West Coast Times.

West Coast Times, Issue 159, 22 March 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1806.

Tin: speech of the Superintendent of Nelson in opening the Council of that Province, is chiefly occupied with a review of the action tnken by liis executive and himself to promote tho development of the gold-fields. Tho whole tone of the address indicates a far higher appreciation on the part of the Nelson authorities, of the gold boaring districts of tho province than has been shown by the Christchurch Government in connection with the Canterbury portion of tho West Coast. Mr Saunders excuses himself for calling tlio Council together at an unusually early period: viz., before the expiration of the financial year, and at a season inconvenient to country members ; on tlie ground of tho greatly increased responsibilities thrown upon his shoulders by the important alterations that have taken placo 'in the population, the resources, and the requirements of tho province. These circumstances rendered it imperative upon him to make deviations from the year's appropriation by the Council of the revenue ; and Mr Sauiidors pleads the necessity of having tho large use he has made of his discretionary power, ratified by the Council, and of securing 1 the immediate adoption of legislative measures to meet the very altered conditions which the goldfield discoveries have imposed upon tho province. The speech, whoso preamble we have thus freely rendered, accepts tho goldfields with gratitude, as conferring an enormous advantage upon the province. Theso discoveries havo worked great changes in the state of the population ; havo rendered necessary a large additional outlay ; but thoy have brought with them the most substantial benefit. They have at once augmented the population of the proviucoby " at least fifty per cent," and causod "a steady increase" in its Customs revenue. And Mr. Saunders expresses his conviction to tho Counoil, that not only has ho been justified in promptly expending " all tho revenue .derived from tho goldfields, in the construction of roads and such other pormanont improvements as woro calculated tQ render thorn weeessi-

ble nnd attractive, " but that ' the interests of the wholo province will best be promoted" by offering every facility for their further development. - His Honor takes a reasonable and becoming view of the case, whon he reminds tho Council that tho steady increase of tho gold and Customs tovomios " continues to justify tho liberal treatmont of the goldfields?' Mr. Saunders adds, with reference to tho construction of roads and other public works on tho goldfields, that the magnificent results obtained from thoir discovery have justified " tho attention of the Provincial Engineer being somewhat exclusively devoted to the newly developed portion of the province, in consequence of which many highly desirable public works in othor districts havo boon necessarily postponed." His Honor relates what has been actually done, and tells the . Council that a Wharf 250 feet long has been erected at Cobden, and a dray road leading from it for a mile through the' dense bush, formed, drained, bridged,' and metalled ; that in addition to numerous substantial buildings for Government and other purposes, no loss than a hundred aad fifteen miles of now road have boon* oponcd up in connection with tho Grey goldfield, and that eighty miles of lwd neccseary to complote the track between Cobden and Nelson have been cut through. But such results, ho says, havo only been obtained by " a considerable concentration of the availablo funds" at tho disposal of the government ; which means in effect that in tho • administration of tho provincial finance of Nelson, the requirements of tho gold-fields, and the importance of developing them, have occupied and continue to occupy a first rather than a last place. Mr Saunders' speech contrasts strongly in its general tone in this particular, with that of the Superintendent of Canterbury on opening the last Session of the Provincial Counoil at Christchurch. It is true that N-lson is a small province, to which the discovery of gold-fields' was of more importance than to the wealthy province of Canterbury. But so long as Canterbury determined to hold Westland as part of its territory, it was under tho most stringent obligations to do justico to it, and to promote the development of ito interests, as the Nelson Government havo done in connection with their South-western terri- 1 tory. Mr Saunders, in addressing the Provincial Council, tells them frankly that he has made tho development of the mining interests of tho province the primary object of his Government, and asks thorn to sanction his policy or to condone his well-meant offence. And what are the terms of tho address in reply to the speech, adopted unanimously by tho House ? This document says : — " Tho extraordinary and unexpected influx of a largo gold-mining population at the West Coast not only justified, but in our opinion necessitated, a wide deviation from tho Appropriation Act of the last session — an Act framed under circumstances so different to those in which tho provinco soon, fortunately, found itself placed. And we beg to express our sense of the prompt and judicious action taken by your Honor in tho furtherance of tho development of the western gold-fields." It is in such a spirit that the legislation of the Provincial Council of Canterbury should be conducted. Had it beeu so, littlo would have been heard hero of the cry of Separation. The people of Westland have no'weak' ambition to have the district constituted into a distinct province. Their first and their last wain is good and just Government — a Government based not only on sound abstract principles, but inspired by a generous sympathy with the disadvantages and difficulties under which a pioneer population necessarily lalour. W ° are bound to say that the Nelson Government havp acted on tho matter of gold-field administration in a spirit which it would have been well for this distriot if tho Canterbury Government had emulated.

The more tho public 890 of tho performances of tho Lenton Troupe tho stronger grows tho sonso of astonishraont at thoir daring and doxtority. In their opening uppcaranoo thoy gavo a tasto only of their extraordinary powers, and imposing as it appeared at tho timo, it will bo adniittod by thoso who havo subsequently visited tho Princo of Wales, that it was a inoagro taste only. Mr Goorgo Ridgway on tho ilyiug trapozo is suroly tho very princo and horo of acrobats. Wo spoak from anoxporionce of many years observation of tho foats of gymnasts, and aro froo to say that thoso of Mr Ridgway aro unapproaohed by any performor who has yot mado his appearanco in tho colonies. It is nothing more than is duo to this most ablo gymnast to say this. It was last night not* one single foat only that drew down tho vociferous applausoof the house Ifc wan a rapid' succession of oxploits iv whioh aoouraoy of oyo, precision of mqvoment, and a flno muqeulnt 1 vigor oombiuod

to produco fonts which would havo boon dcomod to bo impossible fry tho spectators boforo (hoy had seen them, but which wero aehioved with oxlraordinary graco and facility. Wo havo no intontion whalovor of dosoribing thoso trapeze ibats. It would bo as dishonest to tho spirited management and to thoLouton Troupo thonisolves, to give any particular dotail of performances in which suspense and tturi* osity avo nmougst the chiof elainottts of enjoymenr, as ifc is in a roviower to toll tho story of a now novel. Let tl 6)0 whd want t'6 know what tho flying trapozo— and Mv Ridgway ou It and off it, Bwiuging, flying, ov vovolving iv mid aiv — is, pay thojv shillings and purchaso their pleasure. It would indeed bo unkindhoes to thorn to dond'on, thoir onjoymonl by forestalling thoir iutorost. Last night Mr Ridgway was loudly called for at tho closo of his porfornuiucoß, und retired amidst vociferous cheers and shouts of bravo. v tho coinpauy of monkoys wo wdro happy to soo again mustoi 1 in full force, They favorod tho compai\y with sovcral novoltios. Tho wonderfully floxiblo Herbert Skoltou in his bonding scene, tfnd littlo Frank Lonton on his porch, woro amongst tho moot ntlrnotivo of tho feats of tho oyoning. Cohb's coach which was tologt'aphod as having lofd Ohristohurch on Tuesday morning, arrived last night at half-past fccvin, crowded with passengers. AnWugsl tho names on tho Nvay hill wo nolico tho'so of Mr Bealoy, tho Superintendent ; Mr Jollio, Provincial Secrota'ry ; Mr Stewart, Secretary of Public Works ; Mr Sherman, Commissioner of Polico j and Mr Dobson, tho Provincial Enginoor. Quito an inundation of officials, wo must confoss, nnd begin to imngino that. Westland is " some place" aftor all. Now thot Ilvcbo heads of dopartmonts havo ftt last arrived, wo trust they will n'dt Vak'6 a mcro cursory glanco at tiSj but will dilligontly onquiro, minutely inspect, and then lay tho result to hoart, and wo doubt not thoy will return much wiser men, with, wo trust, a sincoro dosiro and steadfast dotormination to do Wcslland' justico. Ifc is said tlio journoy was most delightful, tho road boing good, and tho weather all that could bo dosircd. Tlio telograph lino is now completed to Nolson, so that mossages betvrcon that City and Hokitika can bo transmitted, j Those who havo not visited the Kaniori Torraco sinco its oarlier days would now scarcely recognise tho place if they saw it, so extraordinary is tho metamorphosis effected by thoso busy ants, tho minors. Hardly a trco is left standing, and now, instead of sinking up to the knoes in mud and decayed vegetable matter — which was tho penalty onco paid by thoso who travorsod it — pedestrians can walk comfortably from oho end to tho olhor, a littlo agility only being roquirod to scramblo over heaps of gravel, and jump across paddocks and oycv water flumes. Tho placo is cortainly worth a visit, if only to view tho works constructed by tho Pionoor Race Company, whoso flume, which may bo likened to a gigantio artery, intersects tho terrace from oud to ond, and through it runs a slroam of water by tho aid of which tho surface layor to tlio depth of somo sixtcon foot, will bo washed away into tho rivor. Out of ono side of this main ilumo, at distances of about ninety feet apart, branch smaller ones, which convoy tho wator to tUoBo xilaims on tho faco of tho torraeo which aro now being reworked by tho sluicing process, which is found to romunorato most handsomely; Iho only drawback boing that, as tho supply 'of wator is not oqual to tho demand, tho sluicing parties avo compollcd to work with a short allowance of tho eloment, only fourtcon inches by ono being allowed to tho sluico-hoatl. Yot oven with thia reduction capital wages aro mado for theso claims, somo of which the other day woro lofl as duffers now paying from 5 ozs to 10 ozs for tho day's washing, and as thoro avo frpm thirty to forly of thoso claims in full work, tho wcokly return of gold from tho Kanieri may soon bo oxpqctod to greatly increase. Compared with tho dosortcd appouranco of tho Torraco somo six weeks ago, a busy scono is now boing cnaoled thoro, for both by night and day is tho work prosooutcd, as thoro is not nearly suffloiont water to supply by daylight all thoso parties who uocd it. On tho oxtremo point of tho Terraco thveo parties aro busily employed removing tho lingo knob which so prominontly projeots as to bo oasily distinguishable in fino weather from tho upper ond of Gibson's Quay, but which in a short t|mo, at tho'rato tho work is now going on, will havo to bo ranked amongst -tho things of tho pnsl. This is considered to bo tho richest of tljo Torraco, as it certainly is tho most convonipnfc to work, thoro being such an excellent fall to carry the wator and tailings clear into t)io river. It is, however, a ticklish procoss, and wo would caution tho'-o gonllomon who aro using long hydraulic hosos to bo caroful that thoy do not bring tho faco of tho torraco down upon thomsolvcs. Confined as they aro whon working in tho cutting thoro is no rotroat for 'thorn should tho faco give, and if that broke away and caught thorn unprepared nothing but doath or fearful maim*ng could be oxpootod. An awlully suddon death ocourrod on St. Patrick's day at tho Twoonilo rush, on tho beaoh south of tho Grey, tho victim boing a miner named William Harrison. It appears 'ho was at work with his mates pumping wator into tho Bluico boxes, whon suddenly ho foil backwards insensible, and before modical aid could bo proourod, had expired. An inquost was hold, a post mor(;om examination mado, tho doctor stating that death was oauscd by anourism of tho aorla, and tlio Jury returned a vordict of "Diod from natural causes." Tho deceased is reported to havo boon comparatively wealthy, as noarly £2000 stands to his credit in ono of Victorian Banks. His brother resides in that colony, in tho neighborhood of Kynotop.

Wo would • again ifomiud our roadorp that tho sale of thaj. portion of tlio Town Lands of Hokifika tlio Governmonfc intend to disposo qf, will tako placo on fcho 3rd of April, Tho sale will commence at