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Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 712, 17 September 1870, Page 2

T!ie portion of tho Suez mail for this district • waD only brought from Poison yo3terday by tho steamer Kennedy. Had tho Kennedy been a few hours later in starting, she might have brought with her the West Coast portion of tho San Francisco mail, whiih is now the moro important. It will probably be brought by the Murray. Shipments of gold were made yester.lay by the Bank of New Zealand and Union Baai: per steamer Kennedy to Hokitika. Tho first named forwarded IDOOozs lodwts 18grs, and tho latter 22110za 15dwts 18grs, making a total of 41720z3 lldwts 12gra, the duty upon which amounted to £521 il3 6d. Mr Field, Kennedy street, desires us to stat; that it was not by Mm, but by tho business people of Weatnort, that samples of Mount Eochfort coal were shipped by the brigantine Mary to Melbourne "for the inspection of several capitalists who are anxious to form a company

to work the mine." We introduced MiField's name, under tho impression that he was probably tho nominal consignor, and are only too glad to find that several gentlemen in town were really the contributor to the praiseworthy work of bringing tho resources of the district under the attention of capitalists elsewhere. The late news from tho Karamea seems to have been a gross hoax. The Colonist of Tuesday says :—Tho miner, O'Brien, who so circumstantially reported that he had made £l5O worth of gold in Salisbury's Open in five weeks, is believed not to be trustworthy in his statement, although that statement was first broadly made on the Colliugwoud and Motueka side, and was subsequently and voluntarily narrated for publication by O'Brien himself. It appears that all the man got, during a much longer time than he stated, was £2O worth of gold, and that the capacities of the district, as experienced by him, were grossly and wantonly exaggerated. This information we have from several sources, and believe it to be correct.

Mr Courtney states that ho has let tho contract for laying the line of tramway from Westport to the Orawaiti, and that the work will be completed in five weeks. In consideration of tho Government having the use of tho road free of charge, from the river bank as far as the Catholic Chapel, Bright-street, prison labor will be used in constructing the line to the latter t 'point, the contractor finding all materials. A meeting of the congregation of St. John's Church, Westport, was held at the Court-house on Thursday last, when Messrs J. A. Harley and Albert Pitt were elected Synod-men to represent the parish. Tenders for the conveyance of mails for tho year 1871 will be received at the Post Office, Westport, till 30th inst. The tenders comprise the delivery of mails between Westport and Charleston, once daily; Charleston and Brighton, twice weekly; Westport and Addison, twice weekly; Westport and Rochfort, twice weekly; and Westport and Lyell, once fortnightly. A man named John Whincop has been sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment at Chistchurch for appropriating the proj)orty of a man with whoso wife he had absconded to Dunedin.

At Cooper's Creek, the starting place of Burke and Wills, and not far from which they died exhausted, there is now an accommodation house for travellers.

A man Getson, alias Parsons, formerly a well-known swindler in Victoria, has absconded in the brig Nil Desperandum, bound from Newcastle to Lyttelton. Hearing that he was on board, a sheriff's officer who wanted him took a tug steamer and caught the brig after she was outside the Nobby's. He failed to apprehend Mr Getson, however, as he locked himself in hiseabin, and threatened to shoot the sheriffs officer if he attempted to break open the door.

The last letter by the London agent, Mr Morrison, as to the Nelson and Cobden railway, was to the effect that he expected to send out the signed contract by the San Francisco mail The letter was written on the loth of July. On the same day France declared war against Prussia. The odds are decidedly against tho mail having brought the contract.

The Germans of Wellington have had a large meeting in the Empire Hotel, for the purpose of raising subscriptions for the relief of wounded Prussian soldiers.

The waste caused by shifting sand is very noticeable on some 2>arts of the coast line of Southland. The News states that at the Bluff, New liiver, and towards Kiverton some thousands of acres are rendered unproductive by the perpetual drift hither and thither of sharp sand, originally thrown up by the sea on the neighbouring beaches. Nothing has yet been done to check the destructive process which, in more than one place, has necessitated the abandonment of homesteads and cultivated land—the owners apparently considering it a hopeless task to contend with such an unstable enemy.