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Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 400, 6 August 1868, Page 2

A letter from our own Correspondent, published in another column, informs us that another new rush has taken place up the Ahaura River, nearer to the township ; and that two men had proceeded to town to obtain a prospecting claim. In order to ascertain how far this was borne out by tbe fact, we applied at the Warden's Office, Cobden, and were courteously informed by i Mr Dutton, that on Tuesday a man of the name of Byrne applied to him for a prospecting claim, situated four and a-half miles away from any other workings, and much nearer to the Ahaura Township than the last rush. He stated that there were four or five miles of country all payable, but as he had been rushed by about 100 miners, he had to leave before he had done more than test his own claim, which gave a yield of five grains to the dish. The gully runs into a creek near Reid's Station, a few miles beyond the Ahaura, and is known as Station Creek. Mr Dutton promised to visit the ground this week, and in the meautime he granted protection for the claim. Another letter, i-e---ceived by us yesterday from a reliable-source at the Ahaura, will be found flsewhere. It fully bears out the statements of the prospector made to tha Warden, and there is every reason to believe that a large and entirely new gold field has been opened, the main gully alone being capable of containing two thousand nieu. We understand that Mr Greenwood, the Acting Native Commissioner, has given every facility for the construction of the proposed tramway from Boundary street over the reserve, for the purpose of bringing firewood, &c, to town. The survey of the line was made yesterday by Mr Johnston, District Engineer, and the work will be proceeded with on an early day. A very pleasant evening's entertainment is to be given in the Institute, Gresson street, to-morrow eveniny, in the shape of a concert by Messrs Black, West, and Singer. The vocal abilities displayed by these gentlemen at the concerts jjiven by them during the present week in the Oddfellows' Hall, warrant us in anticipating a rich treat. It is to be hoped the enteitainmont will be well patronised. The first of a series of lectures aud readings, in aid of the building fund of the Wesleyan Church, wa« given in the Institute, Gresson street, the lecturer being J. R. Dutton, Esq., R.M. The chair was taken by W. H. Kevell, Esq., R.M., who, with a few remarks, introduced the lecturer. Mr Dutton choße for his subject the well-known English aphorism "Where there's a will there's a way," and proceeded to illustrate it by sketches from the lives of great and good men, embracing Cyrus, Solon, Napoleon, Cromwell, Mahommed, Luther, Ferguson, Herschel, Newton, Watt, Stcphenson, Havc-

lock, and many eminent men now living. These biographical sketches were very well chosen, and interspersed with anecdotes happily delivered, all pointing to the lesson the lecturer sought to inculcate- -that perseverance in any sphere of life and for any object, whether gogd or bad, would overcome the most apparently insurmountable difficulties, and would prove to those who earnestly attempted it, that if they had the will they would soon tind the way. The lecture waa very ably delivered, and was listened to with wrapt attention by the audience. At its conclusion, the Rev Mr Shaw moyed a vote of thanks to Mr Dutton, for the rich intellectual treat they had received that evening, and took the opportunity of explaining that these lectures were instituted for the purpose of raising a sufficient sum of money to meet two bills, amounting to £12Q, which had been given as part payment of the building, and which would shortly fall due. He trusted that at future lectures the attendance would be better, a.nd that they would be assisted out of their present difficulties. T£py had the ■will, and he hoped the public would show them the way. A vote of thanks to the Chairman broug]it the proceedings to a closeThe next lecture of the course will be delivered by the Rev Mr Shaw on Astronomy, illustrated by diagrams, on Tuesday evening next. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, one "drunk and incapable" was fined in the usual amount. The Westport Evening Star says ;--' ' At Charleston, during the visit of the Commissioners now holding an inquiry into the circumstance, of th.c late disturbance at Addr sou's, a public meeting was held, when resolutions were passed approving of the couduct of Mr Kynnersley, and expressing sympathy with him ' for the vexatious annoyance he has been put to through the wise and faithful discharge of his duties at Addison'sFlat.'" It will be seen by the letter of our qorrespondent at Ruthcrglen that another discovery of golrf'had been made in a terrace up the Cocka-Bulla Creek, about two miles south-west from the well-known Eightr Mile Terrace, but the results are uot yet known, as the parties are engaged in tunnelling, There is nothing new from the Eight-Mile, the parties there being all busily employed in completing their tunnels. That the ground is considered to be rich may be gathered from, tha fact that in the case against the prospectors recently decided in the District Court, in which they lost their tunnel, but were allowed compensation, they have made a claim on this account of £(547. From recent returns, prepared for the information of Sir George Bowen, we (Weilington Independent) learn that the total Maori population is estimated now, in ISGB, at 38,517; of which number all except from 1500 to 2000 reside in tbe Northern Island. Ten years ago, in 185S, a Government census returned the, total Maori population at 56,040; twenty years »go, in 1848, the Maories were estimated at about 100,000. The causes which have contributed to produce this rapid and deplorable decay have been discussed at length by several writers of ability aud local experience. Mr Fox shows that the gradual disappearance of the Maories is not to be attributed in any large degree to their intercourse with Europeans ; for " that, for' the most part, has led to the adoption of better food, better dwellings, better general habits of life." " The one great cause has been, ani is, their utter disiegard of all those social and sanitary conditions which are essential to the continuing vitality of the human race. This cause was in existence long before there was a European in the islands, and there is little doubt that the race was on the decrease when Cook iirst landed there. " It was recently mentioned in a letter from our Arnould correspondent that a sum of £13 10s had been collected to bo handed over to the late John Cooper, in the event of his recovery. It has since been determined to divide this sum equally between the Grey River Hospital, in which Cooper died, and his mother, who is said to be in indigent circumstances in Scotland. The half was paid over to the Hospital by Mr E. B. Fox yesterday , aud we believe it is intended to subsidise the other half, by making it up to £10 before being sent home. We ( Westport Times) regret to say that Mokihinui has gone from bad to worse, and may be said to have reached pretty well its last stage. There are only, we hear, twenty inhabitants left in Mokihinui proper, and about a hundred scattered about the district. The weekly mail service, however, is continued, and its utility may be guessed when there are conveyed on each journey, on an average, foutf or five letters. Taking the outside estimate, as the service costs £3 per week, each letter costs the revenue twelva shillings, tolerably expensive postage to say the least of it. We understand that both the contractor and the postmaster, Mr Winstanley, are agreed as to the desirability of putting an end to the contract, but as the latter cannot do so without communicating with head-quarters at Wellington, and as Colonial, like English, Circumlocution offices cannot return a plain answer to a plain question in less than three or six months, we may expect that the contract time will elapse before they formally agree to its being cancelled. The contract for the re-construction of the Boundary street clam is being rapidly proceeded with. The work is to be carried out in a most substantial manner, piled and planked on the inside to prevent its being again washed away, and the roadway decked over. The derrick and monkey were brought to the ground yesterday, and the driving of the piles will be at once commenced. The break in the embankment near the wharf is also in process of being speedily made good, a number of the piles having already been driven. In one of his despatches to the Duke of Buckingham, his Excellency the Governor writes : — "I have stated on previous occasions that the Maories generally concur in

these sentiments with their fellow-subjects of European blood. An additional proof of the prevalence of these loyal feelings will be found in an interesting and gratifying fact which has recently been brought to uiy knowledge. It had been arranged that the Duke cf Edinburgh during his projected tour in New Zealand should visit the cele-' brated hot lakes and springs, which are situated at some distance inland from the eastern coast of the North Island. The loyal Arawa tribe, through whose territory it is necessary to pass to reach the lakes from the sea at Tanranga, spontaneously undertook by their personal, labor — the chiefs and their clansmen working together — and without any remuneration from tbe Colonial Government, to construct a road sixty miles in length for the convenience of his Royal Highness. This road was recently travelled over with ease and comfprt by a party of English ladies and gentlemen, who state that the Maories have also erected pavilions along tfae route, and have provided boats on the lakes in anticipation of the visit of the ♦ Queen's son,' as they affectionately style fcjje D{ike of Edinburgh." The Tluiines Advertiser, of the 21st just., relates, the following as the result of the first crashing of th,e quartg taken from Hunt's claim;- '<The whole battery Waa started about noon yesterday, with the poorest stuff on the claim, in order to fill up the boxes, and give the richer quartz and the battery a better test, After several hours' work at this, eight head of stampers were lifted, aud the single set of four heads filled with specimens mixed with inferior stuff. When the battery had been at work two hours the stumper box became overcharged with amalgam, and the second battery was started iv order to relieve it. Two hours afterwards the person feeding at the hopper at the back of the machine found that he could not get the quartz into th.c stamper box, and called to the engineer to stop the machinery, under the impressiod that something was going wrong. On examination it was found that the opening where the quartz is put in was thoroughly stopped up with amalgam, and nearly about lOOlbs. weight were taken out of the stamper box aud carried to the retort in buckets. Whilst this work was going on, the third battery was set in motion, and so the work of crushing by means of four head at a time was continued until eight o'clock this morning, when the extraordinary yield of 1500 ounces of retorted gold was obtaiued as the result of sixteen hours' crushing. Of course, the stone from which this yield was obtained was specimens'mixed with inferior material, the latter being put iv to enable the quicksilver to perform its work upon the mass of gold turned out of the rich stone. The first week's crushing, with only four head of stampers, turned out 5000 ounces of gold. " ,