THE COUNTY OF WESTLAND.

West Coast Times, Issue 637, 9 October 1867, Page 2

THE COUNTY OF WESTLAND.

Westland is no longer a part of the Province of Canterbury. The Bill for the Separation of the district has been carried through the two Houses of Parliament. We have at present no news of its having received the assent of His Excellency the Governor ;• but it was introduced, an d has been carried through the General Assembly, as a Ministerial measure. His Excellency's assent to it will of course bo " advised " by Mr Stafford's government. We may assume that at this moment the " County of Westland " Bill is the law of New Zealand. It will not be brought into force until it has been proclaimed iv the Government " Gazette." But its proclamation is compulsory. The following telegram was received yesterday by Mr Sheppard, the Secretary of the Separation League, and was distributed throughout town, in a slip issued from this office : — " Wellington, Oct. 8. 4.45 p.m. "G. W. Sheppard, Esq., " Secretary of League, " Hokitika. "The Government expresses itd thanks for the confidence- expressed in the resolutions transmitted by you, in its intentions towards Westlaud. The Westland Bill has passed both Houses. E. W. Stafford." To this message an answer was despatched by the Secretary of the League to the following effect : — " Thanks for your telegram. General satisfaction felt at the news of the second reading of the Bill. Anxiety now felt as to the delegation of the Governor's powers. Great reliance placed upon the Ministry's giving effect to the Bill in the sense of local selfgovernment. It is desired that the powers should bo delegated to the Elective Council. Will be glad if you will inform us when the Bill actually come 3 into force." If the suggestion coutained in this telegram to the Premier is adopted, we may anticipate the establishment here of a system of administration which will give us all the powers and privileges of self-government. If the suggestion is acted on in a modified sense, and the delegation made to the nominated Chairman of the County Council — tho practical advantages accruing will bo substantially the same. The Council will be one of advice far as the policy of administration is concerned— of control as far as the expenditure is concerned. That is the practical philosophy of parliamentary government. The power of the purse is the gaurantee of responsility. We have every reason to believe that the Stafford Government will carry out the provisions of the new Act in the most liberal spirit. They have introduced it at our instance. They have consulted us at every stage of its progress. They have expressed their anxious d.esive to give effect tQ ow

views. They have obviated the great objection that lay against the creation of a new province, by making us dependent for future legislation upon tho General Assembl}'. All that the League as aimed at, is acheived. All that the seceders from the League professed to deprecate, has been avoided. Surely no success could be more complete. The only thing that mars it, is the temporary triumph of Mr Moorhouse, in saddling an excessive proportion of the Provincial debt upon his unfortunate constituents — his late constituents, we can now happily say. The present arrangement is only a temporary one. Every amendment in it must be made in a liberal sense. The foundations of self-government we havo succeeded in laying, must be consolidated, in order that the superstructure reared upon them may be firm and stable.

It will be seen from adveitisements, that Mr Button invites the Elcctoi-3 to meet him this evening, at Casey's Ballarat Hotel, and that Mr Munro holds a meeting afc the Commercial Hotel. Mr Prosser will meet tho electors at the Empire Hotel, at eight o'clock, and Mr Robinson at the European Hotel, at the same houv. Mr Shaw announces thnt severo indisposition prevents his meeting tho electors in public, aud that ho is obliged in consequence to depend upon the estimate formed by his fellow citizens of 1113 past services. Mr F. L. Clarko, who is a candidate for reelection to the Municipal Council, is unfortunately deprived of the opportunity of addressing the ratepayers, being an unwilling passenger on board the ISgmout to Ifelson. Mr Clarke crossed tho bar iv the Tusmanian Maid with the intention of seeing his brother off to Sydney, and was unable to effect his return to port. We may add incidentally that several of tho lads belonging* to our oflico being afforded the opportunity of a trip outside on board the Lioness havo been unco kept prisoners to ou i% no slight inconvenience and doubtless to their own discomfort. In the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, Thomas O'Brien, on remand from the 7th instant, charged with assaulting a constable in tho exocution of hip duty, was brought tip for sentence. His Worship remarked thtit the offence with which the prisoner was charged was the more serious, inasmuch as he had interfered with tho police at a time when the force afc the Haaat was limited to two constables. The prisoner was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment with hard labor. Peter Price, who was on Saturdny last sentenced to one month's imprisonment for being drunk and disorderly, was placed in the dock. His Worship stated that, owing to an error as to the number of times prisoner had been convicted of drunkenness durhig the lust twelve months, he was unable to sentence him to more than four days' imprisonment. His Worship cautioned the prisoner against appeuring before the CourL again on a similar charge. A few civil cases wore disposed of to-day, on which judgment was allowed to go by default. A miner named Robert Plunkett, residing sit the Yv'oodstock diggiugs, died suddenly on yesterday at 5 p.m. About twenty minute* after four o'clock deceased, who then appeared apparently in good health, left his hut to collect firewood. Shortly afterwards his mate, a man named Robert Ferguson, heard a groan as from a person in great paiu, and on going to see what was the matter he found deceased lying on the ground about, one hundred and twenty yards from the hut, breathing heavily and frothing at the mouth. Plunkett was immediately removed to the hut where he shortly afterwards expired. The body is now at the Pine Tree Hotel awaiting the inquest. Mr Wilson, the scenic artist afc the Prince of Wales Opera House, takes his benefit this evening. . The principal piece selected is' 'The Contested Election," which is singularly appropriate to the present time, and in tho performance of which Mr Wilson takes part. It is with much pleasure wo venture to bespeak for Mr Wilson a fidl house, for we ho*e gazed with admiration upon the productions of his pencil — at times rich in the contrast of light and shade, and ar. other times so singularly beautiful as to resemble scenes from " faery land." Even in his commonest productions there is that fcruo perspective and harmonious coloring which insensibly rivets the attontion of tho observer. We again say that we wish Mr Wilson a very house. Water is once more at a discount upon the goldflelds to the joy of tho miners, who arc thus enabled to keep sluice-boxes and cradles going, and so reduce tho immense heaps of washdirfc that were stacked during tho late poriod of drought. Tho Kaniori and Woodstock diggers are very busy, and we hear that Eomc of " washings-up" in the latter place are really excellent, from 15oz. to 20oz. per day being the return from some of the best heaps. Wo know one parly, who sluice at the rate of 19oz. daily. The Kauieri-terrace sluicers are also doing well, now that water is plentiful. Several fresh claims have been taken up in tho direction of Tucker flat, and one of theso situated close to the Pioneer Company's flume is, we understand, turning out capitally. The entire removal of this ten-ace will some day be accomplished by the sluicers, for bo far as it has yet been tested, every yard of ground has proved moro or less auriferous. The flood of last week occasioned no inconvenience or loss of timo to the Jlanieri flat companies, tho slight increase of water caused thereby being easily overcome by the application of a proportionate increase of power to tho water wheel and steam engine. Tho Tho Western men set their second pump to work and so kept tho level they are working on dry. Of the four claims into which this Company's ground is divided — ono (Murphy's) is worked out after paying magnificently for nearly two years, It held out well to-fRc" end as tho last paddock of washdirfc which was sluiced through on Friday uud Saturday twnod out something oyoy gQQ ounoee, • J|u^

ray's v claim adjoining Murphy's will be finished on the upper level in about six weeks, and then it is expected that the four parties will amalgamate into one, and proceed to prospect their nine acre lease on the second bottom. Tho other two claims known as tho Hibernian and Shank's contain some six or seven months work upon the first level, but the shareholders say they are prepared to throw this into the general fund at any moment and unite to carry out the main object of the Company, viz., testing the main bottom. Tho Melbourne "Herald" states, on the authority of a telegram from Sydney, that it has been decided by the Executive of New South Wales, not to hang the murderer Bertram! ; but that tho terms of his punishment have not yet been determined on. A new gold washing machine, combining the principles of the quicksilver cradle and the Burdan crusher and amalgamator, will shortly rank amongst the ordinary appliances used by the West Coast miner. in the extraction of gold, anJ, judging from the full sized model we inspected the other day at Mr Procter's establishment;, Revell street, we are very favorably impressed with the merit of the inventiou which promises to realise tho anticipations formed of its utility by tho projector, a gentleman named Dooly, who for many years followed the occupation of a quartz reefer in Victoria. Attracted by the gold discoveries in New Zealand, he visited Otago, and afterwards Westland, and during the last two years has been working in various parts of tho district. Being an engineer by trade, and of an enquiring and ingenious turn of mind beside, he devoted his spare time to tho construction of a machine for gold washing, feoling satisfied the various processes adopted by diggers in the collection of gold were all moro or less faulty and wasteful. The machine is exceedingly simple, and after a little practice may bo'worked by tho veriest tyro in mining, as it is merely a cradle with a cast iron trough in the bottom of ifc, afc that end immediately under tho hopper. Afc each end of the trough, and lefc into the sides of the eradlo, are cast iron sockets of a size to fit an iron ball that moves to and fro" in the trough, with tho motion of the crade, and performs a two fold operation, viz., amalgamating the gold with tho quicksilver contained in the trough, and afc tho same time pulverises any small pieces of cement that may fall through tho hopper. Prepared copper plates line tho bottom of tho cradle to catch tho finer particles of gold that may escape tho trough. But tho chief peculiarity of the machine is, that when in position for work, ita mouth is elevated instead of depressed, or jn other words ifc has a backward " pitch," and so tho water and tailings are forced up hill in a slow zigzagg zag motion, that brings the latter iv contact with every part of tho copper plato> which thu3 is enabled to seizo and retain tho minutest specks of gold that pas 9 over its surface. It may bo perhaps inferi\id,that the cradle would bo liable to "choke," but wo can assure our mining readers that wo havo seen ifc working heavy black sand, and that ifc clears itself freely. Mr Dooly sold his right to the invention to Messrs Proctor and Prosser (of tlus town), who have made tho usual application for a patent, which we have every reason to bolievc will be grunted them." Wo learn from the Melbourne papers that Her Majesty's ships Falcon aud Brisk are to make the necessary soundings in Bass's Straits, between Cape Schanck and Tamar Heads, for tho submarine telegraphic cable, and that Major-General Sir Trevor Chute, commanding ker Majesty's forces in Australia, has assumed the command of the local forces. " Sir William Denison," says the " nobarfc Town Mercury," " docs not accept the command of tho engineers at Portsmouth, as was at one time reported. Aftor being GovernorGeneral of India, albeit for a short time only, Sir William's friends, amongst whom he numbers many high up in office, thought ifc would be infra, dig. for him to accept any such appointment, and ho is, therefore, now employing his leisure time in writing liis fcwonty years experience as a colonial Governor. For such a task no one couM bo moro eminently fitted than Sir William Denison. His active habits, his varied acquirements, and his rich store of facts will enable him to produce a work of great value, and one that will bo everywhere read. Of course those colonies, and Tasmania in particular, will have to bo passed under review. We wish Sir William well through j his work, which will be one of no small labor. ' A case in which a number of publicans and the relative quality of a certain parcel of English beer seemed to bo somewhat concerned was tried in the County Court yesterday, in Wright v. Austin. The plaintiff sued to recover the price of fivo hogsheads of ale, afc L 3 per hogshead, and the duty paid. Tho beer was not sold as of prime excellence, but rather as a useful representative of the " now brew" of a past though not far distant year. It was not put for tho plaintiff" as being the best specimen of tho English ale familinr to the public at tho bar 3of commorce at 6d per glass, fivoio tho quart, and so consumed retail at tho cost of L2B per hogshead. The plaintiff's case was that, afc tho moderate price charged, it was worth the money. The defendaut's case was that there had been deceit ! practised in the selling of this beer to him. that it was not suitable to his trade, and that ifc was altogether useless to him, aud therefore to him absolutely worth nothing. From the descripl ion given, ifc appeared to have for its chiefly valuable quality that, being nicely old, it, was able to " give a body" to that popular form of drink recognised us " two ales." The latter has, as is well understood, for its basis a light sweet liquid known as a very cheap single X colonial ale, about equal to tho very small beer obtained from tho sixth washing of a brewing from malt, and familiarly known as " whistle-belly" in some rural districts in England. Tho combination of this hypochondriacal fluid with tho stouter article to give ifc a tone has been more than sufficiently used in the beer taps in the lower class of liconsed houses in Melbourne ; but the contention in this action was that tho article had been sold us good ale per ,ie. It appeared, however, tliat the plaintiff had not put himself in a position to say that tho -whole of tho parcel was us low iv quality as that portion which ho had sampled, and, therefore, could not make out his case in livw. The judge directed a von-