THE BULLER.

West Coast Times, Issue 393, 28 December 1866, Page 2

THE BULLER.

(rHOM THE WESTPORT TIMT.3, DEC. 22.)

Amongst other and material improvements that have be -n recently made in Westpof t, we have great pleasure in directing special attention to the new.iHv.irf, a section of which has been opened to the public and has been in use now some little time. It has been constructed by private enterprise, Mr Dreyer having been authorised to erect it and charge dues us conip^nsa'ion. It is fitted with tramway, platIbrm, &c, complete, and even now in its unfinished state vessels can discharge twenty tons per hour. In another three weeks it will be fnii-hed, and then provision will be made for discharging at the rate of fi'ty tons per hour. The present structure is only twenty feet in width, but another thirty feet will be immediately added. It extends seventy-two feet into the river beyond high-water mark,

■mid ri-uuultt-cim-jguirvhtrty-twjgua vml>wii<li-tWMn»-lying alongside sit any time of tiJe. Tha approach has been made good, the transfer of merchandise has thus been facilitate!, and the cost of carriage p oportionately reiuced. This is a great boon to the mercantile community, and will no doubt- be appreciated by traders on the coast.

It may not be generally known that the Government have determined on removing from Co >den and making this part of the Coast the Nelson head-quurter-». It is stated posi tively that Westport is to be the seat of local government, though the large population that has gathered round Fox's and still at the Pakihi, keep our wardens fully employed, and we cannot get a sight of them. At Fox's the people are decreasing fast, but still there are endugh likely to stay to justify the appointment of a war len for that; place only, an>l we are told that the new officer, if not already chosen will be gazetted immediately. In the meanwhile, a3 we have remarked elsewhere, misrule reigns in Westporfc and the sooner we get hold of one of our peripatetic magistrates the better.

Last Suivlay Mr Davis, ofthe firm of Hammond and Davis, wivs coining from tho Pakihi on foot, when by some means he got off tne track, and from that time till Tu-sday was lost in the bush. A more narrow esc pe. from j a horrible and lingering death could not well be im-igined, and it should bo a warning to all travellers to be careful in noting their way. He was coming by the upper track recently cut, and from this mischance it is clear that others, unless . they display due caution, may fare likewise, with, very probably, less fortunate results. .As is usual, and possibly right, the Maori rcseree contains the best portiou of the available land for building purposes in Westport.. The con-equence has been that section holders have been driven further afiel.l, aud have taken up ground that is almost a swamp. As a natural consequence, many sections are almost inaccessible, and the Government cannot too quickly make them approachable. At the same time the authorities are entitled to all credit, for in two streets drains have already been i-ommenced, and only the absence of Mr Kynnersley prevents more work being set about. At the same tini", it is uot altogether fair to expect the Government to do the whole woik, and tho same system that has prevailed iv Hokitika might with great propriety be adopted here. In that place, in its earlier days, the inhabitants taxed themselves, and contributed by those means one half of tho sum requisite to effect the nec-essary improvements, the Government supplementing the b.ilancii. By such a course the worst streets were made passable, and the holders o( ground have repaid themselves fifty tunes over since that time. There is no reason why I Westport should uot progress, though perhaps not so rajddly, and it is well worth while for holders of ground to consider whether it would nofc be greatly to their interests to go to a little expense in forming streets if the same assistance was accorded. As to this, there is little doubt, and it is to be hoped that no debiy will take Jplace in making the application.

Among the passengers by the p.s. Bruce, which arrived here on Tuesday, was an officer sent down by the General Government to take charge of the Customs Department at this port. A copy of the Governor's orders delining the new port of Westport and tho legal landing place is published ; it will also be seen that VVestport is constituted a port for the exportation of gold. It has not yet beeu declared a warehousing port, but we understand that it will be us soon as a suitable bonded warehouse has beeu erected, and we are informed that one will be comniencedimmediately. With reference to the above we might observe that the Government were none too soon in appointing an officer here as in no less than five vessels, including the Brace, arrived at the same time, one was from Melbourne direct with a large' assorted cargo, consisting mainly of dutiable goods, and we hear that another is shortly expected. The inter-provincial trade will no doubt receive a freeh impetus when merchants here are able to receive their goods ' direct from tho bond«d

v,-,iri'h" it>i- without the additional risk in case of los., of losing tho amount of duty also. Wo would draw tho attention of maiters of vessels to the fact that ifc will now be necessary for (til vessels arriving in the port to bo entered and cleared in the usual manner.

The want of a magistrate is felt daily, we may say almost hourly, in Westport, and tho wlost singular administration of justice is the result ol magisterial absence. At present, owing to no recognised authority being hero, offonders against the law enjoy immunity that is extraordinary. In ancient times, of course speaking comparatively in the history of New Zealand, traditions are afloat that the Governor of the Dunedin gaol, -after treating his confinees to a flower show, and a shilling each |ur spending money, ga*e them special warning tllat if they were not i» by half-past eight o'clock he would lock them" out. There is more truth than pot-try in these stories, but :it the same time it could scarcely be expected that such good times coul 1, even in a reduced form, recur in 1866. As we bavo no gaol, we c m have no gaoler ; as we have no lock-up, we cannot expect prisoners ; and the police, however anxious to do their duty, must be i more ornamental than useful. The eccen- i tricitics of the blind gO'lde->s,ave proverbial] I but at the^same tiuie the illustrations are not j always so rea lily at hand. A ease occurred | the other day tbat will giyc our distant neighbors, to say tho least of it, an odd sample. A man, whose name it is not necessary to mention, either did or did not steal four shirts from Hammond and Davis, and that firm gave him into custody on very strong suspicion. No magistrate, however, could be found, an'J the scrgeaut in charge remanded the prisoner from time to time on his own account. At length he became disgusted, and told the prosecutor he must either go to Fox's to prefer dip pharge, as no magistrate was nearer, or other «vis« that the prisoner must be admitted to bail. Bail was fixed at L2O for the accused, and two sureties of LlO each. As a matter of course the personal surety was easily entered into, but a difficulty arose in reference to the two responeibles, which wa3 omy terminated by the prosecutor (Mr Davis) providing oue. A st.unge state of affairs— truly a primitive people th u se ofWestporti No magistrate, abrogation of magisterial authority by tho police, charge .of felony, and prosecutor virtually, though not absolutely, bad for the accused,.. A sa'A illustration of the parable of the " Boy and the Wolf" occured yesterday week. Thrte men were bathing together in the river Arawaita when one of them, a Guernsey nai live, known only to his mates by the name of Tom, appeared to stuinb c, and called to one of his mates for assistance, bub as it was shown j in evidence at the police eiiquiry, " Deceased had oil previous occasions b.en in the habit of larking iv tlio water, arid I took nd notice of hint." Shortly afterwards, however, the otlier man noticed dec^a'sed'a condition", ihe cry of drdwning ardse, and both swam to his assistance too latft, as the poor fellow sank within a j'ard of them, and before Jones, the Ferryman, who had noticed something wrong, could reach him. Our readers may imagine to what an extent this "larking" "had been carried by deceased when the witness before mentioned stuted iv answer to. a question by one ot the jury, that he cdiild have saved him if he had had any idea of his drowning — he thought it was larking." The body was discorere 1 about five hours afterwards, and at a police enquiry held before Sergeant Franklin the following uay the jury returned a verdict in accordance with the evidence.

We are sorry to aay that there some folks iii Westport who Have rather loose ndtions in reference to the difference between mcutn and tuum, and petty thefts are uncommonly numerous. On Thursday night a bird ,of this feathe? went on board the Kennedy and cleared the galley of a fore quarter and a leg of mutton, which he afterwards sold at " a sacrifice," to some tent dwellers here. As a matter of course he has not been called -tW-HCKOJHM^iw-fckt^-ttol.. — s At the Pakihi more than a hundred pounds, were readily gathered in a day or so for Christ; mas sports, and our neighbors intend', if possible, to outslUu'e Westport in the number and value of the prices to bo given. Such friendly rivalry is a healthy sign of the condition of the two places, and we trust visitors at both will heartily tnijoy themselves. The Pakihi is, we are glad to say, flourishing, and gold is being got in large quantities. On the 2Uth instant the Bank of New Zealand shipped no less than 1071 ozs. 11 dwts. 12 grs. by the p.s. Bruce, for the Grey, and there is more than lUOO ozs. in the same establishment now ready for shipment. The agent here, Mr Kirtou, has in his possession nearly 2000 ozs., the produce of the rivers and the P'ikihi. In this issue we are unable to publish many other satislactory mining items, but will make up for omissions in our next publication. We are informed that large numbers are coming north from Fox's Rivor, and that many who left the Pakihi for that place have returned.

The Government Bu ; ldings are fast approaching completion, and will be ready for occupation in a few days. They consist of a court house, constables' quarters, and lock-up. Although very neat aud substantial the buildings are far too small for tho requirements of this place. The contractor is Mr G. H. Stainer, of Nelson, who has executed the work in a mo3t effectual manner.

In a few days an escort will be established from Fox's, the Pakihi, and the southern portions of the coast. The station will be on the south side of the river, aud the gold will then, of course, bo conveyed across by boat. This will prove of great advantage to the town, and at the same time will alibrd security to shippers, not only in the transfer of gold from the diggings, but in sending it away.