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Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 643, 9 April 1870, Page 2

I The rarity of any exhibition of an intcr- | esting and peculiar character, such as the exhibition given by the American artists in glass-blowing, spinning, and working, was sufficient to account for the large attendance which was on Wednesday evening attracted to the Masonic Hall. That those who were thus attracted were gratified was also sufficiently indicated. The working of the glass steam-engines, the explanations and illustrations by Mr Woodroffe, and the manipulations of Mrs Woodroffe were all noted with interest and satisfaction. So was the entertainment of last evening, as, no doubt, will also be the exhibition to be given this afternoon for the special convenience of ladies and children, and this evening for the instruction or pleasure of all, and for the benefit of the many to whom prizes, or mementos of the glass- i

blowers' visit, will bo given. Monday evening is appointed for Mrs Woodroffo's " benefit." It will be seen that the Banks in Westport will be open for the melting and purchase of gold on the Thursday and Saturday prior to Easter Monday. Claims on the diggings will bo protected from the 15th to the 19th inclusive. Private telegrams from Wanganui have been received, stating that by the John Penn, which has arrived there, about a hundred and fifty miners are returning from Auckland to the West Coast. Probably some of them will sot in to work on the new ground opened in this neighborhood, or may seek, what should not be so difficult to find as in Auckland, sources of remunerative employment in other parts of the district.

A few miners who have been at Wangapeka returned by the Murray yesterday. They report well of Culliford's claim, and of the possibility of a few others turning out well, but as a whole they speak dis" couragingly of the prospects of the place, or of the likelihood of any work being done for a long time to come. Some misapprehension appears to exist with respect to the mode in which the experimental groin on the beach is to be carried out. According to the specifications it does not seem that provision has been made for ballasting the work, and the contractor, well knowing the futility of proceeding with its construction unless carried out in its entirety, is unwilling to continue operations without further instructions. If the result of the experiment is to be any guide for future action, it should at least have been decided to render the work as effective as possible. The necessity for the establishment of a Post Office at the Lyell was recently represented by petition to the Postmaster-Gene-ral. Mr Winstanley also reported upon the circumstances, andhashadleave to negotiate arrangements. We hope he maybe successful in doing so. The necessity will soon become urgent. Arrangements are being made to publicly entertain Mr Kynnersley at the Ahaura and Napoleon Hill. The General Government is distributing through the various Post Offices printed rules for the guidance of persons desiring to insure their lives or to purchase Government annuities. Our attention has been called to an error in the punctuation in the heading of table 3, in page 8. The table shows the amount of the annuity, payable half-yearly, which will be granted for each ,£IOO of purchase money. In the Eesident Magistrate's Court, Greymouth, on Tuesday, Captain Deare, of the tug Despatch, was fined £lO and costs, for tendering the Gothenburg one hour before notice time, and leaving without the mail.

A man named John Andrews, better known by the soubriquet of " Californian Jack," met with his death by drowning while returning from the Totara Lagoon to Ross. It is supposed that deceased was sailing the boa.t up, and the wind falling slack, he, in an endeavor to take down the mast, had capsized the boat. The last report of the Accountant in Bankruptcy, who, although resident in Dunedin, has a supervising power over trustees throughout the Colony, shows that in the year 1868 two hundred and ninetyfour persons were adjudicated bankrupts under the provisions of the Act, and that .£246,070. This is altogether t°. private arrangements, or petitions on which no adjudication was made. From the Grey Valley Times we learn that Mr Franklyn, M.P.C. for the district, has addressed, at Napoleon Hill, " a meeting crowded to suffocation." He promised to urge the formation of roads, tracks, and Mining Boards. A warm vote of comfidence was passed, and three cheers for Mr Franklyn closed the proceedings. Action has been taken at the Ahaura for the establishment of an hospital in the Grey Valley.

In a New South Wales paper, the Singleton Times, notice is taken of an extensive orangery belonging to Mr Waddell, of that place, who has friends in Westport. It covers four acres of land, and includes four hundred Seville and St. Michael orange trees, some of which have produced yearly a hundred dozen oranges for four years. From his four hundred trees he expects this year to obtain 480,000 oranges. Mr John Griffen is to contest the election of Mayor for Dunedin. Signor Carandini is reported to have died m Italy, whither he had gone to recover ancestral property.

At the funeral of a Miss Duggan, in Hohart Town, lately, a hundred women attended, dressed in white.

Sis Charles Darling, late Governor of Victoria, has died in comparative poverty. At last a substantial settlement is to be made on the family by the Victorian Government.

A Colonial youngster, 14 years old, 2ft lOin high, has turned up in Victoria. Tom Thumb and Co. wish to absorb him into their show, but he declines the honour.

Mr Gale, a relative of Lieut. Gale, the great aeronaut, has arrived in Victoria, with a splendid baUoon, in which he is to ascend at Ballarat. Balloons are expected to put velocipedes in the, shade. A contemporary says': —" During the last eight months our forces have killed seventy-nine natives at a cost of .£400,000. Each dead Hauhau has therefore 'cost ,£5,000."

In the Hawke's Bay papers Mary Ann Ulph, wife of Frederick Ulph, advertises that, not having heard any tidings of him for nearly four years, and having been in formed that his friends do not know where he is, intends, if she does not hear from him at the expiration of two months, to get married again.

An expedition to tho Auckland Islands is now being fitted out at Invercargill. The party forming it have engaged the schooner Daphne, well known in connection with the recent kidnapping at the South Sea Islands, and intend instituting a search for the fold lost in the General Grant. Experienced divers will acompany the expedition, which will sail early next month. Mr David Ashworth, one of the survivors of the General Grant, is one of th<? expedition, and will act as guide.

In Hokitika it is proposed to levy a special rate of twopence in the pound on all rateable property, for tho maintenance of the Fire Brigade. A Bill is being prepared for introduction to the General Assembly, in accordance with resolutions passed in the late session of the Provincial Council of Otago to guarantee eight per cent, on the sum of .£IOO,OOO, to be expended on the construction of water-races and reservoirs on the goldfields of that Province.

The s.s. Waipara from Okarito brought 4850z5. of gold, consigned to the Union Bank, Hokitika.

The Dunedin Waterworks Company has declared a dividend of eight per cent. Dr Haast has been offered, and has declined, the position of Colonial geologist for Western Australia by the Government of that Colony.

The body of Mr John Gibson, 30 years of age, and a native of Edinburgh, waß recently found on the Ocean Beach, at Dunortin. He had died of an appleoptic fit while bathing. In California attention is being directed to the cultivation of a species of thistle called the Kamie, which is a more valuable product than cotton. It is considered suitable for New Zealand.

Some tussock grass has been artifically dressed at Waihola, Otago. In strength and color it is said to be inferior to flax, but fit for manufacture or for mixture with other fibres.

It is said by the writer of a letter from Glasgow to Dunedin that, for every emigrant who leaves Glasgow for New Zealand, 500 leave for America. He remarks with regard to New Zealand: —" My impression is that you do not give half encouragement to settlers who wish to occupy the land."

Chinese grass, tho commercial value of which, for mixing with silk, is £BO per ton, has been experimentally introduced in Victoria.

The Band of Hope Company, Ross, have struck the wash at 90 feet sinking, and obtained prospects of two grains to the dish. While Philip Best and Charles Munro were shooting rabbits at Appleby, Nelson, Munro's gun went off accidentally, taking effect in Best's arm.

The Union Bank of Australia has declared a dividend of 7$ per cent, for tho half year after providing for all loss and doubtful contingencies.

An alteration in the size of the pockets of billiard tables, and the distance of the spot from the cushion, has been agreed upon at a meeting of the leading professional players in England.

In the E. M. Court, on Wednesday, the only cases disposed of were two inebriates, who were severally fined 20s with the usual alternative.

The Grey River Argus states that in a case recently heard at the Ahaura, the plaintiff swore that the washdivt that he was working at Antonio's Flat would give one ounce to the load, and that he could get two loads a day. <

Dr Robertson of the Melbourne Hospital condemns the use of kerosene in cases oi burns and scalds.

Four- Auckland and Thames papers—those published by Mr Shaw—are said to have ceased to have exist. Others have changed ownership.

As a proof of the dull times in Tuapeka, the local papers state that the gaol at Lawrenceiss tenantless.

At the Maori Point Races, Otago, the race in aid of the Queenstown Hospital was won by Miss Kirk's bay filly Flora, ridden by Miss Kitty Kirk, beating a field of twelve.

The mystery of the horse's head found on a hill-top on the Auckland Islands is easily explained by Mr Ash worth, a survivor of the General Grant. He says—as, in fact wes generally known that Capt. Enderby, who founded a colony there, brought horses with him. The survivors of the General Grant saw old horse-shoes »™d nieces of a ((art.