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Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 836, 1 April 1871, Page 2

A considerable rush has set in to the lower part of Duffer and Sullivans Creeks. This has been caused by the Yackandandah party striking good gold in an old and abandoned tunnel, about two chains below the Junction of Duffer and Sullivans Creeks.

The new Rules and Regulations of the County of Westland Gold Fields were published in the County Gazette on Thursday.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court at the Ahaura, on Thursday, Jeremiah Creed was cbarged with maliciously assaulting Bernard Caiman at Napoleon, on the 28th mst. Mr Staite appeared for the prosecution, and Mr Guinness defended the prisoner. The case occupied the attention of the Court during the greater part of the day, and when the evidence on both sides was taken the prisoner

was committed for trial to the District Court to be held on the 12th April. Bail would be taken in two suieties of LI .0 each. Among the civil cases was one which caused considerable excitement among the business people of the district. Mr John Torrens, storekeeper, at Napoleon, sued Mr Jam°s M'Langhlin, storekeeper at the same place, for LlO, alleged to be owing under the following circumstances. In August last year Torrens gave M'Laughlin LlO to pay to Orr and Co in Greymouth on his account. M'Laughlin acknowledged receiving the money from Torrens, and stated that he paid it to Mr John Orr as directed. He also said he got a receipt from Orr for the money and gave it to Torrens. Mr Orr was called, and positively swore that he did not receive the money. After a long hearing the Magistrate reserved his decision, at the same time remarking that the matter must be a mistake on the part of some of the parties, and no doubt it would admit of an explanation. We leatnt late last evening from a gentleman who had just walked up from the Teretnakau, that the thirteenth and fourteenth telegraph posts from the Saltwater, in the direction of the Teremakau, had fallen down . Our informant states that the bottom of the posts was in each case quite rotten. The Ross News notices, as a new local industry, the curing of fish by Mr J. Bennett, who has lately been netting in the Wanganui, and in one tide caught 200 dozen of Hue mullet. In one of the Californian papers we find a case of suicide thus pithily reported :— "Franz Haun committed suicide at Santa Clara on the 6th inst. Cause — Woman," At the Warden's Court at the Ahaura, on Thursday, the interminable case Carev v. Carey was again called. It was an action to recover L4O, the price of a mining share at the Mosquito Lead, Napoleon, and it has been before the Coiut before on four different occasions. This time the case was finally diiposed of, as the plaintiff, who did not appear, had neglected to summon assessors to try the case, as directed at the last hearing. There was a very high tide and rough weather at Westport on Saturday last, the sea flooding some of the " low " parts of the town, such as Freeman street. The Times says that the protective work erected some time ago has been dismantled, and, unless restored, traffic will become impossible, and the National Hotel, erected at the cornw, will be gradually undermined. Charles Brown, who was detained in custody in default of obtaining sureties for his future good behaviour, made his escape from the Camp-yard, at Charleston, on Tuesday last. . The police, after some trouble, captured him near the Black Lead, and afterwards he was conveyed to Westport, and lodged in the gaol. The prisoner was recently charged with an assault upon Miss Murphy, of Charleston, An accident occurred last Monday at the claim known as the Enterprise on the Back Lead, Charleston, which occasioned considerable injury to his plant, destroyed the company's hut, and damaged the Cosmopolitan and Nile water-races. About nine o'clock in the morning, during a heavy squall, a large tree growing on the side of the terrace at the foot of which the machine is situated, was up-rooted and fell upon the machine, wheel, and tables. The wheel was almost entirely destroyed, only cne segment remaining. The roofing over the machine was completely destroyed, and the tables were rendered unserviceable. The stampers remained stanuing, but are so much twisted that they are rendered useless uutil repaired. While the men wore clearing away the debris, a heavy shower came on which induced them to make for their hut for shelter, congratulating themselves that it remained standing, when at the moment of their approach, another squall uprooted a tree immediately above the hut, which was completely levelled to the ground by the force of the falling tree. It would appearfrom actual experience in ' California that deserted diggings are still available for some purposes of agriculture. The Bulletin gives the following account of deserted ground at the foot of the Sierra Nevada: — Outside the river bars and the channels of narrow gulches and ravines, the greater part of the mineral deposits in the foothills lies in the diluvium covering gentle mound-like elevations, little valleys, and stretches of level table land, which extend from the edge of the great valleys to an elevation of 2000 to 3000 ft. A belt of rolling gravel land, five, to twenty miles wide, at the foot of the Sierra, and extending at least three hundred miles in length, is all more or less auriferous; but only a small percentage or it is more valuable for mining than for agricultural purposes, while nearly all of it is valuable for grazing, farming, gardening, vineyards, -or orchards. At such localities as Folsome 'this gravel land has been' mined in many places, more or less thoroughly. Sometimes only the surface has been sluiced off ; at others the whole deposits of gravel has been washed to the bed rock, a depth varying from one foot to fifty or a hundred. Yet throughout this region farms*? prphards and vineyards have been cultivated, often enclosing diggings slightly remunerative, or entirely abandoned, or bounded by the edge of some hydraulic chasm. In some cases old placers, where heaps of " tailings" are spread over gentle slopes, or along little valleys, have bean taken up and reclaimed for agricultural purposes, and especially for gardens and vineyards. The following items of mining intelligence from the Greenstone are given by the West Coast Times : — The news from here for this week is unimportant. In mining matters everything is going on steadily and satisfactorily. Creek claims which were kept idle during the late floods are now in full swing again. No damage, save an ordinary occurrence of a few tailings being washed into paddocks, has occun'ed by the late floods. ] n addition I may mention a slight loss sustained bj Fern and party, of Maori Point, who had several sluice-boxes carried away belonging to them. Bayliss and party, of the same lecality, had their workings literally covered with tailings, brought down the creek by the late food, and the clearing of them will entail a matter of two days' loss of time. The late rains on the other hand have done a deal of good for this place. Among other workings it has been the means of giving a full supply of water to the. Duke's Terrace. The claimholders working on the evening shift will have to work by lanteni-light for about two hours .at present, and tue number of hours for using the lamps to work by will be increasing as the days get shorter. This, it may be imagined, is not the most enviable occupa-. tion in the world, for in broad daylight those occupied in the vicinity of any loose stones, &c, about to fallout of the face of the working would likely perceive the same in time to get out of the way, while, on the other hand, at night they have no such chance. To remedy this there is only one plan, and Ihot is for such, alteration to be made by the Hohonu Race Company as to be able to supply all the claims on the terrace during daylight, and how such is to be done I need not mention, as such is well known to the shareholders themselves. A few shares have changed hands lately on the Duke's Terrace. That in Cox and party was sold for forty pounds, and a share sold in Winuerty and party's fetched thirty pounds. The latter claim is only just opening. On the Duke's Terrace several parties have had a small washing up, one or two of them with very satisfactory results, j