The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 139, 15 August 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 , 1866.

It is satisfactory to find that some progress is at length being made in the arrangements for taking a railway from Nelson to the Grey. Heavy bodies move slowly, and - we' suppose this is the excuse that must be made for the time that is allowed to pass away before so desirable an undertaking is commenced. It is understood that Mr. O. Curtis, one of the members for Nelson, in the House of Representatives, has taken charge of the bill to authorise the Provincial Government to alienate two millions of acres. of the waste lands of the Province. The ability of the gentleman who has taken charge of the bill is a guarantee that it will receive powerful advocacy from him, aud his acquaintance with the requirements of the place which he represents as well as his intimate knowledge ofthe vast mercantile interests involved in the measure, will lend additional vigor to his advocacy, and enable him to enforce the claims ofthe province in a manner that can scarcely be resisted. Mr. Stafford also has promised his support aud thafc of his government to the measure, and there is no reasonable ground for anticipating that any powerful opposition will arise from auy quarter to defeat a measure of such general utility. The members of the Northern Island can find nothing in the bill to militate against their interests, and the representatives of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland who are urged by the people of their respective provinces to leud their aid to a system of intercommunication, can find nothing to object tq in the pvoposalof the Nelson Provincial Government to establish traffic between their port aud the Western Gold-fields, by the disposal of the waste and at present useless lands of the crown. . .p. . The affair has advanced a step further by the offer of Messrs. Young and Co. contractors, of Melbourne, to construct a railroad from Nelson to the Grey, on the Government guarantee of two million acres of lahd. We understand that their ofter is a bona fide one, but it requires two conditions. The lirst is that they shall be allowed four mouths to form a company and mako the preparations necessary for carrying out the work. The second is that the Provincial Government shall send an engineer over the grouud of the intended railway, to mark in the site of the line on the plans of the province, and supply them with a copy of the same. The contractors express the fullest confidence in their ability to form a company from tho capitalists of Melbourae and London, if the thing ia presented to them ina business-like shape. Ifc would uot be easy to induce capitalists to look' at the affair unless the direction ofthe line were clearly indicated, and the country shown through which it has to pass. Hence the request that the site shall be marked on the plan of the province by the officers of the Provincial Government. One would suppose that the marking the plau is not a thing- that presents very formidable obstacles, or that the cost of the undertaking is such as to embarass the Provincial Government, and preveut its being done at once. The Provincial Engineer could mark in the line for a considerable distance without leaving his office, and a small expenditure of money would pay for the labor required from the point at which the Provincial Engineer leaves off to the terminus of the proposed line. We understand that the services of engineers and surveyors are available at a small cost for doing the work required to meet the views of Messrs. Young aud Co., ahd trust not a minute will be lost by the Provincial Executive in .giving directions that the work shall be done forthwith. It would be a waste of time to show the advantages that would flow from .opening' railway communication with Nelson and the Western gold-fields. The expenditure of. money paid for the construction of the line, would be no trifling benefit. In a few years Nelson would be four times its present size, aud property would be four times its present value. It would then beeome a vast emporium, arid the centre of commercial transaction for

the merchants of Victoria,{Sydriej-,,and Otago. The passenger and goods traffic' incessantly carried, on between the port ahdthe'.. Grey, would cause, imniense sums to be spent here which are now spent elsewhere. Nelson would then be ripe for municipal' institutions, and would not fail to reap the advantages that invariably follow from increased population and abundant wealth. Then our wooden houses would be" exchanged for brick and stone, our streets be paved and lighted, our wharves aud docks assume the proportions of those of an important maritine city, and the place be really as important as it deserves to be from its. central position and magnificent climate. . A railway to the Grey can be constructed at the rate of £5,000 per mile. There are no such engineering difficulties as to render success doubtful. It would be a light line, 4 feet gauge, with a gradient of 1 in' so, and averaging a speed of 20 miles an hour. Let us hope that the line may be regarded as an accomplished fact.

We published the result of the election for the Board of Works yesterday. It will be seen, on comparing the numbers of those who voted at this and the former election, that there is very little difference. At the previous election Mr. Burn polled 17 less, Mr. Carter 4 less,- Mr. Bentley 21 less, and Mr. Aitken 5 less than they did yesterday. The numbers of the four who stood highest on the poll would have been considerably greater yesterday but for the division of votes caused by the candidature of Mr. Akersten; lie polled 41 votes, niany of which would have been given to one of the leading candidates. On the former occasion Mr. Webb polled 72 votes, but yesterday he mustered only 58, notwithstanding that plumping was resorted to by some of his supporters. Mr. Osman polled one less yesterday than he did the time before, and Mr. Jennings 29 less. The result is higly complimentary to the successful candidates. It shows that notwithstanding, the strong effort to oust them, they possess the confidence of the ratepayers. After the declaration of the poll yesterday, the successful candidates briefly addressed the ratepayers. Mr. Burn thanked them for this renewed mark of their favor, and assured them it should .be his endeavor to merit and retain it. Mr. Carter said his re-election showed that the ratepayers trusted him. He had always done, aud would continue to do his duty to Nelson. Mr. Aitken thanked the electors 1 for having elected him a second time as member of the board. He had no object of his own to serve, but had come forward in compliance with the wishes of a number of ratepayers. In return for the confidence now shown him, he would endeavor to do his duty as a member of the board. Thanks were voted to Mr. Merrington, the chairman, who terminated the proceedings by proposing three cheers for the Queen. The Foresters' annual ball, in aid of the fund for widows and orphans, took place in the Provincial Hall, last evening, and was a most successful affair. There were about 140 persons present. Dancing commenced soon after 9 o'clock, and was continued with slight intermission, till o this .morning. The brilliant appearance of the room, the, gay dresses of the ladies, who vied with each other in the brilliancy of their costume, and the strains of sweet music caused the entertainment of the evening to make a vivid impression on those present. Mrs. Scaife presided - at the pianoforte, Mr. Walcot played the piccolo, aud Mr. Louis Drager pi-oduced melodious tones from several instruments. The band was an admirable one,- and was not the least attractive feature of the eveniug. Refreshments were provided, in first-class style, by Mr. Pickard, of Trafalgar-street. Mr. W. Lane, acted as master, of ceremonies, , and acquitted himself with his usual taste, and ability. All classes were fairly represented at the ball, the proceeds of, which will be a great acquisition to the charitable. object .. it commemorated. ""."' :.:'.. „,;;., ; - A correspondent signing himself " Nel'sonian," writes as follows. :-y" I see by the last night's Mi.it,' yve .may expect ere long.tpb.e : in possession*^ of "a co'nipetent' fire 'brigade, , v which would undoubtedly be appreciated by

every one. Allow me to make one necessary proposition to avoid; fire:— lf 7 our ! fellow townsmen were to think .of. firevpreyious to putting up wooden buildings, and in place of wooden buildings put up brick or stone ones, covered in with slate, tile, br iron, and use fireproof timber for the interior, which are all obtainable, in Nelson at not much more expense than the materials for a well finished wooden building, we should have but. little need of a fiz*e brigade." In the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, John Thomas Berry and John Dennis, who were locked up yesterday, for taking possession ot a house in Washington Valley, after having been ejected by warrant, were cautioned by the magistrate and discharged. We regret to learn that many persons suffer serious inconvenience by not being put in possession of the property supposed to be saved from the late fire. In the hurry of the moment the articles suatched hastily from the burning houses were placed in all sorts of places. In some cases the property was subsequently claimed, in others it was not. There is reason to fear that some persons claimed aud appropriated thiugs that did not belong to them. Some of the goods were removed to the police station, where they now remain awaiting claimants. Several articles of clothing and some jewellery are in the hands of the Sergeant-Major of Police, who will be glad to restore them to their lawful owners, on their giving a description of the same. Perhaps the police station is the most central aud convenient place to which persons can take any property that come into their hands from the late fire. One of the greatest evils of fires is that furniture and other valuable property is in danger of being destroyed by unskilful persons in their hurry to take it away from the burning houses. One of the great advantages of a disciplined fire brigade, would be that property would not be allowed to be removed except by authorised persons. Wheu all command and few obey, as was the case . at the late fire, inextricable confusion and needless destruction of property are sure to be the results. Mr. Warden Schaw, in his fortnightly report says: — Since my last report I have again visited the Blue Spur, Ho Ho, and found the greatest activity prevailing along the lead, which now extends from near Tucker Flat to a mile beyond the Bluespnr township, a distance of five miles and a half, and some of the claims are giving splendid returns. Flower of Wheat claim,, in Lyttelton-street. Kanieri township, washed out, a few days ago, three pounds weight in one day, with every prospect of its continuing, at the same rate for some time. Rutter and party, in the same vicinity, 16 to 20 ounces per day. I find from reliable information that about 1500 ounces of gold per week is the average quantity obtained from the Kanieri, not including the Ho Ho. Some parties are at work at Tucker Fiat, sinking for the main bottom. Cretne and party have already expended upwards of £400, but intend persevering some time longer ; they are now nearly 70 feet deep. Applications for two more tramways have been, sent in, which, when completed, will be a great boon to the townspeople and proprietors of steam engines. We notice' that the engagement made with Dr. Eccles by the Superintendent of Southlaud, under the terms of which that gentleman was to proceed to England at a salary of £1000 a year for two years, as Emigration, Land and Railway Sales Agent, has oeen disallowed by a vote of the Provincial Couucil. We learn from the Okarita Times of the 4th, that the police have not yet succeeded in putting their hands on Richard Banner, by whom a quantity of gold, supposed to be that stolen from the Bank -of New Zealand, Okarita, was recently sold to "a storekeeper, Jones, at the Grey. It is known that previous to his disappearance- from the.West Coast, he sent several hundrbd pounds to his wife in Melbonrne ; and it is suspected" that, he subsequently sailed for. some ofthe South American ports. f'Dick" is not supposed to have obtained a knowledge of the secret as the guilty--parties:were about to leave, and to have made sufficient use of that knowledge to ; induce thera to give inn a share of the spoil.

There is, in fact, a suspicion that the actual thief benefitted least by the robbery, and that Banner and Sullivan, or whoever was his companion, received the lion's share. Itis thought that part ofthe gold is still planted in- the neighborhood of Okarita, the exact locality being a problem which a great many would like 'very much fc> solve. We learn from the Taranaki papers, that the shaft ofthe Alpha well is down 145 feet, and that of the Victorian 120 feet. The Tarauaki Herald states that the unlawful killing of cattle has been carried tm ; to such an alarming extent lately, that it has become imperatively necessary to take steps to convict the offenders. The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttleton Times/speaking of the decadence' of the Maori race, says: — Two gentlemen, whose official duties have recently taken them separately over almost all this island, have made, independently of one another, each his own estimate of the number, of Maoris now existing. It has been supposed that the native population varied from 40,000 to 50,000 persons; but one of these estimates gives the number at 34,000, the other at 27,000, 'certainly not over 30,000.' Jackson's Bay is once more spoken of as the probable locality of a rush. One of a party of foreigners, who have been at work in that neighborhood for several months past, arrived in Okarita last week. At the Southland Provincial Hospital, the seaman Antoiue Barbier (who sustained a fracture of the skull on the occasion of the wreck of the Calypso at Stewart's Island, and was afterwards taken to the above institution and subjected to the operation of trephining) is rapidly recovering, and is now able to go about and do light work. The Weekly News learns from a gentleman who arrived from the Thames, that a letter, dated, from , Hangatiki, has been received there by the natives ifrom Rewi, advising them to go to work on their cultivations, and stating that he did not mean, to. fight any more. This is very good news, if correct ; but better still, the Thames natives are beginning agricultural operations in earnest. From Tuparoa and other parts of the East Coast, we have the same intelligence. May we soon hear of the like from all the native districts ! The Taranaki Herald of the 4th remarks that the Peoples Petroleum Company, on Thursday for the first time, came npon oil, at a depth of 115 feet. The oil is to be seen floating upon the surface of the water. Yesterday some of it was burnt, iu its crude state, at the Sugar Loaves. The result was veiy satisfactory, although the flame, as might be expected from unpurified oil, was very smoky. Gas was met with in the early part of the week, and the town was in quite a state of excitement on Wednesday afternoon, at the reported finding of oil in large quantities at the Victoria Well, but the report was premature, as only gas had been met with up to that time. The D. S. Cross maintains it is time the inhabitants of Auckland directed their energies to the flax industry in earnest. The demand for flax in Victoria is large, and rapidly increasing. Superior samples would bring over £50 per ton to-day in Melbourne. Sydney and other places want it ; and although there are tens of thousands of tons of the raw material at our doors, only the clumsiest aud feeblest efforts possible are made to turn it to profitable account. We say again, there are buyers of New Zesland flax in Auckland at £40 per ton ; and yet, notwithstanding, they cannot procure it. There is really no excuse for this apathy- Men complain of want of work, and beg for Government relief when they might be profitably improving their owu circumstances and those of the province.. Another temporary addition has been made to the Hokitika bar, in the person of .Mr. Harper, son ofthe Bishop of the diocese. The Kanieri tramway has been completed, with the exception of- ballasting, from the upper saw-mills to its terminus on Gibson's Quay. . '".'. 'X Mr. Bindon, the successor of Mr. Michie, as 'Minister of Justice in Victoria, has been re-elected for Castlemaine without opposition.

Among the parties o^r successful -miners, says the Okarita Times of the 4th,. Tyho left this locality during, the past week, inhere was. one party of eight, each of whom went away with £1000, the result of a ; few months" work at the Fivemile. This is. only.; one among mauy instances of good fortune which has attended the work of digging on that ■ beach, the majority of the frohtclaims. haying been found equally rich. ,On the same beach we know of another. party who, :out "of little more than two men's ground, have already got 600 ounces,- and they have yet one Half of the ground to work, with every.prbspiect of getting 400 ounces more. The W. C. Times of the 2nd . states .':— A rumor was current; in town yesterday, that the notorious Sullivan was a, passenger by the Auckland, and that he was here for the purpose of giving evidence against .Murray and other parties implicated. ' After causing some little excitement, it, was generally understood to be a mere "canard," and so it proved, as only two passengers landed from the steamer, neither of whom was in custody. The Lytteltou Times of a recent date furnishes the following piece of novel, intelli-:'. gence, which we quote in its entirety :— The greatest cataract in the world is the falls of Niagara, where the water from the- great upper lakes forms a river of three-quarteri of a mile iu width, and then being suddenly, contracted, plunges over the rocks in two . columns, to the depth of 170 feet each, - During the progress of the Districts Courts , Bill in the General Assembly, the clause, extending the criminal jurisdiction of the courts to all but the most serious class of felonies, and conferring on'the district 1 judges the power of passing sentences of penal servitude up to twelve months has been negatived. "Last week," remarks. the Maryborough 1 Advertiser, "the natural rapacity of the" hawk was shown ih a very bold -manner at the west end of the .town... -A canary bird was hung out in its cage under the verandah, but had not been there long "befere.- a hawk swooped down upon the cage, [and, opening it, seized the little inmate,' and parried it up to the ridge of a neighboring house, and there proceeded to pick its bones, after having wrung off the little captive's head. The hawk did not, however, remove to a safe dis-. tance with his quarry, for a neighbor cwho had observed the whole transaction procured a gun, and brought his hawkship to the" diist.