Colonial

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 579, 22 May 1858, Page 4

Colonial

NELSON. - ii Our files from this province by the last mail include the whole series of journals from the 24th March to the Ist May, all of which is news to us. The quantity of this mass prevents us from digesting it properly, and we merely select some paragraphs of chief interest. The Gold Fields.—The news from the' Gold brought by the diggers and others coming 'Nelson is of avaried'character. Some speak -of their own success,-arid of the prospects of the majority of other diggers.; while others shake their heads when the subject -is mentioned, talk<of nothing but ill success, and prophesy that in a short time the diggings will be deserted. In the -midst of these varied -rumours and opinions,- however, a reference to our '• shipping intelligence will show that 500 ounces, or nearly two thousand pounds-worth-of gold, was brought from Massacre Bay by the Tasmanian Maid, on -Wednesday-.evening last; and seventy ounces by the Elizabeth on the following day. With facts of this sort occasionally occurring, we cannot help looking hopefully forward to the prospects of our gold-fields.— :,Exami7ier, March 27. >-Waitohi Pass.—We have much-pleasure in .* stating that the obstacles hitherto existing to the use of this pass from the^Wairau to the" * Waitohi, either as a bridle-track or for the-pur-pose of. driving sheep,'have been removed. -On SaturdayJast, Mr. McCormack, of Maraitai-Bay, accompanied by his son, brought through 150 - sheep. > He describes the track as presenting no ■ difficulty. They came by way of Dr.-Vicker-man's for<L.and made from Massacre Sill to the Waitohi in seven hours. The time-taken was more thau it otherwise "would have-been, on account of the-abundance-of feed bythe way. We -. understand the steamer will take the punt on Saturday, so that we- may now tope-to see-Nel- - son supplied with sheep in a condition as good -as when on the run. To do this;it^vill, however, be necessary that regular times should be fixed for the arrival of the steamer at Waitohi; and we trust the proprietors will see the necessity of persevering, even in the event of a slight loss attending the first few trips. New lines of trafiic : have almost invariably to be established at the outset with difficulty; but when once thevWairau settlers can feel assured that at a fixed day and hour the steamer will- be ready at ."Waitohi to. take whatever freight may offer, wefeel sure the new line, with thedmmense advantage over the old circuitous arid dangerous route, will be the f* one chosen for the principal traffic between Nel- *- son and the Wairau.— lbid. Nelson Coal.—The seam of coal on Mr. Jenkin's property is again being worked, and scarcely a week passes without a load or two making its appearance in town. Three men are constantly engaged in winning the coal, and we are glad to find that it is slightly improved in quality; its principal fault now being that it Smrns away too quickly. Now that iron grates ?. and cooking -stoves have so. much usurped the >„ place of open fire-places, the advantage of being r^able -to obtain a supply of good coal ••within a .-mile or ---two of the town-cannot be too highly ..estimated.— Ibid. The"' Examiner' of the 10th of April, discuss.ing the estimates of revenue and expenditure for the current year, laid before the Council of Nelson, goes on to remark:— " Out of the whole revenue, it appears that .about one-half or £12,000, gous for salaries, harbour, police, council, &c. Public works and purposes take £7,000, New Zealand Company's Debt, £4,000, and interest swallows up the rest. Now,_ we must say that this statement, instead of being a matter of congratulation, is to us very much the reverse. With a population larger than that of the neighbouring province of Canterbury, and barely one-fourth less than that of vv ellington, compare our revenue, our ways and means, and the improvements we are making in ..the country entrusted to our charge with what they are dding. " Thus, if one object more than another should engage the attention of one who looks beyond his own little term of office, it is breaking down the barriers which separate us from our next" neighbour, Canterbury! and opening up the line of road which was discovered by the enterprise of Mr. Weld. How willingly would Canterbury pay liberally for having her mails forwarded overland each time a vessel arrives direct from Europe, or the Suez steamers bring us intelligence, as at present, in two months and-a half from England? How readily should we in turn do the same? Yet, whilst Canterbury last year,, voted £4,000 to -open the road up to the very"confines of her territory, in our direction, and has thus already secured to herself the trade, the supplies, the wool. ■ and the sympathies of onr best district, the Amuri; nothing was done on our side; and this year it was lefttoapri-. vate member of the council to propose and carry . against the ■ Government-a vote of tore-i move: the obstacles which at one part of the route render it always dangerous and sometimes : impracticable.

I | "We are afraid the constitution of our Provincial Government "and the composition of our council is of a kind to secure the preference for little tilings of temporary interest over works of a wider scope and of a more permanantly beneficial character. If It had not been so, we should never have let five years pass over our heads without endeavouring to open a trunk line through the heart of the province—a broad highway to put us in direct communication with our neighbours. If our chief object in selling land is to lay out the money on the districts which send the -majority to the Council, and to refuse to undertake any great work of permanent although prospective utility, we might as well at once offer the Amuri district to Canter- • bury, who would be glad enough to take it and our debt of £4,000 a-year to the New Zealand Company with it; or if*the clause in the Constitution Act which forbids our altering the boundaries of provinces is thought to stand iv the way, the Amuri settlers are willing to do the same thing, to pay the £4.000 a-year and take the land among them. They are in truth anxious to have nothing more to do with us. Canterbury opens her arms in the shape of a vote of £4,000 for a road up to their doors, whilst we leave the track between us in all its native wildness and with all its natural difficulties unattempted and untouched." In the* latest news from the Gold Fields is comprised the following brief letter from a correspondent ~6T the ' Examiner.' COLLIXGWOOD. Collingwood, April 21, ISSB. After a week. or two of silence I think you will be glad to hear from this quarter, as I have now something like news to impart. A uew rush has taken place to the upper branches of the Para-para river, in consequence of which the whole of Golden Gully is being deserted. • I havey ust seen some of the largest gold yet obtained, which has been dug about 14 miles further up the country than the Third Forks of the Slate River. I hear that will be, comparatively speafcing, easily reached by-Mr. Maekay's track to theAnatoki; and the advantage obtained by this line over that found by Mr. Spittal is, that" it will pass the whole way through, a digging or gold country Resides which, we shall connect the .upper branches of the Para-para, Slate, Boulder, and Anatoki rivers, without speaking -of Golden, Wakefield, and a hundred other gullies. I have heard from undoubted, authority that it took Messrs. Washbourne and Mackay only eleven hours to come from the head of the Anatoki to Washbourae's ferry at Slate river. I had in my hands on Saturday last a piece of pure gold weighing over 12 dwts., which was dug by a native at the Para-para, within one mile of the sea beach? and I am told that the same man ias a nugget, obtained at tke same place, weighng over 4 oz. It is a pity some arrangement has not been nade with respect to digging on "native reserves," as one party of diggers, after having seen at-work "in the dark" for three or four kveeks, and having their ground ready for sluicing, have been Tnosfruncereniomausly ordered off. I-am sorry to say another man has been irowned in the ;Slate • river through the upset-ting-of a boat: his name was Ware. There was ilso a Maori drowned in the Aorere river some Jays ago, whose body has not yet been found.—