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Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 451, 3 December 1868, Page 2

Two of the candidates for the representation of Greymouth in the County Council — Messrs Lahman and Wickes — will address the electors to-morrow evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, Hunt's Club Hotel. Another candidate, Mr Comiskey, will hold meetings at Kilgour's Hotel on Monday evening, and at Ashton's Hotel on Tuesday evening. Mr W. Dale, a candidate for a seat in the County Council for the Paroa Electoral District, addressed a meeting of electors on Tuesday evening, at Davidson's Hotel, Paroa. Mr Leach was in the chair. The candidate addressed the meeting at some length on a number of subjects likely to come before the County Council, and answered the questions put to him in a satisfactory manner. At the close, a vote of confidence in Mr Dale was proposed by Mr Kittelty, seconded by Mr Brunt, and carried. The qualification required for voters in the Paroa Electoral District in the forthcoming election for the County Council is the possession of a miner's right and business license, and two months' residence in the district, dating from the 30th ult, or being enrolled on the electoral roll for Westland South. A motion was recently discussed in the Borough Council for the purpose of employing labor to cut through the shingle bank at the gorge, in order to divert the current of the river. It is fortunate the motion was negatived, as a little enquiry would have shown the Council that they have no power to interfere in any manner with the navigation of the port. Their power extends only to the wharveß and quays within the Borough ; all other matters connected with the river are under the Marine Act, and in charge of the County Chairman, to whom the Governor deputed his powers under the Act. Works similar to those proposed here were attempted at Hokitika some time ago, but were sanctioned by the Governor's Dele, gate. Jones's Flat has been declared a mining drainage district, under the provisions of the "Gold Mining Claims Drainage Act," recently passed by the Assembly. A Mining Drainage Board has also been appointed to regulate the affairs of the district. Although the parties of miners on the North Beach, between the Grey aud Razorback, are very much scattered, they continue to do well, and in some cases remarkably well. We recently mentioned that two parties had set in at the foot of the old Darkies Terrace to sluice the old ground. One of these parties, in the "Who'd a thought it" claim, have been very fortunate On Saturday last they washed up from three weeks' accumulation of line Band, and the baize was thickly covered with very fin*

gold— indeed it could pnly be called '•' aclotfc j of gold." We have not heard the precise! amount, but the men are highly pleased with , the result of their undertaking. Close to 1 them Eadie and party $f c about jfco erect \ steam machinery. Their engine £s now on ■' the ground, and will shortly be erected. ■ They deserve success for their enterprise. '. The party of men who recently erected the water-wheel at the Nine Mile are on good gold, aud being well repaid for ;their labor. At the Twelve Mile another party are en' • ' gaged putting up a water-wheel, and are about to set in at the foot of the terrace. At this side of Razorback, Warren's party have ' now completed their water-race, at which they have been working for the last five' months. They expect to do very well when they get fairly to work on the terrace. On the other side of Razorback a party of twelve men are now engaged in bringing in a race which will contain from six to seven heads of water when complete. These parties are all $,y;oj\fcing on or at the foot of the terraces, and there are numerous parties working on the beaches, most of whom are doing very well, but this ' ' beach-combing" is very precarious work. We know of one case on the ■North Beach in which a miner made, last week, an ounce a day, from washing the black sand thrown up by a high surf, but next week he may do nothing, as the beauh is often covered up for days with heavy boulders. The Attornoy-General of the Colony has set a good example, by taking the oath in Wellington as an artillery volunteer. The Otago Government has offered to provide for a limited number of refugees from the West Coast of the North Island, if necessary. Steps are being taken to organise a Volunteer Cavalry, and a Kaval Brigade, in Wellington. The electors of Timaru again refused to return a member for the Provincial Council of Canterbury, declaring that the representation was valueless. Major Biggs, who was murdered in the late attack at Poverty Bay, was well-known in Christchurch. He was a magistrate [at Poverty Bay as well as a major of Militia» and was well known as a brave and ableofficer. His wife, who fell beside him, was a niece of Dr Dudley, of Kaiapoi, and was universally respected. In some specimens of the amalgam and ore from the Almanda silver mine in South Australia, examined by the analyst of the Victorian Geological department, it was found that no gold was present, but bromide of silver and native silver were. It was also estimated that by the machinery at present in use seventy-five per cent of the metal contained in the ore was lost. On Saturday last Oainaru harbor, Otago, was visited by large shoals of fish. Boats immediately put out to capture them, and were very successful, as, according to the local journal, one alone captured as many as 200 rock cod and about a dozen groper, of weights ranging from 80 to 2001bs. Sharks, also, are said to be very numerous at Oamaru at the present time. We learn from a Wanganui contemporary that a man of the name of Kennedy, who did not return to camp on the evening of the attack on Motcrua, was found on Friday las* by one of the men of Wairoa, wandering in the bush, in a famished condition and almost insensible. He was only able to answer " yes" to everything that was said to him. He has, however, considerably recovered, and says that himself and four men went to bring away Sergeant Kirwan who was wounded. The Maoris noticed them and rushed upon them, when they fled in different directions. The other men have not turned up, and he does not know what has become of them. He lived from Saturday to Friday on fern root. Some of the leading newspaper proprietors in the United States are making arrangements for the establishment of a composing room and a small stereo foundry on board the mail steamers ; so that the English news may be despatched the moment the vessel arrives in port. Expectations are entertained at Hobart Town that a trade in coal will spring up between Port Seymour in Tasmania, and Melbourne. This coal, it will be remembered, was recently experimented on with a view to its value for ocean steam purposes, but the result of the experiment was not wholly satisfactory. Business is very dull in Hobart Town just now. The stores are glutted with produce, while on the wharves there are thousands of feet of timber of excellent quality, and thousands of tons of firewood awaiting a purchaser. The Charleston Herald speaks hopefully of the progress of mining in that neighborhood, and gives the following results as the yields of a few claims, while many others are stated to be doing well : — The Cosmopolitan Campany, Back Lead, washed up some time since, and the result was, as usual, a handsome one— 9Bo ozs. amalgam for five weeks' crushing. — Giles, Penny, and Co., Deep Lead, Candlelight, have suspended crushing for the last three weeks, owing to their being engaged in prospecting an extended area of two acres which was lately granted them. They purpose, however, to commence crushing early this week, and at the same time to drive a tunnel, which will be about 400 feet long, through the^r ground As we had often occasion to remark, the engine, and indeed the whole plant on this claim, is entitled to especial commendation. The other engine in this part of the district, some time since the property of Neilson and party, is at a standstill, and there is little prospect of its working soon. All the shares in this claim were sold lately by auction and purchased by Forsyth and Masters, of Princes-street. The engine, however, was not included. Five of the thirteen shares realised the aggregate sum of £5, and the remainder were knocked down at 3s 6d each, on Friday last. No doubt this is a painful termination to a speculation which was some time sanguinely expected to yield handsomely. The ground, however, was very poor, and when we add that it wax of a very stoncy nature,

it would be a matter of surprise if any other result could follow. Martin and party, of Butcher's Claim, Emerald Terrace, have a very good claim, which yields about £15 a i week for each shareholder. They have I lately struck a seaiif ©rblack san d about four feet deep. It yields yery well. Green and party adjoin the atitoVe, and are also crushing some capital stuff. The claim yields ahaudsome average. We may remark that both parties depend on flood water, their dams being incapable of containing much of that element, and hence the tremendous disad vantage they labor under in dry weather. Gordon and party's claim is one of the best in the district. It yields something close on £40 a week on an average, for each shareholder. If this handsome return continues, we have little doubt but that it is indeed the best in the district. Kelly and party's claim ia on the same lead as the above and adjoin" ing it. The last washing realised £60 for e ach shareholder, clear of expenses, after four weeks' crushing, and it is thotight that the next return will even exceed this sum. In replying to the valedictory addresses presented to him by the clergy and laity of Victoria, Bishop Selwyn stated that there were now in' that colony ,114, and in New Zealand 105 clergymen of the Church of England, showing a twenty-fold increase since his first arrival at Sydney in 1842. His Lordship also stated, as giving some idea of the onerous duties which he was about to undertake in his new sphere of action, that the diocese of Lichfield contained GOO parishes, of an aggregate population of 1,200,000, and under the pastoral care of 900 clergymen. The Taranaki Herald of Nov. 14th, says : — "We have been informed that Major Atkinson has taken with him to England several specimens— crude and manufactured — of the Taranaki steel, smelted from the iro n sand by Messrs. D. Atkinson and E. M. Smith. The following is the list of articles which have been sent to England :— ' Two small gravers, one cold chisel, one bar (about 71bs), one round bar (roughly forged), several crude specimens as melted, some Urenui clay, iron sand, and likewise a mixture of the two prepared for smelting.' We believe that Major Atkinson intends to submit these specimens to several persons of eminence in England, and should such men as Sir William Whitworth take sufficient interest in it, we shall have no fear but that shortly the iron sand which is lying on our beach dormant, will soon be converted into a useful article of commercial value."