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Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 1006, 20 September 1872, Page 2

At every sitting of the R. M. Court cases are " struck out," owing to the forgetfulncss of plaintiffs of the oft reiterated rule that it is necessary to pay the " costs of hearing " before cases are called on. It ■would be well for suitors to remember that " No credit ' is obtainable at the Court of Justice. We notice among the list of passengers per Charles Edward, Mr Solomon, the eminent Oculist and Optician, who created such a sensation in Greymouth recently by his successful operations. We understand that Mr Solomon is making a professional tour in the Northern provinces, and -will pay Westport a visit on his return. The ever encroaching sea has taken yet another slice off Gladstone Street; the only habitable dwellings therein remaining,

XUI'ML lIIU V U, *?U (UUUUIUyS IVHU gaol, U^lUJ£ he goat office Hotel aud Mr West's Bakery tore. All the other houses have been mlled down or are in course of removal; ,s also from the end of Kennedy Street, and tach succeeding tide for the last three or our days has made rapid encroachment. fortunately little wind has prevailed from ho seaward to increase the power of the ong-sweoping rollers. ,_ On the 21th ultimo, in tho House of Itepreseutatives, Mr O'Conor asked the "Government to lay upon tho table of the House all correspondence relating to the [nangahua Ferry. His reason for putting ;he question was that ho was under an impression, which he said was shared in very generally in the district which, lie represented, that the publie interests had been sacrificed in the disposal of the luangahua Furry. Mr Reeves said the papers were being copied, and would be laid on the table of the House next day. At the Court House yesterday two inebriates were brought up before Dr Thorpe J.P„ and one fined 20s, and the other, Win. Milburn, it being his third offence within sis calendar months, was sentenced to seven days imprisonment with hard labor. •An awfully sudden death has occurred at the Anatori Beefs. A man named James Durden, while sitting and chatting with his mates, suddenly fell over—dead. The cause was heart disease. The New Zealand Gazette of the 10th instant contains notifications of the acceptance by the Governor of the resignation of office by tho members of the late Fox Ministry; and of the appointment of the llonorables Stafford, Fitzherbert, Sewell, Giliies, Reid and Curtis in their stead. By Proclamations appearing in the Provincial Government Gazette of the 10th instant, "The Northern Nelson District" comprising the electoral districts of Nelson City and suburbs, Waimea, Motueka, and Collingwood, and " The Southern Nelson District" couqarising such parts of the electoral districts of Cheviot and Grey Valley as are within tho Province of Nelson, together with the Buller Electoral District; are declarnd districts under and for the purposes of " The Diseased Cattle Act, 1871." At the Supreme Court at Hokitika on the 16th instant, Chamberlain was found guilty, anil sentenced to ton years' penal servitude. Tho prisoner addressed the jury for two hours.

The Collingwood correspondent of a Nelson contemporary writes . —" About a year ago. the population of the Anatori diggings increased from about 30 or 40 to about 140, at which figure it may now be stated. The recent discovery there of very rich reefs, however, promise those diggings an importance within the next few months that wilFdwarf their past into insignificance; in saying which I am attempting to utter no prophecy, but simply echo the deliberate conviction of all who have seen and are able to judge of the reefs. The other workings, meanwhile, are not to be underrated, and will most likely gradually open into undertakings of a more extensive character.

The reports from the Aylmer Lead rush, says the ' Ross News/ are not so encouraging as they were. Several holes have been bottomed without payable results, and,"an exodus is already taking place. That gold does exist there in quantities sufficient to warrant an extensive and thorough prospecting of the ground in that neighborhood is very currently believed; but the means in the possession of the majority of the miners who have visited the rush are of a very limited nature, and consequently there is but a poor chance at present, in the alienee of any heavy finds, of a proper trial being given. The ' Grey River Argus,' of the 14th inst. says : —" Mr Thomas Waugh, of the New River district, was a passenger from Melbourne yesterday by the steamer Tararua. He is in possession of as late information as it was possible to procure from the Roper River district, and he assures us that, so far as he could ascertain by diligent inquiry, there is nothing whatever to encourage people to proceed thither. With others, he telegraphed for information to Port Darwin ; and the reply received was that gold had been got, but not in payable quantities. He had also information direct from two brothers of the name of Gilford, who left the New River somo months ago, and, after proceeding to Australia, sailed for the Roper, They describe the climate as bad, and tho prospect discouraging. There was also a dearth of " tucker." Mr Waugh adds that numbers of miners had come down country to Melbourne, preparing to start for the Northern Territory, but the majority were returning to their old ground. The majority of the passengers who left Melbourne by tho Omeo were for Queensland, and the Bengal, which had been placed on the berth, was unable to get filled up after six weeks detention."

" A Victim" writes to the Press as follows : —" It may not be generally known that persons giving credit to insolvents between tho date of adjudication in bankruptcy and the day of the final hearing and discharge, cannot recover such debts from bankrupts in our Courts of Law, It does seem hard that when a man is down and without means, in many eases for several months, you cannot lend a helping hand. If the unfortunate is an honest man you may be safe, but aa there are rogues abroad who have pleaded the bankruptcy law, and cheated a few innocents, therefore it is best to be on your guard, and give no tick." A telegram from Townsville, dated Sept. Gth, says:—-Reports from Charter's Towers are much exaggerated; largo numbers of miners are on the ground, but thore sinking have lost the lead, which is very narrow.— Wash dirt is stacked for the want of water, and from present appearances there is no inducement for now comers. All the alluvial sinking is taken up.—Another from Yam Creek, Port Darwin, of the same date, reports that no operations have yet been commenced. The parties are energetically engaged in carting stores from Port Darwin before the rains sat in. The first shower of the season fell this morning.—Diggers are sanguine of good alluvial gold being found, though nothing payable has been discovered yet.

The ' Ballarat Miner' publishes extracts of letters received from a correspondent on the Auckland Goldfields, in one of which he gives the following slightly apocryphal tale about specimen hunters : stealing is quite an institution, and is winked at by managers, boards of directors, aud banks. They all go in for the plunder. The managers receive a part of the spoil for keeping a blind eye on the stuff going away. Members of boards find it necessary to have some good specimens lying by them for salting, &c, and the banks buy the gold from the berdan owners, knowing it is stolen property as well as it is gold. The Berdan owners are parties who get a onehead battery and a berdan erected, and advertise to crush " trial quart z." A miner working in a mine such as the Caledonian, where tin stone is very rich, after he has got from 50 to H)olb3 weight of fpecimens goes to _>ut it crushed and cleaned. The berdan pvopri' i< .- in some cases pays for it

it once, and in others he cleans the tuff, takes it to the bank, and gets the noney for it, giving the miner about half, f In refuses or grumbles he is threatened ;hat information will be given, and that he vvill have to account for his possession of ;he specimens, so he takes what ho can get, ind " digs down " for another little lot, aud so goes on. There are none clean enough to throw the first stone. Men are known who came here penniless, wrought in the mines three or four months, and by that time had £3OOO in the bank to their credit. Fancy 3 cwt. of specimens going in one night by a party of four, the stone being worth say soz. to tho pound weight of stone, and you may judge that it is a scramble on the principle of devil take the hinderinost. One cannot split on the other, and things

lave got to such a pass that the robbers iave lost nearly all discretion, and the public arp waking up to an unpleasant knowledge of facts." As Mr Welter's friend said of the pork pie which was all fat, *' This is raytlier rich." From a return showing the performances of the San Francisco mail steamers, which has been laid on the table of the House of Representatives, we learn that the only amount deducted from the subsidy payable to Messrs Webb and Halliday, during the financial year ended on the 30th June last, was JJ3384 12s 3d, "for non-arrival of April steamer, and non-despatch of steamer from Auckland in May," This loss to the contractors was caused by the break-down of the Mohongo. As showing the advantages derived by tho miners and gold buyers in Victoria and South Australia by the erection of the Mint, the " Register" reports that an Adelaide merchant sent to the Melborne Mint 105ozs small gold, collected in tho neighborhood of Echunga, for which he has received £4 per ounce in Melbourne sovereigns,