THE TOWN RATE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 117, 21 May 1867, Page 3

THE TOWN RATE.

To thb Editor of the ' Nelson Evening Mail.' Sir — Can you inform me how I may arrive at a solution of the following difficulty ? Last year my rates, under the Town Improvement Act, were due on the 28th of March ; but I .find that they are considered to be due for the present year in the middle of February, making a difference of six weeks in the dates of the two assessments. I need hardly inform you that, if this system be perpetuated, taking this average of six weeks difference in every year for eight years, we should be called upon to pay nearly nine years' rates in that period. /Verily, in such a case, time is money ! ' I am, &c, A Ratepayer. Nelson, 21st May, 1867. P.S. — By-the-bye, I see in Canterbury all persons in arrears with their -rates are summoned forthwith. Verbum.sat sap. [On enquiry, we find that the assessment for 1867, was purposely completed at an earlier date than in former years, and that payment of the rates can be made at any time between the date of making the assessment and the end of July, but after that time all arrears will be sued for. Ed. N.E.M.]

It appears from the Grey River Argvs of the 7tb inst., that a new rush has been reported of most promising character, situated within this province: —Rumors were rife in town yesterday respecting a new find of unusual richness, from eight to ten miles up the North Beach, between Point Elizabeth and Canoe Creek. The prospectors, who are said to be the same as the discoverers of Canoe Creek, showed a prospect of 2dwts. to the dish, but we are unable to ascertain the depth of sinking, thickness of washdirt, or others particulars, until the return of Mr. Sub-Warden Lightband. who, on the application being made at Cobden, for a prospector's claim, immediately started to examine the ground for himself, and had not returned at the time we went to press. We have been informed that the road party engaged in making a track round the bluff were unable to resist the temptation of the rush, and all threw down their, picks, and left their work on the news reaching them. The gold brought down by the prospector is stated to be of a coarse quality, and to show stronger indications of being a real "lead" tha,n any yet discovered on the beach. The Argus says : —Amongst the exports shipped on board the s.s. Alhambra yesterday to New Zealand was as an item deserving more than passing mention,,. not. only as being a work of colonial manufac-" ture but also from the nature of the service for which it is intended. The article alluded to is a lifeboat, constructed by the Messrs White, of Willianistown, and built on the patent of Messrs Lamb and White, the eminent boat-builders at Cowes. The dimensions of the boat are : Length, 30th ; beam, 6ft 6in ; depth, 2ft 4in. Besides possessing all the advantages of an open boat for rowing or sailing in ordinary weather, these boats have all the best qualifications of a lifeboat in. the most severe gale; they can be rowed or sailed against any head sea, which makes them of great value on a coast where there are no steamboats to tow a lifeboat to the sceene of a wreck. Lifeboats similar in principle and construction to the one just finished by the Messrs White have been in use in the Royal Navy and in the Peninsular and Oriental Company's service, and, although they have been tested for twenty years, in no instance have they been known to capsize. They have no self-righting powers, but by reason of the flotation power being situated so high in the sides they are in no danger of being upset. A trial of the boat was made last week, and her performances in the water realised every expectation. A severer trial of the utility of the boat will be made at the bar entrance to Hokitika, and should she be found to answer well, her success will px'obably lead to the establishment of similar boats at the more dangerous points on the New Zealand coast. We learn from the Charleston Argus of the 4th instant, that an extension of that excellent institution, Odd-Fellowship, is likely to take place at that new township ; it having been unauimously carried at a second preliminary meeting of the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, held at Crewdson's Royal Hotel, that a dispensation be applied for immediately from the Nelson district, to open a Lodge of the above order at Charleston. A committee, consisting of four, was appointed to carry out the objects of the meeting, and the names of a number desirous of becoming members were handed in. The solid benefits derived by the members of this society in time of need or sickness are well known, so that it scarcely devolves upon us to dilate upon the point. At the same, in referring to these advantages, it is impossible to overlook the good likely to accrue from the establishment of a branch of this valuable order at Charleston. Another pleasing feature which especially recommends Odd-fellowship to attention is .the admirable manner in which the financial department is managed, evidenced by its popularity and the fact that up to the present time their funds exceed considerably three millions sterling. Mr. Crosbie Ward took his departure from Wellington on the Bth instant, in the s.s. Mataura, en route for the north of Ireland, where he contemplates residing for some time to recruit his failing health.