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Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 1028, 10 December 1872, Page 2

Three cases containing the exhibits collected by the Westport committee for the Christchurch exhibition, were forwarded on Friday last per Kennedy to Nelson, for transhipment to the steamer Wellington. We hear the Reef ton collection will be sent from Nelson by the same boat, and thus the entire exhibits from the South-west Goldfields will reach Christchurch together. Thirty-one separate exhibits have been sent from Westport, and in addition a well designed map, upon a scale of three miles to an inch, prepared by Messrs Trent and Heller, and indicating the country extending from the Mokihinui to Brighton, and eastward as far as Hampden, has been forwarded in care of Mr Hughes of Christen urch, who has kindly voluntered to deliver it to the exhibition commissioners. The map, in addition to showing the gold and coal bearing localities of the district, will also bear numbers corresponding with the numbers marked on the exhibits, and thus indicate at a glance the positions of the various claims whence such exhibits were obtained, and their comparative distances from Westport.

Money order and savings hank business is now transacted at Richmond Post office near Nelson.

A good haul of 6sh was made outside the bar on Saturday by Scott and party, who went oat in a cargo boat and in a few hours caught, with lines, 83 cod, and also about a score of young sharks of various sizes.

The value of breadstuff's imported at West Coast ports during the year ending 30th June was as follows:—Hokitika, £17,405; Greymouth, £16,044 ;. Wostport, £6193. Even Nelson imported to the value of .£1 A.fiiO. Auckland was the largest importer—to the amount of i. - R5,555. The East Coast ports of the Middle Island, on the other hand, all export largely. The Westport Brasg Band paraded in full uniform for tho first time on Saturday evening, and attracted much notice. The uniform consists of white Garibaldi jackets with scarlet facings, black cap with broad scarlet band and white braid, and black trowsers with white braided stripe. The band improves in practice, having but one defect, the percussivo instruments preponderating too strongly. The drums, cymbals, j and tinkling triangle marring to some >

extent the sound of the wind instruments. Two or three additional members would make the band complete. Another addition to the long list of boat accidents on the river occurred on Saturday last. Charles Crowle's cargo boat had passed safely up stream until some little distance above Hawk's Craig when a mishap occurred, which resulted in the drowning of one of his horses and the narrow escape of the other and its rider. The river flows extremely rapid at the place where tho aecident occurred, and, the bows ef tho boat swerving by some means from the direct line of current, the force of tho stream acting: on the tow line dragged the horses backwards off the narrow towing track, and they fell plunging wildly down the precipitious bank into the water, in a position when it was impossible to clear them from their harness until one was drowned. The rider with the other horse escaped by the merest chance. Charlie Orowle's luck has been out of late. It is not long since that his boat was swamped while lying at her mooorings off Cobden street wharf, and the cargo damaged. As the Superintendent of Nelson has power under the " Executive Act 5 ' to merge the duties of Provincial Treasurer with those of the Provincial Secretary, it is very probable that this course will be adopted, until the Provincial Council meets, and, considering the many more urgent demands upon the failing revenues of the Province, it would be well if the Council insisted upon the duties being permanently performed by one officer at one rate of salary.

The agricultural settlers in the vicinity of the New Landing are discovering, to th jir sorrow, that in their hurry to obtain a first harvest from their new ground, they have disregarded one of the commonest farming maxims. The virgin soil has been hurriedly broken up and as hurriedly planted with potatoes, without being first allowed to remain for a season exposed to the modifying influences of sunshine and air. The consequence is the ground is still sour, and the potato crop a failure. Hospital Committeemen are requested to notice that a special meeting is called for this day at 4 p.m. The Secretary hopes to renew the pleasure of his official acquaintance with every member thereof. The Alpine Company will in a day or two again reach the rich stone in their claim to which all ingress was stopped some weeks since, in consequence of a landslip at the mouth of the tunnel.

Mr Carruthers, the Engineer-in-Chief, ■was a passenger by the Taranaki, to Nelson, on the 3rd instant, and will remain there some little time for the purpose ef examining the proposed route of the Nelson and Foxhill line.

The Eeefton sports committee have definitely fixed that the sports shall come off on Boxing day and December 27. The booths are to be sold by auction on Saturday next, and the entire committee of fifteen members are appointed to act as stewards. The prizes oifered amount to about £llO. Wrestling is made a special feature in the programme.

The United Band of Hope Company have decided to open up the mine by putting in a tunnel at the south end of the Company's claim. The tunnel will enter at a level of 200 feet below the crown of the hill, to which depth the reef has been followed down by means of anincline shaft. The roef from the shaft throughout has carried payable gold, and the first crushing of quartz from this mine gave an average of loz 6 dwts of gold per ton, a return which promises to yield large dividends when the mine is opened.

The North Star Goldmining Company at a recent meeting passed a resolution " That the value of the original paid-up shares be reduced to ten shillings, the remaining ten shillings to be called up, and that all unalloted shares now held by the company be allotted pro rata among present shareholders. The directors subsequently resolved that, nine shillings having already been paid on contributing scrip, to make a further call of one shilling per contributing scrip so as to placa the contributing and paid-up shares of the company on the same footing. Mr R. C. Reid has been elected -without opposition, member of the Borough Council for the East Ward vice Mr G.°S Smith retired.

We learn from Wellington that Mr Luckie, of the Nelson 'Colonist,'has been offered the editorial chair of the Auckland ' Southern Cross' at a salary of £BOO. It is said, moreover, that this talented gentleman, who is deservedly honored most out of his own country, intends to avail himself of the offer.

The 'Otago Daily Times' says that at Hokitika mining shares are reported to be disposed of by what, by pleasing fiction, are termed art-unions,"

Messrs N. Edwards and Co. advertise that during the current month, and until the end of January, return tickets for trips by the Anchor line of steamera will be issued at single fares.

The ' Hansard,' containing the speeches of honorable members during the last session, reports 1,121 yards of closely printed talk ; for the mo3t part the rankest fustain.

Among the projected contributions to the Vienna exhibition is, says the ' Press,' a piece of statuary by a Christchurch local artist of acknowledged acquirements. During the quarter ending September 30th, the following amounts were deposited in the West Coast Post Office Saving Banks:—Greymouth, £GG4S ; Hokitika ,£2937; Westport, £4232. The following were the amounts withdrawn in the same period .—Greymouth, £5077; Hokitika £2285; Westport, £2364.

Buildings at No Town are expanding in proportions and ornato embellishment. 3 A correspondent of the ' Grey Valley Times' says the hotels are equal if not superior to any others in the Grey Valley, the drapery stores on the " Parade" may bo well designated macfasins des modes, and the butchers shops on a Saturday inorninsr would lead a stranger to suppose himself in Melbourne!

His Honor Mr Oswald Curtis has performed the usual Post-Parlianientary penance of political sinners in a speech and confession to the free and independent electors of Nelson. In this speech ho has, of course, dilated at some length on matters intimately affecting the West Coast goldfields. He touches very delicately on the subject of the proposed unification of these goldfields, and shields himself behind an old argument which he apparently considers unanswerable. He considers any modification of existing boundaries and systems of Governments would be a mistake " unless it were done on some system applicable to the whole Colony." This oraculously mysterious declaration, Mr Curtis wishes us to believe, is sufficient answer to the almost universal cry alike from Wcstland and the Nelson Goldaelda for administrative reform. He indulges in a sneer at the solvency of W&stland, but ho carefully loses sight of the fact that the call for annexation arose from the people of the Nelsoj

Goldfields, aroused into action by the mismanagement and ignorance of tho Provincial Government. If tho proposed scheme of unification is not " applicable to the whole of the Colony," we should like Mr Oswald Curtis to toll us what it really is, according to his gospel. In our humble opinion the constitution of a Province, with special administrative functions fitted to the peculiar requirements and circumstances of the West Coastr Goldfields, would be less anomalous and more beneficial both to them and to the whole Colony, than the present system of Government, under which a large section of the Goldfields are mismanaged and their development retarded, while the other section are, or were, according to Mr Curtis's own showing, on the verge of bankruptcy.