INANGAHUA.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 849, 12 August 1871, Page 2

INANGAHUA.

(PBOSI OUB OWK COttBESSOjrDEStf.) | RekSton, August 8. ! The publication of Mr Courtney's; letter upon the state of the road be*! tween Westport and Reeftou basj given universal satisfaction-*—indeed, Ij have been many times- taken to task for not drawing public attention to] the subject before ; but, as I haveal great objection to the usual clap-trap of mining reporters when short of local news, viz., abuse of the officials,] I have put up with the abuse ratbeq blame persons unjustly ; for I am convinced that neither the Warden,; nor the Provincial Engineer are responsible for the preseat fearful con' dition of the track. In the first place it is quite out of the question to suppose that Dr Giles, who is compelled to come up here periodically, would willingly tolerate a state of things that absolutely endangers his own Hfe; or that Mf Dobson, who, to give him his doe, never loses an opportunity of pushing! forward the mining districts, would! allow the roads and bridges to fall into theiv present dilapidated coridiJ tions, except under very stronS coercion. More than this, I beliefl* that Dr G-iles has never allowed m single month to pass without reprej senting to"*the Executive the necessity there was for some expenditure on tin Buller public highway, and that if Mi Dobson had not had atrict orders I the contrary, there would not now b< a dangerous or bad spot upon tn< whole length of the road. Conse quently, I say, that when our official are doing all they can for us, it almos looks like ingratitude to turn arouffl and call them to account for wba they really cannot help. The onl way is to go at once to the founrai head, and take the Provincial Treasure to task, as he evidently has refused t allow the Provincial Engineer thß necessary funds. Things were diffejH ent in past times. The pub« voice was then listened to with jjjß tention and respoct; and if a coflj plaint was made, some remedy ff jH found, but now the " Colonist" elemenM is allowed to influence the thecxecutive,andasanecessarysequenM nothing follows but neglect, disaster and ruin to the Goldflolds on tlifl west side of the Province. Jm The report 1 sent down about tlfl

*jeff reef discovered some five weeks Ago by Shield's and party was, lam 4old, thought by some Westport people to be slightly coloured. I am, therefore, happy now, not only to confirm in every way that report, but to assure yotir readers that it actually underrated the richness of the stone taken from the reef. Experienced miners tell ifie that this ttew reef is the best yet opened in the district, and likely to turn out almost a *' Caledonian." The gold is different from-that on the other lines of reef, being coarse) and small nuggets, averaging from font «nd five grains, may be occasionally seen in the quarte. Newton and party are still •crushing nt the Cement 'Company's battery. The returns are •eveli better than were anticipated, but 'owing %o the absence of infclting apparatus, I : a m unable to give them by ofcs. dwts. and grs. At a rough guess, however, the stone yields more than two oas. to the ton, and the reef is daily becoming both thicker, and, in a small degree, richer. Mr Mace is still here, and informs me that the machinery for Walsh and party's prospecting claim has been despatched from Melbourne,.and may be daily expected to arrive at Westport. On arrival, an hpur will be 'lost in -taking steps for its conveyance to Eeefton '; so that after all no great length of time will elapse before the •reefs are thoroughly tested. I already predict that the crushiugs will throw the Thames into the shade, and that 'half the mining of New Zealand "will be attracted to this locality before many months pass away. The shaft in Anderson's claim is completed, and the tunnel now being 'drive'n to pieet it, is being pushed forward 'with every exertion. The ground the party are now tunnelling through "is a "species of soft slate, so that a great'deal more work is now done in twenty-four hours, than could possibly have been accomplished some few weeks ago (when they were driving through hard rock) in three days. The stone obtained from the surface •of the shaft np to the time of its completion (when something like one hundred and fifty tons had been unearthed) is undoubtedly rich's I may even say, very rich, and ought to be certain fortunes to the lucky shareholders.- At tbe same time all this work «annot be done without capital, : and the Westport moneyed men, must still have faith in the future, and pay •in the present* Several new quartz claims' have been taken up within the past month, the milters, howeve, complain, and with justice, that the warden has never ordered, the mining, surveyor to continue his survey lines beyond the •claims actually taken up, so that new comers are at a loss, in a densely Wooded countryy. to take the bearings for the lines of reefs, except with the aid of small pocket compasses ; a very Uncertain and unsatisfactory way of commencing to expend large sums of •money tipon labour, tools, and provisions. I Believe, however, that Dr •Giles has'only to lie informed of the "wish of the miners with reference to this extended survey, to direct its execution, as the necessity for some such definite line is apparent to everyone Of course we were disappointed, •at the usual court day passing away "without the presence of the warden; but I think it is allowed that the weather "was too boisterous, and that "we could not feasonably expect to have his attendance.

Reefton township is extending fast. A stranger coming amongst us is 'startled to see handsome and substantial buildings, "where he expected to find nothing but poles and ealico ; in fact, 1 beg leave to inform your readers .that Reefton has already become an important spot on the map of the colony. The loss of Peter Williams's cargo boat the other day, was a Bad misfortune to all -of us, apart from the actual money's worth of the goods, provisions are getting scarcer every day, and often times for hours together Ho flour or bread are to be had at any price. It is to be hoped that the Westport cargo boatmen will quickly push goods up or we shall run a chance of hunting down rats for breakfast.

The rubbish the Grey papers published about freight being less via the Little Grey Saddle than by the Buller, •was put to the test a day or two ago, and came directly under my notice, so I may as well inform you about the matter. . A storekeeper, when in Greymouth a month ago, purchased some goods from Thompson, Smith, and Barkly, and, an hour after his purchase, half a dozen boatmen were running after him, offering to deliver these goods at Eeefton at all prices from £lB to £2O per ton, at last the party agreed to send them in charge of a person resident up the Grey; when, however, the goods made their appearance £25 a ton was demanded, with a threat that if not paid at once, a summons would be applied for at the Ahaura. The party naturally protested, and, eventually, tome deduction was made. This has heen a lesson to all of us ; and henceforth I think the Westport market will *eign supreme. We had the pleasure to-day of a visit from Mr Simpson, one of the Westport Hospital Committee. Mr Simpson is a gentleman much respected by all the miners in the district, and accordingly well received. I hope he toay be successful in obtaining a large addition to the funds of such a valuable and well managed institution as Jour hospital.