RICHMOND.

Colonist, Volume VI, Issue 625, 20 October 1863, Page 2

RICHMOND.

COBOSES'S INQITB3T.

The body of John Jordan who met his death in. . crossing the Waimea Eiver, on 24th Sept., was found : on Saturday last on the beach of the Rabbit Island, about two miles from the mouth of the WaimeaRiver. It was discovered by. James Butler, son 6f ■• Mr. Thomas Butler, of Richmond, who, on being im- ; mediately apprised of the circumstance,. went with a cart and some assistance' to obtain the body. The young man was on horseback when he saw it and could not approach within ten yards of it at the time. The body was very much decomposed, and quite unrecognisable except for the clothes that still envelopsa it, and the property found on it. It was conveyed to the house of, deceased's father. Yesterday Mr. 'Connel, of Nelson, the Coroner for the district, "summoned the following jury, namely, Messrs. Alfred Saundera (foreman), Thomas Butler, John Sheat, Henry Hammond, Stephen Sheat, Oswald Hammond, Alfred Hammond, John Rose, James Pratt, Thomas Hammond, Robert Woolfenden, William Stanton, Frederick Durrant. After viewing the body at the. farm house the jury adjourned to the Star and Garter, Richmond, to take evidence. James Butler deposed to the body as above mentioned. , Thomas Butler (one of the juryman,) deposed to going with a cart to the spot, which was reached beiween 7 and 8 o'clock, when it was dark. They lit a fire and "wrapped the body in cloths brought for the purpose, and brought it .'to the house of deceased's : father. When found, the body was without either coat, hat, or waistcoat, but had on a .shirt and lower garments. Witness identified the clothes as being then worn by deceased when he saw Him leave his father's house on 24th September, and it was only by the clothes he was able to identify him. Next morning (Sunday) in company with James Taylor, the district constable, witness examined the body to ascertain what property was about deceased. They found in the trousers pocket a small canvas bag containing two £20 bank notes, two £5 notes, eight £1 notes, and £1 2s. 6d. in silver, and also a receipt for money paid by John Jordan to Mr. Henry Adams, of Nelson. Witness was obliged to cut the pocket from the trousers in order to get; at its contents, the body being " very much Bwollen. :

James H. Taylor, constable, corroborated Mr. Butler's statement respecting the property found on deceased.

- (Jeorge Prestridge, son of Henry Prestridge, farmer, was next examined. This was the youth who was in company with deceased on the day of the accident. Witness, on the day in question, was driving .his father's cart, drawn by six bullocks, and laden with - furniture which belonged to deceased, and was being taken to his farm on the Mouter*. Deceased was on horseback accompanying the bullock' cart. On reaching (says the witness) the Waimea near the end of the Appleby road deceased rode into the river but found it two deep to cross. There was a fresh in the river at the time but not a very heavy one. Deceased then went higher up and tried two or three other places. I remained with the cart. This was a little after twelve o'clock. Deceased was perfectly sober. He returned to me and went a little further down to another ford lower down the river, and almost opposite the Appleby road. He,then rode into the - river saying he would go in as far as it was safe, and would return if it were not safe. When he had nearly reached the opposite side, and appeared to be . getting into shallow water, the mare he was riding slipped .down into a hole. He attempted to bring her : up out of the hole, but the water was too strong for him, and carried the mare farther into it. The - animal struggled for some time and. both she and deceased went under water. The mare rose to the surface and gave two or three struggles and deceased ■ then fell off her back. He shouted and struggled but did not regain hold of the mare. The water took him down the river and about two or three chains down he sank and I saw him no more. When I saw him fall off the mare I. shouted for assistance to some - men who were at a distance on the other side of the river. I took off my clothes and went into the river to help him; but I found the current too' strong for me to swim across and so I returned. It was too deep for me to' wade. The men I called came directly. They reached the river bank about a minute after I had lost sight of deceased. Just before the mare slipped into the hole the water was not quite up to her belly. Deceased had been in .up' to the saddle flaps before then. The mare did not appear to have been put at the hole but to have slipped into it sideways. ' After deceased disappeared the! mare made some struggles and got on shore a short way down.. When I saw Jordan he was struggling in the water but not swimming. He - told me before that he could not swim.' When I last saw him he had his cap and his coat on and all his clothes* '■ ' ' ' ■ ,

Job Boss, farmer,-who with his son were the per* sons tile lad Prestridge called to, confirmed the state* ment of 4fcat witness. . FMilnck Augustus Laking, Member of the College of Surgeons, practising at Richmond, deposed to having examined the body, which was too for gone in putrefaction to enable the detection of symptoms of death by drowning. The Jury returned the following yerdict:— That the said John Jordan on the 24th September last past, came to Jus death from drowning by accident in the Waimea river, in the province and district of Nelson. .' ' : The body was interred yesterday afternoon at Richmond cemetery. ■ l

Pebkanikt BtrtLDisq. Socibty.—The. monthly meeting of this society was held in the Temperance Hall last night, when fifty shares of £20 each were disposed of at bonuses varying from £2 to £2 6s. ewh, or 10 to llf per cent. The number of shares now sold for this society has reached nearly 5000.

A Fimaxb Volttktebb.—Shortly after the Phwbe left the wharf on Friday morning it was stated that a girl belonging to Nelson had been conveyed on board in masculine guise, amongst the crowd of volunteers proceeding northward. The report is, we believe, true, though whether the intention is to become a colonial Florence Nightingale, or to emulate historic cal warlike females like Margaret of Aniou or Joan of Arc, is not quite understood. It is no doubt a matter of taste only, but for ourselves we must confess to s preference for those fighting ladies who " fight shy."

APWIKTHKNT TO THE UPPER HOVSK Of JjBGKILA. tttrx. —We understand that Dr. Thomas Renwick, of - this city, has been made a member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand. The hon. gentleman's name, -. by some omission, has not yet been gazetted, but the appointment v nevertheleN made, and we believe will appear in next Gaiette, ti -•■■•'. >■; : ••-.'■ r V)

Close of the Provincial Council. —The last sitting of the second session for this year of the Council, ■was held on Friday. The attendance of members was thin. On the motion of the Provincial Solicitor the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, as amended, was read a third time and passed. This bill appropriates £200 additional for the Provincial Council department, for expenses of members and clerks and messenger's salaries ; and £6,000 for the construction of roads to the West Coast in addition to the £17,000 granted during the regular session. These ai'e the only items the bill now contains, the clause for appropriating £10,000 of the £50,000 coal loan having been struck out in committee. On the motion, of Mr. Pollock the Council instructed the Speaker to hand the memorial of the Council for the repeal of the New Provinces Act to Mr. Saunders, for presentation'to the House of Representatives of the Colony, and a copy to Colonel Richmond for presentation to the Legislative Council. Tue Council then adjourned pro forma for a fortnight for prorogation, which will be by a proclamation in an early (Jaze^e.

Band of Hope.—lt is not generally known that this juvenile total abstinence society hold fortnightly meetings at the Temperance Hall, and many are in ignorance of its existence. The Society dates its establishment on the 30th December, 1861, and since then meetings have been regularly held every fortnight, which have resulted in the enrolment of over 200 youthful volunteers under the temperance flag. It is to bo regretted, however, that more adults do not join with the promoters, and endeavor to forward a cause that may prove a blessing to many of the young in this town; hitherto the work has devolved upon two or three individuals, who have been most assiduous in their endeavors to render the the entertainments instructive and aumsing. Lately a. flute band ha 3 been formed among the members, and is progressing favorably under the tuition of Mr. Speed. A drum has been promised them by Mr. Crisp. Mr. I. M. Hill addressed the meeting last "Wednesday evening, and the next gathering will take place to-morrow week.

Catching the Moa !—The most extraordinary " story " about this strange New Zealand bird, comes, not from it 3 habitat New Zealand, whence we should expect to find the most recent "reliable information, but from an up-country journal. in Victoria, the Creswick Advertiser, whose large credulity, and organ of wonder must have been very cruelly imposed upon before it could possibly have been induced to print the following; magnificent can ard .—" A Mr. M'Leod, butcher, "Victoria-street, by last mail received an interesting letter from bis brother, a miner working near the river Kawarau, not far from the Dunstan, New Zealand, informing him that the late floods, although they did considerable damage, were also the means of bringing to him the monster bird, the existence of which is still doubted by a few, namely, the Moa. It is supposed that the bird, living on some uninhabiteH mountain, was carried down by the waters, and easily caught by Mr. M'Leod, who adds that he sometimes rides on it—it being eight feet high, and sometimes even use 3it for pig-hunting. We have no opportunity of inspecting the original letter, but the respectability of our informant is undoubted ; and as further information on the subject is promised, we shall be glad to lay the particulars before our readers as soon as they reach us."

Bespectin& the 32-lb. nugget found .at Mount Moliagul, Dunolly district, in the end of last month, the Melbourne Argus says it was found by a miner named Matthew Creer, a " hatter," i. c., one working without a mate, and after sinking only four feet. The worth of the nugget is £1500. The Express says the locality of the discovery was Clodhopper Q-ully, a little to the west of Wayman's Keef. The depth of sinking was four feet, and the number of claims at work in the gully only about four. A fortnight pre■piously a piece of gold weighing fifteen pennyweights was found in the same claim ; but the finder subsequently abandoned the ground as not payable. The present claimholder had only been working in the ground a week when ho lighted on the monster nugget. On the evening previous to the actual discovery and just before leaving work, he struck what he supposed wa3 a boulder, and washed some dirt which surrounded it, getting several coarse pieces of gold, some weighing a pennyweight, from its neighborhood. In the morning he set to work " to clear the boulder out of his way," and found that it took a good deal of prizing ; at length it rolled out, and what was his joy on lifting it, to find the supposed boulder to bo a monster nugget, coated with ironstone, which had prevented its recognition as gold. The gully had been worked some five or six years ago, and a few miners were still pottering about in the old ground, amongst whom was Mr. Creer.

Travels of Half a Ton of Tasmanian Butter. Market Changes.—The . Launceston Examiner narrates the following unique circumstance: —" The adventures of a parcel of butter, about half a ton, sold here last week, are rather remai'kable. In the iirst place the butter was purchased here at Is. 6d. per lb., and shipped to New Zealand. There the highest price offered Avas about 50 per cent, under first cost, and it was then transhipped to Melbourne, where the price had by that time declined to under Is. per lb. Finally it was returned by steamer to this port, where it was sold for Is. Id. per lb. or about 2d. per lb. higher than could now be obtained for it in any of the gold-producing colonies."

The Nova Scotia Gold-Fields.-^-A Boston (U.S.) paper says that these mines, about which considerable excitement was created some time ago, have proved a failure. Of the several thousand miners at work in 1862, there remained in the spring of 1863 not more than from forty to fifty.

Sydney Wool. —The Sydney telegram via Melbourne, we learn that on 29th Sept. Dean sold the first clip of the new clip of wool—greasy—at lOd. per lb.

The Alpacas in Mexbottbne. —The Melbourne Age of 30th September says :—" The Alpacas just landed from the Julia Farmer, proceeded yesterday, in two flocks, through Flemington, to the paddock of Mr. Patrick Hayes,, of Essendon. They moved at a very slow pace, many seeming weak and in very low condition. A wool dray followed at the rear, to pick up any that were incapable of travelling, but only some two or three required this assistance. The alpacas are of three colors, the majority being black like the male alpaca "Sydney," in the Eoyal Park. A few of them are white, and others are white with black spots, whilst one is of a rich coffee color, the coat being suggestive of " Vicuna" doth." We may state that the Nelson Acclimatisation Society has failed in obtaining specimens of this interesting and valuable animal. The importers .'have suffered a heavy loss, many of the alpacas having died on the voyage. It has been suggested that application should be made to the Victoria Government for a " loan" of a pair of the alpacas ; but it is doubtful whether this would be attended to, at least at present.