Colonial.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 751, 18 January 1860, Page 3

Colonial.

NELSON,

We have papers to the 14th infant. Wo take from the•■' Examinor '' of the 4th the following monthly . , BUMMA.HY OF DOMESTIC KEWS, In this our first issue lor tho year 1860, we give a slight sketch of the domestic news during tho past month, mid would inform "our readers, homo and foreign, that it is our intention for the future to publish, monthly, a summary of pausing events, so that those who are at a distance may have an opportunity of reviewing at a glance the more important subjects which Hit across our political and domestic horizon.

Firstly, we would notice tho visit of his Excellency Colonel Goro Browne, Governor of New I Zealand, who arrived in H.M. steamer Niger, on the evening; of Friday, December 3rd, and landed ■ the following .morning', under a-salute, of thirteen '; guns.. On Monday, December 6th; his Excellency held an undress levee, lit which, two memorials i were presented to.him ; one being' from a public meeting held' in this city respecting the establishment of1 Insolvent Courts, the high fees paid !by suitors in the District Court, the necessity for a more simple and inexpensive mode of conveying real property, and the recent elevation of, the Wairau in the P,royince of Maryborough ; the.other ; was the "working, men's memorial," the nature of whidi'will be best shown by;the..lbllowing extract ■from his Excellency's reply tlif reto, viz.: —"You desire that I should adopt any liberal measure for your benefit, and urge upon/me the 'necessity of , speedily promoting any constitutional measure that offers a reasonable prospect of relief;'.and you con- : elude by ,observing, 'that ,a caivfully matured ! system of, payment for land ,by annual instalments i; would be to us and to our children, whose'papaj bilities, in spite of circumstances, are nd'mere conijecture, of the first consequence, and would^ if properlyadminiatered,issuein permanent well-doing.' In reply to these last requests, I must observe that regulations for the sale.or ; lease of crown lands can : only be made by the General or, Provincial JUegislatures, and that I could not interfere in the manner you appear to desire, without infringing the rights and privileges .of tire representatives of i. the people in a manner which would be altogether unconstitutional." : ? /. : : .

On Wednesday, December 7th, his Excellency laid:the..-.foundation stone of Nelson iCollege, the day being observed as a general holiday. In his address to those assembled he said, that "for the last four years he had watched with extreme interest the progress of the colony of Nelson, and the rapid developement of its material prosperity. During that short period the European population had increased by more than two-thirds; wild lands had been brought into cultivation; flocks and herds had multiplied and increased at a rate greatly accelerated by the genialjty of the climate; and minerals had been, discovered and worked with success."

On Thursday, December Bth, his Excellency left for Marlborough, and thence via Otago and Wellington, returned to Auckland.

Dr. Hochstetter, the Austrian Mineralogist, who so lucidly explained the mineral.richness of our province, having visited the Australian gold fields, j. wrote from Melbourne to a " I friend .here, giving a few words of advice, respecting the management of our diggings, in which, after stating that he had visited Castlemaine, Bendigo, • Tarrangower, Ballaarat,, and all the other celebrated Melbourne , diggings, where he had observed the ruinous nature of the system of "robber mining," 'or the working of the gold fields byindividual.digg^rs^ithout any regard to system; he says; "Nelson>houjd take example from "Victoria, and by'inemis J.bf wise regulations avoid those evil consequences., I would urge that the laws concerning' the' Nelson gold fields should, as much as possible, discourage the " robber mining " system -that companies should be encouraged by the grant of licenses extending over large areas of ground, upon their, paying for its use in due proportion; that such companies should commence operations with the best' machinery that can be procured; and, in\ a word, that i instead of the ill-regulated efforts of a few1 adventureis, all the resources of skill and capital should. i be: brought to bear upon the work." After referring: • to the enormous amount of labour requisite in yic T \ toria, before the gold is won, he saj s, " In Nelson, ithere are no such difficulties, all is,lying on the i surface, and everywhere there is abundance of ; water both for mill power' and washing purposes. In fact, I am firmly convinced that the Nelson ; gold; fields must eventually yield the most brilliant ■■•■•.■ . .■.■■■•■• ..•. :'.. ■ ■ ■ '"■■ ■••. ■■.-.■■ ■■■ ...

••: Gold lias been discovered at the River: Buller on the West Coast, by Mr. Rochfort's survey party,, who report that they first saw 'it'--'"lying on! the edge of the river, glistening in the sun,.and in such a quantity as induced rather a mutinous spirit ; among the hands, who preferred the golden prps- ; pects before them to the sterner duties of survey- | ing." •>. In order to satisfy the incredulous, Mr. ; Rochfort brought,to Nelson with him a sample of ■i the gold, consisting of several coarse bright pieces. (The land on which it was discovered is-.the,pro- \ perty of the Maories, and Mr. Mackay, the native ': interpreter, is how negotiating for its purchase; in .the mean time we hear of several parties who ; intend testing the value of this new discovery i immediately they can ensure a sufficient supply of ; provisions on the spot. Of .the nature of the dis- ; trict, Mr. Rochfort reports that"" the country at the, mouth of the Buller, and several of the districts. i north of it, offer an excellent field for a great rium- •■ ber of agriculturists, the land being excellent. • Again; inland among the hills, not only at the back jof the* Buller, but I believe as far as Wakapohaii I which is directly contiguous to Aorere: employ-' i merit after, crops are. put in, or during any leisure ; time, at ; gold digging. This, I think, is the only j way in which digging can be successfully carried ' on, until the country possesses communications and • facilities for supplying a,digging population,"

" The coast at the north of the Buller, for ten.' miles! is a flat alluvium, deposited at successive periods by the river, extending to the foot of the, hills, which are between two and three miles dis-; tant. These hills are,composed of quartz, and feldspar, in some places containing mica, approaching to''"a;:''coarse'■■'grariite,'''and''1 at the summit of the highest (Papahaua, 2,400 feet) which I ascended, several strata of fine slate crop out.

"To the south of the Buller the coast is characterized by flat bush, for about fire miles, when the land rises into a low table of "excellent soily extending for twelveimilesdown the coast." At the Aorere, tilings still hold their steady course. Those who are working in the river bed, after having diverted the stream into another course are doing well; the few who made a rush to the recently discovered diggings at the Kaituna are still working there, and are satisfied; the river being easily workable for miles along its course, and possessing the great advantage of being near the port, so that provisions there are more readily obtainable, and at a cheaper>rate, than at the diggings farther in the interior. The upper parts of the Anatoki, having been made more accessible by means of a recently cut track, are now yielding gold in paying quantities, and great results seem to be anticipated from this quarter during the present season. The Nelson Gold Mining Company's works are progressing rapidly, there being How upwards of two miles of:the flume laid, which is to convey water to their claim. The: Metallurgic Company were, by the last English."■mail, 'reported to be actively stirring themselves with an intention of at

once commencing operations hero on a large Bcule : and although we have never censed tovregret that, . either from official blindness, or perversene'ss ori'the ; part of' oiir Executive, tho company were Refused their original application for the area which caused so much discussion here at 'the time, yet, now that that, refusal has been rescinded, and the application of tho company granted by tho General Government, under whose care our much neglected auriferous '■> district is now placed, wo will with hope look towards the future for tho better development of a largo tract of country, which for the past three or four years has been positively ascertained to possess a great quantity of gold, recently estimated by Dr. Hichstetter to be 'of tho vuluo of £750,000 per ! square mile. And yet, from some cause, this disi trict appears hitherto to have been Nelson's neg- ! lected offspring ; it lnis never yielded employment to move thaii a few score of individuals, and from even them complaint has not ceased to arrive that the district was most cruelly neglected, that necessary roads were not made; and as a consequence that provisions were exceedingly dear, in addition to the fact that the .diggers^had to "hump" them a long distance across a rugged country. y One extraordinary fact we would notice respect- , ing tlie .flour .market. Nelson, which anmially grows more than.its own cunsumption,of f flour, \ being a grain exporting district, is now suffering ! from a scarcity, in fact, we might almost say from : the total absence, of so necessary an article as: flour. At the commencement of the1 month of December j it was quoted at £26 per ton ; it then rose to £35, but has again dropped to £30, though scarcely any is to be obtained at that pi-ice. The millers have had.a buffet with1 each other through the columns [of the press,.and thei;old^ scene, enacted almost ; everywhere 'when flour ; is, scarce, has taken.place here: the miller finds fault with the merchant, the baker complains ofthe miller, and the public abuse the baker. So matters must continue until we receive a considerable import, which may now be speedily expected, as, by last advices, flour in the Sydney market ranged from; £^20 to £22 per ton, with a downward tendency. ;, Matters commercial we will not touch upon here, as our commercial report will be found in another part ofthe present issue. ' . :, '. [ Gas, ay gas, has Been obtained from-the Pakawau coal, by Mr. Tatton :, it was exhibited' to his I Excellency the Governor when here, and he expressed a hope, with the realization of which we are at no distant period promised, namely, that the city of Nelson might soon be illuminated with it. We believe that means are now under consideration for securing the small amount of apparatus necessary for its production in sufficient quantity to nightly illuminate our city. : The, short road to Marlborough, via the Pelorus, lis now open for equestrians; a- party of gentlemen having arrived here on Wednesday last, who report very favourably of it, as presenting few^ difficulties to the traveller, while ifcso considerably shortens the distance between the capitals of the two provinces.

The Dun Mountain copper mine has at last again acquired some vitality, the London directors having decided that the iron tramway, from the mine to the port, shall be commenced so soon as the provincial authorities shall have conceded the necessary legal power. The successful working of this mine would do more for Nelson than almost any other thing; it would employ any spare labour which we might possess, while the export of chrome and copper ore would induce the visits of numerous vessels to our harbour, and altogether the working lof the mine would give a stir and an amount of activity to Nelson which can hardly be calculated upon. We hope, therefore, that no unnecessarily i stringent; clauses will be introduced into the bill empow.ering- the 1 company _to .make the.requisite tramway. '7

Th? first meeting of the trustees of the proposed Nelson Savings Bank was held on the afternoon of the 30th December, and a sub-committee appointed to draw up the rules and by-laws for its management. A discussion ensued as to the best ' mode of investing the funds as they may accumulate, some of the trustees being in favour of using ; the money for bill discounting,.while many others < strongly opposed such a scheme,urging, and-we ; think rightly so,;that the savings of industrious j people should be guarded with, the greatest care, ; and not invested, in transactions which might ■. possibly swallow up both principal and interest. [ There have been the usual annual examinations ;of the pupils at the College and town and local J schools during the past month, and we are pleased' \ to notice that in each case the examiners report the S scholars to be satisfactorily progressing in their I studies. ,

1 The formation of a volunteer rifle corps, (thought iby many to be essential), for guarding our town iagainst,, incursions from privateers and small I marauding vessels, in the event of the peace of i Europe being broken by France and England i becoming adversely entangled, is now rapidly pro- [ gressing. We believe that there are already 100 ; signatures to a memorial; requesting his Excellency ithe Governor to supply the necessary arms and ; accoutrements to those who are ready to form i themselves into a rifle corps.

We take the following paragraphs from the papers.— '■.-.,'•

- .»: Alabm of Fiee.—Considerable excitement was j created by an alarm of fire in Trafalgar street,; j between ten and eleven o'clock on Saturday evening i last; and in a very short time a large concourse1 [of people assembled in front of Mr Anslow's store, ; whence the alarm arose. It appears that the flame ;of one of the shop lamps hanging near the ceiling' , had^gradually heightened• arid as the lamp was unprovided with any reflector or other protection" from above, the result was that the canvas and paper ceiling caught fire. The alarm was raised, arid two or three of the passers rushed into the shop and with great presence of. mind! closed the door, and set to work to put out the flames. In the mean ; time the discarded fire bell was pressed into activeservice, and the fire engine was soon on the spot. Happily, the exertions of the parties inside the shop were successful, the fire being got under without doing any serious damage.*"'1 From some neglect, the stream' of water usually flowing' down the Trafalgar street ditch, had been shut off, consequently no, water was to be obtained from.that, vaunted source. Had it not been for the prompt exertions rendered, the whole of the houses in the street would have been in great danger; for so closely are the wooden houses packed together, that it would have been almost impossible to have staid the work of'destruction^ had the fire gained a little more ascendancy.

The West Coast Expedition.—On Monday morning, Mr. Julies Haast, accompanied by Mr. Burnett, the surveyor, and five other assistants, started on the long-talked-of expedition to the West Coast. The party expected to reach Fox Hill on Monday evening,- and [ on ; the"•:following morning would make; their way, to the lakes, and travel down the, Buller river a short distance, then they would strike over the country towards the river Grey, and make their way down that river to the coast. Some Maories have been engaged to meet the party with provisions on the Grey.

Pube-Bbed RAMS.~We observe that the Golconda has just landed from England, direct to Chas. Thorp, Esq., two very splendid, pure-bred Leicester rams.; These,superior animals are from the estate of Mr. Spencer, of Little Clay Brook, Leicestershire, a, celebrated breeder, arid.have, been especially selected by Mr. Beardsley, of Burton Avery, for the imported Mr.; Tliorp, is perpetuating this breed, will offer a great advantage to those who desire to cross their flocks with the Leicester blood

THE GOLD FIELDS. (From the ' Examiner's' Correspondent.) ;.-■':.■ t ; Collingwood, January 5. • Wo Wo now (juieted down comfortably, after haying «pent v merry Christmas; and from the order which has prevailed throughout the holiday week, nobody would have thought we were a population ?ol':;gold-ui«gor«j and yk, notwithstanding wo were quiet, them whs a considerable amount of money put in circulation. We have ntaitea a wicket club here, and, having got a first-rato piece of ground for the practice, we liope to bo able after a time to compete with Nelson or Motueka.

On the di-yn.gs we are *teudily progressing, and the population is increasing. The recent new arrivals, almost without an exception, have set in, and are satisfied with their prospects. There have been issued up to the present time 271 miners' rightß, so that, reckoning the many there must be who have, not yet paid their licenses, bur 'digging population mu»t be between three and four hundred. There are, above fofy:tig^rssy<>&;at tlwjiKilltuna, which place isbeing well^explored/and we are in hopes that belore the winter it will be thoroughly tested. There i», including the principal tributaries, not less than twentymiles of river, which may be considered available for the digger j indeed, ■ sufficient for a large population; besides which; there are numerous flats, which are nodoubtrich in gold. Indeed, the whole country ,on that side has the appearance of being auriferous to thewatershed \ ; and when the road arid ferry are, in^ working.oraer it will be the most easily .accessible part, of. the diggings. The road is progressing, and arrangements are being made for, a ferry store on the Aorere, which will not only facilitate communicai. tion between the Kaituna and the Port, but will also materially improve that between the Port and the Quartz lianges; a portion of the gold fields which will no deubt before long support a large population; those who are there are doing well:"' We expect before long to be having a consider™»?#*™sy of gold out of the.Slate River, several parties being now just about to .begin after long preparations, and those of your readers who will recollect the name of the Manrope party,. will be surprised to learn that the remnantof that party.who have been working there from the commencement;, ar.e still there, and that lately they have been doing better than ever. Indeed, there is rib doubt the passage in the letter of Dr. Hochstetter, lately published, in which he,speaks against "robber-mining^ and that the employment' of capital'on a larger scale is more applicable to our gold fields than the ill-directed efforts of the individual diggers,'' is really applicable in this case, as it is floubtless in many others; for there is no doubt the Manrope claim was really good, but was muddled and mismanaged j the men did not work well together, and they were under no regular management; indeed they were, as is always the way with such large parties (namely fifteen), all masters. That same claim would have paid well if there had been one proprietor and the other fourteen had worked for wages; and the same remark applies to many otter works at preßeht.in progress. Our roads are going on very slowly under the hands we now have at work on them, and it must be a great relief to Nelson to have so handy a place as Collingwood to send her useless pauper population to, who pretend to make roads • we want the money voted by the Council devoted to the making of roads which are so much needed, and not to be applied to such purposes; to relieve an unfortunate digger is one thing, but the relieving the district of Nelson we surely have nothing whatever to do with^