MEETING OF MINERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 38, 13 February 1872, Page 2

MEETING OF MINERS.

C Communicated.) A meeting of miners and storekeepers was held at a miner's hut, near Jeckliu's Flat, Upper Buller, on Monday evening, February 5. Present: John Oxenham, jun., George White, Samuel Jepsom, Rebit, Epps, Livingstone, Beatnsley, Adank, Hall, Martin, Boyd, Husband, Burrows, &c. The Matakitaki was unrepresented at meeting in consequence of the notice of meeting 1 having miscarried to that locality. Mr. Floriau Adank was voted into the chair, and opened the proceedings by explaining that the meeting had been called partly in consequence of a discussion that bad been raised iv town by a communication of Mr. Lightband's to the Evening Mail in reference to making roads in the interior in place of a railway near the town. The chairman then read Mr. Lightband's letter, and a considerable portion of the correspondence that it had led to, and

called upon the persons present to propose resolutions. Mr. Bebit proposed — That this meeting is of opinion that from some cause or other the Nelson Government fails to discharge its duty to the province as regards the making of roads to develope its resources, as shown by the slight importance they seem to attach to the neces-ity of opening up the interior at all, and also by the inefficient manner in which they expend what little it is thought proper to devote to roud making. Mr. Rebit said that the Government were thoroughly deserving of the censure which this resolution cast upon them, and in proof of the inefficient and foolish manner in which they expended the money at their disposal for road making, he need only refer to the next-to-useless manner in which they had lately expended two thousand pounds on the comparatively good piece of road between the Owen and tbe Hope, while there were so many other parts of the road tbat were almost impassable, which were entirely unattended to. Mr. George White seconded the resolution. Mr. Husband supported this resolution, and referred to the fact of so large a proportion of tbe two thousand pounds being absorbed by one family connected by marriage with a member of the Government. This resolution was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously. Proposed by Mr. Husband, seconded by Mr. Jepsom, and carried unanimously — That as all appeals to the Nelson Provincial Government appears to be useless, it is, in the opinion of this meeting, advisable to petition the General Government in reference to the construction of dray or tram roads, to connect Nelson with the Upper Buller, in place of the present pack tracks; and this meeting believes that immediate prosperity to the diggings and to Nelson would follow from such a change. Mr. Jepsom remarked, in seconding this resolution, that there was too much money taken from the diggings for the purpose of making Nelson comfortable. Proposed by Mr. George White, seconded by Mr. George Epps, and carried unanimously — That the thanks of this meeting are due to Mr. Lightband for the part he has taken in bringing the subject of better communication between Nelson and the Upper Buller so prominently before the public as he his done. Mr. Husband in supporting this resolution said it was tbeir duty to support those that helped them, as Mr. Lightband had done, in advocating the construction of cart or tram roads to the diggings. He said they were all greatly indebted to him for exposing the Foxhill railway fallacy. If it would take three years to reach Foxhill, it would take fifteen to reach them, during which time he supposed it was intended that the roads should remain in their present wretched condition. Proposed by William Beamsley, seconded by Mr. Chas. Livingstone, and carried unanimously, Tbat the foregoing resolutions be embodied in a memorial to the General Government for signature on the diggings, and that Mr. Lightband be respectfully requested to take charge of the same for transmission to the Colonial Secretary. Proposed by Mr. James Boyd, seconded by Mr. Richard Burrows, That, Mr. Adank and Mr. Husband be appointed a Commiteee to draw up the memorial and take charge of the same for signature. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.

Father Ignatius has lost £8000 by his monastery at Norwich. Serious Fire at Canterbury. — A serious fire has occurred at Alford Forest, Ashburton Forks. Several houses were burnt down, and amongst them that of Mr. Robinson Clough, who also had bis fine orchard destroyed. The orchard is said to have been one of the best in Canterbury. Mr. Clough, during sixteen years of great labor, having succeeded at a great expense in stocking it with all the choicest trees. Disagreeable Prophecy. — A very disgreeable prophecy is mentioned by an Indian paper, the Tirdur AMbar, as having been uttered by MaulviMuhammed Salimuz-Yaman, the famous astronomer of Rampore, whose deductions have generally turned out right. This gentleman predicts tbat in the coming year a blaze of light resembling a star, the like of which no mortal has yet seem, will be visible in the sky. "It will dazzle the eyes of tbe people of particular places with its lustre, and after remaining for a ghari (i.e. 24 minutes) will vanish. The direction in which it will make its appearance will be the north pole, and accordingly the people of northern countries will see it distinctly. Probably the natives of China and Persia will likewise have a sight of it. The effect of this meteor will be that the extent of the globe over which its light will fall will be visited by famine during the year, and a large number of the people inhabiting it will be destroyed, while vegetation will also be scanty." This news will make British housekeepers intensely nervous, more especially as there are already predictions among farmers that in the course of the next twelvemonths mutton will cost eighteen-pence the pound. The wisest course they can pursue is to keep a sharp look out for the appearance of the star, and in the meantime to lay in a good stock of Australian preserved meat. The Canterbury Press in an article enforcing the necessity of efficient drainage in towns, draws attention to the excessive mortality amongst children in New Zealand. It says : — Alluding to the great excess of infant mortality in the Provinces and Cities of Zealand, an Auckland contemporary has taken tbe colonial statistics for five years, ending 1870, and it appears that during that period 9959 children were born in Auckland, and that of these 1837, or nearly one in five, died before the age of five years. In Wellington, in the same period, there were 4382 infant births and 503 infant deaths; in Nelson, 2859 births, and 593 infant deaths ; in Canterbury, 9905 births, 1464 deaths ; in Otago, 11,091 birihs, 1336 deaths. Putting the figures in another form, during these five years Otago lost 120, Nelson, 130 ; Wellington, 135 ; Canterbury, 145 ; and Auckland, 180 out of every 1000 born. Of deaths of infants from one to two years of age, during the same period, there were in Auckland, 1223, Canterbury, 1066 ; Otago, 963. And the question is naturally asked — "Can anything be done to reduce this death rate ? Could we by thorough drainage, and closer attention to other sanitary measures, save the lives of only a fourth of these children, a very simple calculation in political economy would show us that these lives would be worth much more than the rates levied, or the For remainder of news see fourth page.

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interest on a loan to carry out sanitary measures. The most ruinous extravagance tbat any young country can indulge in, and especially a young co.untry such as this, situated so- far from the source whence immigrants can be obtained, is the waste of infant life." A Girl named Elizabeth Ramsay was burned to death the other day at Deniliquin, in consequence of following the foolish practice of pouring kerosene on to the wood in the fire-place to make it ignite. The kerosene exploded in the can, and the girl was burned to such a degree that she died in two or three hours. The practice is a very common one, and has been the occasion of several shocking deaths of late. Cheap Railway. — A small experiment in cheap railway construction is mentioned from America which seems to surpass previous attempts in that country. The line in progress is a length of thirty miles in the State of Missouri, of which one mile is finished. The cost of this mile laid with T rails has been £1,300, and the cost of the entire thirty miles is estimated at £58,000, allowing £3,300 for culverts, bridges, &c. The road bed is six feet wide at the top, following the rise and fall of the ground where it does not exceed seventy feet to the mile and winding round high hills and steep grades in curves of twehundred feet radius, less than one-third of those required for the ordinary gauge. The Wisconsin Horror. — 32 Persons Drowned in a Well. — An eye witness of the devastating fires near Uniontown, Wisconsin, relates an incident, occurring during the conflagration, which is absolutely unparalleled in the history of all similar horrors. He writei : — The most horrible of all was at Boorman's well. Mr. Boorman's house was the largest in the village, and in the centre of the yard midway between the house and the bam, was a large but shallow well. Several of the neighbours were supplied with water from this fountain, and it is likely that in the conflagration, when all hope was cut off, the neighborhood, insane with terror, thronged with purpr _c to this well. The ordinary chain and wheel pump used in that place had been removed and the wretched people had leaped into the well as the last refuge. Boards had been thrown down to prevent them being drowned ; but evidently the relentless fury of the fire drove them pell-mell into the pit, to struggle with each other and die — some by drowning and others by lire and suffocation. None escaped. Thirty-two bodies were found there ; they were in every imaginable position, but the contortions of their limbs and the agonised expressions of their faces told the awful tale. All the houses aiong the road down to Sturgeon Bay were reduced to ashes, and in them, or near by, were the blackened corpses of the ill-fated residents. Twelve only are as yet known to have escaped. These ran to the lake and plunged to their necks in the water. Our Young Men.— -What is to become of the many young men who compose the rising generation in these colonies, is a question which has often been asked, but no very satisfactory answer has yet been given. The influence, too, which they will exert upon the character of the nation is worthy of earnest notice, and careful consideration. It will, no doubt, be some years yet before their influence is properly felt, as the character of the population will depend for a time more upon the class of the immigrants who are being introduced. But the day will come when tbe nativeborn race will be called upon to take an active part in the management of public affairs. 'It is, therefore, worthy of the inquiry what is that influence likely to be ? Are the men who will form our future lawgivers likely to stick to the traditions of their forefathers, and regard the occupation of the waste places of the colony as the Doblest work in which they can engage ? These colonies to a great extent, owe tbeir present prosperity to the fact that their founders were men who looked upon the rough life of a colonist as the noblest one they could live, who looked upon the petty inconveniences incident to a settler's life as of no moment. They had devoted their lives to founding a new colony in these seas, and never allowed their enthusiasm to fag in the midst of the most trying circumstances. Experience tells us tbat no such spirit actuates their descendants. The settler's sons who have received a moderate education prefer, as a rule, to eke out a miserable existence in Government billets, or as clerks in a lawyer's office. They have come to look upon work as degrading, and see no poetry in breaking up the virgin soil, or clearing the primeval forest. We. have over and over again observed in the columns of our contemporaries lamentations over the change which is coming over the ideas of the rising generation with reference to the work* of colonisation. — Canterbury Press. The American Mail Route.— _ The Sydney correspondent of the Australasian writes : — Mr, Yogel and Mr. Webb, are

both staying at Sydney with a view to get support to their line. They have eeea the Ministers, who of course can do doing without the sanction of Parliament. But at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, a resolution was passed in favor of supporting Mr. Webb, pending the acceptance of tenders for the service, and it was considered that the £15,000, voted to support the route, might be fairly appropriated to keep it open. But though Mr. Webb is the only person actually in the field, he is not the only person ready to take it. Active negotiations have been going on with steamship owners in England, and there are vessels ready to be placed on the line in six months — vessels of 1500 tons burden, and fitted with all the recent improvements for economising fuel. All that is needed to set these boats at work is a very moderate subsidy — one not beyond the strength of this colony alone to guarantee. The knowledge of this prevents any excessive enthusiasm on behalf of the New Zealand line. It is generally supposed here that Mr. Parkes' visit to Melbourne is in some way connected with the interest of the promoters of this scheme for reviving the direct route. The Hawaiian Government, which has been strongly prised to subsidise Mr. Webb, and which is not unwilling to do so, has resolved to await for the present the action of Australia. The American congress will, no doubt, grant a subsidy to a line in American hands, bat it is understood that it will be conditional on some if not an equal amount being granted from the extra American ports at which the vessels call, Mr. Webb's "pull" is in tbe fact that he can secure the American subsidy, and that he has already a guaranteed 10 years' contract with New Zealand. But the objections made to him are, that he does not take the shortest track, and , that in spite of his -assistance elsewhere, he asks as much as would support a direct route. Mr. Webb and Mr. Yogel will both visit Melbourne in about a week's time, to see what bargains are possible with you. Lightning. — A destructive stroke of lightning is thus described by the Belfast Gazette :■—" On Monday evening, about 6 o'clock, a thunderstorm passed over the town. One flash in particular, which seemed to be simultaneously accompanied by the most deafening crash we ever remember hearing, burst over the centre of the town. Persons in the streets found themselves enveloped in a sheet of flame ; literally, ' the fire ran along the ground,' while they were stunned by the crashing thunder. People in doors in most cases thought their roofs were falling, and rushed into the street. In several instances persons experienced the sensation as of a shock from an electric battery, but in no cbbq did we hear of any serious personal injuries having been sustained. As soon as the excitement had somewhat subsided, it was noticed that the building formerly occupied as the Bank of Victoria, and now the residence of Mr. HY Chambers, was partly stripped of its roof, ahd that one of the chimneys had disappeared. The lightning had evidently struck the house in two places. At the west end, the chimney was struck, and one of the large stones thrown over into Captain Grant's yard, a' distance of about 100 ft. A little distance from this the roof was stripped from the eaves to the ridge, the galvanised iron ridging being bent upwards. From this point it appears the electric fluid struck downwards, the rafters on each side of a skylight being splintered

into thousands of pieces; the lead around the skylight was untouched, and the glass not broken. The ceiliug of the upper room was shattered, but not that of the room beneath, occupied as a bedroom. The lightning entered this room from the wall, in its passage forcing out a stone. It set fire to the bed curtains, and discolored the iron bedpost. Mrs. Chambers was in this room at the time, but fortunately escaped without injury. It is fortunate tbat the accident did not occur a few minutes sooner, when several persons were in the direct track of the lightning."