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Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 202, 30 April 1867, Page 2

An anecdote has been related to us which forcibly illustrates the predisposition of the miners for the JS"olson province, in consequence of the more liberal policy and greater attention of that Government. A party of, men were selling a parcel of gold to one of the Bank in this town, ami when ilic customary enquiry was made as to which province the cold had been brought from, the men replied " Nelson." Now it happened that the buyer knew that the nuin were working on the Canterbury side of tho river, as he had seen them washing up only a few days before ; he therefore asked the men what reason they had for making such an assertion. They replied that they thought the Nelson Government "deserved a good turn as they treated the diggers so mnch better, and made roads for them." We are informed that the feeling exemplified in this anecdote is very wide spread indeed, and that it is a customary thing for diggers to "try it on," and if possible " swindle" the Canterbury Government of its proper share of the export duty — which share is, we may state, regulated by the declarations of the sellers as to the province of which their gold is the product. Horses were sent down yesteiday from Hokitika for the purpose of effecting tho mud" -required removal of the Station House from Saltwater Creek to Diamond Gully, where several cases have occurred of late calling for the intervention of the police, and for some means of restraining the disorderly part of the community residing there. publ?c meeting was held, at the Union Theatre, on Saturday evening, for the purpose of receiving the report of the gentlemen who had canvassed the town for subscriptions towards a lire engiuc, and to adopt stt-ps for the formation of a Fire Brigade. Mr De i Costa was called to the chair, and explained that he, Messrs Kennedy and Maclean had constituted themselves collectors, and he was happy to say they had succeeded in raising already £180, and they fully expected that the list would yet reach a much larger sum. They had thought it best to begin ! de novo and not to depend on the old subscription lists, which simply represented amounts promised, but not paid. Many circumstances hail arisen since the time when the first lists were made out which altered the ability of person to contribute, but he was happy to, say that the new list represented cash actually paid. They had met with very general consent in their canvas, no one that he was aware of having entirely declined . subscribing. Those who had not already put down their names would do so before the.lists were closed. Mi v Maclean bore out the remarks of the chairman, and after some discussion it was resolved' to; appoint a committee of live gentlemen to take the necessary steps for the purchase of a suitable fire engine. Several names were proposed, and after a ballot had been taken, the following gentlemen wereappointed;— Messrs Kennedy, Maclean, De Costa, Kilgour, and Davies. It was afterwards resolved that steps should be taken to . form a Fire Brigade without delay, and the chairman invited volunteers from thuso present, of whom about 30 gave in their

names. A remark was made — and certainly not without cause— that in many cases the subscriptions did not bear a fair comparison to the property of the subscribers, and it was urged that in a matter so vitally affecting individual interests those • who had inadequately subscribed would not hesitate to increase the sums they had already contributed. The subscription lists lie at the office of -Messrs Kennedy "Bros, j and it is to be hoped that all who have not yet subscribed, or who wish, to add to their donations, will j call and put down their names or add to their 1 first contributions. We are glad that this movement has at last assumed •» practical form, and trust that Greymouth will not be long without being able to boast of a properly organised force and appliances for the protection of the town against the ravages of fire. We have received Brighton and Charleston papers up to Saturday's date, but neither of them contains a single item of mining news, and there is a general air of d illness perceptible in the news from both places. As far as we can gather, things remain in much the same condition all along the coast that they have been in for some time past. Large numbers of diggers arc scattered about, some of them very profitably employed, several prospecting, tho country in a wide radius round the diggings of known repute, but a far greater proportion quietly waiting, like Mr Micawbei-j for " something to turn up.' Nothing that can.be called definite or satis, factory has come in about the reported rush to the Ten -mile Beach, which excited some interest in town last week ; neither have we been able to ti ace to any disinterested or reliable source the rumor, spread at the sjime time, of gold having been brought down from a place on Coal Creek, in the close vicinity of Cobden. We believe the latter, however, to be entirely without foundation, although there arc many likely-looking places up the creek which have been.repeatedly prospected, but always without result. . > * The long-defer»*ed performance for, the;:, furtherance of the Volunteer Fire Brigade^ comes off to-night, at the Union Theatre. Our amateur company has taken what cannot bnt be considered a very bold step in putting themselves before the public in a play demanding for its fit representation such a large variety of dramatic talent as "Macbeth"' does.; but audacity is often the surest path to success, and, besides, the cast is so heavy that a very large .number of persons are interested in witnessing, and doubtless applauding, the efforts of their personal friends. They will ( also have the valuable professional aid of Mr Lionel Harding and Miss Eosa Cooper to keep the unsteady ones in the way that they should go. The artistic ambition af the amateurs docs not even stop at the delivery of "Shakespeare's mighty line " with clue emphasis and discretion, but will essoy the magnificent, though difficult, music of Looke. The play is to be followed by the side-splitting farce of "Boots at the Swan ;" and during the entr'acte Miss Eosa Cooper will declaim a sort of picture-poem, appropriate to the occasion, prepared expressly by a friend of the movement. Do the Christclmrch papers really reflect the public opinion of their part of the pro- .! vince? There are three journals published 1 in the provincial metropolis, each of which I has lately taken up the subject of Westland affairs, and ventured its opinion on the most important questions affecting the relationship of the two portions of the province. And c:'ch takes a view different from tha 1 ; of his I'or.t'jmporaries, and proposes plans entirely ' opposed to those -which his neighbor regards as infallible. The Lytielton- Times and fHvenhiff Mail have dealt with the land question, their views on which we have already given our readers, and now the Preia takes up the whole question of Wesfeland gnven - meut, and arrives at the conclusion that it would be much to the interest of both sides of the province if they were politically disunited. We ropublish our contemporary's article in another column, and we would recommend our readers to peruse it. , The Hokitika people have become so enamoured of racing, by the enjoyment derived from the Easter meeting, that they appear to have been unable to make up their minds to part with the gratification withe ut one more, day of it. So a match was got up for £100 a-side between Kohler and Mocking "Bin" 1 , over a three mile course, which came off on Saturday afternoon, in the presence of -most of the sporting men who have been drawn to the town by the attractions of the race- week. Each horse carried lOst. Betting at starting was (5 to 5 on Kohler, which confidence [was quite justified by the result, the little horse taking the lead from the first, maintaining it easily throughout, and coming in a winner fully five lengths. He finished as gamely as he commenced, and it was quite manifest that the marc, had no chance against him from, the beginning. The three miles were done in 7 mm. 22 sees. .As there were so many people present, the stewards, desirous of giving them as much sport as possible, got up an extra Hurdle Eace of 20 soys., with L 5 sweep added. One mile disJ tar 2Q, in heats. Mr Dyson's br h Brown Stout, Mr. G. Mason's b g Selim, and A'r Mees' br g Candidate were entered for this event, but Selim 'bolted outside the course in the first heat, and although he won the second heat in splendid style, was disqualified.. Candidate also, after taking the first hurdle, got a little hurt, fell deail hune,. and was withdrawn, so that Brown Stout was left without a competitor. There were some four or five hundred people on the ground^ who, being favored with- magnificent weather, passed a most enjoyable day.