The Grey River Argus and Blackball news. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd, iqo6.

Grey River Argus, 23 June 1906, Page 2

The Grey River Argus and Blackball news. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd, iqo6.

NOW that the strong-willed, resolute far-seeing and tactful general is gone whe so long kept together in a compact and united body that conglomera tion of members holding varied and. in some cases, opposing views,' known as the Liberal Party it is natural that the question uppermost in the minds of most is concerned with the future of the party that the late Mr Seddon so long and so successfully led. Some are advancing: the argument that those members of the party elected at the last general election were returned tc support Mr Seddon and that they arc row proctically released from their elec , tion pledges by the death of. the late Prime Minister. This is, however, an extreme, almost an entirely inaccurate,: view, of the position. - Whilst the larger proportion of the liberal members elected last December werfc returned as supporters of ' Mr Seddon it cannot be validly controverted that at that time Mr Seddon and the policy with which his name will ever be closely associated in the annals Of "New Zealand were one and the same thing) But we do not for one minute imagine that members who were returned to support Mr Seddon would seize upon the fact of his death to repudiate their support of his policy; nor can we imagine that, from a national standpoint, the colony would tolerate any departure from the essential and vital features of that policy. And this opinion is not based on the idea that the majority of the people of the colony will continue their sup^. port of the liberal policy out of sympathy or for sentimental reasons butj( is founded on the belief that the peos pie of New Zealand fully recognise and* appreciate that Mr Seddon's policy has been justified by results. It may b* contended, however, that that policy,! carried out by a less abler man might fail in securing to the people the same advantages that were obtained under Mr Seddon's regieme; and there is much in this contention. Undoubtedly much of the success of the liberal policy of the past thirteen years has been due to the administrative genius and the political initiative of the late Prime Minister. It is apparent that a leader possessing -some what similar characteristics must be selected if the liberal "policy is to main tain its effectiveness. Conflicting , rumors are current as to the Hon W. Hall-Jones's intentions. ,We are told that the present Prime Minister does not wish to retain that position -and again we are informed hat a section of the- party desire him to continue the leadership of the party. On the other hand it is recognised by many that Sir Joseph Ward is the natural successor" of ;Mr Seddon. There- is little doubt that he possesses the power of managing men in a highei degree than Mr Hall- Jones; whether he is a better democrat than the present Prime Minister is an arguable point. The leadership of the part} wi 1 be a matter for the party to decide and it may be assumed that Jt will fall to the man who can command the support of the majority of the Liberal party. For ourselves we are less concerned with men than measures though we recognise that men and measures cannot be altogether dis sociated. The great desideratum in cdnnection-jvith the Liberal Party lea dership is to secure a man strong enough to keep the conflicting portions of the party together and at .the same time one who is *a sound democrat and one «who will maintain the liberal policy in all its essentials. Had our late Prime Minister lived he would have attained the sixty-first year of his age yesterday. It is noteworthy that Mr T. E. Y. Seddon, the late Mr Seddon's second son, decided yesterday to follow his father's footsteps and embark on a political career, A Wellington correspondent telegraphed last night— "A meeting was held to-night ' at the Hotel Ceil when about 300. West Coasters were present aid decided to form a West Coast Association in Wellington." William Harvey, on remand, appeared before Mr Kenrick S.M. yesterday, on a charge of having stolen 200Z i6dwt of gold, to the value of ,£l2O, the property of the Progress Mines Co., Ltd. Inspector Wilson appeared for the police, and asked for a remand to Reeftoii, till the 29th inst. The Magistrate granted the request and allowed bail accused in a surety of £100 and two sureties for a like amount. At the Magistrate's 'Court at Reefton yesterday before Mr E J. Scantlebury,- J. p M James Patrick Murphy was" charged wifl. stealing gold to the value of £20 on June 2isf, 1905, fhe property, of :the Progress Mines Company,, ,Mr Free appeared to prosecute and Mr joycedefended. Accused was remanded till Tuesday, 26th inst. Bail was allowed Murphy in one surety of £100 and two sureties of £$o cash., , '. " The Presbyterian .Church of Otago and Southland has, had, under consideration for for some "time the matter of a forward movement in social work. Hitherto the church has joined or assisted other churches of bodies, and the^ idea. appears to be to make efforts " distinctly Presbyterian, as, for instance, in the. matter of gaol, hospital, and mental hospital work. As a large proportion' 1 of funds of the Patients' and "Prisoners' Aid_ Society was obtained from collections made in. various -Presbyterian churches, the question of whether, the society should be continued had to be seriously considered. The committee, believing public support will be forthcoming, has decided to continue the operations "of the society. There are also indications of Bible classes belonging to the same church making a 'forward move. x

' The community on Thursday afterncon was shocked when word was received in Hokitika that Mr William Leafmorit, a well-known resident of Kaniert was missing, and had apparently met his death by drowning in the Styx river, says the West Coast Times. Mr Learmont, it seems, following his usual occupation" of packing provisions to the workmen on the Wilberforce road, leit Kanieri at 10.15 on Wednesday mcrning, with two horses and his dog ; intending to return the same evening. Having left some of. his belongings at Riiey's homestead, whidh he was to call for on his way back to Kanieri, some alaim was caused when he did not make his re-appearance,- and a search party was organised and went to look for him. The horses were .found by Mr Meharry, one of them being half a mile below the ford, while the "other one was close by. The horse found farthest down the river is the one -the missing man was riding .Roadman McQuikin and Milner arrived at Kanieri on Thursday evening from the Upper Kokatahi and reported that there wa; no sign*"of the missing man. We frequently hear of the decadence of the Maori (says the Wanganui Herald), but if the experience of a half-caste resident of -the Waverley district were more general there would be little fear for _the future' of the Maori race. His wife, a full 'Maori, a day or two ago presented him with the twentieth arrow in his quiver. A gruesome discovery has been made in the bed of the Apihi river, near Temuka, where a human hand, thought to have belonged to a middle-aged female, has just been- found. There is no clue to the identity, but the police are making inquiries. The Chrischurch Licensing CommittP n on Tuesday last refused all appli-" cations for eleven o'clogk closing. The Victuallers' Association counsel made • a strong appeal, pointing out that during the currency of the Exhibition the town would be. full of visjlpj§~ff6nT'a ■dlSttuieS: Hs*""ft]3o' < "'argued that 10 o'clock closing would be an incentive I d increasing the stock of liquor kept in homes. The committee was inexorable. The mystery attending, the disappearance of Mr John Wolstenholme from Onga Onga last week has been cleared up to some extent says the New Zealand Times. That is to say .Mi- Wolstenlholme has been found in Wellington by friends, and taken to his home in Hawke's Bay, but nothing very clear has been discovered as to how or •vhj he came to this city. * The circumstances are that on the -13th inst Mr Wolstenfaolme's overturned trap was found on a roadside, and it was feared that Mr Wolstenholme had been injured in such a way has to upset his mental balance, and cause him to wande- in to the bush and get lost, perhaps by some mischance losing his life. Two hundred persons organised search paities, and traversed the district, but ir. the meantime "Mr Wolstenholme ir.ade his way to Wellington, and was ultimately located at a hotel, where he .vas staying under the name of Leech. At the Blenheim egg-laying competition up to the 16th inst Mr J. Steer's pen of White Leghorns had laid six eggs and Mr F. Rogen's Silver Wyan dottes five eggs. At the Lincoln Col lege competition to the 15th inst Mrs Steer's Golden Wyandottes had laid 27 eggs and Mr Steer's ,White Wyandottes .28 eggs. 1 . A warehouse for the storeage and drying of timber the next structural novelty to be thrust upon Wellington. Mesrs C. and A. Odlin have almost completed the plans for the erection of a monster brick warehouse, that eventually will coyer the. whole five leasehold sections recently acquired by the firm from the Harbor Board, occupying all that reclaimed land seaward of the newly formed Cable' street and bounded on the east by the Taranaki street extension, .and on the west by the -Wellington Rowing Club's property. These sections comprise nearly an acre of land, and the .-building r will therefore cover half as -much ground again as the Town Hall, and, further, will be four stories high throughout. "It will be," says Mr Charles Odlin, "a big brick weightCarrying shell, "which will cost about ;650,000 ,to erect. The whole of it will be used for our own purposes — it ■'will practically be a timber yard under 1 cover,' but we intend' going into the business as well. If it ; rains now, nobody can get decently dry timber for a day or two, and where it is necessary to have seasoned stuff it throws the work back considerably, so we think we are supplying a want,' In reply to further questions, Mr Odlin stated that there would only be one t main partition in the building, so as to allow of the freest circulation of air. This will be aided by big electric fans- worked by motors, the power •for which will be generated by steam to be raised by the waste material that the mill will supply. The place Will be fitted with machinery, electrically driven, for the manufacture of the hundred and one things needed in the building- trade, and, as a further convenience, the scows and other timber vessels will be' able to lie alongside the breastwork right opposite the doors of the great warehouse. The' plans .hajje been prepared by the firm s own draftsman, and the building will be erected -byv^its future occupiers and owners. ""^"^ For men who require a smart looking su^ they cannot improve on thos^S-, being offered at the wholesale price by "^ Christopher Smith. Men's all wool colonal tweed suits (fo clear)" 255, 275, 6d 3 «, 355, 40s to 655, which are undoubtedly the best and cheapest in New Zealand. Men's all wool Kaiapoi drawers are being speededly cold at 3 s od pei pair.— -Advt. Btave men have tried, times oyer again To reach the ice-bound poles in vain; Ther c needs yet more acute device , Tc storm those battlements of ice; Pej chance, by flying ships to be, They'll again triumphant victory, Provided they, for colds, secure A store of Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Wm Holder upd Son, The Busy Grocers, and seedmen are booking orders for all kind 3 of Fruit Trees and shrubs.— Advt.