INANGAHTA ITEMS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1220, 18 June 1872, Page 2

INANGAHTA ITEMS.

[HERALD, JUNE 12.] Mr Joseph Parer, builder, of this town, has prepared a set of plans for St. Mary's School, Ahaura, which it is intended to erect forthwith. The proposed building, as shown in the plan, consists of a ground floor and two storeys, containing respectively thirteen, seventeen, and eight apartments, and affording accommodation for 150 pupila of both sexes, and a full staff of teachers for each. The site selected is very pleasantly situated, and highly convenient, owing to its central position ; while the charge for boarders is excessively reasonable, being only L 7 per quarter. The foundation of such a school will prove of great public benefit to the inhabitants of these districts, and we heartily wish Father Pertuis, who has chiefly interested himself in the scheme, every success in this eminently useful undertaking. The body of the unfortunate man Birss, who lost his life while crossing a horse at the Inangahua Landing, has been recovered, having been found as the flood subsided on a beach a mile below the ford. A jury was summoned to view the body previous to interment, and the inquest will be held at the Landing on Saturday, the 22nd inst. The body of the deceased was interred oii Sunday last near to the Landing. The Caledonian Co., Larry's Greek, invite tenders for the supply of machinery, consisting of five head of heavy stamps . and a water-wheel 45ft in diameter, with connecting gear for driving 15 additional stamps, it being the intention of the company ultimately to employ 20 head of stamps. The result of small trial crushings from this claim have turned out highly favorable, and the public look forward to the erection of machinery with great interest, as proving the highly payable character of the stone and the wide extent of country over which payable reefs are distributed. A small piece of stone taken down to Hokitika by Mr Pollock, in which gold after crushing was not at all visible, yielded at the rate of 30oz tothe ton. The mining manager recently brought 101 bof stone iuto town, all of which was surprisingly rich, and the quantity of quartz already exposed shows sufficient richness to fully justify the company in undertaking the erection of machinery. It is proposed to petition the Provincial Government to connect Reefton and Black's Point by means of a good dray road, and to cancel the protection for a tramway between the two places, the Government taking over at a valuation the work already done in preparing the tramway line. We understand that one of the shareholders in Shiels's prospecting claim offered L3OO for 600 tons of taflings from the recent crushing. It is known that a very considerable percentage of gold has been lost owing to the difficulty in amalgamating. On Monday last, such as had not yet experienced a winter in this district got a foretaste of the rigor of the season in this portion of the Province. The exceptional mildness of the weather up to that time as compared with the corresponding period of the two former years, had permitted the hope that the cold had been exaggerated, or that the climate had undergone a favorable change. The morning opened, however, with heavy raiu, changing towards" noon to sleet, with intense cold, and the wretched state of the thoroughfares was alone required to render the day thoroughly miserable. When will the Nelson Government authorise a trifling expenditure on the formation of two or three much needed thoroughfares in Beef ton. The race for the Anderson's Creek Quartz Mining Company was completed last week, and the tunnel has been driven as far as the company's ground, a distance of 580 ft. The work of laying the .tramway is now being commenced, and this -work, together with the shoot, is expected to be completed •in about ten weeks. This latter work, as also the further driving of the tunnel, will be performed by wagesmen. Mr Finlayj of Hokitika, one of the contractors for the supply of ma- . chinery, is now on his way with the materials, two boat loads having lef Westport for the Inangahua Landing. The company expect to be crushing inside of three months. The reef is expected to be intersected in the tunnel very shortly. At Larry's, Potter and parby are making fair headway with their race, which is now nearly finished. No. 1 north, recently registered as 'a company under the Act, will commence operations forthwith. No. 1 south are still driving and. sinking, but have not yet succeeded in getting the reef. A great scarcity of provisions prevails owing to the difficulty of conveying stores during the present weather. Already about 90CO acres of land to^be sold in • the luangahua distrijt have been surveyed, leaving 1000 acres only still to be surveyed to complete the Government contract. The survey of this latter portion will 3tand over until more propitious w.)athe\ , Our Boatman's correspondent records a very narrow escape to the occupant of a tent from the fall of a branch of a tree which gave way under the weight of snow. "About two miles distant from Larry's on Tuesday last, a man engaged on the roadworks was resting himself in his tent during a snow storm, when a sudden crash overhead caused him to spring from his tent, and he had no sooner emerged when a huge limb fell across the tent and stretcher," On Wednesday and Thursday snow contiuued to fall almost uninterruptedly, the storm apparently reaching its height" on Thursday night. Early yesterday mornr ing the occupauts of tents and canvas tenements found that the. frail structures had partially given way under the weight of snow, the ridge poles in some instances being broken. Old residents in the district give it as the result. of their experience that thp weather, during the past few days has exceeded in severity iliat of the two Years previous. The share list of the Reefton Public Hall Company is fast filling. About 130 shares have been taken ; this represents L 650 capital, and there can be no doubt now of the successful floating of the company., Whether the directors to be appointed will avail themselves of the offer of the Government to erect the building on the Camp Reserve remains to be seen. At all events, the hearty way in. which the matter has been taken up shows a thorough confidence in the pennanouce of Reeftou. i