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Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 995, 13 August 1872, Page 2

A meeting of the Provisional Committee appointed for the promotion of the Ngakawhao coal ruining and steam service scheme, was held vesterday afternoon to consider a telegram received from the member for the Bulier, a copy of which we publish for' general information, and the reply thereto, sent by the committee:—" Send particulars of Ngakawhao coal trade, with suggestions for Government assistance if needed." Keply—" Coal mine now being worked, and capable of supplying 100 tons a day immediately, at cost to buyers of 5s per ton. Only assistance required is to improve navigation of river. As to cost of samo consult l)r Hector. Company in course of formation to procure steamer to work in connection with mine, as coal in high favor. The success of enterprise depends on improvement of river, which it is understood can be opened to vessels of ten feet draught at a comparatively small outlay." The heavy fresh prevailing in the river from Sunday last has worked more bavoo on the river bank, from Wallabi street downwards to the sea beach. Another large slice has been carried away, leaving now a nearly perpendicular face of soft sand which hourly crumbles away before the action of the current. Between the end of Kennedy street and the whatf, there is some twenty or thirty feet of deep water, and the skeleton timbers of the wharf stand totteriugly in the full force of the river current. Two of the priucipal piles were carried away by floating logs on Sunday, and the rest can hardly hold ground much longer. From Bright street to Cubden street, little damage has yet resulted to the very bank, but at M'Leod's new wharf a heavy snag, borne down by the stream on Sunday morning, came end on against the pilos shaking the whole structure, and causing the pile driving machine to topple over, the crab winch sinking in deep water. Above Packington street, along the river frontage of the new township site, the fresh has also carried away a long strip of loose stones and soil, but as yet the damage is but trifling. It is high time some one bestirred themselves to see that the few remaining streets in Westport are put in decent repair. At present they are little better than a succession of muddy sloughs and dangerous pitfalls. The footpaths are so bad that they scarce longer deserve the name. Heavy dray traffic has worn ruts in the roadways that have become permanent water channels. Every hundred yards or so may be found holes deep enough to bury a good sized child in ; and the drains seem specially engineered not to carry water. Considering that the Provincial Government receive, in the shape of business license fees, at least £2O per chain, per annum, for sites fronting the principal thoroughfares, business men might, with exceeding just cause, make application for an outlay on street repairs suliicient to at least fill up some of the gaping holes, now endangering the safety of the public. Mr T. Sheahan, taking advantage of the delay in Mr Haselnrayer's arrival, has considerably improved his already capacious Assembly Hall by the addition of a roomy dress circle or grand tier of reserved seats, approachable by a separate entrance from the street. It is also his intention to rebuild the stage some thirteen feet further back, thus giving an increased area in the body of the hall. In fact no efforts will be spared either by Mr Sheahau or Mr Small, the agent for Mr Haselmayer, that will in any way conduce to the convenience of patrons attending the magical seances. Ladie3 and juveniles are to have special attention given to their comfort and pleasure.

Messrs Why to and Pirie have removed their stock of clothing- and general outfitting- goods from the temporary premises in Molesworth street to their new store, two doors below Sheahan's Hotel, in Lyttelton street, which thoroughfare has now become a good business centre. Several other large buildings are in course of erection, and the residents, on eithor side of the street, are discussing the best method of thorough draining and metalling to be adopted. An accident happened on board the Alma on Saturday, but fortunately not attended with the serious consequences at first anticipated. The crew in discharging cargo were hoisting some heavy casks of zinc up on to the wharf, and by some mischance one of them slipped from the slings, and in falling struck one of the crew, who fell stunned by the blow. Fortunately no bones were broken, and after a short interval he recovered. The funeral of the deceased, Henry Hilderbrandt, cook place on Thursday, the body being interred in the new burial ground, situated on a terrace about a mile from Reefton, near to the Bulier road. The friends of deceased assembled at Mr Schulz's tobacconist, Broadway, whence the cortege started, numbering about sixty. The funeral service was read over the remains by Mr M'Lean, minister of the United Methodist Free Church, and Dr Rockstrow read the Lutheran service in Gorman. The deceased, who was very widely known throughout the West Coast, was a native of Hanover and about 40 years of age. Mr George Clark, who, during the last sea encroachment, had ecant notice to quit, his old accustomed hostelry in Gladstone street, the sea washing in the back of his premises while all hands were hurrying the goods and chattels out at the front, has now found a more comfortable and safe location at the corner of Palmerston and Bright streets, at the hotel erstwhile known as the Little Grey, which, under the new sign of the Oddfellows Hotel, now opens its portals to welcome alike the brotherhood, friends, or strangers. The parliamentary correspondent of the 'Wanganui Herald' furnishes the following bit of gossip auent triangular friendships: —" Mr o'Conor has obtained a Committee of enquiry as to the charges made against him re the Westport land purchase. Somehow an opinion has got abroad that -Mr G'Conor has been the victim of a foul scheme of misrepresentation and calumny, and there is a belief that he will come stainless out of the inquiry. On this subject I will not express an opinion. The case is sub judrce, and the matter will be fully and fairly gone into. But the position of the Ministry is rather curious in respect to this matter. Mr Luckie is, as all the world knows, a Ministerialist, and Mr O'Conor supported the Ministry last -session. Mr Luckie is known to be baud and gloye with Messrs-Fox and Vogcl, and Mr-O'Conor is therefore a little jealous. The Government, which can very ill afford to lose a vote, is ■trying to "" keep square ' with both parties, and accordingly Mr Luckie is a little piqued at the Inkewarmness of the Government. As if still further to excite Mr Luckie's jealousy, the ' Independent' of Saturday contains an article with, too transparently

hypocritical Impartiality, but slightly espouains O'Ounor's cause. It seeing pretty evident that tho two members hate each Ofrher so cordially that they will not even vote on the same side, so that *he Government, is bound to Jose a vote vvl ic lever way the matter tfoes, Mr G'Conor has bought the old ' Advertiser" plant, and the question is, " What will he do with it?'' lie vows dire vengeance against sundry detractors of his lame, and refers Mysteriously, to his newly acquired plant, and tho power of the Dress. Whether Mr O'Oonor intends to start an opposition organ in Wellington remains to bo seen, but rumour hath it that he will start a paper somewhere on the West Coast. The following figures show the amount of revenue collected at the ports of Nelson and Wejtport dining the quarter ended June 30, this year (shillings and pence being omitted) :

The total revenue for the province for the quarter ended the 30th of June, was £14,432 14s 3d; while the expenditure amounted to £13,204 10a lOd. A public meeting, to discuss the best form of Government for the West Coast Goidfields, and to consider tho Greymouth memorial; was held at Paroa, on the sth instant. The following resolutions were passed thereat: —" That this meeting is of opinion that it is the desire of the General Government to form a new scheme for the better government of the South West Goldfields ; this meeting is, therefore, of opinion that the most essential change would be to form the whole of the said goldfields into one Province, with a provincial Council and Road Boards; that the General Grovernmeut fix a fair proportion of the revenue on the said Boards, with rating powers to execute works of utility, unrestrained by the said council; the said Beards to have the recommending of lands for sale or for lease, within their several districts." " That, in view of the most pressing necessity existing for an alteration of the present boundary line between Nelson and Westland, this meeting do assent to and adopt the Greymouth memorial, reserving to itself, however the right of rejocting such portion thereof as relates to the formation of Road Boards by tho future Provincial Council."

The ' Tuapeka Times' says:—" We have heard of a good many queer things in gold mining.' We have heard of brick houses being put through crushing machines, and paying handsomely ; of roads containing sufficient quantities of the precious metal to induce men to steal them. More recently we have heard of speculators giving fabulous prices for mud huts in South Africa, on the chance of finding diamonds in the walls. But we never imagined a miner, even with the most virulent form of quartz-on-the-brain, would peg out a fence as a quartz claiut. Yet such a thing waa done by the Gabriel's Gully Quartz-mining Company, in Otago. It appears that in the disputes between Mr Olark and the miners who wished to work 1113 land, the fence was entirely overlooked, and though several claims were pegged out on either side, it was not included in either of them. The G. G-. Q. M. Co., however, thought that the ground occupied by the fence was worth having, and took up a portion of it in accordance with the mining regulations. Their right to do so has, however, been questioned; and unless the matter is amicably settled, theie will be a Wardce's Court case over the right to possess a fence as a mining claim. The width of ground occupied by the aforesaid fence is eight feet. The dispute as to the possession of it shows the value entertained of the reef by those who should know something about it." At the present time the following extract; from an American paper may be useful:— A Western paper whose subscription list has suffered from the evil of newspaper borrowing, says:—"Keader! If you have borrowed the paper yon are reading don't do it again. Subscribe. It isn't safe to borrow papers. We once knew a poor, but honest man, who borrowed a paper, innocently and inadvertently, from a hitherto wholesome neighbour. Fatal fact. The terrible contagion, the small-por, was conveyed insidiously in the fibres of that sheet. Of that extensive and interesting family, a doting father, a fond wife, several intellectual and heroic sons, thirteen lovely daughters, two popular mothers in-law, and three beautiful aunts —not one remained to tell the tale."

A merchant of Hamburg' has purchased the Groat Eastern for the purpose of converting it into a floating lodging-house for emigrants. A miner named John Brown was accidently drowned in the Molyneux river at Alexandra Ferry, at about five o'clock on the evening of the 20th nit. Deceased and a man named Thomas Graham were rafting a wheel down the river from the Galatea dredge, near Sandy Point, to Alexandra. When about two hundred yards from the ferry, they attempted to get the raft, which they had kept ahead of the boat they were in, ashore, and in doing so deceased jumped ashore with the raft line in his hand. The line got entangled about his legs, and drew him into the river. Graham then jumped ashore, and thoughtlessly let the boat go adrift. Constable Markham, who happened to be at the ferry at the time, witnessing the accident, took off his jumper and endeavored to get it within leach of deceased, but the latter, being entangled in the raft lino, was immediately swept down the river, and was drowned. Mr W. M'Lean has addressed to the ' West Coast Times' the following letter on the subject of a pretended report of proceedings at a meeting of the Westland Quartz Crushing Company: —' Will you kindly allow me a space in your journal to contradict a report which appeared in your last issue. The report purported to be a resume of a meeting of shareholders in the above company, held at the Empire Hotel on the Ist inst. Your contributor could not be actuated by any good motives towards the company or directors, otherwise he would have confined himself to the facts which transpired. As regards the attacks he has made on myself, I can only treat them with the contempt that all persona should he treated with who knowingly •commit peijury. The report, from beginning to end, is a 'Complete tissue of falsehoods, and must have emanated from the fuUome evaporations not only of a perjurer, but a slanderer. A reptile of the meanest kind can poison, and retract after so doing, but when attacked he will stand his ground. If your contributor ha 3 the smallest spark of manhood left, I trust he will come forward and subscribe his name, and prove the truthfulness of his anonymous report, which might have been written when smarting under a severe disappointment, and the question of his sanity may be doubted."

In the Drawbacks bill it is proposed that the following articles only shall be entitled to drawback when exported in tho original packages:—Ale, porter, and cider, in bottle; bottled fruit, trimmed bonnets, and hats, carriag-'S, candied peel, china, confectionary, earthenware, rish (potted or preserved), furniture, cabnotware, glass, glassware, haberdashery, harness, jams, jellies, marmalade, milinery, pickles, preserved meats, raspberry vinegar, saddlery, sauces. On goods, when repacked, drawback at tho following rates will be allowed:—Apparel, boots, shoos, linen, cotton, woollen and silken manufactures, drapery, drugs, and apothecaries' wares, Forfar sheetinghosiery, scrim cloth, and shirts—three, fourths, of the duty; on carpet bags, cotton counterpanes, blankets, rugs, men's hats and caps, untrimmod women's hats and bonnets, and furs—two-thirds of the duty; on apparel made up in the colony from imported material—one-half of the duty. On mining matter in the Ross district, the' News' reports■:—-" Upon the whole they are much better than some croakers would make out, and only want the infusion of a little new blood, in tho shape of capital, to inaugurate a new era of prosperity to the district. The Morning Star Company sent their men down at eight o'clock on Tuesday maining, and are, we believe, working full handed. The Excelsior Company are also in full swing, and looking well. The Old Whim pursues its usual quiet -course, and fully bears out in its yield the confidence always felt by the shareholders. A party of six Chinese have commenced ground sluicing at Jones's Creek, close to the town, and appear to be contented with their prospects. P. Cummins and party have taken up the site of the old flaming, and are industriously bringing up their tail-race, prior to turning the water on to their claim. They will begin putting through stuff early next week. M'Murtie and party are working away with their old energy, and with payable results. The parties who have stuck to the Aylrner Lead through good and evil report, are reaping a fit reward for their perseverance. Captain Perkins's party is, we are credibly informed, making a very large weekly dividend, and the ground now in work is paying handsomely."

Nelson. Westport Heads of Bovenue— £, £ Spirits 2292 ... 2930 Tobacco 1081 ... 729 Cigara ... ... 128 (34 Fixed Duties .... 2635 ... 1492 Duties by Measurement 2064 800 Duties by Weight ... 4<J3 204 Gold Duty—Province of Nelson 433 ... 833 Total £9126 ... £7058