West Coast Times. AND WESTLAND OBSERVED. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1872.

West Coast Times, Issue 2175, 19 September 1872, Page 2

West Coast Times. AND WESTLAND OBSERVED. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1872.

We regret to have to announce the death, rather suddenly, yesterday afternoon, of the wife of Mr A. E. Tennant, County Secretary. An inquest will be held on the body of the deceased Jady at 4 o'clock this a-ILernoon, at the West Coast Times Hotel.

The secretary to the Ilokitika Hospital requests us to acknowledge the receipt by him of the sum of £26 13s 6d, from W. 11. Roche, Esq., Bell Hill, being the proceeds of a concert held in the Bell Hill district, on tho 7th instant, on behalf of the funds of the Hokitika Hospital.

Our Stafford Town correspondent writes as follows: — The monument over the grave of the late Dr Matthews, of this town, is completed. It is of Oainaru stone, and is surmounted by a cross of suitable design. A neat iron fence surrounds the enclosure. The reqvisite sum of money was subscribed by the inhabitants, and the stone was erected by Messrs Sinclair and Jack. The Goldsborough portion of the district has not yet been canvassed, but it is to be hoped that the Goldsborough people will contribute their quota towards such a memorial, particularly as the late Dr Matthews was in constant attendance on them up to the time of his death, and may be literally said to have died in harness. It may be well to remind ouv Goldsborough friends that any balance over and above all the monumental expenses, is to be handed over to the widow* of the late doctor, who much requires a little timely assistance, aud whose many acts of kindness will long live in the memory of most of the residents in the Waimea district.— The cemetery at Stafford has now been substantially fenced in, but much damage has been done by the fall of a large rata-tree, which has not only smashed down a part of the fence, but ruthlessly destroyed many of the stonea and grave-en-closures. The cemetery ground has been apportioned into allotments for the various religious denominations, and it is proposed in future to charge a small fee for the ground on the occasion of each funeral in order to meet current expenses. The Canterbury Press of the 14th instant

says :—": — " So rapid is the sphere of labor connected with the Presbyterian Church Extension Association becoming enlarged, and congregations requiring ministration springing up, that the Association is not able to supply ministers fast enough.. They have, however,

nt borne for other 'clergyhieu, who will be p r , rwarded to ti\fe congregations regu'ring Q j lefcscVvlces on the 5 - anlval. In the meanme recourse will have to be bad to the 1( resbytery of Otago^and the General Asseni- Pi y of Victoria, to endeavor to supply ter- \v< irarily the vacant places." po The criminal prosecutions and payment to iroifs cost the Government of the Colonyj _ >rthe financial year 1870-71, £7407 3a 7tL °_ We learn from the Timara Herald of i?ri- &B ay last, that on the previous day, whilst the 'tfc r orkmen were engaged in excavating at the , rick works at ifcr M*ftae's, they unearthed a -g ortioft of the leg bone of a bird, buried etween eight and nine feet in the solid clay. w 'rom the size of the bone, its owner must "J aye belonged to the largest species of the tl loa family. _ pi Mr Sheehan lifts notice in the House w f Representatives, of the following motion : ; That a select committee be appointed, con- ' isting of the following members — Mr Bath[ate, Mr Collins, Mr Creighton, the TTenora- j >le Mr Gisborne, Mr O'EorkCj, Mr Reid-, Mr fcl Reynolds, Mr Sw&usofl) Mr Reader W6od, mil the mover— lo consider atod, report upon ;he present position 6'f the Wvii Service of ;he Colony'; with power to call for persons md papers, Report to be brought up within & fourteen days." ' v According to a Christchurch paper, Mr 0 Morton Tavares has purchased all rights in <Jthe Canterbury Music Hall, which ie 'intends to convert into a com'foVtabYe tWeaire, and to I 1 open with «, good company. fc A country settler in the Province of Auckland, lately wrote to the Southern Gross \ stating that he sold a ham at 8d per lb to an j Auckland dealer, who afterwards sold it as a <j Canterbury ham at Is licr .'if*. The Kivcr'ton correspondent of tbo Southand TiiAes bays :—": — " lam told that the late heavy snowstorms up-couutry have not only proved most disastrous to the lambing, but have also been the means of destroying a great number of sheep, in some places aloug the Hue of the Jacobs River the drift-snow has been lyiug uf desp as ¥rb'iii loft \;6 loft. Some runs s.eeui to have suffered far more than others in almost the same locality. I hear of dead sheep being counted ou the surface of the snow by the hundred. Several yearling cattle and horses also appear to have suffered." The Timaru paper gives llle followingcurious particulars of an attempted suicide: — " A settler in the neighborhood of Winton, named Michael Clear, attempted to commit suicide a few nights ago, by cutting his throat with a razor. The unhappy man seems to have gone to the edge of the creek, tied two heavy weights to his body, and cut his throat in the expectation of falling into the water. Instead of that he fell,up^on the : bank, and the night fceln£ cTen>-, and show on the ground, he was seen by a settler going home, lie was conveyed to the Hospital by a special train, and it is understood that he is likely to recover." In reporting the receilt arrival of German > Polish, and Scandinavian immigrants at Lyttelfcon, the Lyltelton Times says : — "Amongst the married couples, one immigrant was pointed out as having walked from the Russian frontier to Hamburg (a distance of about 800 nul6s) with his wife, And five <W six children', "sleepittg * at farm h'ouaek and oftentimes in the open ait,' on Ibeir way to join the ship.',' An Auckland contemporary states, "on the best authority," that Sir George Bowen has requested the Imperial Government to extend Irs term of office for another five years . The Duke of Edinburgh appeared as a performer at the Civil Service Musical Society's meeting, on 27th May> and is said by the Orchestra to have handled his violin with great Bpiri't and conscientiousness. An American paper says :—": — " It sometimes looks to us as if this American people were destined to break down in the very flush of , its powers, from physical 'causes. As a people we do not know how to play. Of art arts we are most backward in this. We can work; we can talk; we can fight— but we cannot play. We cfo not play. We are always intent on bnsinessi Ouv very fun flashes out as an incident in the midst of strenuous a-jtivlty. We are for ever going. When it is not our own business, it is the business •of the church or of society. We stop long enough to eat and sleep, simply because we cannot help ourselves. But the eating and sleeping are thrust in edgewise, as it were. They are intrusions; and Are despatch them at the highest speed, and carry our cares to the meals, and into our dreams. If we profess to take amusement, we so manage as to keep up the full tension of the system; we do it hard. The result of this excessive pressure is not only physical disability, but moral infirmity; the innate need of diversion breaking out at last in some sensuous and destructive form."