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Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 996, 16 August 1872, Page 2

A slight error, inadvertently made in the telegram forwarded to Mr O'Conor, in reference to the Ngakawhao coal mine has been rectified b\ r the Provisional Committee. Instead of the statement that coals could be got out at a cost of 5s per ton to the "buyers," it should have read to the "procurers." A message to this effect has been forwarded to Wellington. At a meeting held on Monday evening last, of the Ngakawhao Coal Mining and Steam Service Committee, it was resolved that a companj' should be formed tor the purpose of purchasing and working the coal-mine, and for the purchase of steamers in connection therewith; the company to bo named " The Ngakawhao and Westport Coal-mining Company, Limited," with a capital of £20,000, in 4,000 shares of £5 each. The following gentlemen wore appointed a provisional directory, to issue a prospectus, and receive applications for shares: — Messrs James Humphrey, Dr. Thorpe, Thomas Field, J. B. Fisher, John Corr, John Monro, James Powell, Ivatt Graves, George Falla, and Captain S. A. Leech. News has been received from Reefton th.it should cheer the hearts of desponding scrip-holders. The following telegram was received via Greymouth -. —"Hunt's claim at Reefton has yielded 2,500 ounces of amalgam, ejual to 800 ounces of gold, from 400 tons of stone." A telegram, since received at Westport, states the quantity as being IOiO ounces, from 320 tons of stone. From reliable information we are enabled to state that the exact amount was nearly 800 ounces, from 320 tons. Hunt's claim is No. I north of Shiel's prospecting claim. The gold will bo sent to Greymouth. At the court yesterday a batch of jolly inebriates, who had disported themselves on the previous evening in violent fashion, disturbing the publie peace, and indulging in the quixotic pastime of resisting the police ; were arraigned before Dr Thorpe, J.p. Three of them, Thcmas James, William Fox, and William rtatviin S c, were let oif with a mild fiue of 10a each. Alex. Scott, John Gray, and Samuel Heath, were remanded under recognizances to appear to-morrow, the 17th instant. The designation of the Westport Post Office should be altered to that of the General Postal and Piggery Department. Swine of all sizes, colour and having taken up their nightly habitation in the |delivery lobby, without let or hindrance, leaving there throughout the day un mistakeably visible and olfactory symptoms of their presence. On a recent moonlight evening we counted a full score of pigs, large and small, snugly coiled up underneath the letter boxes, and it was impossible to cither post a letter or open a private box without first routing the enemy, who resisted the intrusion with proverbial obstinacy. The Postmaster should make a raid, and confiscate a few of the little ones. Eoast pig on the dish, should have a much more agreeable perfume than live pig in the lobby. The following are the latest items of Charleston news. The Charleston Lodge of Oddfellows will commemorate their fifth anniversary on or about the eleventh of the coming month. The Rev. Thomas Flavell, rnler instructions from th<2 St. Mark's vestry, will discontinue his Sunday visits to the Brighten dls.riot. Tho congregation there hiving become "small by degrees, and beautifully les3.'" Three claims on the Nino Mile Beach were sold yesterday, under distress warrant, on the case of Maloney v. Davis, Brown, and lieatty. The petition for separation, circulated in tho Charleston district, received some 350 signatures, had weather alone preventing the number being doubled.

As a specimen of the line of argument

adopted by his Honor Oswald Curtis, in opposing any alteration of" Provincial boundaries, we extract the following bit of characteristic bunkum, to call it by no harsher term, from the Wellington Telegraphic news, appearing in the Nelson ' Examiner' and ' Colonist.' The paragraph state-i that Mr Curtis on moving his motion " alluded to the persistency of the Government in having for four sessions introduced measures to alter the boundaries of the Nelson Province. He ascribed the reason of this to the Nelson members not supporting the Ministry, and accused the Government for - promoting dissatisfaction on the Goldfields, promising hereafter to produce proof. The agitation proceeded not from the miners hut from the storekeepers and publicans." And in reply to Mr Fox who denied any complicity on the part of the General Government, and said that he had no occasion to promote discontent, for he found it at boiling point of indignation at the domination of the Nelson Government. Mr Curtis replied " that when Mr Fox was on the West Coast he had been surrounded by publicans, storekeeper, and baffled speculators, who had been prevented by the Nelson Government from preying on the miners. The miners themselves had carefully held aloof from Mr Fox, but had, in largo numbers, attended meetings which he (Mr Curtis) had held at Charleston and Keefton, and had passed votes of-confidence in tfte Nelson administration.'' As may be remembered, the " votes of confidence" passed at Reef ton and Charleston were, in point of fact, mere complimentray expressions, thanking the Superißtendeat for his visit to the Goldfields, and for his satisfactory " promises" a3 to the future administration of affairs, rather than expressions of content with past or present actions of the Nelson Executive. At Reeftoß especially his Honor had to listen to very plain outspoken opinions, adverse to the Provincial Government, one leading man among the miners expressing a belief that they had to pay most dearly for provincial mismanagement, and that future Chancellors of New Zealand should be seated not on the woolsack but on a digger. A wail of discontent already comes from Picton, anent the Picton and Blenheim Railway management. It appears that the traders of the port were anticipating lots of trade with the ' navvies' imported by Brogden and Co-; but to their intense disgust the firm have a storekeeper employed, whose duty it is to serve out to the men, tea, sugar, flour, and in fact all goods that could be obtained at any store in the province. " Brogdeu and Co., Storekeepers," have an advantage over other trades-people, inasmuch as they have no risk from bad debts, and, consequently, are able to sell at a minimum o: profit, not only to ' navvies,' but to any stray customers, favoring them with ready money. Whereat Picton. traders are exceeding wroth, and denounce the truck system as illegal, and abominable. Signor Donato has left the Mathews company, and is now at Wairau, astonishing the natives. The facts connected with the recent death of the skipper of the Blackwall, are as follows :—He had the hold of the vessel washed out prior to loading for the outward trip, and with a view to drying up the moisture as expeditiously as possible, had lighted a fire in an old oil tin, and placed it in the vessel's hold. The fuel used was Grey River coal, and it is well known that this article causes more obnoxious gas when burned than any other description of coal commonly used. Towards evening the fire appeared to have burned itself out, and the hatches were put on. Shortly afterwards the men employed in working the vessel, including the master, mate, and a seaman named T. Pepper, went ashore, and the latter, who is a man residing at Kaiapoi, went homp, whilst the other two went to the Kaiapoi Hotel, where they remained till about 11.30 p.m. They then went on board, and retired to bed in the cabin, after having previously closed the ha'eh to within a space of about three in .dies. Before " turning in" they must have observed the smell which arose from the carbonic acid ga<=, and sulphur emitted from the fire in the hold, and communicated to the cabin through the openings in the partition; but the only possible assumption is, that they were ignorant of the deadly effects likely to be produced by inhaling the poisonous gases. About 7.40 a.m. on Saturday.the seaman, T. Pepper, went on board to his work as usual, and he was rather surprised to find that neither the captain nor the mate were on deck. Thinking that they had overslept themselves, he opened the hatch and went down into the cabin, but he wag horror-stricken at the spectacle which presented itself to him; when laying his hands upon the captain, he found him quite dead. The mate, although breathing with great difficulty, appeared to be sound asleep, and the seaman immediately ran on deck and called for assistance. The mate has since recovered, but only after the most unremitting medical attention. It appears that while the captain and mate of the Blackwall were at the Kaiapoi Hotel on Friday evening last, the former had been telling the captain of another vessel, that he had that clay lighted a coal fire in ths hold of his vessel. The captain thus addressed cautioned Captain Balston not to close the hatches when he went to bed, and told him that that two mates of his in Australia had bfjen suffocated by the smoke, which had been confined in the vessel after it had been fumigated. The Otago Chamber of Commerce in considering the new Bankruptcy Bill resolved that the following clause should be inserted in it i—" That all insolvencies and deeds of arrangement shall be advertised in the '. New .Zealand Gazette,' and that it be a misdemeanor on the part of any debtor who shall not give notice to each of his creditors of his having been declared insolvent, or made a deed of arrangement." An Adelaide telegram, stating that heavy losses of sheep have occurred on the Roper from poisonous herbage, has appeared in several papers, as *' heavy losses to ships."