NELSON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 538, 30 December 1857, Page 4

NELSON.

We We Nelson news to the 18th instant, by theWongaWonga. The '-gold-fields appear to be m a somewhat more workable <jondi«

tion than at our last advices. Wo give below some particulars of the proceedings and prospects of the diggers, taken from the journals of the province. ■ . . „., The. Provincial Council was summoned to meet on the sth of January. Nothing is said about the business likely to be brought before ;it. , .-U v.'.: \'_ r.> : -: .. "■:•.... j,: v ■ .

The statistics of the province for the year 1856 are-published. . The population is shown .to, be 7,509. Europeans, consisting,of 4,048 males, and 3,461 females. The number of buildings was 1,381. ,The number of. acres of ■landffejiced in was 21,350. There were 1,637 horses, 13,893 head of cattle, and 285,100 ■sheep. „ During, the year 1856 there .were 19 town allotments, nearly seven acres in all, sold at an average price of £68, per acre; 41 suburban < lots, ,2,242 acres, at 10s. 6d. per acre ; and 85 sections of rural land comprising 22,459 acres, at 7s. :9d. per acre. The . Customs Revenue for the year, accruing to the province, was £3,927 13s. 4d:; the Land Revenue amounted to £9093 19s. 5d.; and Fees, Fines, Licenses, and miscellaneous receipts, to £2,258 ss. Bd.; the.balance from the previous year was £3,742 Is. lid.; making the total revenue £19,022 Os. 4d. The total expenditure for the .year was 18s. Od. / '.' .. ' We subjoin a few paragraphs clipped from -the local papers.

.., How, many months have! elapsed since the proper' period for holding a session of the Supreme Courts how many more are likely to pass •over our heads before it will yet take place, we are almost afraid to say and conjecture; but we. know that Our little gaol is full to repletion, and that no- less than- seventeen persons are ■awaiting their trials, some for offences of the gravest character, and of a nature in Nelson hitherto unknown. If guilty, society calls loudly for their punishment, that others may be the more effectually deterred from crime by the example of their fate; if innocent, that they maybe at once relieved from the moral stigma now resting on them, and from the personal contamination and debasing influences of daily and hourly association with guilt.— Examiner, Dec. 9. -l ,

V Dramatic—We are happy to announce the arrival of a dramatic corps from Melbourne, who propose to give a few entertainments lin Nelson.: The company consists of :-r-Mrs.jß. H. Cox, Theatre Royal, Melbourne; Miss Clara .Seymour, 'Princess' Theatre, Melbourne; Mr. R. H; Cox, formerly of the Theatre Royal, Sadler's Wells.• (London), Victoria Theatre (Sydney), and Coppin's Olympic, (Melbourne); Mr.'Henry Bertram, Lyceum Theatre, London; Mr. James :Fawcett. We understand that the first performance will be given in the Odd •Fellows' Hall, at an early part of the ensuing w«ek, full particulars of which will be announced in our next publication.— lhid. Cboixblles Copper Mining Company.— Mr. Hackett, of the Dun Mountain Mining Company, has just returned from a visit of inspection to the property of the above Company, which he has made in company with Mr. Curtis, one of the directors, and the manager (Mr. Marsden). We are not in possession of Mr. Hackett's report, but .we understand that with respect to the mine within the harbour his opinion is unfavourable, to further operation? at present. We are happy, however, to.learn, and yre congratulate the shareholders and the province on the fact, that Mr. Haekett forms a decidely favourable, opinion of the Current Basin mine,-.and has no hesitation in recommending the company to take active steps for its development.— Ibid, Dec. 12.. , ! Attempted Suicide. —Yesterday morning *n aboriginal native named TeMeihana was taken into custody by the police^ for drunken and disorderly conduct; and while confined .in.thestation-hpuse he attempted to commit by strangling himself with his leathern T>elt. Fortunately his. movements were observed by the police.;in attendance, and medical aid was immediately called in, but not until he had become blue in the face and motionless. Ht was, however, soon restored, and then laid an information against the publican who supplied him with the liquor. It is not often that complaints of this description, come before our authorities, and.we do sincerely hope that after this very serious warning, whereby a man has nearly lost his life, the retailers of spirits in this'town will not again infringe this very salutary law which forbids their supplying spirits to natives— Ibid. ■■

THE NELSON GOLD FIELDS.

;' We think it most "unfortunate that parties in aVid Sydiiey should'have us as they/it 1 appears; have reason to judge^thenownJocaT journals. We have;not said'much about our at present small gold-fields, ■ because we' have felt -that an impression get abroad that we had large payable.diggings, a rash would be made here,'that might do much damage to the stability of Nelson -for if .large parties arrive here before the country has been better prospected, we are sure they will again return whence they came, and spread reports which would prevent a fresh migration of diggerg let what would be afterwards discovered here. It appears that our Melbourne and Sydney friends have fancied that, from the great success of parties now and again mentioned by OS,- we haVe hot stated-the whole truth. This is not so: we will alway* Honestly record the returns from the diggings, whether good or bad; and it Was with much regret we read m a recent number of our contemporary, although evidently a misprint, that the General Wool had taken thousands instead of hundreds of ounces of gold on freight, because this will, in all probability, cause "a general rush here, only to end in disappointment to many. We believe that

a large and payable gold-field does.exiat, inviung only the^prying energy of good exploring parties But how is.this to happen? MeS cannot be expected, at their own expense and risk, to explored difficult country like the Quartz Ranges or the Wangapeka. If gold is to be found, and the colony is to derive the benefit of a large rich field lying almost at our teet, some steps should be taken by parties in authority to test where this auriferous bed may f£' j™ c- encouragen»ent should be given to the adventurous digger, by opening the roads and smoothing some of the more formidable ailhculties too expensive for private enterprise — Examiner, Dec.9.

TAKAKA VALLEY.

(From a oorres. of the ' Nelson Examiner.') Wet, wet, wet, seems .the!cry from all our Diggings: in this district the diggers havebeen materially retarded by it; yet they stick to their claims, and a large party are now cuttin°a race, 600 feet long, for the purpose of turn" ing the river at Cann's Point. Sheet's party have been tolerably successful, but the diggings seem to be hardly workable with profit until dry weather shall arrive, or until the diggers are enabled,to rig up some Californian pumps, to keep their claims free from water. :

Many Maori women are working here, and the ladies seem to be tolerably fortunate in this new labour. There are now three stores up here; so that visitors will at least be enabled to comfortthe inner man when they arrive. I have just gleaned some information with regard to the Anatoki diggings, and therefore take the first opportunity of communicating the same to you. I have seen James Maine this morning, who has sold to Spittal, of the Ariatold Inn, £36 worth of gold, which he and two others got upon a bar of the river by dishing the result of three days' work. I need notl;ell you that Maine and his party augur great things upon the head of this.adventure. Many of the pioneers have formed themselves into parties of 18 and 20: Garrick's party are doing business upon a gigantic scale, and hope to make something handsome ere the summer: they talk of nothing less than hundreds of pounds' worth as each man's share.

The diggings here will have to be wrought upon the Californian principle—that is, in large parties, so as to turn or divert the <;ourse of the river; for in its bed more gold is to be found, and that too particularly after a flood or fresh from the mountain ranges. I must tell you that the dish and fossicking principle is all "bosh." If you attempt to work for gold in this locality, you must, as the .Yankees say, "Go clean slick into it."

The parties above mentioned have made thenown wheelbarrows, cut out their planking for sluicing, wheeling, cook-house, &c., upon the most improved " navvy" principle • in fact, you see and hear the busy hum of a small railway colony at work. Two other parties, one consisting of French Californian diggers, and "down Easters," are.above '.Gar-rick's turning: the river upon the same extensive scale. There are. above 250 white men, and about 100 natives (men and women)> at work' onTCahn's Poin£ or its neighbourhood,; and;, they are doing first-rate. Romaka and Hopeni went off to Nelson to purchase some horses —the gains of the Anatoki diggings.—Dec. 7,1857.

SLATE KIVEH. (Prom a Correspondent of the 'Colonist.') November 26, 1857. An opportunity offering, I beg to send you a short account of what we are doing in* this part of the world. As you will have heard by this we have just had one of the largest floods we have yet been visited with. It has done pretty \yell all a serious injury, as well as kept all hands from work for a, few days. The rain commenced on Tuesday evening, about knocking off time,.and continued without intermission until Thursday morning. . On Wednesday morning, about daylight, when we turned out, the river had not risen at all, but in about three hours it rose eight or ten feet, and continued to rise more or less throughout the daj\ It was really laughable to see the different ways in which men took the catastrophe, some would stand on the bank, and, when they saw the huge waves come rolling down, bringing along with them large trees: and wrecks, of dams and sluices, would swear, others would laugh, some would look serious and say nothing, others would shake, their heads, and vow. to..' hook it now whether or no.! and others again would take to drinking. The upshot of the whole is, the flood has done the diggers and diggings a great harm. Large parties, who have been at work for yveeks claims and sluices, have now all their work to dp oyer again, ,and those who have not'sulfered in "this way suffer by being ' compelled 'to loose time' in-' waiting for the, subsiding of the water's./ If I were asked my_clmdid opinion of/thß! present prospect of the diggers, I should say that if you except the present | Foss, their chance of successes still good. The days are getting longer and'warther, and the floods must certainly occur less frequently, and, in the mean time, the gold has not been moved. It is there still, and when the dry weather really sets in, there will be room on the Slate River alone for double the quantity of, men there at present. The Quartz Ranges are generally spoken very favoilrably of, the great drawback to their development is the scarcity of provision; if they were more abundant, men would go even much further still, and do well. 11th December, 1857.

Salisbury Creek Quartz Ranges is looking up, parties doing well.. A digger belonging to Sadler's party, at Slate fiaver, informed me today that Waahbourne had brought down several ounces, the process of' one days work of a

party of fiye. Talking about Slate River, I must not forget to tell you that it is lower than it haa been for several months—it is destined yet to astonish you Nelson people. Coming nearer Collingwood, at Doctor's Creek, a party of three Maories, working on a deserted and supposed washed-out claim, took out twenty ounces this last week, and a party of Europeans not far from them, are also doing well.. In the main River the Maories are getting gold,of splendid quality; all their talk, is, plenty of gold when the Waipuke is down. The natives (I am informed by Freeman) from the Ranges, the River> Anatoki, &c, are coming here to spend Christmas. A man was sentenced to a month's imprisonment to-day; he is to go to Nelson? I think it would be 'better for the country if he remained here,~a safe path for pedestrians is sadly wanted along the beach between Gibbs' Flat and Coliingwood; it would be something towards roadmaking. : I am not aware of one digger returning. per steamer this trip. .. . :