West Coast Times. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1875.

West Coast Times, Issue 3040, 5 July 1875, Page 2

West Coast Times. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1875.

Our land regulations in respect to the claims of the Maoris, are deserving of the utmost inquiry and attention on the p*art of those who represent the constituencies of the West Coast in the General Assembly. The* Coast has already aaffered to a very large extent by the iniquitous privileges which have been giveti to the Native Commissioner oil behalf of the Native race. Grey, nlouth cari show the greatest evidence of this, in having the chief portion of the town encumbered with high annual rents, which have to be paid in prosperous times or dull, to this Native Trust. The arrangement has been a severe drag on the owners and holders of property, and has acted to the prejudice of Greymouth and the whole district, to a degree which can scarcely be realised. It has prevented many from investing in town property, and others from settling on it, the tenure being such as to drive men and capital from oar shores. Wedtport bears similar record, though not to the same extent. The progress of the southern towns has been affected in like manner to those in the north, and we are how threatened with a repetition of Maori claims in regard to the sale of the town sections of Arawata, which are to be offered by public auction on. Tuesday next. It appears, according to the terms and conditions, entered into some years ago between the General Government and the Natives, that the latter, in additibn to the ndoney value paid for the land purchased from them on this Coast, were allowed the right of selecting certain areas of town, suburban* and rural land. In this Province, from the Grey southward, as | fat as Bruce Bay* we believe, selections j werd m&de, and were duly surveyed, care having been taken by the Native Commissioners that some of the best sites at the mouth of each navigable fiver should be set aside as the property of the) Natives, the rents from which are to bd appropriated on behalf of the Native 'J'rust. Communication further south than Brueeßay was at that time fraught with greater difficulty and danger than it is at present, and consequently Jackson's Bay and a large portion of the southern part of the Province did not come under the same category. At all events no special selection was made in these parts, ' neither was any survey proposed or undertaken. The Government has since, at considerable expense, caused that portion of the Province to become inhabited. A Special Settlement has been proclaimed, surveys have been made, immigrants have been placed oh the land'j a tewflship laid ou(» and the first auction sale of town allotments haß been notified in the ordinary way. Then comes the sequence. The Native

Minister or Commissioner, through his local agent, has put in a claim for forty of the sections about to be offered for Sale. A telegram has been received by the Provincial Government, or the Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands, to the effect that, in accordance with the terms of a certain deed between the Government and the Natives, they (the Natives) are entitled to ten acres of the township of Arawata, and they claim the right of selection from those about to be sold. We are not aware what action the Government intend to take in the matter, though we understand it was the intention of the Superintendent to consult the Native Minister on the question. The superintendent, however, has not yet reached Wellington, and cannot have had any opportunity of representing the matter except by wire. Up to this week no further advices had been received by the Provincial Government, and the Crown Lands Commissioner has been obliged to receive the application, though what action will be taken upon it on Tuesday next we will be curious to ascertain, as it is undoubtedly & question seriously affecting the public, and one which will tend materially to prejudice the settlement and the land sales in that neighborhoods The application, coming in the manner and at the time that it has, appears simply outrageous. To think that the Province, which is charged with the cost of the Settlement, after incurring all the expense and labor in connection with populating the new district, is to have the eyes of the country picked out of it for the benefit of the Maori fund, is unjust in the extreme. And surely this is a matter, the more equitable settlement of which i% urgently required, that our representatives in the Assembly, during the forthcoming session, should see remedied. The validity of the deeds of 1844, 1847, and 1853, relative to the rights given to the Maoris and to the properties conveyed by them to the Europeans should be thoroughly tested, in order to ascertain whether our darkskinned compatriots are entitled to apply for the lands of the Province in the manner mentioned. It should be ascertained whether such claims are recognised by the laws of the Colony, or whether they are merely flavoured with a legal element which can and should be speedily upset. We recommend the matter, as one of the utmost importance, to the consideration of our representatives, and hope, in the meantime, that the claim with regard to the Arawata seotions may, in some manner, be defeated or deferred, by the Lands Commissioners, or by the Provincial Government.

Thb public meeting convened by the Mayor to be held at the Town Hall this ! evening will be doubtless well attended. The object of the , persons by whose ■ request the meeting is called, is to protest against the increased scale of tolls on the Arahura road, and the abolition of the system of issuing quarterly tickets to bona fide settlers, it having been customary I hitherto to issue such tickets at considerably reduced rates. But it is not apparent how any alterations can be made now without amending the Toll-gate Ordinance recently passed by the Provincial Council, and the persons concerned should certainly have taken action before the proposed measure became law. Doubtless, the tolls demanded are high, and the public will suffea to a certain extent, through having to pay an increased price for produce, but it should be remembered also that a majority of the Provincial Council, headed by the Hon. H. H. Lahman. seem to hold the opinion that tolls cannot affect the public, and that the charge comes out of the pockets of the producers. This erroneous argument was repeated over and over again in the Council, at its last sitting It is quite possible that similar views Would induce the Council to refuse to abate the impost on produce carried to the Hokitika market by the Arahura settlers. No doubt toll-gates are unpleasant, but they are, in this Province at least, necessities. Any one who has recently travelled along the Arahura road, must admit that it is in a shocking condition, in fact, that it is fast becoming impassible. It will also be admitted that the Provincial Treasury is not in such a state, as to permit the Government to do anything more than pay departmental salaries and other working expenses. Under these conditions therefore, it remains for the meeting to devise some scheme, or offer some suggestion, whereby the increase of toll-charges may be prevented, and the road kept in decent repair.

A number of residents of Hokitika paid a visit to Boss on Saturday, chiefly with the intention of being present at the first meeting of the Koh-i-noor Gold Mining Company. The meeting was held at the Westland Hotel, where a large number of shareholers congregated. Mr C. Malfroy was voted to the chair, and gave a statement of the position of the Company, and its prospects. The election of Directors was then proceeded with, when Messrs W. Todd, H. Meyer, A. M'Rae, and H. J. Hansen of Hokitika; and Messrs P. Sim, C. Malfroy and J. Grimmond of Ross, were elected as Directors for the current year. It was also decided that the office of the Company should be at Ross, and that the salary of the Legal Manager should not exceed £75 per annum. Now that the Company has been satisfactorily floated, we understand the working of the claim will be immediately proceeded with. Yesterday was the anniversary of the declaration of American Independence made in the year 1776, or nearly a century ago. One or two balls will be given to-night to celebrate the anniversary. We are again requested to call attention to the auction sale of town sections and of Arawata town sections, which will be held at the sitting of the Waste Lands Board at noon to-morrow. Mr J. M. Morgan, late of Ross, has opened business at the Dunedin Hotel. Mr Morgan, who bore at Ross the reputation of being a kind and courteous host, will be quite an acquisition to the musical talent of Hokitika, as he is, probably, the best harpist in New Zealand. The Tararua, which reached the Bluff yesterday from Melbourne, made a long passage in consequence of the heavy weather the encountered, which caused her to be hove to for forty-eight hours. The Tararua brings no later cable er Australian news than that to hand by the Hero. The fifth Volunteer competition for the silver cup will take place to-day. The competitors will fire in two squads, at seven a.m. and two p.m.

A public meeting will be held at the Town Hall this evening, to take into consideration the increased tolls on the Arahura road, and the abolition of the system of iSßUinfi auarterly tickets to bonajide settlers.

We learn, ftbta Ok&rifco that the Alpine flame on the Hv6-mile Beach is likely to be put in a thorough state of repair shortly. The proprietors have leased the water-rights, mill, &c, to Messrs Lamacroft ~ and party who are doing their best to put the race ifi order.

Mr Downey, the Okaritd mailman, had a narrow escape rounding the Waiho bluff on his last trip. The mailman was driving the 1 horse before him, while going round the outside point of the bluff, when the horse happened to get one of his feet fastened in between two boulders. The tide was making, and the surf came up with violent force once or twice, and nearly swamped both man and beast. Eventually Downey got away and the horse was lifted out some distance by the sea to be woshed ashore again. The horse was severely knocked about, but Downey received no injury, beyond what he is often accustomed to — a thorough drenching.

The steamer Albion is expected to leave the Bluff at eleven a.m. on Tuesday the 16th instant. Telegrams for the Australian Colonies or Europe via Java Cable, will be received at the Hokitika Office for transmission to Bluff up till ten a.m. on that day.

The following entries have been received for the Steeplechase meeting at Christchurch : — Handicap Steeplechase of 100 sots. — Ivanhoe, Marks, Mousetrap, Speculation, Muscatel, Royalty, Medora, Tommy Dodd, Kaipai. Linwood Stakes, 60 soys. — Mousetrap, Alice Grey, Brown Stout, Speculation, Muscatel, Royalty, Medora, Tommy Dodd, and Pakeha.

Mails via San Francisco for Europe, close at eight o'clock this morning.

The English mail via Suez, arrived at the Bluff yesterday by the Tararua.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday, Mr Todd, J.P., on the Bench, the only business was the infliction of a fine of five shillings on one " drunk."

A small Provincial work, which it is said would be of much benefit to the residents at Gillespie's Beach, is the addition of a small piece to the bridge over Gillespie's Greek, and the placing of hand rails on the bridge. At present it is described as most dangerous. The cost would be very little, and it would' confer a boon to the inhabitants in that district, who have much difficulty in crossing the bridge in its present state.

The programme of a concert, which is shortly to be given at Greymouth, is reported to " include a Chinese Musical Melange, by several lona fide Natives of the Flowery Land."

Dr Morice, as Medical Officer for the Greymouth Board of Health, has reported to tha Board that during the last quarter there have] been several serious and fatal cases of diptheria from up-country, and the Gveyf Argus says since then several cases had occurred in town.

The Ross Guardian reports that Eobert Hewitson and Thomas Brown, who have been tunnelling alongside the Redman's road for some time past, struck gold last week, and have applied for an extended claim of an acre and a quarter. The prospects are encouraging.

The Greymouth Borough Council is in much the same position as our own, if nob worse, with regard to its liabilities. By the last monthly statement of the Greymouth Council, the loan of £7000 appears to have been spent, and the Bank overdratt, in addition, is £1361.

The weekly returns of amalgam from the top plates of the Energetic Company's battery at Reefton last week gave 2580z5.

Scrip in the No. 1 North, Larry's Gold Mining Company were sold at auction a few days ago at Reefton for 6d per scrip, subject to a call of 3d.

Mr Warden Broad, of Reefton, had an amusing case to decide upon last week, judging by the reports of the local papers. The suitors were Mrs King and Miss Wyldish, a dressmaker, and the dispute was over a silk dress, which was alleged on the one hand to have been spoiled in the making, and over charged for. For upwards of an hour the fair disputants are reported to have kept the Court in one prolonged paroxysm of laughter. Miss Wyldish said, among other things, that she was " a ladies dressmaker," and that was her style of making out accounts. She had charged 30s for making the dress; 14s for extras; 3s for cotton silk; and 15s for "loss of time in running about with the account." In reply to Mrs King the defendant said: " The extras have got nothing to do with you, that's my business. (Laughter.) If you knew what a silk dress was you would not talk so foolish. I have made silk dresses for ladies and you are not one, and I never had any trouble with them. You never had a silk dress before in your life. (Great laughter). At a later stage of the proceedings the plaintiff divested herself of part of her clothing, in order to enable defendant to the better explain to the bewildered Magistrate the points of defect in the dress in dispute, but the explanation only made matters worse. In vain the plaintiff stood for a quarter of an hour with her back towards the Magistrate, while the defendant was manipulating her (plaintiff's pannier or Grecian bend, in order to point out its superiority to the one in dispute. In vain the sleeves, the body, the collar, the trimmings, the button holes, and the hooks and eyes were pointed out to his Worship. In vain the " pattern " pannier was turned up and turned down, this way and that, and almost wrenched from the well-developed form of the wearer. At last the belligerent dress was produced, pannier, skirt body and all, and the defendant proposed that the dress should be tried on for the especial edification of the Bench, but his Worship explained that he did not know what, technically speaking, constituted a " good fit." The dress might fit like a sentry box, he would not know the difference. This discouraged the proposal, and the dress was deposited upon the lawyer's table, and the fair disputants resumed the cudgels, and proceeded with the case. Finally judgment was given for 30s for making, and 5s for extras, and the dreßS ordered to be given up.

The name of Pat Sweeney is known to many on this Coast, and there are numbers in Hokitika, Greymouth, Okarito, and Brighton who will regret to hear of his death. The Auckland Star of 21st June, says:— " We regret to have to record the death at Mr J. P. Sweeney, a very old colonist, who died at his house, in Nelson-street, on Saturday morning last, from that fatal disease, consumption. Mr Sweeney was well-known in the Colony, and especially at the Thames in connection with the goldfields ; he was also well-known on the West Coast of the Middle Island, and was at one time the proprietor of an hotel at Wangarei also, of the Cresceat Hotel, Shortland-street, The deceased gentleman, some time ago, was afflicted with a paralytic stroke, which affected his right side; he tried the healing waters of the WaiwerajHot Springs, from which he derired some benefit, but taking cold shortly after, his old complaint returned, and he died as before mentioned.

The Riverine Herald says that a curious case was heard recently at the Police Court. A selector at Mount Hope named Morrissey had a sum of money in the Bank of Victoria, and one day a friend, John Larkins by name, paying him a visit, the conversation turning on Morrissej's defective education, the latter stated that, although he could sign his name* he waa totally igaorant of every other letter in the alphabet, either in typography er culigraphy. Thereupon Larkins requested h specimen of hia friend's handwriting, and

producing the blank form of a Bank of Victoria cheque, Morrissey was induced to form his sign-manual to the bit of paper, which, as he stated in the witness-box, he was under the impression Larkins had destfbyad. Subsequently he ascertained, on squaring ttccottttts at his bank, that the blank cheque nad been duly filled in for the sum of ten pounds, and duly paid by the bank. The Bench committed Larkins for trial for forgery. From "information received," we are enabled to state that a reward of £100 is offered by the police of Hull, England, for information leading to the arrest of James Octavius Ward on a, charge of obtaining £2200 by false pretences*, on the 4th February la9t. The bed of the Wanganui river (says the Wellington Tribune") is silting up, so much so, that the cattle steamers have to leave i with short cargoes, and even then do a little dredging on their way to the heads. A local cattle salesman estimates the export cattle trade of Wanganui at £40,000 a year, and apprehensively points to the unnatural conduct the river instead of that of the Provincial Executive. It is stated that a curious volume will be published shortly, recording the experiences of an English gentleman who has spent a long time in the remotest of the Polynesian Islands, wholly apart from all European society. Since Mr Holloway's report on New Zealand has been published the European Mail reports that about 100 agricultural labourers and their families have left London, en route for New Zealand. They go out under the auspices of the Labor League, a delegate of which accompanies them. There was a lively scene at the station. Most of the men had bands on their hats with the words "New Zealand" in red letters. The emigrants appeared in good spirits and loudly cheered Mr Banks, the general secretary of the league, as they left. There are rumors of another lock-out on account of the wholesale emigration carried on by the league. A telegram a few days ago announced that Mr Sladen and Mr Turville have been knighted, and the Melbourne Argus thus refera to the matter :—": — " Truly the ways of Colonial Secretaries are wonderful and past finding out. They delight to honor men like Sir Charles Duffy-- who has prospered and fattened on sedition— and Sir James M'Culloch — who brought this colony to the verge of ruin — for faithful subjects of the Queen, unflinching defenders of the constitution, and obedient servants of the law, like Mr Sladen and Mr Fellows, there is nothing but the cold shoulder. Even the circumstances under which a tardy act of justice is done to Sladen are almost insulting. The leader of the political party which saved the Victorian Constitution is coupled with a Mr Turville, of i whom all that is known is that he was Private Secretary to Lord Lisgar in New South Wales and Canada and gave a foolishly precipitate certificate of identity to the Tichborne claimant. There is something almost cynical in conduct like this on the part of a Secretary of State, and it sets us wondering what can be the rule or . principle which governs the distribution of these distinctions." In the General Government Gazette of 10th of June appears the statement of the Kuranui Company, Auckland, which shows that without raising a penny of subscribed capital £29,360 has been paid in dividends. The Central Australian states that on the arrival of the Adelaide mail recently, the Acting-Postmaster (Mr Oscar Hugan) received two packages, which are supposed to have contained strychnine, addressed to Warraweera Station. A great deal of the stuff had come out, and was distributed over the various letters and papers, so much so that Mr Hugan was very ill from the effects of the stuff, and many other parties complained of an exceedingly bitter taste in their mouths. Mr Burns, the PostmasterGeneral of New South Wales, on being informed of the circumstance, telegraphed to Mr Hugan : " clear letters, &c, aa much as you can, |and write across each envelope, ' Destroy as quickly as possible, as it has come in the same bag with poison.' " The j Postmaster-General has communicated with the postal authorities of Adelaide with the view of investigating the matter, and of prosecuting the sender of the strychnine by mail. A movement is on foot amongst the farmers for the formation of a company to purchase a light-draught steamer to trade between Nelson Motueka, Kiwaka, and Collingwood. An assault, though not of a serious nature > (says the Auckland Star) was committed on the wharf lately, and which we understand shortly come before Mt Beckham, as the jpolice are on the track of the offender. It apipears from information received that a young jwoman of prepossessing appearance was flooking steadily from the wharf-side into the when Thomas , a waterman, asked ;her if she would like a boat. She replied, F"No; I should like a smack." The rough boatman took the hiut, and gave the young person a kiss. She immediately made a complaint at the police-station. The boatman has decamped. Fat stock is rising in price in Oamaru. Cattle are now worth fifty per cent more in that Province than they were twelve months ago. This is doubtless owing to the rapid increase of immigration which haß taken place in Otago.