The Westport Times. THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1869.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 527, 8 July 1869, Page 2

The Westport Times. THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1869.

We have said that a worthy example has been shown to the inhabitants of Westport by a number of the residents of Greymouth, who have, at a recent public meeting in that township, resolved to form a company, with a local directory, for the purposes of working tho Grey Eiver Coal Mine, and of constructing a railway to the Arnold. The example is a worthy one, because it is a creditable indication of what Greymouth has always had the reputation of possessing—public spirit. But it is especially worthy of imitation in Westport, because the circumstances of the two places, in connection with coal-mining, arc very similar, and, if there is an advantage on one side or another, that advantage is admittedly on the side of Westport, both with regard to the quality of its coal-deposits and the capacities of its port. With this similarity existing, and with these admitted advantages, it will certainly not be creditable to the public spirit of Westport, if there is not also some similar movement initiated; and it is in the hope that some of the business men of the place, or some of the " speculators " of Nelson, may feel disposed to initiate a scheme such as that which is contemplated by the people of the Grey, that we specially direct attention to tbe subject. For the better understanding of the extent to which the inhabitants of Greymouth have gone, or purpose going, we quote from the Argus a short recital of the project referred to, and of the circumstances under which it has been brought before the public. Our contemporary says:— The company which was formed in Christ lm ch some years ago for working the Grey Rive- Coal Mine obtained its lease only aftwuays l.efore Westlaud became an independent County.and not by the fairest of proceedings. But still it was obtainel, and some of its stipulations were that a railway or tramway was to be constructed from Greymouth to the mine, an I 5000 tons of coal brought down wi hiu eighteen months, otherwise the lease would be void. The company for reasons best known to them selves, failed to construct the line, and consequently, on tho 2 rd ult., the original lease lapsed, unless some ext.nsioii of time was gra ited. Some such extension was granted by Mr Bonar, when County Chairman, upon ceriain conditions, but it is a question whether any of these have been complied with. On Monday a deputation from the directors came here, not to assert any right to the leuse they held, but to acknowledge that the c >mpany, as originally constituted, with the direitsry in Christchurch, had been a failure,

and they wished to organise a new company, with a directory of local men in Grey mouth. Upon being satisfied that sufficient interest was taken by the residents here in the undertaking, so as to ensure the formation of a strong local directory, and shares to the amount of LIOOO were taken up in the district, they offered to guarantee that they would raise the balance of the requisite capital in Christchurcli, on condition that they received shares in the new company to the amount of £4OO0 —already expended in opening up the mine, clearing and sm-veying the railway-line, &c. They asked no preference shares, as is usual with promoters of such undertakings, or bonus of any kind, but simply shares to the amount of the actual cost incurred. These propositions were ac eded to by a number of the principal residents in town at a private meeting, and it was resolved to submit the scheme for the construction of the new company to the public. This was done on Tuesday evening at the public I meeting above referred to. It is now pro- ' posed to form a new company with a nominal capital of £50,000, in £5 sha> es, but it is proposed for the present only to raise .£25,000, which will be sufficient to open up the mine, and construct a line of railway from town to it, while tiie expenditure of a few additional thousands will carry it on to the Arnold.

Of course it will be seen by tbis brief statement tbat the project is yet in embryo, but, judging by the resolutions passed at the public meeting, and by tbe fact of 360 shares having been taken up previous to tbe meeting, while many additions were made to the share-list at its close, there seems little fear of its proving an abortion, or other than a healthy and hearty public undertaking. It is almost unnecessary to say tbat, if effectually carried out, such a project would have a most beneficent effect upon the trade of Greyinouth, and upon the prosperity of its entire district. The commercial community there are not slow to see tbis, and in the speeches made at the meeting there was no concealment of tbe indirect, as well as direct, advantages which would flow from the fact of Grey mouth being, to a greater extent than at present, a coal-export-ing port. In fact, the hope is that it would, with such a company formed, become, par excellence, the coal-export-ing port, not only of the Coast, but of the Colony. With such a project even in embryo, and having no other desire than that it should come to a natural and timely birth, is it not time for "Westport to be asking itself a few questions ? Is there no hope or possibility of an alliance as natural as that between Christchurch and Greymouth, in the direction of developing the Mount Bochfort Coalfield, and of making Westport what many of praetical as well as poetic fancy see " looming in tbe distance " as its destiny—of making it the Newcastle of New Zealand. If at variance in the matter of politics, there cannot surely be any variance between the mercantile communities of Nelson and of Westport on such a subject as pounds, shillings, and pence, as to prevent them from, at least, contemplating, more seriously than has already been done, a joint effort towards opening up the magnificent coalfield the existence of which in this neighborhood has long been put beyond all question. It would only be repeating what has long ago been amply recognised, to state that the Westport ooal-ficld excels in ovtont, and in the character of its coal, any similar deposies iu the country. It would be simply doing the same to refer to the superior capabilities of the Buller as a port, compared with any bar harbor on the West Coast, if not within the Colony. But attention may fairly be drawn to tbe recently altered and improved circumstauccs of the district in other respects —alterations which must materially affect any past plans and proposals as to the cost of working the Mount Eochfort coal-field. These include the discovery of gold parallel to the route of the proposed railway almost throughout its entire length, and the settlement of a mining population, in as close proximity as it is possible to imagine, to the very ground over which such railway would pass. They include also the lately increased knowledge of extensive agricultural areas existing at no great distance from the coal-field itself. They include, moreover, tbe development of a quartz-reef which would not only, of itself, be a contributor to the railway traffic, but which, there is good reason to believe, is only an item in any extensive reefing district. Circumstances encouraging to the project of a railway to the Waimongaroa have, iu fact, presented themselves to a very great extent during the year that is past; and no one acquainted with these circumstances will deny that, however favorably situated may be tbe Greymouth mine, there is no particular in which the project of a coal-mining and railway company at Westport does not benefit by comparison. We are, indeed, very much disposed to doubt if tbe Greymouth people are not placing themselves at unnecessary disadvantage by recognising any past expenditure of the

old company; but with the partial information we have on the subject? and the recollection that it is from Christchurch that they expect the bulk of their capital, we do not care altogether to say so. At anyrate a local company initiated in Westport or in Nelson would have no burdens of the past to bear, and, with the fair field which is thus presented for a legitimate and hopeful investment, we sincerely trust that out of the evil of competition by another district (if it can be called an evil) some good may come, and that we shall not have to wait many months for the launching of a scheme to bring to the market the Mount Rochfort coal. If people cannot command success in doing so, they may at least endeavor to deserve it.