REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.

West Coast Times, Issue 35, 24 August 1865, Page 2

REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.

(PER GREVILLE AND BIRD.) London, Juno 28. The Bishop of Chester is dead. The surrender of Galveston is imminent. The Lahore Bishopric Bill has been withdrawn in Parliament. The American cotton duties have been abolished, except the international tax of three cents, per lb. John Mitchell has been arrested in New York on a charge of treason. President Johnson has removed all restrictions on foreign and domestic trade with tho states east of tho Mississippi. Insubordination has manifested itself among the negro troops at Fort Monroe.

Turning op the Siiotovjsr at Big Beaoii. — The Leviathan race at the Big Beach was completed and christened on tho 29th ult. Tho " Wakatip Mail" contains tho following account of the works :—: — " They had to construct through the Gorge a dray road over two mi'es long to a timbered gully within a mile of Queeastown, along which they carted the plant used in tho construction of tho works, and some 5,000 to 6,000 pieces of timber, of 15 ft to 20 ft long. On tho beach itself the first work undertaken was the cutting of a new river bed, and in executing this many tons of material had to be moved and a quantity of rock blasted. Previous to putting in the head- dam a line of ciates or piling had to bo put down at tho sides of the leased ground to prevent tho river enoroaohmg upon them. Fifty-five ohains of ohannol work, or 3828 feet had to be com-

pleted. To put in the piles of the side wall another channel had to be made so ns to securely fix to the bottom such piles or crates. The side wall is very strongly built and forms a splendid promenade. As soon as this was completed the most serious part of the work had to be encountered, viz., the putting in of the head-dam, which was to turn the Shotover. Enormous crates, each capable of containing sixty tons of stones, had to be sunk. The dani now complete, measures 478 feet long, 30 feet broad at the basement, 10 feet on the top, avetages 12 feet high, it took 51 men' thirteen weeks to complete, and 1,700 tons of stone were used in filling the crates. It has a double thickness of crating throughout, is piled outside of these, and has extra protections against floods on the outside and inside. No description can faithfully pourtray the massive strength of this portion of the work. Breakwaters are erected inside in the case of the river rising sufficiently high to flow over. Inside of the wall is the tail-race, threequarters of a mile long, into which the leakage and bottom water of the claims will have to be pumped ; this, is also piled And culverted, and cost upwards of LI OOO. The total cost of the works up to date has been L 7386 9s 6d, and another LIOOO is expected to fully complete them. It will be seen that these are, therefore, the most important mining works ever undertaken in the Province, and it is to be hoped that the speculation will prove a payable one."