The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1868.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 365, 1 October 1868, Page 2

The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1868.

After several years service as Commissioner for the South West Goldfields Mr Kynnersley's labours terminated yesterday, and with them, the office that he voluntarily vacated has ceased to exist. At the time of his appointment such an authority was absolutely necessary, and a combination of powers such as an unfettered commissionership bestowed, was actually indispen- . sable to the advancement of the goldfields, and the due administration of justice over such an extensive and comparatively thinly peopled district. Now circumstances are altogether altered, heads of departments are settled on the Coast, whose powers were formerly all concentrated in the , Commissioner, who was a peripatetic embodiment of them all. One day at Cobden dealing out justice to evil doers or others, the next day perhaps at Charleston determining a mining question, again at Westport supervising police, some miles away next day, • inspecting ground where some grant or privilege was repuested, or to Waimangoroa to look after quartz reefs, and for a short time a constant visitor to Mokihinui, for the , purpose of holding weekly courts. The total coast line over which he had till a few months ago, the sole superintendence could not have been less than 70 miles in length, to say nothing of occasional divergencies up the Buller, to Addison's, the Caledonian, and the north bank diggings of the Grey. He had the charge of hospitals, the care of the sick and destitute, the supervision of the Nelson interests, as in friendly antagonism we might almost say to those of Greymouth, or Westland rather. He had to superintend personally all public works whether public buildings, roads, bridges, tracks, or aught else, and that he had idle time on his hands, everything considered, no one for a moment can expect. In achieving this multiplicity of business he has spent three years of his life, and now wearied, seeks that rest he has so well earned. A better selection than the Ex-Commissioner could not have been made, and he can look back with honest pride to the coudition of the district when he took office, and its condition now. In his first days on the Coast, communication was almost impossible on foot even, now a horse can be ridden with pleasure, from Westport to the Grey. Track of all kinds were greatly needed, and most of the principal ones are now supplied. A chaos of public disorder reigned on the goldfields, which has given place to a very altered state of things justice was tardy or altogether denied, now our social condition is in every respect equal to that of communities ten times as old as these. The towns of Charleston and Brighton, have risen out of the wilderness, Westport from being a hamlet of a dozen shanties, with an outlying swamp adjoining it, possesses well made streets, large and commodious places of business, and everywhere signs of advancement are visible, Goldfields that were scarcely dreamt of have turned out thousands on thousands of ounces of gold, and a large mining population is now engaged in profitable labor, where, when Mr Kynnersley first set foot on the West Coast, a white man had probably never stood. From the earliest part of his career, he fostered the mining industry to the utmost extent the means at his command permitted, and, aided unquestionably by the liberality of the Nelson Government, has been in a great degree the means of laying bare the treasures of these fields. The Westland people : whilst under the dominion of Canterbury, were wont to compare the activity aud energy of the Nelson Commis-

sioner, with the laissez faire modo of doing business of the Canterbury representative, and the result was eminently unfavourable to Mr Sale. At the same time it is only fair to the gentleman, to state that subsequent revelations havo shown the fault tolioon Christchurch shoulders rather than his. On whomsoever the blame rested, the difference was not the less perceptible, and the Nelson diggers many a time thanked their stars that their lot was not cast on the south of the Grey. Whichever way we look we see evij dences of Mr Kynnersley's foresight and good management, and he has left enduring testimony of his efficiency in every portion of the district he has ruled over. He was armed with vast powers and almost irresponsible authority, and he exercised them wisely and well. It is not therefore, surprising that the movement, to give tangible expression to the feeling of the public, from Grevmouth to the very north, is heartily joined in by all classes, and there is no doubt that the result will be as gratifying to Mr Kynnersley, as it is due from the residents'on the Coast. Under his own vigorous hand and eye these goldfields have been developed so rapidly as to have outgrown the necessity for his late office, but on his departure he will leave behind him thousands of warm friends, many of them none the less warm because their limbs are encased in moleskin and serge instead of broadcloth and linen. During Mr Kynnersley's Commissionership, it has been our lot to differ seriously with him on some matters, now once and for ever buried, and, we trust, forgotten. It is not at all probable that created humanity is faultless. Whether in the questions on which they differences arose, one or other was to blame, is not for us now to say, but these are trifles light as air in comparison, with honesty, integrity, and energy, whether as Commissioner, Warden, or Magistrate, that he has for years past displayed in his management of the affairs of the South-West G-oldfields. In all deep sincerity, we so speak ©f him, and most honestly and earnestly trust, that his future career may be as prosperous and successful as it has been here. In common with thousands of others, on his thus severing the connection, we heartily wish him, God speed.