from a decision of the Resident Magistrate of Wellington upon the question of the right to levy tolls upon conveyances carrying her Majesty's mails, has been decided in favor of the appellant, the Court holding that the Legislature holds all persons conveying mails from free from toll. : The decision is entirely opposed to that given not long ago by Mr Justice Richmond in a similar case— the difference being that in the latter the question hinged upon the right of a protected ferryman to charge toll upon a mail coach, whilst the former relates to the right to levy toll by a toll contractor upon a public highway. It may be that this is a distinction of some importance— at any rate, it would be well if some short statute were enaoted to settle the question at onca and

The following are the particulars of a fatal railway accident as given by the " Auckland Star " : — "An accident occurred last evening on the railway at Papakura, to a young man named Francis Regan, which terminated fatally. Regan, it appears, has been employed for some time on the railway line as a laborer, and last evening about half-past five the deceased got into the fourth waggon of a train of tea which had been unladen, for the purpose of returning from his work, as was customary with the men. Shortly after the train was in motion Regan commenced throwing stones at a dog on the embankment, and in so doing it is supposed he overbalanced himself, and. fell over between the waggons, six of them passing over him, breaking his legs and mangling his body. His fellow-workmen as soon as possible procured the assistance of Dr Bodell, who, upon reaching the spot, found that the unfortunate young man had breathed his last." A decision was given in the Supreme Court, Melbourne, recently, in the case of Munro v. Sutherland, of some importance to others than miners in Victoria. The defendants occupied a claim near Castlemaine under miners' rights. The Crown issued a lease of the same land for mining purposes to a person through whom the plaintiff derived his title. Plaintiff having obtained the lease, registered it under the Transfer of Land Statute, and obtained a certificate of title. On the authority of this certificate he obtained a judgment in an action of ejectment against the defendants, the Court holding that the certificate was paramount to the miners' rights. The plaintiff then brought an action to recover the value of the gold taken by the defendants from the claim during the time when they had wrongfully deprived him of possession. The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff, whereupon the defendants moved to set this aside. The Court held that under the certificate of title the plaintiff had only a title to the surface and not to the gold ; and if lie went behind the certificate and attempted to show that it was founded upon the mining lease which gave him the gold, then the defendants were at liberty to prove thai they had a title which , took precedence of the certificate. Under | those circumstances the Court directed a new trial, unless the plaintiff consented to reduce the damages to a nominal sum. Mr Justice Stephen appeared to be further of opinion that the defendants were entitled to j a verdict. j The bungling legislation of the Westland \ Provincial Council during its first session has received another illustration. The "West Coast Times" of Saturday, says. — " A rather serious discrepancy occurs in the new Trespass and Impounding Ordinance, which was brought prominently forward in a case heard in the Resident Magistrate's Court here yesterday, and one that it will be well for the Provincial Council, at their next meeting to amend without delay. Though in the body of the Act, the words 'secure fencing,' or their equivalents are used, by which landholders can protect themselves against trespass, still a schedule attached defines what shall be deemed to come under that category. A variety of fences, hedges, &c, are enumerated, though bush fences are the cheapest, and temporarily answer all purposes to keep stock in, or outside of are not mentioned at all. Thus, in the case above referred to, had the plaintiff sued for trespass, it is doubtful whether he could have obtained greater damages than for unenclosed land, as his ground was only surrounded by a bush fence. This omission, we are told on good authority, was pointed out to some of the Provincial Councillors before the measure passed, by a gentleman connected with the legal profession, but no notice was taken of it, and some of the most desirable class of settlers who take up land but cannot afford expensive fencing may now suffer both loss aud ineovemence. The Resident Magistrate remarked that the omission was absurd." The barque Brunette has arrived in Lytfcelton, bringing for the General Government 14,694 sleeper, or " ties" as they are termed in the United States. In a telegram received recently from San Francisco, it was stated that several vessels were loading with these ties, and that it was considered the New Zealand Government had made a mistake in obtaining them. The following (says the " Lyttelton Times"), is the result of an examination and inquiries made respecting the sleepers : — They are somewhat different in size and length to those at present used on our railways. The ties are of redwood, and such as are used on the Pacific ralway. They were originally cut for that great line, but owing to their not being of the required length, they were solely rejected on that account. The timber has proved itself admirably adapted for the purpose required, or for any work where the service of timber is required to be imbedded iv the earth. The measurement, of each is sinby7in by 7ft. The sleepers weigh about 561 b, and can be landed in port at the rate of 3s 6d each, or thereabouts. With this cargo, and those to follow, there is little doubt but that the Southern line will be pushed on with vigor. A second consignment of sleepers from San Francisco arrived last week at Lyttelton in the barque Especulador. The shipment consists of over 10,000 sleepers. Another vessel was loading when the barque left. The number of accidental deaths occurring in the Colony is most surprising. In the single batch of exchanges to hand by the Otago we have records of no less than eleven of this class. The particulars of the accidents are as follows :— John Brown, ferryman, Upongocgara River, Wanganui district, drowned ; David Hunter, contractor for the Waitaki ßridge, drowned; Edward Saunders, drayman, Hawke's Bay, crushed through the dray overturning ; Archibald Sinclair, of the ship Euterpe, Wellington, drowned ; Norwegian boy (name not stated), drowned in the Tuki Tuki I- iver. Hawke's Say ; C. Fielder, settler, Opitiki, drowned in tne Otara River ; two Maoris, drowned in crossing from D'Urville's Island, Nelson ; Frederick Gill, of Karori, Wellington, killed, through, dray overturning; a bushman, known as "Black Jack," killed at Hikutaia, Auckland, by the fall of a tree ; Wm. Gabble, of the schooner Clematis, Auckland, killed bj a blow on the head from a windlass. All the above accidents occurred during the month of September, and we may state that their number appears to be in no way exceptional. In two cases only were the deaths attributable to liquor, and in almost all the accidents might have been prevented by the exercise of ordinary caution. With respect to the deaths by drowning continually occorring in the different harbors and rivers of the Colony, it seems rather surprising that no effort has ev«r been made in New Zealand to establish any Society of a similar kind to the Royal Humane Society of Great Britain. Holloway's Ointment and Pills. — Additional Testimony. — For the cure of coughs, colds, sweats, and incipient consumption, this excellent Ointment rubbed upon the baci[ and chest, aided by the internal use of Holloway's purifying Pills stands unrivalled. Mr J. Leonard, of Benbult>en Grange, Sligo, writes : — " Sorry, sorry I am I did not use your Ointment and Pills in January last. The wondrous change they effected on me after one week's trial astonishes everyone and encourages me to proceed till they have entirely cured my disease. This plainly expresses the power possessed by Holloway's remedies in checking the course of those chest disorders which, when slighted, or improperly treated, entail much suffering