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Westport Times, Volume VII, Issue 1100, 22 August 1873, Page 2

The English Mail, via Suez will close at Hokitika about the 27th inst. Correspondence wdl be despatched from the Westport Post Office to reach that port before that date.

The sitting of the District Court will be held on Monday next. The only business to be transacted is in Bankruptcy, re Croawell and Jacobsen review of order of discharge ; re Stephen Lowin—adjourned examination, and re P. M'Dowell, application for discharge. A supply of books, maps, and school appliances has been sent per Kennedy, from the Central Board of Education, to the Westport school, and also to St Patricks and Blackott street schools, Charleston. Arrangements between the B idler Towing Track Company and the Provincial Government have been definitely concluded. The consideration authorised by the Council to be given for the transfer of the Company's rights to levy tolls has been accepted, and the track is now free to the public. The late fresh in the river has given other proof that the purposed protective works to be of any possible good, must be commenced quickly. Tons upon tons of solid earth have been carried away from Pakington street upwards, and a bay is now being formed in the bank, trending unmistakeably towards Palmerston street.

Notice is given in the New Zealand Gazette of the 14th instant that Mr Edward Ings has been appointed Legal Manager of the Alpine Quartz Mining Company (Registered), and that the registered ofiico of the company has been removed from Lyell to Westport. The storms during the week have caused floods on the Inangahua district, and traffic on the roads has been stopped. Beyond this no serious damage has yet occurred.

The Claud Hamilton arrived off Hokitika with the Victorian Mail on Saturday, but owing to the detention of the Murray by bad weather, the Westport portion only reached hero on Wednesday evening. At the Supremo Court held in Nelson on the 18th instant, Mary Ann Woodman, convicted at the last session of manslaughter at Westport, was brought up, and sentence passed on her of imprisonment with hard labor for three years from the date of her first imprisonment, or, in other words, for one year from the expiration of her original sentence, passed in the District Court.

The Honorary Secretary of the Southland Acclimatization Soc.ety, Mr H. Q. Fioldor, has intimated that the Committee are prepared to supply brown trout ova properly packod and put on board steamer at the Bluff, at the rato of iiiO per thousand. The tront have just now commenced to spawn, and a favorable opportunity offers itself to lovers of piscatorial sport who may feel inclined to obtain a supply and place in any of the tributaries of the Boiler, with a view to future angling expeditions. It will bo seen by our Wellington telegrams that the new Licensing Bill has made some progress in Committee. And so far it would appear from the brief intimation given, that the granting of

licenses will not rest so much on the voice of the people as advocates of the Permissive Clauses havo trhid to obtain. The Licensing Courts, to use the new term introduced, will consist of the Resident Magistrate of the district, and individuals to",be nominated by the Governor, and not to be elected by the inhabitants of the district. If the bill becomes law such nominations will most probably bo made among the members of the various Municipal Councils, as the most fit and proper persons.

The Government contemplate employing young ladies in the telegraph department as operators. It has been found by experiment in England and elsewhere, that educated females are specially adapted lor telegraphic work on account of the great aptitude they display in the transmission of messages, and the quickness with which they read the signals. It is to be fervently hoped that the young ladies will receive better pay than the masculine juniors employed in the service. A new local industry has been started at Greymouth, Messrs Hughes, Sewell & Co. have commenced operations at the Dispatch Foundry, turning out their first casting on Saturday last, consisting of a number ef truck wheels. Other and more heavy castings will be attempted. The members of the. House of Representatives have decided to sit on Monday evenings. The Union Strike Committee organised in Greymouth have succeeded in obtaining liberal responses to the appeal for monetary assistance. The Argus of Friday last says that upwards of £7O have been subscribed, and other subscription lists are expected to arrivo from diiferent parts. It was considered evident that the sympathy with the workmen is very general throughout the district, and they themselves, now that their funds are in a satisfactory state, seem determined to see it out.

The Club Hotel, Greymouth, has been disposed of for £1240. A vex - y singular attempt at suicide waß made a few days since by a man at Neil's Gully, in the Maori Gully district. The unfortunate man, whose name is Richard Ormond, procured a sharp pointed piece of wood and literally drove it into his throat, inflicting a frightful but not immediately fatal wound. Ho was brought down to Greymouth, and taken to the Hospital. Though not out of danger, it is thought likely that he will recover. He was not long since an inmate of the Hokitika Lunatic Asylum. The Grey Argus says:—There is more than a suspicion that James Hayes, for whose arrest a warrant had been issued under the Bankruptcy Act, by the Judge of the District Court, has absconded, taking passage by the Aborigine, which sailed on Thursday from Hokitika to MelbourneMention is made of another resident of the Grey Valley having taken passage by the same vessel. As descriptions and other documents relating to Hayes have been forwarded to Melbourne, it is not improbable that he will be interviewed at Queenscliff or in Hobsou's Bay, He is the same person who was reported, some months ago, to have been robbed of a quantity of gold. A cave of extraordinary beauty has boon discovered near Queenstown Otago. It is about 90ft long, encrusted with crystallised silicate of lime, which reflects the light in kaleidoscopic rays from a hundred different points. The distance from Queenstown is about two miles by the ledges, and three by the ridge of the mountain. A visitor predicts that this cave will become during summer an irresistible attraction to tourists and picnic parties. The Greymouth Harbor Bill, as introduced in the House of Representatives, proposes that the Board should consist of nine members—two nominated by the Governor, two elected by the Borough Council, and five by payers of wharfage rates, The Board to be a corporation, and to be vested with the control of wharves, jetties, and foreshore, wharfage and tonnage rates, and the undisposed portion of the Coal Reserve, with power to make reclamations on the lagoon, and do other necessary acts for the improvement of the port; also, power to borrow to an extent not exceeding twenty thousand pounds. Mr Vogel's answer to a question regarding telegraph extension to the Lyell was that, according to a report which had been placed in his hands, the total cost of this extension wonld be ,£4OOO ; and the line would probably pay, yet they thought it was work which the Provincial Government might very properly be called upon to guarantee. The recommendation had come from the Provincial Council; and if the Provincial Government would be prepared fo guarantee 6 per cent on the outlay, and also to make up any deficiency between receipts and expenditure for maintenance, the Government would at once make the extension; but unless the Provincial Council was prepared to give that guarantee, he did not think he could promise to make the extension at once, as there were many demands for an extension of the telegraph in various parts of the Colony. Coal is reported as being exceedingly scarce at Wellington. The only cargo being that on board the brig Cyrus.