Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1930, 13 October 1874, Page 2

A meeting of merchants and others interested in the completion of the road to Reefton will be held this evening, at eight In consequence of the boisterous weather prevailing, the Volunteer Hall was not so well filled last night as tbe management could have desired. The play " East Lynne" ran very smoothly throughout its various stages, and Miss Stephenson was favored with several calls. To-night, being the occasion of Mr Burford's benefit and the last appearance of the company, a very attractire programme will be presented. The performances commences with the comic drama "The Crown Prince," and is to be followed with the " great wire ascension" by Mr Ritson, a song and dance, which is not the least attractive part of the programme, by Young Donato, and concludes with the burlesque of "La Somnambula." A meeting of the section-holders on the frontages which have been washed away on Richmond Quay, where it is proposed to form the protective works, was held last night at the European Hotel. There was a large meeting, and Mr Moore occupied the chair. There was a long discussion, but the general opinion seemed to be that, so far as they were interested, no obstacle whatever would be thrown in the way of the Government carrying out the proposed protective works, and that any fair valuation would be taken for the river frontages. After a long conversation, it was ultimately resolved that a committee be appointed, consisting of Messrs Ryan, Ashton, Blackmore, Martin, and Muller, to meet the various section-holders^ and ascertain the amounts at which they would hand over their rights to the Government, aud to report at a future meeting. During the meeting, the Town Surveyor showed a plan of the sections required by the Government, but it was requested that the details should be given to the Committee. A Bluff correspondent of the "Southland News " writes : —"I hear that the Government has paid the first part of the whaling bonus —viz, L 250 —to Messrs Nicol and Tucker. The balance will be paid on the return of the Chance with oil —this being the first whaling vessel sailing out and owned in the province of Otago." We may mention that the firm alluded to is the one which our old and respected late fellowtownsman, Mr Nicol, has recently joined. Mr Fox, in his temperance column in the "New Zealand Times," calls on the Assembly to follow the United States and Canada and abolish Bellamy's. He declines to reveal the mysteries of that institution for fear of being called to the bar of the House for breach of privilege, but cites, as an indication of the sort of refreshment sold there, tbe case that occurred during the discussion of the Licensing Bill, of "an hon. member in a white tie and conspicuous shirt, who had evidently been dining out," making an exhibition of himself. " But abolish Bellamy's," he asks ; "was ever anyone mad enough to propose snch a thing ? Yes, it was proposed once by Mr Carleton, member for the Bay of Islands, but he failed to find a supporter. However, it seems that fanatics have been found fanatical enough to do it elsewhere —at least to propose, and not only to propose, but to carry the proposal that alcoholic refreshments shall not be sold at Bellamy's. The United States Congress at Washington, some two or three years ago, decided to exclude intoxicating drink from the precincts of the Capitol; and by last mail we have news that the Legislature of the Dominion of ' 'anada has arrived at the same conclusion. In the Dominion House of Commons, at Ottawa, on thft the Ist Apvil, Mr Chisholm moved that Mr Speaker be requested to give an order prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors within the precincts of the House. The motion was opposed by several members, but supported by more, and finally was carried. The Speaker promised that he would endeavor, as far as possible, to enforce the motion of prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors in the House most rigidly."

The "Wanganui Herald" again refers to the great want of house accommodation for new arrivals, especially in the rural parts ot that district. Fifteen handsome light harness horses have beeu imported at Auckland from Sydney, by Messrs Quick, chiefly intended for the Waikato road. The mining news from the Lyell is satisfactory. At the Monte Christo claim the leader has been cut througß in the tunnel half-way between the roofand the floor. The leader (says the " Lyell Argus ") is Bin iv thickness and contains good gold. . We observe that among the late arrivals in Melbourne were Mr and Mrs George Case, who came by way of India, Western Australia, and Adelaide. There are now performing at St. George's Hall with great success. Some malicious persons seem to have been at work at the Upper Hutt. The windows of St. Jossph's Catholic Church were smashed on the Dight of the 26th ultimo, and for their discovery a reward of LlO is offered. Gilmer's coach to Reefton yesterday was stuck up above the crossing at Nelson Crack by a number of trees which had been blown over across tbe road. Steps were promptly taken to make a clearance, but the coach was not likely to reach Ahaura before late last night. Arrangements were, however, made that in any case the mails would be forwarded without delay. Melbourne papers, under date 19th September, record a splendid return from the Eaglehawk Mine Company's felines at Maldon (Tarrengower). Tbe yield for a fortnight was 84070z from 300 tons of quartz, an average of 2Soz to the ton. The latest official mining report gives 600 ft as the depth of this mine,but we are not aware from what level the rich quartz mentioned above was obtained. John Cartan, an East Coast trader, who ' runs his vessel, the Sarab, between Opociki, Auckland, and Coromandel, reports the discovery of plumbago, and other useful minerals, some thirty-five miles from Tauranga. He •is also convinced that he has discovered auriferous deposits in the same region, and is making preparations to thoroughly prospect the neighborhood. Speaking of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy's visit, the "London Tablet" says:— "This popular and esteemed Irishman has not yet moved from London to visit the old sod, so dear to him, upon which he has not stood for nine years. It is fondly hoped that he may now remain at home, and give the benefit of bis ripe wisdom and experience to his country, of which she stands in sore need. Iv two years more he can e> joy his State pension here, while the portion of his property that he has sold has realised L 70.000." The " South Canterbury Times " says :— ; "We learn that on Thursday last a man named John Paling discovered a skeleton near Mr Newton's property, to the south of Timaru, in a quarry opening on the side of the hills. Inspector Pender and Dr Macintyre went to the spot, and on examination the doctor stated that it was the skeleton of a male Maori, and that it had beeu laying there perhaps about ]00 years. It was about the ordinary male size, and had a remarkably perfect set of teeth. Is or is not a bank note money ? was the question upon which the legal guilt or innocence of a prisoner hinged in the Magistrate's Court, Dunedin, a few days ago. The accused had obtained two notes and 20s in silver by means of a cheque which was dishonored. Mr Turton appeared for the defence, and contended that bank-notes were not money but valuable securities, and, as the accused was charged with having obuuluua uiuuuj, Ix\j liv.Kl UIIUX tho informotion would liavc to bo rUauiissdd. His Worship held the objection, to be fatal, and discharged the information, but without prejudice to a fresh information being laid against him. The Wellington correspondent of the "Lyttelton Times" says: -"It is rumored that at the next election Mr Pearce will retire in favor of Mr Yogel, as a candidate for the representation of Wellington, and will get a seat for the Wairarapa, if he can ; and if not, he will be content with one in the Legislative Council, which would of course be open to him if he made way for the Premier. This is the little programme which one or two gentlemen have drawn out, but I fancy they are reckoning without their host. Mr Yogel, if he stood for Wellington, would not be at all certain of being returned ; indeed, I very much doubt whether he would have the ghost of a chance against some men who would certainly oppose him." A laboring man, named James Osborne, ■who arrived at Poverty Bay recently from Auckland, came to an untimely end on Saturday week, while crossing the Waipaoa River a the Kangatira Block, on his way to the oil springs, in company with his mates, all of whom were under engagement to the Petroleum Company. Three constables have been employed searching for the body, but without success. All that is known of the cause of the accident (says the "Standard") has been furnished by Mr Williams, engineer to the Petroleum Company, who states that he was proceeding to the oil springs, on the 19th instant, with some workmen, deceased among the number. On reaching the Rangatira crossing, Osborne's horse stumbled, and unseated its rider, who suddenly disappeared, and was not again seen by any of the party. The river was much swollen and discolored at the time. Of the Ashanteo gold countrj , Sir John Glover, in an address before the Royal Geographical Sooiety, said : — " The men had great difficulty as they proceeded on their march to prevent themselves falling down the gold pits, which thickly studded each side of the narrow pathway along which they were advancing. Che natives sunk the pits to a certain extent, and then abandoned them ; they had no idea of working in subterranean galleries. At Akropong the mountainous country commenced. The mountains are entirely composed of quartz and granite, and the streams along the line of route were everywhere dammed up for the purpose of washing gold. He was certain, if the country were explored by geologists, it would be found to be extremely rich in gold, but where the richest auriferous deposits were had yet to be discovered." The "Wakatip Mail" has been informed that '• Mr Robinson, one of the Martin's Bay settlers, has made an offer to Govern- . ment to carry a monthly mail between Jamestown and Queenstown for L6O a year. He has also offered to construct a substantial foot bridge over Pyke Creek for LI 00 These are certainly low. and we should be glad to hear of their being accepted — especially the latter work, which, would span a more dangerous stream than the Hollyford— in fact, as it lies in the direct line of the main surveyed road (for which LSOO was voted last session) the necessity would be obviated, besides which, those travelling would be enabled to reach Jamestown direct, instead of having (as now) to await a boat at the head of the lake. There is little doubt that the increased facilities for intercommunica- ! tion established by those works would be the means of resuscitating this unfortunate settlement." A Sydney correspondent writes :—" Speak-, ing of coal, I may notice that the brokers of late have been running up coal shares to an unprecedented price. \Vallsend sha-es, for instance, wnich two or three years ago were dull of sale at L 6, have now nearly touched L2O, At present the leading collieries are

working full time, and the profit per ton is lar^e. But the question is how long this will last. Coal-land enough has been taken up by speculators to overdo the trade scores of times, and competition may become not only as fierce as it was before, but fiercer, iv which case the profits must again come down, uid only the cheaply-working collieries can live. Surprise has been expressed that with so much fresh coal-land selected, so little has been done to bring new mines into operation, but the fact is that nearly all the land has been taken up speculatively by promoters, who are waiting till they can float their companies, and until this can be done to their satisfaction, the existing collieries are having a rosy time of it." The "Register" states that a communication has been received by his Honor the Superintendent, asking for his opinion as to the desirability of bringing into force the Aces for the Regulation of Mines and the Inspection of Machinery. We venture the opinion that the Regulation of Mines Act is not required in Wesfcland, except as regards its provisions relating to ooil-m nes. The other Act could be brought into force without inconvenience. At an auction sale of shares, held by Mr Todd, at flokitika, on Saturday, the following prices were realised : — Fifty L 5 shares Hokitika Gas Company, with L 3 os paid up, were bought at L 4 5s and L 4 3s 6d per share ; 50 L 3 shares in the Caledonian Quartz-mining Company, Reefton, L 2ls paid up, realised L 2 7s per share ; 250 LI shares in the Just-in-Time Mining Company, with 15s paid up, fetched _.-s 6dj and 20 Freight Company's shares of L 5 each, L 3 paid up, brought LI 12s and LI 13s per bhare. A correspondent of "The Times" calls attention to the practical method adopted by the National Assembly in France for ehe n king the disorderly propensities of honorable members, When it is found necessary for the President to call a speaker to order and to "name" him, which implies a record of the fact on the proceedings of the House, the offender is fined one-half of his pay as a deputy for fifteen days. As this is LI per . diem, it amounts to L 7 103. "The Times" correspondent adds: — ".If a deputy called to order is visited with, censure some higher peualty is inflicted. He may be suspended from vo'ing, and, for very grave misconduct a vote of the Chamber might expel him ; but this extreme punishment— which, in the case of some deputies would entirely deprive them of their means of livelihood— one could hardly suppose would be resorted to except for most henious offence " It might be well for some Colonial Legislatures to consider these things. Some commiseration having been expressed by hia Queensland friends for the Marquis of ' Normanby, on the ground that his transfer to New Zealand involved a diminution of "screw" from LSOOO to L 4500, the "Brisbane Courier " investigated fche subject with the following result:— "We find that, although, the direct salary given to Queensland Governors is now somewhat in excess of that provided in New Zealand, the difference is not very great, and is more than balanced by the difference in other allowances. The respective amounts are — for Queensland LSOOO, and for New Zealand L 4487, a broken sum which appears to require explanation. The extra allowances are always difficult to arrive at for some occult reason, but Queensland would apnear to provide about L2OOO for staff salaries, travelling expenses, &c., and New Zealand about L2SOO ; so that the advantage would seeai to lie with New Zealand, and that the Marquis of Normanby will Ikvto tho relief of a change of see <c without suffering any necuniary abatcmcato." tiii-i.--in-stated, the position appears to be, in the familiar patois of "Jeanies," "less wagis and more perkisits." The Auckland Licensed Victuallers' Association, says the " Herald," have a consignment of copper coinage on board the ship Oxford, from London. These tokens, to the value of one hundred and sixty odd pounds, have been struck off at Birmingham, specially for thesocietj. Oa the face oE the coin is a portrait of Ber Majesty the Queen, round which are the words, " Victoria, born May 24, 1819." On the opposite side is inscribed the name of the Association, to which is inscribed the name of the Association, to which is added, " Established in New Zealand, April 4, 1871." Owing to the scarcity of copper coinage the publicans, some time ago, determined to procure tokens of their own, and which will be issued as small change in due course. The present shipment, divided amongst the members of the Association, will amount to three pounds worth to each. These, together with Mr S. Coombes' medallions, will give "corn in Egypt " in the small change line, and barmaids will not be enabled to push the cigar business so effectively as heretofore by giving cigars in lieu of change. While so little is doing in Westland, Nelson, and the Southern Provinces to promote coal-mining, the subject appear 3to be receiving a large amount of practical attention in Victoria. The "New Zealand Times" says :— " Several companies had been formed in Melbourne of late to work coal mines in New South Wales and Tasmania, as well as in searching for the mineral in Victoria itself. The last formed — or rather, proposed ! to be incorporated— is the • Australasia Coal Company,' with a capital of LIOO.OOO, formed to work a block of 1094 acres of land on Winding Creek, within seven miles of the Port of Newcastle, only a small portion of which is freehold, and the rest selections under the mineral clauses of the Land Act of that Colony. The first name on the list of the provisional directory is that of Mr J. G. Francis, the ex-Premier of Victoria. It is curious, in the face of what has been doing lately in Melbourne in this direction, that so much difficulty should have been found in floating the Wanganui West, and the Para Para Companies, tue first of which proposes to deal with coal alone, and the latter looked to its coalfields for not a small share of its expected profits. Has there been a lack of local encouragement ?" The Dunedin Jockey Club have issued two capital racing programmes for their meetings in November and March next. The first meeting will take place on St. Andrew's holiday, 30th November. The programme is made up of seven events. The St. Andrew's Handicap of 80 soys, and the Spring Handicap of 50 soys, are amongst those calculated to bring out some of the fleetest of the fourfooted competitors. The big meeting of the year will commence on the 23rd March, and be continued during the two following days. Many very tempting baits figure on. its programme. Foremost among the prizes to be competed for on the first day of the meeting is the Dunedin Cup, a handicap of 300 soys. Next in point of attraction are the Publicans' Handicap of 100 soys, the Maiden Plate of 80 snvs, the Newmarket Stakes of 60 soys, and the Selling Race of 50 soys. The Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap of 200 soys, which always secures a good field of horses, is the second item on the next day's programme. It ia preceded by the Handicap Hurdle Race of SO soys, and followed, with other items, by the Novel Race, a handicap of 100 soys. The third and last day's programme also contains several good things. Amongst them are the Forbury Handicap of 150 soys, the Handicap Steeplechase of 100 soys, the Town Plate of 100 soys, and the Master Rowe Produce Stakes, a sweepstakes of 3 soys, with a silver cup, value 100 boys (presented ;by Mr Pritchard), added. , .„ ... '