THE INANGAHUA DISTRICT.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1310, 10 October 1872, Page 2

THE INANGAHUA DISTRICT.

[prom our own correspondent.] ' Rbbfton, Oct. 8. As your readers may remember on the occasion of the Fox Administration being defeated mainly through thejrotesjrf two West Coaßr-'lnemb"erB l ' I £teßßrr'OH;onor and White, groans, in ,a figurative sense, echoed throughout Westlarid' and the South- West . Gold fields, . and in^some cases, as in Reef ton, dissatisf action* with the voting of their representatives broke out in effigy form. Here, as in other places, it was felt that the Stafford reign, when such an adverse element as the Superintendent lot -Nelson was incorporated, could not be other than disastrous to the advancement of the Gold Fields, not only in jkhis but other districts/There was, however, no alternative than) that presented in the adage telling us i that sometimes, however ranch against their will, people must "grin and bear, it," or, in other words, put up with any ill that may arise. The depression that' was thereby occasioned was suddenly andjnost unexpectedly dissipated by the welcome annoutcement of the Stafford defeat. Extras were issued by the i local paper on ■telegraphic receipt of the intelligence, and a more heartily received piece of 'news has not come lately to hand in Reefton. Truly, if a slight liberty may be taken with Shakesperian text, it might have been said ; Now is the winter of our discontent . i Made glorious summer . by the < i fall of ; Stafford. : •.-■;>- • The only regret that is felt ; here i^ that j Mr Curtis did not resign his position as Superintendent before defeat,' for "then our happiness would have been complete ; but such good fortune could scarcely be expected*, I may' Bay that the proposed conciliation by extending the Nelson boundary to-the -Teremakau was never popular here, and liberation from Nelson rule is the only panacea for the existing dissatisfaction on these fields: fr It is to be hoped whether the old Ministers resume power, or a coalition Cabinet be formed, that the 'M unification " till will be pushed through before the close of the. session... ; , ' ' Though 1 regret to say" that; lcannot apeak very favorably as to improvement of trade in Reef ton, I am glad to be able to chronicle largely restored confidence in reefing property, owing to the late favorable crushings: 'Despite the one fiasco, there can no longer, be any doubt's that the reef 8 as a whole are quite as, paya.hlft, as the most sa-nguine bekpvers of a few months ago anticipated, . and that all required is efficient machinery and plenty •f it to develop their richest A better feeling .in reference to mining property is rapidly growing, and many; who were recently panic struck, and ready to sell out at any price, are now holding for faiy ■TateS, ''.'''■'■. .•": .<,';/:-- . ..- -.: .-■ ■;..::> Mining matters, generally may be, said to be progressing,' thpugbrmato<ttgi»o, if such an .apparent anomaly can be. All the companies, as a rule, are i actively prosecuting their works, but ther^are. n.q special results to give further t^ah 'l Jiave already furnished you with. ■/', ..,- Anderson's machine was tested to-day for the first time,., and worked very.satisfactorily. -It is the inteution of , the company to commence crushing in a few 'days, and they will first operate on their own stono instead of crushing, for .(Others, as wa3 stated a short titne ago. " They have a quantity of mineral to grass, and- great expectations are formed as to the yield. In other respects mining hews is scarce. The Lyell, as might be expected, hqs, attracted a good many, and nearly all the floating waifs and strays : of our population have ,tnrned r their steps in that direction. Some new claims have, been taken lip, ; and I hear that one or- two prospecting areas have been applied for, but whether likely , to prove valuable or not does not at present appear. This -new attraction has completely-thrown the Roper and Queensland into the shade, for the positive fact of ten and a half ounces, to the ton obtained within thirty miles - distance, and accessible by an easy -road, has superiorattractions 'to a three" or four thousand mile trip with .the prospect of fever and the probability of failure. Th.c late telegraphic, news,, announcing the failure of the celebrated Charters Towers, has had a most salutary effect in checking the headlong exodus that had set in. All in the district appear now to be inclined to settle down steadily, and should this favorable condition of affairs bemain- . tamed, good results may very shortly be looked for. The. Resident Magistrate's Couri; has not been productive of any case of interest, and though' there is any quantity of law flying about, there is fortunately very little crime, and civil .business of one kind and another is the -chief order of the clay. . The Roman Qathojic Qtiapel is?rory nearly completed, arid will be finished, and ready, for service i on Sunday ,next. On Friday a grand concert, will be held in aid of the funds, which promises to eclipse anything yet held in Reef ton. Those, taking part in it have been practising unweariedly for some time past, and the programme is an excellent one. ' : The price of tickets-is fixed at Qs, and a. large sum may confidently be relied on as the result. The committee deserve thfe highest praise for the energetic manner in whioh, they have' acted in , .tho master, ;! Some volunteers belonging to the congregation hay« made a capital footpath from Broadwayto the building, and thus one Of* the threatened difficulties has-been removed. People of all denominations have joined in aiding the work- by purchasing tickets, and the Catholic denomination will no doubt reciprocate the good feeling ~ thus displayed should a call be nqiade by olherq on them under similar '• cir^utqataucpa, This body has, however, the honor 'and the credit of being the :first W ereot a place of worship in the Inangahua-dis-trict, and the. energy shownin the. work* is proof-of their Zealand religious, feeling, The carrying competition '.between Westport and Greymouth seems likely to terminate greatly in favor of the former place, freights through in some instances, I am credibly informed, having been taken at as low a rate as Ll2, while Ll4 is almost the highest. The road from the Landing is in excellent condition, and. as large boats can easily reach thereVthe transit is not difficult; indeed, the present low ruling rates are said to pay far better than the apparently exorbitant exactions of a few, nionthß past. It the road between the; Ahaura and the Arnold ivere made,.'and a continuous land carriage •hus ; provided, this; rather unpleasant itate i of affairs for Greymouth would be iltered. Your merchants and others ap-

parently are careless on the subject, and content to let all trade drift into the hands of Weatporfc business men, who are quite shrewd enough to take advantage of the opening that is so opportunely afforded them. As yet Greymouth has been passive with the Superintendent; if the same apathy exists a little longer your town will be wholly cut off from Reefton trade,' excepting through Westport channels. The feeling in reference to the necessity for a bank in this town has been daily increasing iv intensity, and should it be true that the Bank of Australasia is not tied and bound in the trammels of banking convention, it is to be hoped that its directors will see fit to establish a branch or agency here. If they do, notwithstanding tho report that certain companies are bound hand and foot to other corporations, they will do an excellent business, and, what is more, should they feel indined to take over certain lhbilikiea, many of those manacled by a particular bank will gladly cast loose theirietters, and not only afford full security for any advances, but bring good business with their transfer. A bank is imperatively needed, and with the brightening pros-, pecta of the district, we would only remind shareholders of the old proverb that tells us the early bird catches the worm. A number of new buildings are going up in the township still, and more are talked. about. Mr Williams, the wellknown' brewer, is putting up a very large hotel, consisting of five bedrooms, two parlors, a bar, billiard and dining rooms, on the ground floor ; twelve bedrooma and two private sitting rooms upstairs— twenty-three rooms in all. This is certainly a proof of confidence on the part of the proprietor in the district, and no one should be a better judge as to ita prospects, inasmuch as he has been a long resident in it. Messrs Strike and Blackmore have completed their premises, and propose starting to brew shortly. Mr J. P. Taylor, late of Greymouth, proves a most efficient manager for the firm in question. Balls are a kind of mania here for some reason or other. Probably publicans find them the most convenient mode of raising the wind, and their customers are glad of this, the sole mode of recreation. afforded them. Be it how it may, the balls generally are popular, and are frequent in consequence. During the week Mr Foyn, late of Charleston, who has recently taken a home here, gave an opening dance, which was well attended, and was excellently got up. Messrs Craig wd O'Brien gave a similar entertainment last night, with equal Buccess. The Hospital report was brought up at the half-yearly meeting on Saturday last, and a new committee, consisting of Messrs M«Lean, Ramsay, Mathias, Pitt, Pankin, Slattery, Wakefield, Niven, Thorpe, Schuloff, and James elected. The report was exceedingly satisfactory, and showed a balance in hand of Ll5O 3s sd. ' The most noticeable part of the financial statement in connection with it was that whilst the Provincial Government, as shown, only contributed LIOO, there had been gathered during the halfyear, by private subscriptions and the proceeds of entertainments in aid, no less a sum than L 37. QBs Bd. This is inverting the Usual system of hospital subsidy, and is truly characteristic of the Curtis rule. No comment is necessary on such meanness, not to say inhumanity. There are but few mining items to add. The Energetic have arranged with Mr A. White for the conveyance of their machinery, to be plaoed on the ground in three weeks, at L 22 per ton. The Just in Time claim, at Boatman's, has been registered under the Mining Companies Act. The North Star Company is negotiating for machinery, and expect shortly to conclude arrangements. The Golden Fleece Company is making arrangements for crushing at the Ajax battery, and the Westland is crushing for the Golden Hill, the stone from which shows well. There is nothing else worth further reference.