RESERVES IN HOKITIKA.

West Coast Times, Issue 319, 1 October 1866, Page 2

RESERVES IN HOKITIKA.

The following letter, acknowledging the Memorial to his Honor the Superintendent, prepared by tho Committee appointed at the meetiug of parties interested, held at the Cafe dc France, was reccired on Saturday evening :—: — '\ " Provincial Secretary's Office, ! " Christchurch, Canterbury, N.Z., "27th September, 1866. x " Sib, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th September, transmitting a ' Memorial to his Honor the Superintendent, from certain holders of sections in Uokitika, whose equitable rights are in danger of being seriously affected by tho claims of holders o.f Church reserves ; and by unanticipated proclamations of new Government reserves.' " The Memorial shall bo forwarded to his Honor by the first opportunity. " I have the honor to be, Sir, » " Your most obedient servant, - * . " P.- E." Stewart, " Provincial Secretary. " Thos. L. Bright, Esq., M.P.C., " Hokitika."

The Christchurch coacn, trua to time, ar-^ rived in town on Saturday night, with, we are sorry to say a lighter freight than the enterprise of the proprietary merits, us besides a few parcels, the name of pne passenger (Mr Baslock) alone' appeared on th^ way-bill. In no part of the world is tho Sabbath Jnore strictly observed than in Hokitika, so far as outward semblances go, the day being marked by a total cessation of work of all kinds, whilst at certain hours the streets are thronged by the well dressed of both sexes, wending their way Avith decorqus sobriety either to or from the several places of worship erected by tho ' different religious denominations which havo

taken root here. A pleasing quiet reigns over the town, which is a vast relief from the bustle and turmoil of the working week. In honor of tho clay the shipping at the wharf dress in holiday attire, sails being carefully stowed, decks scrubbed, ropes hauled taut and coiled down, whilst as profuse a display of bunting iB made as the ships' lockers will permit of. There was a time when the fourth commandment was less implicitly obeyed ; but since then tho Customs authorities have issued stringent regulations against the pursuance of shipping business on tho day set apart for rest, with, however, a wise exceptional proviso in cases of need, which sometimes arise in port, when the advantages to bo derived from a good bar and fine weather dura not bo lost sight of. An instance of the kind occurred, yesterday, through the arrival of the steamship Omeo, with between 400 and 500 passengers, the landing of whom was a work of absolute necessity, and Gibson's Quay in consequence presented a most unusual appearance, thronged as it was with the new comers and the crowd which assembled to witness their dobarkation. Thrice did tho Persevere run alongside the transit shed, and each time landed from 90 to 150' passengers, the greater part of whom, as they filed out of the shed in heavy marching order, we should imagine, from their nppearance, "belonged to the species miner. There was a less proportion of females and children than we could wish, as the sexes are far from being evenly balanced in Westland ; and we were also sorry to note the arrival of many questionable characters, of whom not a a few were recognised by the ,sharp-oyed detectives as old offenders elsewhere. They, however, will be well attended to by our vigilant police as occasion demands ; so, on the whole, this large influx of population is most gratifying, as it indicates the high estimation this district is held in abroad. The order kept throughout tho day was most pleasing, as not a single disturbance, or even the semblance of a_ squabble, took place. Thiß is in a great measure due to the excellence of the port arrangements for the reception of immigrants, and tho clbao supervision exercised at their landing by the Collector of Customs and his sfalF. Wo published in our last the prospectus of tho Maori Reserve (Jold Mining Company, which has been lately registered under tho Act. It is the first buna fide mining :ompany over formed in Westland, as those jeforo registered can be hardly classed under that head, as their avowed purpose is either the supplying water for sluicing purposes or to relievo miners who occupy deep and wet ground from a superabundance of that element. The Maori Reserve Company, on the contrary, has leased .fifty acres of land, with the intention of obtaining machinery to work it in a thoroughly systematic manner ; and, from the " lay' 1 of the ground, we have every confidence that the speculation will prove most remunerative. We can vouch for -tho accuracy of the statement wliich is embodied in the prospectus, touching the richneis of those claims immediately above and adjoining the company's lease, and always believed that the lead of gold which ran through them must eventually be traced, although to do so a co-operative system of work would be required, and the provision of steam machinery, the ground being deep and exceedingly wet. We 'are acquainted with one \of the parties who have leased this ground from the Maories, a.nd know them to be practical miners of many years' standing, and men, moreover, who would not waste their time in the pursuit of a. shadow whilst such substantial results are obtainable on the many new diggings which have opened lately. We trust that their attempt to issue scripwill be successful^ The members of the* recently formed Literary Society hold their first meeting for discussion at the Fire Brigade Hall, on Wednesday evening last. The Rev, John Hall, the president of the society, wa» in the chair. The question, " Is- Phrenology a Science?". •was. the subject entertained. Mr Sinclair ope,ned this in, tho affirmative, Mr M. Why tlaw leading on the other sido." Both gentlemen, as well as others who subsequently took part in the debate, displayed considerable ability in support of their respective views. The discussion was well sustained up to halfpast ten o'clock, when it was adjourned to Wednesday next. We are glad to learn that the- Society is likely to prosper, upwards of twenty now members having been and admitted. In our transcript of the telegram from Welington in Saturday's paper, giving the items of' the new tariff, a few errors occurred, which we correct iv our present issue. By the Omeo we have Melbourne papers to -tVie 20th ult. Their contents are not of much importance.* The publication at home, as a Parliamentary Paper, of the complete correspondence between Sir Charles Darling and Mr Cardwell — In which many passages are given which wore suppressed in the , copies laid on the table of the Victorian Legislature — furnishes the " Argus " with the material for a very trenchant attack upon both Sir Charles and Mr M^'Culloch, the Chief Secretary. -The "Argus" goes the length of saying :—": — " The documents which exhibit the dupe and confederate of tlie Ministry in such a discreditable light, proclaim the Chief Secretary to be — we leave each of our readers to finish the sentence for himself. Or, if the Chief Secretary was himnelf dupod and deceived by Sir Charles Darling, we leave it to the most devoted admirer of the late Governor to say with what a measure of opprobrium ho should bo visited who could attempt so foul an imposition, both upon the Chief Secretary and upon the public !" "' A correspondent ha 9, favored us with' the following account of a sad boat accident at the Haast River :— " It is with much regret that I have to report an accident that occurred at v tho Haast River on tho 19th of August last, and which resulted in the death of Mr Isaac Allen, who is well known and respected in Otago, and tho narrow escape of four ethers. Ifc appears that a party of five persons, consisting of Messrs Allen, Bently (of Bently Bros:, saddlers, of Dunedin), T. Minnear, Clarke, Waite, and Win. Thompson, who is better known as Maori Bill, started in a boat from Jackson's Bay early in August, for the purpose of prospecting tho coast. They landed at the Haast, and after exploring in the neighborhood, were launching the boat for the purpose of returning to Jackson's Bay for provisions, when the sad accident occurred, for before they could get through 'the break a sea struck and filled the boat, and washed the crow out of her. Mr Allon disappeared and was seen no more, and ftfcsars Bently and / rat

Waite would probably have shared a similar fate but for the timely assistance afforded thorn by Maori Bill, who, after assisting Waite to get ashore, returned to help Bently, who - was almost exhausted. Mr Allen's body hag not been" recovered." The following is taken from the " M. A. Mail"-. — " During the heavy galo of last Friday night, a number of men employed on the road between Castlemain and Newstead were sleeping on the floor of a hut. The sleepers were awoke by the noise of something heavy falling from the roof, which is a considerable height. The Jight of a bloziug fire, kept up to secure warmth, showed that at some time a heavy truss-cutter had been deposited above, and had been shaken down by the wind. The sharp point of the blade had actually passed through the hair of one of the men. The slightest deviatidn towards his head would have fastened him to the floor, as securely as ' the nail of Sisera did the head of Jael." The - " Sydney Morning' Herald" has the following :—" We hear that the barracks in the Australian command have been ordered to be in readiness for the reception of troops from New Zealand by the Ist October next. The head-quarters of the 50th Regiment may, therefore, be expected during' the first week in, next month. The detachment of the 12th Regiment, at present stationed here, will, after the detachment it Brisbane arrives, probably leave for New, Zealand *by the same vessel which brings the 50th." The " Hobarfc Town Mercury" of the 15th"* ult. extracts into its columns several articles from Victorian journals, on the subject of tht annexation of Tasmania ,to Victoria, and observes: — "We are always gladlto find ourselves noticed by the Victorian press, and most of all when there is a just apprehension of what is made the subject of comment, although it may be to. our disadvantage. But we really cannot compliment our contemporaries on having hit the right nail on the head in the articles we have elsewhere transferred to our columns on the subject of the annexation of Tasmania to Victoria. Our contemporaries are so accustomed, we presume, to downright^ earnestness, and plain niatter-bf-busine3s in their legislature, that it never entered into their heads to suppose that there was anything like- practical joking anywhere else in connection with the transaction of imxportaut public business, and they have therefore been caught in the trap that was kid partly for them and partly for others. There was never any' serious thought of anything so preposterously absurd as the annexation of Tasmania to Victoria, in the head of any man of sense in this colony, and if our contemporaries had only looked to our, columns, they would have found that the motion placed on the notice-paper of the House of Assembly to that effect, was only treated as every man of > sense on the spot treated it — with contemptuous silence. That notice of motion was merely thrown up as a rocket by one of the supporters of Government from behind -the Treasury benches, to divert the attention of the House from graver matters then under consideration, but it failed in its effect. Nobody would consent to look at it, and when *the day for its being called on arrived, no seconder could be found. It would, in fact, have been a disgrace to the colony if such had been the case. There is a certain" extent to iwhich jokes of this kind may be tolerated, but they must not be carried further." /With reference to the recent report of grass lands on the West Coast, reported by s . the " Westland Observer," the"" Lyttelton Times" of the 27th ult. says : — " An inspection of the valuable map now being completed under the superintendence of Dr Haaßt shows tha| certain errors of topography have been made by the travellers. The mountain described as Mount Cook is in reality Mount Holmes, a ' -peak of about 11,000 feet in elevation, and lying about thirty-five miles south-west of Mount Cook. The '.tops of^ the hills,' described as being ' grass-covered,' and ' capable' of carrying a number of sheep,' are in reality clothed with \ snow grass and other alpine vegetation. No doubt valuable grazing land has been discovered in the valleys, but at^the elevation described, the country would be valueless as pasture land." jf The "Lyttelton 1 Times" strongly disapproves of the consent given by the Government to the transfer of the Panan» mail terminus to Sydney. Our contemporary says: — "It length,ens a by two thousand four hundred miles the voyage of the Pacific sisamers. Even at present their course is unexampled and unapproacheM by anything that has beon-'attempted by ocean steamers' ' They work from Panama to Wellington, a' distance of nearly seven thousand miles, witl> out a halt. This much they have done, and are likely to do successfully. But what shall we say of the results that may follow 4 from the- additional strain upon the vessek of ' another two thousand inJies. iWhat delays, what disasters to life and property may be the result of this peddling economy it is impossible to say. But wo tell Mr Hall, our PostmasterGeneral, that the consequences will rest with him." The Wellington correspondent of the ",Lytteltou Times," writing on N the 24th ultimo - says, with reference to the non-appearance of the Ruahine, then three days overdue from Panama :—-" Punctuality cannot be expected, because she had but four days at Pannma to take in coal, and we. know by the experience of the Kailc oura, that that time is not enough for the purpose. These trips will have to be looked upon as preliminary, and the real starting of the service to be dated from the downward trip next in order, which will not happen for two months. There has been no mail leaving England on the, 2nd of this month, nor any steamer leaving Panama on this day, as in regular continuity there should be. " The Rakaia's departure hence was, it will be recollected, six \veekß after that of tho Ruahiue, under the new time table, which al-' lowji nineteen days' stay at Panama, instead of four as at present. A whole month is therefore lost, but then the Rakaia and her successors will doubtless be ablo to perform the downward trip in or under the contract time, on account of tho greater ease of the aoryic«. Tho Ruahine's arrival is the more anxiously looked for because she will doubtless bring late and comparatively full news from /England in telegrams by tho Atlantic ' cable." With reference to the absence of one of the most essential guarantees of constitutional government in New Zealand, the " Nelson Examiner" of Iho 22nd inst. repeats in the following terms argumonts wo have often used : — "We published, some few days baok, atplegvarn containing the result of the division on

the Stamp Duties in the House of Representatives'. We have since* received fileß of the Wellington papers, but the debate, which lasted through a week, although of bo important a nature, is reported in too brief and meagre a manner to be of any interest to our readers ; lengthened speeches from the lips of the ablest members are shorn of all their arguments, and the side of voting is only given us. "We are* told that one member made a lengthy speech, that another " voted with the Government because her believed a Stamp Tax would not press unduly on anyone." These are examples of the condensation often practised. The ■Wellington journals state that it is impossible to give long and correct reports, for they cannot afford to do so. s This is an argument which is not to be controverted, and the proprietors are undoubtedly not to blame ; but the result is thnt the rep6rts of debates in the General Assembly arj» now little better than a burlesque. Important questions are argued and settled at Wellington, and, except from hearsay, neither the inhabitants there or in any part of New Zealand have any knowledge of the reason I which influences their representatives in j giving their votes. We -cannot halp thinking that the Government, in a case of this description, should tender assistance' to the | local journals. The questjon is in reality a very imDortant one. One of the principal features, nay, the very foundation of Represents- 1 tive Government, is that constituents should be kept well informed of the proceedings of their representatives in Parliament ; and it is hardly sufficient for them to learn that on the Stamp Tax, or on any other measure, they voted with the "ayes" or with the ".noes," without hearing a few of ihe reasons brought forward for their having done" so. This ignorance is" 1 moßt detrimental to the Government of the colony, and makes Representative Government a false name. A member* may pledge himself to his constituency one week against, let us say Separation, and the next may have j made a long and effective speech in favor of it. ■whiclx'is burked or put into a couple of lines, "which are taken no notice of. Constituents have no earthly mode of judging of the ability of their representatives except by reading the reports of their speeches In the papers. A member who lias gone to sleep all the session is just as likely to be re-elected as the one who lias worked laboriously for the' good of tbe country. Surely no one "would reckon it right that this should continue. The present ' session, however, has now almost drawn to a close, but next year, unleß3 v Wellington unvdergoes a change, we may, we presume, expect a repetition of the grievance."