THE GREY VALLEY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1372, 21 December 1872, Page 3

THE GREY VALLEY.

(fbobi our own correspondent.) THB CBOPB. The crops throughout the Grey Valley wear a most promising appearance. About the middle of the last month the prospects of the farmers looked very gloomy, bat the little rain which fell at that time j was the salvation of the season's yield. There is a great quantity of new land tinder cultivation this year, and this will, in a measure, compensate for the decreasing yield from the old cropped ground, which has been giving smaller returns for the last three seasons, notwithstanding the application of artificial remedies |in the form of patent manures. The general appearance of the agricultural districts taken throughout indicates an early and healthy hut light harvest. Mr Surveyor Hall and his staff have been busy for the last month surveying and laying off fresh agricultural sections above the Little Grey Junction and at the Ikamatua. RACES AND AMUSEMENTS. The Ahaura races may now be relied upon as likely to afford plenty of sport. The programme offered by tho stewards contains sufficient within it, in the arrangement of the events and the value of the prizes, to induce the owners of really good horses to compete. The omission of the usual hurdle race has caused some disappointment, and has given rise, to a good deal of comment. It was known generally throughout the Valley that at least two horses were in preparation for the racing season, which was expected to commence at Hokitika, and conclude at Greymouth at the meeting in March. It was known that these nones wore to be specially re* served for hurdle racing, and it was a pity the stewards did not see fit to offer a purse for jumping, this year. No doubt the stewards had very good reasons for omitting the race, and they certainly had the valid excuse that the hurdle race at previous meetings on the Ahaura racecourse has invariably Jbeen a laughingstock, and. a very expensive one, for it takes as much money to get the course in order for a hurdle race, to say nothing of the stakes, as should give. a good prize for a flat race. One or two rf the residents who subscribed liberally in former yean to the race funds have refused to do so this season, in consequence of a difference of opinion as to the desirability of changing the date of the meeting from Christmas to the middle of February. When these gentlemen Bee the results of the present policy of the stewards in getting up a race meeting worthy the name, they will no doubt forward their usual subscription to the Treasurer, as if nothing had happened. PUBLIC WORKS. There is not any sign of the main road being commenced yet, notwithstanding all the authoritative promises recently made about it It would seem as if the Nelson authorities did not contemplate doing anything more in the way of public works in the Grey Valley, for it v said that the gentleman who has so efficiently filled the

post of Overseer of Works in the Grey district for the last four or five years, has received intimation that he is to hold himself in readiness to be transferred to Nelson, to take charge of the Gas and Waterworks there. It is also rumored that his post will not be again filled at present, bo that the immediate commencement of any work of importance is not to be expected. What may be called the private mail coach road through the Grey valley, is getting on well. The wjrkmen engaged at it are pushing it ahead rapidly. Messrs Aahton and Cassidy visited the Upper Little Grey this week, and made a minute examination of the country, to see which will be the best route by which to take the road. A number of men were set to work at once, as soon as it was decided which way the track would go. The coach will be running by the New Yfcar. AHAURA HOSPITAL Mr F. Guinness, M.P.C., has received an answer to a communication he forwarded to the Nelson Government with reference to the Ahaura Hospital building. The great necessity of having some place suitable for the reception of patients urgently requiring immediate relief and attention had been made painfully evident on several occasions recently. It must be understood that the local hospital, if it be opened, is intended to be merely an auxiliary to the Central Hospital at Greymouth. If such an expression may be Used, it is necessary as a sort of re- 1 ceiving-nouae, where persons suffering from accident or sudden illness can be attended to until " an opportunity ; <* afforded of forwarding them to Greymouth. The Government how say that the District Engineer will inspect the building and report as to what outlay would be required to furnish it and to place it in a state of good repair. The' subsidy of LIOO a-year voted towards a salary to the Surgeon will also be available under the recommendation of a committee, so that there may be some prospect after all of establishing the institution. The Hospital building, which cost so much money, is going to destruction for want of an occupancy of some sort. It ia now chiefly used as a storehouse by the Government. A most miraculous enre of what seemed a hopeless case occurred here last week in connection with the Hospital building and its uses. A week or two ago a woman, who used to support herself and her ohildreniormerly by washing and jobbing about, was found in a hut on the Napoleon road In'fi hideous] state of filth and misery, brought on, it is said, by her own dissolute and dissipated habits. The hovel she lived in was in such a condition that it was necessary, to prevent the generation and spread of disease, that it should be thoroughly cleansed. The police interfered, and caused the woman to be removed and placed in a sort of quarantine in the Hospital building. She remained there, and although she received every attention, it was at one time feared she would not live. When the news of the recent fatal accident at Half-Ounce reached the Ahaura the authorities at once took steps to make such preparation as would be necessary in case the bodies were recovered. Among these an order was given to have coffins made, but when one of them was finished it was found it would not be van ted, as the friends of the men had them made at Half-Ounce. The carpenter then received instructions to store it in the Hospital building until it should unfortunately be required on a future occasion. He took it there and placed it near the bed of the patient. She anxiously inquired what use he intended to make of it, and with a recklessness of consequences highly censurable under the circumstances he heartlessly frightened the poor woman by telling her that " her time had come, for the people were getting tired of her, and,, as she was incorrigible, they had made up their minds to bury her alive." He further told her that she would be buried comfortably and decently, for he had received instructions to envelope her in nice new shavings, which he left to procure. Tho moment he turned his back the patient, who wa3 paralytic and bedridden a few minutes before, made a rush through (one* of the windows, scudding away down the road to the township,' where afterwards she "made it lively" for a fow people before she had done with them. ' . mining. ' There is little or nothing doing in mining; owing to the continuation of dry weather and scarcity of water. The sluicen are idle as a rule, and the tunnel workers are waiting for an opportunity of washing up the large paddocks of wash-dirt at grass. The last rush at Nelson CreeV is making fair progress. Those on the gold are satisfied, and those in search of it are sanguine. Payable gold was found yesterday by a "hatter" at the further end of the terrace from the prospectors. This teems to indicate that the remunerative ground is not confined to a patch, as was at first supposed. The survey of the Lake Hoobstetter water-race is getting on satisfactorily. The pegs are now in as far as No. 2 Greek, a distance of eight or ten miles from the hike, and from present appearances the work of the surveyor will be finished at furthest by the end of January. Hicks and party (late Kennedy) are still getting their race through Paddy's Look-out, near Try-Again Terrace. The funnel through the range here to convey the water will be over 1000 ft long. The sluicers at the lower end of Tobacco Flat are putting in their spare time deepening and extending their tailraces. An attempt has been made to sink a shaft on the flat, below Try-Again, but water « as met with near the surface, and operations were discontinued. The testing the ground in that locality will require a well equipped company, and one prepared to make a considerable outlay to perform the work thoroughly. It may only be an idea that gold will be found on this flat, but it is one of those ideas which can be reasoned almost into demonstration. If there 'be not good ground below Try-Again Terrace, then speculating as to the probability of the existence of. gold in any particular place, from previous experience in localities precisely similar in formation and appearance is useless. The prospecters alone are left of all those who were recentlr congregated at Frenchman's Creek, Half-Ounce. Another party have struck gold at Bradford's rush at the Teviot. Work on Ollivier'B leasehold at Upper Half-Ounce ia going ahead very erratically. The main tail-race is finished nearly half-way to the boundaries of the claims. It is how pretty well ascertained that a second and shallow

lead, running parallel to the deep one, exists at Half-Ounce. It was first found in the Whip claim, and then in one next to and below it. It was touched in the claim next above Mabille and party's leasehold, and it is supposed that it has been found in Wheeler and party's claim. This party have worked for the last twelve or eighteen months prospecting the deep ground in their claim. Latterly they came on very good ground at a higher level, and it was while working in this shallow ground the recent terrible accident occurred. There was very little work done in the Half-Ounce or Duffer Creek district during the greater part of last week. The recovery of the bodies of the men killed, and attendance at the inquest and funerals occupied the time of most of the miners, to the unavoidable neglect of their more regular work. At O'Hara's leasehold, below Granville, the search for the lost HalfOunce lead continues. A good deal of driving is done to the westward, and gold, but not in sufficiently payable quantities, has been crossed. The true lead is not yet found, and some delay has occurred in consequence of the tunnel being taken in at too low a low a level at first. The claims on the Duffer-Sullivan Lead are giving, in some cases, astonishing results, as it cau hardly be supposed this welldefined and comparativaly rich lead will run out suddenly. O'Hara's party have a reasonable expectation of - coming on good waahdirt eventually. New mining leases are being applied for very frequently recently throughout the Little Grey District. Two are marked off and applied for on the line of thaAuderson's quartz ' lease at the Big Eiver. The applications for the extended areas include several of the men who have worked for wages in Anderson's claim, and this fact would seem to indicate that they have a good opinion of the locality, as likely to contain remunerative stone. An error was committed in the prospectors' claim here in calculating the probable distance between the point of commence* ment of the main tunnel and the supposed course of the reef. By the measurement taken, the line of the reef or stone on the surface should be crossed before this, but it seems it will take a few weeks longer to cut it on the main drive. This claim is attracting some attention both in the Grey and the Inangahua districts, and the action taken by the company in compelling defaulting shareholders either to pay their contributions promptly, or else relinquish their interests, is commendable. The conduct of persons taking interests in mining adventures without a good intention or a reasonable prospect of ability to pay calls, is unjust in the first place to the hired men in the claim, because they are frequently compelled to lie out of wages money after it is honestly earned, and it is unfair to the shareholders who do meet their calls, because it saddles them with the expense of proßpecting the ground in the first instance. It is not ah unusual occurrence for a certain class of persons to take shares in new mining ventures without having the slightest intention to pay calls if they can avoid doing so. There is always a certain amount of enthusiasm at first about such matters, and a quantity of work is done, and business in selling shares transacted. If the speculation is likely to succeed everything goes on smoothly, but when the calls become troublesome without an immediate prospect of any return the " lame ducks" hang back. - Something may turn up to give them a happy release from their liabilities. The enterprise may be abandoned or gold may be struck, but in either case these defaulters hope to rea^ ' a benefit without incurring any risk. Such people have no business entering -into mining speculations they can't honestly afford. Martin's Creek, at the Blackwater river, in the Little Grey district, is still attracting attention. The claim of the prospectors, Messrs Samuel Wells and party, on the last opened terrace, is said to be a very good one, and there are now four others on payable gold, and there may be room for a dozen altogether. From the great amount of litigation recently going on in the Warden's Court, Ahaura, from the Blackwater, there must be something of importance going on in that district. Actions in which, heavy damages are claimed as compensation ' for encroachment, or for injury to mining property are of frequent recurrence, and this shows at all events that there is something worth fighting for. An application is filed in the Warden's Office at Ahaura for a certificate of registration for a waterrace for mining purposes at Ahaura, and to supply town with water for domestic use. It has often been remarked that although this town stands in the centre of a network of watercourses, it is under greater disadvantages for want of an immediately available water supply than any town on the West Coast. After a few days dry weather water has to be carted and paid for at a high price, and in case of a fire the town may be destroyed before an effort could be made to save it. This increased the rates demanded for insurance of town 1 property, which are now almost prohibitive. The promoters of the scheme intend to complete the work within three months of the date of the grant.