15

H.-ll

Large nuggets still continue to be found in the creeks about the Lyell, presenting the appearance of water-worn gold. Coal. —Westport, with its railway, its coal companies, and its excellent harbour, is now rapidly approaching that state which will no longer be described, as it has been for years, of "great expectations," but when those expectations will be actually realized. The AVestport Colliery Company, with their indefatigable manager, Mr. Burns, have already expended a large amount of outside capital in developing their valuable mine. One novel result of the completion of the railway has beeu the erection of saw-mills by Messrs. Marris on the railway reserve, the logs being brought down by rail, and the sawn timber largely exported. Large exportations of coke from tho Wellington Company's mine have also been made. Roads. —Next to the railway come the roads as a means of communication with the interior, and I am happy to say that, notwithstanding many difficulties, arising from the weather and slips, the past year has shown a most marked improvement in the facilities afforded for traffic. Revenue. —It will be seen from the return appended that, although the publicans' license fees are not now collected through this office, a marked improvement in the revenue has taken place, and is likely to steadily increase. Crime. —I may remark upon almost the total absence of crime in the district. There have been very few cases of drunkenness, and no serious offence of any description; not even one single case of committal for trial to the District Court, which sits every two months. Inspection of Mines. —The inhabitants generally hail with satisfaction the bringing into force of " Tho Regulation of Mines Act, 1874." The workings at the Lyell are of a specially dangerous nature. It is gratifying to me, in leaving a district I have been more or less connected with during the last twelve years, to notice the wonderful strides the district has made in the formation of roads, railways, trams, punts, and other various means of communication. It is also gratifying to notice that there is now a settled population engaged in many other pursuits besides gold-mining, and that large quantities of land have been brought under cultivation, all tending to lay the foundation of permanent prosperity. I append the statistics of the district. I have, &c, Chas. Broad, R.M., The Under Secretary for Gold Fields, Wellington. AY arden.

No. 8. Mr. Warden Shaw to the Under Secretary for Gold Fields. Sir,— Warden's Office, Reefton, 30th April, 1879. I have the honor, in transmitting to you the usual statistical returns of Inangahuaand Grey A ralley Districts, for the year ending 31st ult., to report generally as follows : — Inangahua District. The sittings of the Resident Magistrate's and Warden's Courts are held twice weekly, and at times are much prolonged. The fusion of the new mining regulations with those previously iv force, and the adjustment of new trigonometrical surveys with original plans, have caused much discussion and labour. The following is a statement of the business transacted in open Court for the twelve months: — Resident Magistrate's Court. —Number of criminal cases, 133; number of civil cases, 353: total, 486. Warden's Court. —Number of cases (before assessors or Judge only), 101; number of applications under rules, 219; number of gold-mining leases applied for, 28 ; number of applications for cancellation of ditto, 3 : total, 351. The revenue collected in this office was as follows :— £ s. d. Gold fields revenue ... ... ... ... 1,560 13 9 Deposits on applications for leases, &c. ... ... ... 650 0 0 Resident Magistrate's Court fees and fines ... ... 462 16 11 Publicans'licenses and fees ... ... ... ... 1,022 3 6 £3,695 14 2 The total revenue for 1877-78 was ... ... ... 4,039 2 9 Decrease for year 1878-79 ... ... ... ... £343 8 7 This decrease is to be attributed to the reduction of rent upon gold-mining leases from £2 10s. aud £2 per acre to £1 per acre, which was not sensibly felt during the first quarter of the year 1878. This revenue does not include rents collected at this office for the AVaste Land Board of Nelson. Since the date of my last report, the Chairman of that Board, Mr. Commissioner Greenfield, has visited the Buller, Inangahua, and Grey Valley Districts upon three occasions, and by personal inspection and investigation has gained a satisfactory insight into the details of various applications which were objected to, or open to objection. The knowledge thus acquired, although at the expense of considerable personal inconvenience and labour, cannot fail to be of great value to the Board, sitting, as it does, 150 miles distant from the bulk of unalienated land under their control, and the public appreciate the privilege of a personal interview with the Commissioner at stated jieriods. The Reefs. —I append a tabular statement of number of tons of quartz crushed, yield of gold, and dividends from Ist April, 1878, to 31st March, 1879.