THE The Drey River Argus. THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 694, 30 June 1870, Page 2

THE The Drey River Argus. THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1870.

We had the pleasure of publishing an extra, containing the Colonial Treasurer's financial statement, yesterday morning, and which we had intended to discuss in this morning's issue. Want of space and other matters, however, compel us reluctantly to hold the subject over. There has been a good deal of talk lately about what has been called " the baldness " of the memorial about to be presented to the General Assembly, praying for annexation ; but we hear from Wellington that the memorial has been drawn up in the only sbape in which, Ynutet the present circumstances of the Colony, it could receive the attention of the Assembly. To have asked for anything else than the alteration of the present Voluntary-line would nave defeated the object of tie promoters ot the movement, because the first question that is asked by the Ofcago and Canterbury members is, " What are we to do with Hokitika ?" It will be seen by reference 'to, the memorial that all this district asks is an alteration of the boundary-line, no matter how effected ; but the manner of bringing about the desired issue is left to the Assembly. A general meeting of the shareholders of the Geordie's Terrace Sluicing Company will be held on Friday evening next, at Johnstone's Melbourne Hotel, to receive the directors' report. ;; It will be seen by a reference to bur Wellington correspondent's letter that the ballot will be used at all future elections in Westlarid. ; As will be seen from an advertisement in another column, all those parties who have agreed to become members of the Greymbuth Jockey Club are requested to meet at Gilmer's Hotel to-night for the transaction oi urgent important business. The West Taieri correspondent of the Bruce Standard is the authority for stating that there is in Otago a repetition oi the case of the Welsh fasting girl. In the Maungatua district a young woman, ; the daughter of a Mr Boss, a farmer, has beer bedridden for eighteen weeks. For the last three weeks she has been, and is still, in t trance. The has not taken. one pound ol solid meat since the New Year, and has nol spoken for weeks. From the reports of the proceedings of the County Council we learn that an adjourn ment to the 13th July next has taken place. With reference to the Education Bill, th< Chairman, in answer to Mr White, stated that in the Education Bill the following clauses would be struck out, viz., 44, 48, and 53, and a clause would be substitutec and numbered 46, which would read at follows :— " All schools established or to b< established, and partly maintained undei this Act, shall give in part, elementary education without charge of fees, &c., to al destitute children, supported either by Go vernment or by any Benevolent Institutioi ..within tihp (^iHSfcejlAigTOn lyHnont furthei amendment or revision. There being n( further business the Council adjourned Ik the , 13th July, when the Estimates for th< next six months will be brought before tin Council. By telegraph from Napier we learn th« following items of important news :— Th« native allies under Hamlin have destroyed all the cultivations and 1 pahs around the Waikaremoana Lake. The amount of food taken is enormous ; enough to keep a thou sand mien for twelve months. The whaleboat built by ..Colonel Herrick, has been recaptured, together with all the canoes on the lake. This capture gives the Colonial troops fall command of Woikaremoana Lake and its settlements. The surrender of Makarinu, one of the principal (Jrewera chiefs, is daily expected by Mr Hamlin, together with al] his Hau-hau followers. The New, Zealand Gazette, of 15th June, contains the notification of the appointment of Mr Edmund Barff to be Warden's Clerk at the Kanieri. We learn that after all the intriguing that has taken place, by telegram, between Mr Barff and the General Government as to his appointment, that he has not resigned his seat in the Assembly for Westland South. After he received the promise of the Warden's Clerkship he asked that hia appointment might be delayed for a few days. He then requested the Government to appoint a Sub-Warden, which was refused on the ground that there were other gold fields' officers who had a prior claim. He consented to accSpt the minor position of a clerkship, but immediately afterwards telegraphed to Wellington "That there i was great excitement about hia I not going to the Assembly, and demanded a reply at once. " The .General Government were so disgusted at his conduct that they would not reply to his message. Even. supposing he now proceeded to Wellingtou, he will have no influence in the Assembly, while, at the same time, he has been acting in almost disgraceful manner towardsiiis conßtiitency of Westlahd South. A case iUustratinglhe "«xcessive«>eculation attending the suddeac>utol^«k.of the Thames Gold Fields was hea^^^^^rTn Melbourne. A miner named James^alshe sued H. S. Smith, an accountant %i ~3tfelbourne, for L 1152, the greater portion bif which represeuted the commission, at 24 per cent, charged on L 30,000, the alleged value of a claim he was the means of securing for the defendant. From the evidence it appeared that the claim had turned out worthless, and had been abandoned, and, the defendant refusing to recognise his claim for commission, the plaintiff brought the action . A correspondent in New South Wales sends us the following suggestions as to prospecting:—Let every man on a gold field contribute, , say Is a week, towards a local prospecting fund, under local and trustworthy management; after due . certificates and red tape, let the Government contribute from a fund appropriated for that purpose an equal amount monthly or quarterly; the Bum so obtained to be devoted to prospecting the locality in which the money was raised, pither by boring, sinking, trenching, tunnelmg, or m any manner, and in any place, that the Government officer or representative, issisted by the local managers, may direct!— ! ;he latter to find the labor and material, and ;he representative of the Government to sertify to the work. It will be seen that lalf the f tind coming out of local pockets rill cause the work to be more economically nd efficiently done, and half the fuud

coming out of the revenue' will secure Government check and supervision, and at the Bame time form a strong inducement to every man of every grade to contribute the value of two nobblers weekly to the fund. On the commencement of work by the contractors or party employed to sink or bore, it would be the duty of the local managers or agents to mark off as many claims as correspond to the paying names on the contributing list, priority to be settled by numbered ballot papers, and' the claims to be held in abeyance until the prospecting bore or shaft has proved the ground.

With regard to the Martin's Bay district, about which there have 'been" so many enquiries lately, we may state that- the men working on the road from Queenstown have originated a prospecting party into which each pays 5s per week. A party of road men sunk a hole in a likely looking gully to the depth of twenty feet. They found, gold in three different strata, and appearances warrant them sinking further. A very extensive beach, having the appearance of. an old lake, has been discovered on the Dart River. Every panful of the stuff lifted showed the "color/ T?he party tried to sink but found too much watet, but thought two Californian pumps v ould. bottom. Eight persons have gone over the saddle in the direction, of Martin's Bay within iithe r last fortnight.— A correspondent, writing from the head of Lake Wakatip, says that the road to Martin's Bay is made fifteen miles from the head of the lake. It crosses the river Dart and its tributary streams five, times. The fords are all paved with hewn stone, and. where there is deep water trees have been felled for foot bridges. The crossing places are very firmly constructed, and have withstood several heavy floods. The bushmen or timber cutters are seventeen miles a-he&d of the roadmen, and have already cleared a track to Lake Harris, on the top of the great dividing range. A iurbher cabbing round a rocky precipice for some three miles will complete the track to the Saddle, as far as the woodcutters are concerned. No weather had been experienced' that is likely to interfere with the prosecution of the works.