THE WARDEN'S REPORT ON THE GREY DISTRICT.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 968, 2 September 1871, Page 3

THE WARDEN'S REPORT ON THE GREY DISTRICT.

The following is a copy of the report furnished by Mr Warden Revell to the County Chairman as to ilie state of the district during the last half-year, which was recently laid before the County Couuc'l : — ■ • , Warden's Office, Greymouth, July 4th, 1871. Sir — 1 have the honor to forward for your information a report for the past six months on the Greymouth district. The general state of .the district is healthy; commercial and' mining interests have progressed steadily, and will bear favorable comparison with previous halfyear. In mining^operations several extensive water-races, tunnels, tail-races, and other works in connection therewith have been undertaken, whilst others are completed and repaying the outlay thereon. There is an increase in the population of the district, but it will be seen by the last Census Return that there is a large increase under the heads of females and children since the previous Census, and it is a noticeable fact. that good substantial houses with gardens attached are now the rule, instead of calico tents as formerly. r ■ ; In the South Beach the Stony Lead still maintains its reputation. Some of the claims, known as the North Star, Rising 'Sun, and others, are yielding handsome returns after months of heavy labor and expense in opening . up the ground. The; Leviathan and Great Extended Races supply many of the claims on the Stony Lead and fron,t lead along the beach with water at the rate of LI per head per diem. The North Star have recently brought an engine upon their claim, and on the beach lead Howison and three other parties are working with large water-wheels. On the Lagoon Lead two large tunnel tail-races have been taken into the lead a distance of 1500 ft to 1800 ft. Some good ground has been taken up, and the owners are now working amalgamated claims, and have applied for water-races some miles in length from the .Deep Creek and' New River which will take time to construct. , In the New Rive?' sulndistrict sittings of the Courts have been held fortnightly, with one or two exceptions. Theiground from Nemoria to Cockabulla, and I may say the whole of this part of the district, is principally worked by tunnelling. Water in many places is very scarce, and miners are often at a standstill for days in! consequence. " : ■'■"■'"• The special claims granted about two yeaw ago to the Argus Company of five . acres, and the Independent of five acres, .' at Bill's Gully, after, two years' workhavesnspended operations. O'Connor ■ and party have been engaged since Feb- ' niary last constructing a large race from ' the Right-hand Branch of New River, > abo\,e Moon Creek, a distance of nine 1 miles, to command the saddle and terrace ' between Marsden and Welshman's. Other ] races, varying from two to six miles, are 1 being constructed to work the terraces about Clifton. ' \ In the Arnold sub-district sittings of the Resident Magistrate and Warden's Courts have been held monthly. A rush set in to German Gully about four months ago, a good run of gold having been struck. A large population has settled down, and several business premises ha /c been erected. The other portions of tbis part of the district continues to maintain an average 1 share of' the population. The special claim, held by Pry or and . party has been abandoned after two years' labor in constructing their tunnel from ; Maori Gully to Riverton Gully to drain , and work the ground, which did not prove ' in any way equal to the prospects first obtained. In the township of Greymouth several new buildings have been erected, and several cottages have been put up along Taimri street south. The works of the Gas Company- are fast approaching completion, "and the Company hope to be in working order next mouth, ; The Court' House is in good repair, but the rooms recently added to the Court require to be lined and furnished, especially those required by the District Court. The, local gaol is unsuitable, and, too small for the present requirements, especially as regards debtors and females. At Clifton the Court House requires ■ some slight repairs, and more accommodation is required for the police, so that ' a married constable might be stationed ' there to assist the Sergeant, who, besides his police duties, has to perform the duties of Warden and Magistrate's Clerk, . and it is not advisable that the premises, should be left for one or two days without some person in charge. ' The road from Marsden to Clifton, upon which there is a toll bar, is not kept in such repair as it ought, considering the amount of tolls collected are about double that of the wages, paid the toll collector, who is the only person employed .to keep it in repair, the balance of the tolls being paid over to the Road Board of the dis- - trict. The Maori Gully township has been greatly improved within the last six months by the erection of large stores and hotels, in lieu of the old shanties, and the filling tip of the great chasms in 'the street. The Court House and Police Oamp are of the most wretched description, consisting of a building 10x12, with a calico tent for the Sergeant, and totally unfit for the due performance of the business of the Courts. It will be necessary to make provisions for the erection of a Court House, with ?uarters attached for the Sergeant of 'olice, who is married, and a constable. The Sergeant performs similar dtitie's to the officer at Clifton, and in%ach district there is a population of 800 scattered over such a large area that it is almost impossible for one man to perform his police duties, especially with those required of him in the Warden's Court. A good lock-up will also be required. T^erpadj from Maori Gully to the Coal Mines is kept in fair repair. Two drays *fere constantly employed carting goods along it, besides pack-horses. The completion of the road to Greymouth would be a great boon, both to the district and Greymouth. The present Licensing Ordinance and Amendment Acts are anything but satisfactory to the applicants, or creditable to the County., ; , , Immorality has got to such 4 state that it is unsafe for parents to permit their

J children to. go to service, and the streets are full qi the, " larakia" tribe, all of which, ruay.be traced > iii a great measure, to -the defective vliicensypig Acts.,. The ' ajmost indiscriminate granting of licenses, > want of reformatories, and I regret to add, . ) the encoura^eraent given by respectable l citfzens letting their premis3s,.w) be converted inio brothels. The firs i and-prin-cipal duty of the authorities should be a i: careful and vigilant exercise of its powers in granting or withdrawing licenses, instead of bein? looked upon merely as a ' source of revenue. It is imperative that , steps should be taken at once to amend Licensing Acts, and grant licenses 'only to persons of more, respectability, for agreat number of the present licenses are pnly. low pofehbuses, frequented by the lowest characters, where the vilest liquors are sold. Young girls, enticed from their homes to fill the bars and dancing saloons, and immorality in all its phases, is permitted anp encouraged, until many finally become inmates of the hospital, lunatic asylum, and gaol, or the lowest outcasts of society. I The number of children throughout the district, a large percentage of whom never gp to school, demands that some provision should be made for establishing good schools in the centre of population. The population of the district is estimated at 4500,. and are located as follows: %-i-Greymbutti, 2250 ; Paroa and South Beach, 420 ; Rutherglen, 130 ; Teremakau, 66 ; Clifton and Maori Creek, 300 ; New River, 150 ; Mosquito and Cockabulla, 200 ; Marsden and Nemona, 170 ; Maori Gully, 250 ; German Gully, 250 ; Italian Gully and Rielly's, 120 ; Liverpool, 30 ; Waimea aud Stillwater, 180 ; total, 4516. The revenue for the six months from all sources is as_ follows : — Warden's Department, L 1997 8s 6d ; Resident Magistrate's Department, L 689 16s 6d ; publican's licenses paid County Treasurer, L9OO ; gold duty, L 2055 Is 3d ; customs revenue, L 18,937 14s 43. "" The number of cases heard in the Warden's and. Resident Magistrate's Courts in the district are :— Greymonth, 486 civil, 225 criminal, 30 Warden; Clifton, 65 civil, 14 criminal, 22 Warden ; Arnold, 23 civiV 21 criminal, 78 Warden ; total of cases, 902. The following number of rights, licenses, registrations, and leases have been issued or .applied for and forwarded for consideration:—6l2 miner's rights, 27 business licenses, 49 half-yearly do, 22 quar : terly do, 107 5s registrations, 455 2s 6d do, 296 Is do, 3 leases, 2 special claims, 3 extended claims, 21 agricultural leases, 8 retail licenses, 11 conditional licenses, 16 half-yearly do, 7 wholesale do, 3 bottle do. The new mining regulations appear to give general satisfaction throughout the district, with one or two exceptions, via., that the rents charged for claims under lease are too high, and that mining: surveys are excessive when compared with. ' those charged for agricultural leases. Several of the leases applied for have since been abandoned, ■ after 6 or 12 months 1 work, and some loss has accrued to the revenue owing to the delay in preparing the leases.