Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 404, 15 August 1868, Page 2

Very good r.ews. continues tq be received from the new grpund which we mentioned in our lasb as having been oppned in the vicinity of Pile Creek ? New River District, and several claims are reported to have been bot'pmed with prospects of between one and two pennyweights to the dish. It is conti dently beliayed that a well defined lead hag been struck, which will be traced a considerable distance. In consequence, the. whole pppulation of tbe Saltwater district is on tbe move, and claims h,avp been pegged out for a long distance q:i the supposed n n of the lead. At present the sinking is sha! r low but wet, and no person need proceed to the rush who is not able to spend both time and money in testing tho giqund. From the Arnold, we yesterday receiyed the fol. lowing letter on this subject from our own correspondent : — " Several parties have been here this morning, who report a good rush about three and a-half miles from Italian Gully, and about half a mile from Pile Creek^ One of the parties have applied for a prospecting claim, but in consequence of Mr Warden Keo«h not being able to be here before Friday, they will have to remain here until then. They report that the diggings are shallow, but in swampy ground ; the depth from three to four feet, and as much as two dwts to the disji have been obtained. Great excitement prevails in the whole district, but it will require a week before anything definite cau be said on the subject. 1 intend visiting the locality as well as Pile Creek on an early day." It is announced that the Rev R. J. Thorpe* of Nelson, will preach in Triuity Church tomorrow at 11 a. in. and 7 p.m. On both occasions collections will be made in aid of the Parsonage fund. A great day in Franc.;, the anniversary of the Emperor, occurs ou Monday, and this event is to be celebrated by a grand ball and supper at the Victoria Hotel on th;it evening. In the Warden's Court, liutherglen, on Thursday, before M. Keogh, Esq., R.M., tbe following mining eases were decided :- Couch and Co. v. Cuvanagh and Co. — This important ense from the Eight Mile Terraej has arrived at another stage, and tbis time Cavanagh and Co. have been adjudged to pay 1/210 t;> Couch and Co. as compensation for the loss of their tunnels, &c. Cavanagh and Co however expressed their intention to appeal against the decioion. The following assessors were chosen — Messrs Thomas, Keeney, Currie, and Robinson. Ryan and Co. v. Miiining and Co. — The pluiutilfs in tbis case were absent from their claim and had engaged wages men to work for them whilst they were afc the Eight Mile. The wages men neglecting their work, and tho defendants finding the ground unoccu^itil. pegged it off. The Warden decided that gioinul could not be forfeited through the negligence of hired men. "Verdict for plaintiffs. Keating v. Mcynihan and Co. — The same assessors were engaged in this case as in Couch v. Cavaua»h. Verdict lor Moyni* hau, with 15a compensation. Costs divided. A little incident occurred on Thursday in connection with the Grey River Hospital which deserves to be noticed from its raiity] About eight months ago a man named Ernest Hansen was admitted as a patient, when he was informed that ho would have to pay at the rate of 30s per week while in the Hospital. At the end of three weeks he was discharged, but as he stated that he was destitute, he left without making any payment. On Thursday evening last, however, Hansen called on Dr Morrice, and paid him the lA 10s he had promised to do when he left the Hospital eight months before. We commend this example to the attention of the many patients who have been restored to health by the medical attendance and comforts they received in the Hospital, who are now in receipt of wages, and many in good claim throughout the district. "An Experienced Miner" wrtcs as follows to the West Count Times of Thursday :— The Thames Gold Field consists of quartzreefs, and you must be perfectly aware, Sir, that a gold field of this kind requires a great amount of capital and perseverance to work >t profitably. Quartz goli 1 fields are generally sandstone, or strata of earth, that require to be worked by powder, hammer, and drill?, unless the reef that you intend to prospect crops out of the surface. You may have to work for six or twelve months, and to do 6iis you must have a considerable amount of capital. The news received tells us that many people have sold claims for many thousands of pounds ; and tbe same intelligence informs us that the ground is taken up for miles. If the ground is only taken up for ten claims, the miner who strikes the reef under three or six months is a lucky one, unless the reef crops out at the surface. My experience at Wood's Point, Dnnolly Creek, Chines, Billibonjf, aiul Tan.ut (the lirst three in Victoria,

the other two in New South Wales) has j taught me- and many of the men now rush- ) ing away have also had experience on some j of these gold fields— of the fact that a quartz gold field is a trying one for -the most persevering miner ; and where one is paid for bin , labor, there are hundreds that do not gut a ' sight of the reef that they have worked hard ; for months in order to get at. With this knowledge before them, what are tho miners kav}ng the West C<)as»t for? I wish to aak them the following questions, and ? if they are able to answer them satisfactorily, pf course they would dp wrong to remain on the Coast: — <# Aye you prepared to prospect at the Thames Gold Field frqm six tq twelve months, as in order to do this yon must have ! nioney for six months' tucker, powdpr, drills, j gads, and other necessaries ? Are you pn^ j pared to lose twelve months' time and niQTiey, \ and theu, after all this expsnditure, probably never, see the reef at all?" Ask yourselyeg these questions ; think of your previous experience in quartz-producing countries, and j if yoii still intend going, I hope yoii may never have to say to yourselves — we wish we had taken more notice of the warnings ivo have had. In the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Thursday, only two civil cases were set-down for hearing, both pf which were dismissed for non-appearance. Yesterday, there was no p.ili( c business.-— ln the Warden's Court, | there was only one case — Gibbs v. Sinnet and party — in which the complaiut was, that the defendants had failed to account for the moneys received out of the race ami claim at Sawyers' CreeU, in which he was a share- | holder ; and he asked the Court to order the | defendants tq produce a statement of their I receipts an;l expenditure from January to i August, 18G8. Messrs. Perkins and Gum- | ness appeared for tho complainant, who stated that he was a shareholder in Sinnett and party's claim, Sawyers' Creek, South Beach. In January last, he left for Queens- i land, ami agreed for one of the shareholders, i named Delany, to put on a wagesman and j look after his share. When he returned, hi was informed that he had been wronged by the other shareholders. He received certain payments, but from something he saw, he bron»ht this oase to o«>mpel the defendants to render an account of the receipts and expenditure from January to August, binnett-, one of the party, stated that since Gibbs went away they had divided gold several i times. Doolan and Ahem usually sold the geld. There was no regular book of accounts for tbe company kept. The shareh Iders ' / were generally all present, and the money ; I was just divided. They all seemed satisfied, j The complainant had never asked him for an account-, and he was unable to render one because be had kept none. Nothing had been paid out of the complainant's shire, i which had not come out; of the others. The Magistrate made the order for the accounts j to be rendered, and the case was adjourned to Monday, (or their production in Court. The only place of amusement in Greymouth at the present time is the United States Concert Hall, where a very good i comedy company is maintained. Miss Annie I Morton and Mr Newton ap t mar every | evening, supported by the Variety Troupe, in a nicely varied entertainment, which is nightly rendered in a most enjoyable j manuer. ■ In his report for the Greymouth district, I for the month ending 31st July, Mr Warden i Keogh, writing on that date, says : — " During j I the last week a small rush has set in to the '<■ Cocka-Bulla Terrace, New Ei\er. I have j ' not yet baen able to visit it ; bufc it is gene- j rally believed that payable ground has been struck of tho same character as that in Pile Creek. It is deep ground, .and will there* -i fore require some time to prove. The Pie Creek rush is extending —although slowly, from the heavy character of the •working — but in a direction different from the fir.-fc idea, viz., that the lead ran along the side of the terraces parallel with the course of the i creek. It is now thought to be running in a north and south direction, and if so, it may eventually connect with the Cocka-Bulla : workings. There are now ovur two hundred : men upon the ground ; and it will, no doubt, : be thoroughly tried. A good track to tbe ; north is mnSh. want-jd. The abundant rainfall of the past month has enabled a great j deal of profitable work to be done in the back gullies of the Arnould district. The ' ground about the Woolshed, in the G een- ' stone Creek, continues to be worked, and the population there has received a slight accession, .and now numbeis about 180. Tho ' population of the Grey District has some- ! what increased during the month, and may be estimated at 1800. Fifteen mining cases in court, and two in the field, have been j decided during the month." j In our last we mentioned the apprehension of Ensign Wrey, of the Nelson Company of Volunteers, for broaching cargo while on the way to Patea. We now learn that he was | brought up before the Magistrates, charged ! with aiding and abetting in broaching cargo, j Eventually he was discharged, ami was I ordered to pay the expenses of witnesses. It j was understood that he woul 1 have to leave I the service. The Supreme contempt which the members of the Grey District Road Board have for anything in the shape of punctuality or expedition in the despatch of what little business they have to do was amply illustrated yesterday, when it was nearly one hour and a-half after the appointed time of meeting before anything was done. This long, and to mosb people valuable, interval in the midelle of the day, was wasted in settling the preliminaries of the business, which ought to have been arranged some hours previously. The principal business brought forward was the report of the Town Sub-Committee, with respect to the visit of the hou. the County Chairman, and the agreement then arrived at regarding the removal of the tramway terminus to Boundary street. On this a very long and in some instances a very angry discussion ensued, one town member in particular using language much more personal and abusive than we choose to report. Ultimately the Board resolved to hold

the proprietors of the tramway responsible for any damage that may happen to the Boundary street dam until they remove their tramway in order to allow the works to be proceeded with, as they promised the County Chairman they would do. The- whole discussion is likely to be gone over again at the next meeting, ou a motion given notice of by Mr Wiekes yesterday, to the effwt that the BiKird vuaign for the reauonti therein stated. It was shown yesterday that the country membpra do not fpel tihpmselves called upon to resign, as they have urgent public works to parry out ; the town members may resign, ! but had they been so inclined they could :is easily have done so yesterday as next week. Sjo we suppose tho matter will remain until the tirst meeting of the Municipal Council. The Wamjanui Times is responsible for the fr|llu» jng :— Some fortnight ago Mr Booth went to. Wellington, and took with him T-mir-oa, a chief whom Colonel M'Dounell then lmjil as a kind of hostage for the good }.e}javipur of his tribe. On being introduced to the Governor, Tauroa expressed sentiments of loyalty to which Sir Geoige Bovven is said to have replied nearly as follows : — " Tauroa, I accept your professions of loyalty and ofteis of friendship, but at the same time advise you that any tribe in this colony that perpetrates atrocities similar to those recently committed in the Patea district, I will consider it my duty to pursue and exterminate. You, Tauroa, are at perfect liberty to return to your people, and with them join the Hau Haus and tight against us, but if you do so, you and your people must stand the consequences. I want no natives to assist in putting down rebellion. With a European force I will pursue and extti.r. iniuate atrocious murderers ; }f you wish to join these men you may do so, but if you take my advice you and your tribe will remain strictly neutral." With that caution and advice Tauroa withdrew, and since his i return has freely stated the result of his interf view with the Governor. 'Die Greymouth 'Volunteer Rifles turned out for drill in uniform for the first time ou Thursday evening, and a fine soldierly-looking company they arc. Undtr the command of Captain Hamilton, they marched frjni their drill-room up Hiclimond and Muwhera Quays, manoeuveriug on the march by sections, subdivisions, wheeling, counter- marching, and i many other company movements. In front j of the Albion Hotal, in presence of a dense crowd, the company was proved by Captain Hamilton, a general salute was given most ; creditably, and other mmot details of drill ! gone through in a manner which testilied to j the zeal with which the officers- have dis- ! charged their duty, ami the assiduity with which the men have attended to their mii struotions. The uniform is very neat and | effective ; consisting of a red Garibaldi I jacket, dark blue trousers with red stripe, j peaked cap, dark blue, with red bund, and j the letters G.It.V. in metal in front; the j waist and cross-belts being white. The j officers' uniforms are very handsome, I trimmed and slashed with silver lace, and ! mujt have been rather expensive items. Altogether the company looked very formidI able — quite a credit to the town whose name I they bear. i We take the following from the Lyttelton I Times of the llth instant :— A mciting of • the di.cutors of the Grey River Oo.il Joint I Swck Company was held at Messrs Wilson i aid Alport'a room, at two o'clock yesterday j aften.o>n. Present — Messrs H. I. Murruyi Aynslcy (in the choir), Richardson, Nathan, i Ollivier, and Inglis. The Secretary (Mr j James Wylde) was authorised to carry out all the stipulations of the Joint Stock Company's Act. It was decided that weekly ■ returns of the coal procured from the mines, ami the expenditure incurred, should be ; obtained from Groymouth. Leavf> was I granted to Mr Edward lieece to transfer his ; " pron.oter" shue to Mr R. M. Morten. It ' was decided that thirty days' notice should i be given for the payment of the "promoter" \ shares in full into the bank. After the disj posal of some routine business, the meeting ' adjourned until Thursday next, when the ■ tenders for survey of the line will be decided ■ on. A chairman of directors will also be j appointed in room of Mr George Buckley, j who has resigned in consequence of inability jto attend meetings regularly. Tbe same journal states that the directors were to meat ' on the llth, to open tenders for the con- ' struetion of the railway from the iniues to the Port of Greymiuth, and that it was the intention to proceed with the construction of I the railway as soon as the survey was comI pleted. It is well-known that tobacco is very dearly prized by most persons who ;'.re I unfortunate enough to be sentenced to terms ! of imprisonment, and it is curious to observe from the report of the Commission on Prisons, the irregularities which are in force with regard to this luxury in the New j Zealand prisons. In Wellington Gaol, ! tobacco is allowed to first-class prisoners ; ! but as thcic is here no classification, all the 1 risoners are allowed to smoke. In Lytteli ton Gaol, two sticks of tobacco per week are | allowed to iirst-i'lass prisoners, although all are prohibited from smoking. In Hokitika Gaol, the Ly tteltou regulations were adopted, but tobacco, although expressly allowed to first-class prisoners, has been taken away by the Visiting Justices, an the recommendation of the gaoler. In Nelson Gaol, tobacco is only allowed as an indulgence for {,6od behavior, although the ration list provides two sticks of tobacco weekly for each prisoner. In the Auckland and New Plymouth Gaols, no tobacco is allowed. In tbe Napier Gaol, a stick of tobacco is given to the hardlabor men generally, with tbe sanction of the authorities, on. recommendation of the overseers. In Dunedin Gaol, tobacco is prohibited, except by permission of a medical officer, or to well-behaved prisoners ; although by the regulations of 1862 the penal servitude men are entitled to two sticks each per week. In luvercargil! Gaol, tobacco is only given by medical permission. In Pictou Gaol, tobacco is allowed to those pe' sons who work for the Board of Works, but whether under the regulations of the Superintendent ar not does not appear.