WEST COAST LETTER.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7242, 31 December 1888, Page 3

WEST COAST LETTER.

[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]

GREYMOUTH, Dec. 15. The first meeting of the new School Committee was held on Friday. The Venerable Archdeacon Maclean was elected Chairman, and Mr W. R. Kettle, Secretary. There ia now every probability of the late unsatisfactory relations between the Board and the Committee being brought to a termination. Great complaints have been made for some time past respecting the number of children who do not attend school, and with a view to remedy this evil Archdeacon Maclean has given notice of his intention to move that the compulsory clauses of the Education Act be enforces in this district. The press and the public are unanimous in commending the reverend gentleman for taking prompt action in this matter, and when the school re-opens after the Christmas we hope to see fewer children of eohoo} idling about the streets and wharf during school houjis, as the police will be empowered to compel tbejr atteiv dance in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The District Engineer having examined thp first section of the Midland Railway Caia'&ai;y's line, Brunner to Nelson Creek, has reported tp Government that ib is ready for traffic as soda as the Company is prepared to give the necessary permission ; this, it is to be hoped, will be granted in fchg course of a few days, so as to enable the Bailwy gepartment to commence the running of trains on ttye firs.t pJC January. Nelson Creek will then become, in all nror bability, the terminus of the coach and waggon traffic to Reef ton, as a saving of sixteen miles will be thereby effected. 1 understand this first section of railway line Iβ an excellent piece of work and reflects great credit on the company's engineers and contractors alike. If the same class of work is adhered to throughout, the company will undoubtedly possess the best constructed line in the colony, fhe same remark applies to the station builoirigaanti Wljing stock which are all of a substantial lind'CuptirJQr character. It is sincerely to be hoped the Company will be in a position shortly to resume operations for«the further extension of their lines towards Reefton and Ctmstchurch, as it would be the means of aosQrjjing the surplus labour now available Coß3pqugnJ; unfifj the reduction of the men eraployeiuh oifr fcqaj mines. A large quantity of material for the Company ia expected to arrive here early in January by the New Zealand Shipping Company's barque Wahnea. I understand her first aart of arrival will be Napier, for which she Kasfa ibiyscjsljaneous cargo ; upon her discharge there '{she \yili fiQjne. on to Greymouth. ' -*»-■•-.. 4

Captain Edwin's daily forecast of bad ■weather has come with persistent regaJarity for some time past and unfortuOgtplv it generally provee correct. The weadfreV fenorfc posted every morning at ♦he Telegraph ugjoe Iβ 'ea?efal)y r§ad. by the hai a, our authorities and the masters ol vessels which happen to be in port. They find that the direction of the wind at- the Bealey, owing to its high altitude of 2140 feet above the level of the sea, is a good indicator; for instance, if the wind is south-east or south-west at the BeaJey and northreast on this eqast a£ fljr m - tys local wind, will slope Vound m thd course of a few hoars and correspond with that nrevailingattheßealey.'fheharbourmaster was cfee IWt to CPtice thU peculiar face, and he has found \t tt, fte r &n jruide. In working a bar harbour where so much depends on the direction of the wind, this discovery is worth recording. Our aquatic friends are very busy practising for the forthcoming regatta wtfipi) promises to be more than usually interesting and .successful. A very mean trick vdf ••p>rsejr»te<f' to <$ Saturday night.' A competitor lor §onic ot. t>b# races procured a Ijoat at the Aljaura, £hi« brought flown and securely rood?e4 in WB w sagwni » \\\t\* above the bridge leading to the Uphead. On Sunday morning the owner found that his boat had been cut adrift, and npon making enquiries of Mr Collins the signalmaster, ,h« informed hjfn he saw a boat drifting over

bar that morning at daylight, and on search being made the boat was found thrown up on the rocks a complete wreck. The affair was at once placed in the hands of the police, but as it is a difficult matter to trace I am afraid the culprit will escape detection. Much sympathy is expressed for the owner who took a pride in his little craft, and as the boat was a fast one it was anticipated he would win some event.

Our Brunnerton and Dobson friends are conspicuous for their liberality and the thoroughgoing manner in which they enter upon any project for the advancement and benefit of their community. Concerts and entertainments are of almost j weekly occurrence, the funds derivable ' therefrom being devoted to various objects such as the improvement of their recreation grounds, the providing of sports, obtaining of school prizes, and in support of their two excellent bands; all ihis is very creditable, and speaks well for our underground toilers. There is one important institution, however, the library and reading-room at Taylorville which requires a little more attention than it at at present receives to make it more attractive, and I would recommend the Brunnerton, Taylorville, and Sobson folk to join together and devise some means whereby the necessary funds could bo raised to place the reading room on a sound basis, which would enable the Committee to procure all the leading papers and magazines for the perusal of the many who at present have few opportunities afforded them of spending their leisure hours in a pleasant and profitable manner. The possession of a really good reading room and library is a great boon to any community, and I feel satisfied the subject only requires to bo brought prominently before the people to ensure its being taken up and warmly responded to. As Taylorvllle and Wallsend will be connected by means of a wire suspension footbridge in the course of a few months, it becomes the more important that united action should be taken to move in the matter.

The Grey County Council has become involved in a little difficulty which is puzzling both lawyers and members alike to overcome. It will be remembered that I alluded a short time ago to the fact that the county had raised a loan of £3,350 under the Local Bodies liOans Act for the construction of the Wall-send-Taylorville suspension footbridge, and that it had been agreed to hand over the construction of the bridge and the collection of the special rate to cover interest on the loan to the Brunner Borough Council; but as the Treasury declined to relieve the County of its responsibility in the matter, the proposed transfer could not be effected. Upon this decision being received, the County Council made application to the Treasury to transmit to them the unexpended balance of this loan : but, greatly to the chagrin of the Council, the Treasury replied to the effect that a sum of £2000 only had been borrowed for the construction of the bridge, and that they had no knowledge of the extra £1350. This appeared at first sight quite inexplicable, but upon enquiry being made, it proved only too true. It appears the original estimate of the cost oi construction of the bridge was £2000, and in accordance with that estimate two thousand pounds was borrowed ; owing, however, to various alterations in the desiens being insisted on by the Engineer-in-Chief, to whom they were submitted for. approval, the orriginal estimated cost was exceeded, and upon tenders being called, the lowest amounting to £3350 was accepted, and in accordance with the provisions of the Act an additional loan of £1330 was authorised by the Council to. be raised, the necessary poll of the ratepayers was taken in October last year, granting the required permission and this was duly gazetted early in the following month. Butforsomereason orother, probably owing to the formation of Brunnerton into a borough, the late county clerk did not take the further steps necessary to obtain the loan, and now, just as this extra sum is required the council finds that it is not available. Of course this places the council in a very awkward predicament, as the greater portion of the late Brunner riding has been constituted a borough, and therefore no power exists to enable them to levy the extra special rate to meet the interest on the additional loan, nor does the borough possess authority to do so. . A joint committee of the two bodies interested

together with their legal advisers has met to deal with the matter, and after considerable discussion it was decided that it would be necessary to introduce a private bill when Parliament meets to authorise the county to levy the rate, but as this will take six or eight months to accomplish, the question arises "How is the money to be obtained in the meantime to pay the contractor who is making rapid progress with his work?" GREYMOUTH December 22.

The installation of our new Mayor Mr J. W. Mitchell, took place in the Town Hall at noon on Wednesday. The retiring Mayor, before vacating the chair, made a statement in regard to the borough and borough matters. He stated that when he took office in 1886 the land overdraft stood at £1800, this had now been reduced to £1600, notwithstanding the extraordinary expenditure on damage by floods. He 'regretted that the council and citizens could not see their way to undertake a water supply and drainage scheme, so essential to the wellfare of the town, and he ventured to express the hope that yet another attempt will be made to obtain these necessaries. The retiring mayor then installed Mr Mitchell, who said he appreciated the honour conferred upon him, and trusted that the cordial relations whioh had at all times existed between his predecessor and the Council would be maintained during his term of office.

The annual statutory meeting of the Harbour Board was held on Tuesday for the purpose of electing a chairman for the ensuing twelve months, and on the motion of Mr Stone, Mr Martin, District Engineer, was re-elected to fill the position. Nα doubt one o» two matters which have been pending some time will now receive the Board's attention. The extension of the cattle wharf, which was authorised several months ago, has not yet been put in hand, notwithstanding the urgent request of th.c harbourmaster to, get it done aa soon as possiblej the wharf In Its present condition being unsafe for vessels to lay alongside; and the Acclimatization Society, though they have requested the passing of a bylaw for the protection of seagulls within harbour limits, have not yet received any intimation as to whether the necessary action has been taken.

The necessary casting for the upper hydrauljc crane was received from Wellington last week, and as certain improvements have been effected with a view to affording greater stability to that portion of the iron plate which gave way, the rUk of another breakdown Is coniderably lessened. Kγ Smith, the engineer, who thoroughly understands the complicated mechanism of hydraulic machinery, lost bo time in refitting this crane which is once more ready for use. He will now give his attention to the lower crane, and by the time it is dismantled the casting should be here, consequently We Shall have them both in. working again before lonfy ' "Afc the last meeting of the County Council it was resolved to' obtain an advance of £6000 from the Bank of New Zealand by way of overdraft to meet existing liabilities, and as the bank had, on former occasions, granted overdrafts of £4000, £5000, and £7000, on the security of goldflelds and general revenue ie was supeeaended che.ce would be no difficulty in this instance'of procuring the required assistance. The application was forwarded by the local manager to the head office, and in due course a reply was received, but, contrary to expectations, it; was any. thing but satisfactory, aa the bank declined to'entertain fchefequest. This wasnaturally a great disappointment to the Council as it places them in a very awkward position with respect to their engagements which cannot now be met; other means will have to be taken to obtain the money so urgently needed., and A3 fcne J>eburity to tie effeyed is both safe and ample, little or i rib difficulty should be experienced in a loan, or an advance from one of the other banks in town. The booths and other privileges of the Midsummer Meeting were pqt up to auction {last week jpd fetcticd £142 10s, j being £18 10s more than was realised at thelike sale last year. Given fine weather, j the forthcoming race meeting promises t<j ibe more than usually successful, the acceptances for the var;Qus iSVe'nu being vaftsiqefatdy in"exbe&s of those of last i year. I The new organ for Trinity Church has 1 arrived and will be erected without de'ay. Mr Normington of Chrtschurch is to open the instrument with a series of recitals o>^ the 6th and 7th of January pe^t. Sergeant Majft?. J3yseris, a.fc present, in. Grgyjq'QiVth., "arid will remain some time. fqr the purpose of oar naval volunteer' corps \n * liUle oeavy gun nraeticje, tfce -£etsessare target" for which Jiave been greeted on the north beach. A rifle match between Grey mouth Rifles and the Rifle Club was fired last week, and resulted in an easy victory (or latter. A return match nas VsuiM*<»nge<i when, it is atjeM«csV9« i Y