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Charleston Argus, Volume 1, Issue 7, 6 April 1867, Page 2

Candidate} at the Buller appear to be pretty numerous, but over Cobden there broods an onrnous silence. By Cobden we mean, of coirse, the Pakihis and Fox's, for in that district are these real centres of population iicluded. Mr T. Dwan is, we hear, a candidate, and has held meetings, where his opinions were most favorably received. Mr Hennelly is spoken of as a probable starer. Mr Donne woos the Brighton peope, but beyond these we have no sign ; we lppe beforc the time of nomination, now only som3 ten days distant, some greater signs of political vitality may be manifested.

The want of stamps is greatly felt in (jjtorieston, for np to the present time, though large transfers of property and other business, transactions requiring stamps are frequent, iio one is licensed to sell, and the conseqiences may be ruinous to some. Surely if the Act is so stringent 011 the public, the Government should be compelled to afford 3very facility to people, ! in order to allow tlern to comply with the law, and should not, whilst with one hand threatening pains and penalties, with the other withhold the means of avoiding them. Why not supply.every postmaster with these as with otheji stamps, and make them responsible sale. The Stamp Act is the greate! 1 ; legal iniquity out, any way its operaticu need not be made more obnoxious by neg&ct. As considerable misapprehension has exiatftd in. rgferepcagk the qualification at the fort we 'may set the question at The following letter was memorial committee, at Westport, a weei or so ago in reply to enquiries on this h«id I "Superintendent's Office, Nelson, March, 1807.—Sir, — I have the acknowledge the receipt of your loiter .forwarding a series of resolutions passed at a public meeting held at Westport, on <he 18th instant. In reply, I have to rtate, first, that holders of miners' rights and business licenses are entitled to vote at the forthcoming election of a member of the Provincial Council of Nelson for the Buller district; 2nd, the Electoral Roll is not compiled by the Provincial Government; 3rd, freeholders at Westport have hta an opportunity of registering their clams to vote. For information as to the mode of conducting the Buller election, I must refer you to the returning officer, Mr Kynnersley. —I have, ifcc., J. W. Barniciat, Acting Supr,"—A meeting of the inhabitants was convened on its receipt, and the document laid before them, when the majority of those present came to the conclusion that, under that ruling, any holder of miners' right or business license could vote. Since then we have had an opportunity of making enquiries of Mr Kynnersley, the returning officer, and that gc-nfcleman states positively that, under the Act, he can only receive the votes of those on the roll, or the holders of business licenses or miners' rights of six months' standing. On this, he will act in the forthcoming elections, and those concerned must be prepared to submit to this test.

The want of an addition to the police force here is more and more felt every day, j for though the population is increasing so vastly, the strength of the police is left the same as it was some month or two ago. We have before stated that rowdyism is by no means uncommon, but it is at present absurd to attempt to quell it with the few men now appointed for the purpose. We have on previous occasions referred to the quantities (>f coal that could be got on the Pakihis, but we«have not up to the [•resent time been able ti> tell of their being utilised. We are glad sto say tint Mr 11. Mann has gone boldly iujto the matter, and has had granted to lvUi protection for a lease of five acres, within five 1 " hundred yards of this office, f'iV coal mining purposes. It is situated K- the back of the Camp, and the mineral, shows abundantly i-t every p irt of the granted ground. We sincerely hope tL.it the speculation may prove profitable, and tljat by its means

another* industry mining affairs distance recent illustration of the fact yesterday. A letter was Sergeant Franklin, officer in chafge at the' Buller, stating that a prospecting claim had been applied for at the Orawaite, a river a couple of miles or so north of Westport, and requesting Sergeant Hewson to take some action in connection with it. 1 This quickly oozed out by some means, and an impression at once got abroad that something very heavy had been discovered. A stampede set in at once, and the beach was lined in an hour or two with some hundreds of diggers wending their way to the new El Dorado. Now the whole matter is, that a prospecting claim has been applied for, and that people should on such very small justification go helter skelter to a Buller rush passes our comprehension. We have known many Buller rushes, and never knew a good one yet; if this proves a payable one, it will indeed be an ex- ! ception to a hitherto general rule. We called the attention of the public in our previous issue to .the absolute necessity of providing some temporary hospital accommodation, and in again referring to the want of such a building, we may remind our readers that there is not a single plane where a sick man could be put with safety. We have now several thousand diggers in our midst, residing under calico, and if we are troubled with inclement weather, it behoves lis purely through philanthropic principles to provide some habitable place for the suffering. Amongst other places that have recently been erected here, none deserves greater notice than the Casino de Venice. It is the largest building of the kind on the West Coast, and is admirably adapted for public entertainments. During the past week it has been opened as a dancing room, and hundreds have attended nightly. The enterprising proprietor is Mr Foyn, lately of the firm of Foyn and Sturt. The building is 33 x CG, and is well worthy of a visit.