THE INANGAHUA DISTRICT,

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1341, 15 November 1872, Page 2

THE INANGAHUA DISTRICT,

(from ojjr own" correspondent.) . ; : Reefton, Nov. 12. .The portion of miy Sleekly budget devoted more immediately to the progress made in the different claims will be found to contain items exceptionally favorable to the views of those, who believe that ere long better days are in store for the district. During the week better stone than . any previously found near Murray Creek? has been almost' simultaneously procured from three .different', lines .of reef— from Anderson's, Shiel's, .and Kelly's— and, what is still more significant, in each case the. stone so procured was from a claim thjit 13 working the lowest level. The claims from.which, the?; specimens came are the Anderson's Creek. Company, the 33and of ; Hope, and the Victorian. • DuriDg the week I have also seen some very good stone from : the prospecting claim, Painkiller. THE CHRISTOHURCH EXHIBITION. - A. meeting of the Committee appointed to procure geological specimens, for the Christchurch Exhibition was held, this evening at the Co\irt House. Present— C. Broad, Esq. (Chairman), Mr William Pitt, Hon. Sec, and 14 other members, A duly authenticated ambassador;' frpm the Westport Committee,. -was introduced in the person of Mr 'Gallagher, who handed in a letter; setting forth the mutual advantage that would accrue if, in this matter, the two districts amalgamated. Unfortunately for Westport the Reeftonites fancied that the- advantages would all accrue to one side, -and Mr Hankin moved a verysensible resolution, to the effect that the :Bub-committee^ communicate directly with the Christchurch Exhibition; Committee. . Seconded ?• by ;Mx Gissinge, and carried unanimously. A telegram was .then; read from the {Secretary at Christchurch, thanking the Reef ton Sub-Committee 'for the. trouble; they were taking, and : requesting ; them to forward the specimens not later than the Ist prox. The telegram : also stated' that the Government were willing to pay the ex-, penses connected with the transmission of the articles forwarded, by the Reef ton Committee. A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs Broad, Pitt, and Woolley, was elected. to draw up a compendium' of the history of the. different claims, .which it was understood was to be printed and to accompany the different exhibits. A very capital idea then emanated from Mr Jas.; Thorpe, who proposed : that any surplus qf specimens that might remain over and above those sent to the Qity qf the Plains: should: be forwarded at once, to the Dunedin Museum. It. being considered premature^ the motion was not tabled;. Mr Matthias moved, and it was carried, that the cabinet to hold the specimens should be so constructed as to enable stone from the different lines of reefs to be placed in different' compartments. Some other routine business of no public interest was transacted, and the meeting adjourned. ■■:■ • " V BOAT ACCIDENT.- -; '■■:; The risk incurred by parties who are in the habit of receiving their ; goods- by way. of Westport seems to; be a very great one. More disaster has to be added to the long list of boat accidents that have occurred on the Buller during the last twelve months. The K. L. cargo boat has been literally cut in two by a snag at that now celebrated spot, .Snag Falls.. As the boat in question belonged to the company, who have been advertising such exceedingly cheap rateg^Vas just possible that freights may, before long, have, an upward tendency. ,- , ■'.■-";'. '-■•■■■ . CLERICAL.^ : ' As is generally the.case on the gold fields, the Roman Catholics have' the honor of having done far more than any other denomination in the matter of pro viding for the spiritual wants of their coreligionists. I, have already.; informed you of their havingTjuilt a chapel. Father Roland arrived from; Taranaki to; take permanent charge of • . the : district . on Saturday last. This ■ rev. gentleman ■ accompanied the troops in nearly every campaign during the late war. He was the first priest ■ who ■ crossed the Little Grey, having been in this district nearly five years a;o, when tine hunters after alluvial gold first opened it. j A serious" accident was ; nearly happening to the .chapel—a heap of shavings that had accumulated during the erection of the building, had rather carelessly been allowed to remain in close proximity to the wall. By some accident this heap became ignited, and but for the prompt assistance' of those who lived near, the structure must havo been burnt down. : NARROW ESCAPES. - Mr Kent, manager of Messrs Manson's Gieymouth establishment,' met with what might have proved a serious accident shortly after leaving the, Ahaura on his way to .Reef ton.. While' attempting, joorossthe Grey at the junction his horse bucked and threw himinto the river. He fortunately escaped with a -good wet^ ting. ( Curiously enough -Mr Linton, of Hokitika, also met with an accident while performing the same journey.. In his case, ignorance of the whereabouts of the Ahaura ford was the cause of the. misfortune. He kept too near the falls, and the horse was washed down. :Mr Linton, however, stuck to his seat in the saddle' and : ultimately ' both horse "and rider reached the bank in safety. , :

TOWN PROPERTY.

Reef ton at present affords a striking example of the precarious nature of investments in house property in new tqwair ships. The relative value of ■ business site's in the Strand and Broadway^ is vn. (forgoing a moat remarkable change. The

Strand, is no longer the leading street. About six weeks since a property in Broad way, consisting of full Bection, nearly finished shop, and one-room cottage at' the back, was sold for L 75. Only last week a section on the same side of the street, only about four doors away, with no house on it, fetched.Lßo. . About „ five months ago a well known Hokitika" boniface gave; L 350 for a house, in the Strand that was sold last Saturday -for pnly L 75. Thus it is evident thatßroadway is fast eclipsing its less fortunate rival. One reason of which, no doubt, is that the Government buildings are all being erected at the end of it ; and another is probably to be found in the fact of its having houses: on both sides, while the Strand, as its name implies, can only have houses on the one side. - ■ "»j

•' ..... .. , misting. '.' •:., .■-•■;-'.• A noticeable feature at: Mace's battery., ; . is the berdan which, has i. been, procured for working up', the. tailings, , and which, it-'.. is hoped, will considerably increase the. yield of. gold . The machine is working '.'.' admirablyy and the. plates look well. ' ;A"s ■ I have already stated, the stone got. from. 1 the low level tunnel of the TBaitd bOlpp'e/; looks remarkably well/ : " ! "':" : ; - ;>^ r - Golden Meec?.— ln. the, lower level tunnel, 3.00 ft below;, the surface, .the.reef ' 'ia ,' 12ft.:thick.. The party are engaged on a . winze to connect the; upper and;; lower ;., workings. This is, of course, being, con- .-■ structed. from the bbttomj and 60ft- jipV the reef is only sft thick. .. Thus the reef ,, is evidently increasing; in.thickness; as- • they go down. Tha stone at the low level also looks much better than 'any other in. v. this favorite claim: ; ' " : ''?--.'« .'•>"; 'V /- '

Kelly's Line— The United Band of Hope_ held 'a meeting; at which it was decided •"' to drive the old tunnel in 100ft 'further^ when they, expect to . cut the reef. r The . tunnel is about 3LsOft froiti this ■surface; This tunnel will, when finished, afford a much easier means of communication.with r the Westland battery.-^yictdria !':— \ks I have already stated, very good stone;' hao ; recently been Obtained from this^ clsum; V The reef in the Inglewood aho looks well, ' although not so wide as. in some other- ; claims ; in the tunnel it is 6ft. ; a Anderson's machine is steadily working way, and it may now be taken for granted That the result will, at any ratej equal r : ?hat obtained from any other claim, i Many think it will be the best crushing yet reported. They will probably wash up about Christmas. The alterations, to^ the race will give niore powct to'the wheel, and consequently more speed. ' There are '• those, however, who think that the wheel revolves fast .enough, and that the driving : wheels should be altered, which would have precisely the same effect. -v~ ; Sinnamon's line has attracted very little , attention lately.; Work is, however, • steadily; progressing at the: prospecting • claim, known as the "InternationaL"» They have struck the reef in their tunnel, ■ ■ and find it to be 12in thick, They have" 1 also a payable leader, which gives them -•• .an extra foot or so of payable stoned' So" soon as they can have the use of the Band;' of ' Hope machine, this party intend crusli- ' ing 50: tons as a trial-, • : ' ; ' r, f.