THE ARNOLD DISTRICT.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 171, 16 February 1867, Page 3

THE ARNOLD DISTRICT.

■„, ,.., (VKOJt OUX^OTVX COIUSKSPONDEN"J\) r-'- : .^J^ Maori Gully, Fob. 1% 186?. and at tlio elovontli Uour^ the tejranvt for the foriuation of a road to this district lias been obtained, for; whicli we are iiidebted.to the services of omunem- ; ber,. My. Wkill,. IJe almost unasked -ami 'unaided- by any of hia colleagues iir tlie Cpimcil, got the sum of- L 3,500 voted for a new road from the Arnold township, ami L 2,000 fov repairs -to- the- old Arnold track placed oil the estimates and passed. The thanks- of the- whole 1 -mining community ai:e due to liini for his valuable seyvices, ■ ' , The promptness with which the Govern;_inent' despatched a giirveybr last Week shows that they iu?e earnest in this matter, as, however^ the present Jtraclr is about twenty-oiio miles, and a; road direct f i'°m : here to Greymbuth can be made in- about eight or nine miles at fuvtheat, it would be' a waste of the public funds to repair the old track and thqn. afterwards make a road through a swamp three and a half miles in length to Maori Gully. In fact the present Avnpld track is totally useless for any gold-field in the Province of Canterbury,. A meeting is convened this evening to meinoii.alize the Superintendent requesting him to have a new road niade entirely, and that the work be commenced at once before the winter sets in. . But until we hear the Surveyor's report of the best line it must remain in a state of abeyance for, a few days. I believe it is not unlikely that if the directors of the Lake Brunnerltace Company could show that it would be reproductive, assistance might be derived from Government to carry out the works. A rush has set in at the: head of. Italian Giilly, called King John's Lead after the discoverer, and has caused- quite an excitement ; there are only twelve cliiims at work, six out of which are getting payable | gold; the prospects are ; from -Jclwt to 2dwts to the dish, as much as 4dwts has been obtained, but this is only an occasional patch. The sinking is from 12 to i2O feet ; "tunnels are then taken in from ! the creek bank to drain the water, after the claim being tested. This is ths best little ru3h that has taken place here for sometime, and as the lead appears to run ! very regular -I should not be surprised if j it extends for miles, j Notwithstanding the dry weaElier we I have had for the last, six weeks, it is j astonishing tlie quantity of gold sent j down, taking into consideration that.nipre than half of the sluicevs are idle for want of water, that dire cxirse on this district. Population is decidedly on tlie increase, aud one and all are in great delight at the prospact of a new roa 1 so that we can be within a reasQiiable distance of. Greymouth. Would that we had a Post Office here,' ..and tlien. tvvp pf- pur principal gi'ievaiices would be redressed. . I will forward the result of the meeting this^evening. ■, ■ . : ■■.'.*■■■■- .;.;;> ■.-■■-.•-.■■ . The meeting held at the Shamrock Hotel last Saturday; was adjourned in consequencej of a message which was received from the Surveyor stating that the contemplated line of road was totally impracticable, Wit was iio thing but a succession of ranges, arid one . range in -par ticular exceeding^ higH.' Tins is much to be regretted, as- the present dry weather would be- admirably suited for i-pad making. The meeting was unanimous in condemiiihg the present ivtrack, and was deternuned to use- every legitimate means in their power to^ preyent'any more money being Avasted upon it The Surveyor is of opinion that; by ; makujg a slight detour to the right, in. the direction of the New River, and "'from ltlience., taking one of the spurs issuing from Italian towards the Waimea, junction a good road, can be had. The problem will be in eight or ten days at farthest; ' Yesterday I witnessed the finest block of greenstone I have seen on the West Coast, it is ab^nt 3cwt and of a rich transparent dark green appear<mce ; the pai-ty. having no suitable implements for breaking it I was billy, eria bled to see a few : pieces rudely broken, off with an. axe. The locality where it has.: been found is a gully known as the,Lancasliire lead run>»ung nearly parallel with Italian. , As 1 am given to understand' it has become "quite an ornament in England this may prove rather a lucky prize to the finders. Larrat and party at the foot of Connelly's Creek have been doing exceedingly well for the last three weeks, but are sadly troubled for the want of water, this! need not inform you is the universal' cry throughout the district. •