HOKITIKA.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXI, Issue 2602, 20 November 1865, Page 4

HOKITIKA.

By the arrival of the schooner 'Gazelle' at Onehungo, we have news from. Hokitika to the nth, inclusive. At this vessel did nob tring axnailr we are indebted for our information to a gentleman from Auckland, who spent four months upon the diggings, ,Our informant states ,that trade is now, and has been, for several weeks post, in a. very depressed state, i On his arrival at 'Hokitika in the steamer •'New Zealand' (which, 1 'it will' be remembered, ' was loit on the' baro n her first trip) 1 , the, men on,ttie| dig. gings wore making very good wages, jpnd/tradesmea — carpenters, and . men, .required in the building trod?— readily obtained .employment, at, from 20s, to 255. per day. In a very '• short time afterwards the'diggings were rushed from' Otago and Southlaud, and so large was the. iuflux of tradesmen tbatem* ploy men t could hardly be obtained. -, Nominally, wages, regained the, same; but, men were glad to take anything they could obtain. Now that the Supreme Court-house, judge's 'residence, surveyors' houses, telegraph, office, and other public buildings, have been ' finished, trade is completely stagnant., /The, rate of, living, for food alone, is 42 per weekj'aud >3*. per^night for beds. "The living is 1 very inferior, and sleeping accommodation anything but' inviting.' The" hotels, whioh. provide only beds, wiih one exoeption, ,' bay.c .the dormitories fitted up ship fa«hion; a room 8 feet by 20 feet accommodating about twenty men,' the ' whole wall space being occupied by "bunks," and the floor, if necessary, made use of as' well. Kennedy* hotel, it appears, is rather better, there being a number of small double-bedded rooms. The maikeb for goods of all kinds was overdone when our ■ informaut left. Everything was in over, stock. Kauri timber, "which most interests us in Auckland, was sold at the wharf for 235. per, 100, although it fetched £2 12s. some time before. \ < The working classes complain bitterly of theoppreaaive operation' of the business licenses. 'A tradesman •cannot recover any debt in court unless he 'produces a. business license. Anyone, not having a miner's or a business license, could nofy/ella tree in the bush, without danger of being fined on 'an information laid j and it is illegal to carry a portmanteau for pay, or to draw a tooth, without securing the privilege, by paying £5 forJ a business license. The Canterbury authorities aro exceedingly unpopular on Ibis account, and on several other accounts, on the diggings. This was very plaiuly seen on the occasion of the late elections for the Provincial Council of Canterbury at Hokitika. It will be lemeinbered that Ifr. FitzGerald got, a bill pasied through the General Assembly last .session, giving, two members in the Provincial Council to the West Coast goldfields. The Provincial Government and Council of Canterbury weie said to be favourable to this bill, and it paaed without much discussion ; but cither through acoident or design, although tho light of electing ,two 'metubera l wa« conferred ou 'the diguing population, their choice of members was limited to those whose names were on the old electoral roll for the piovince of Canterbui y. This restricted tho choice of members to the Chiistchuroh batch. The Gold Commissioner and Returning Officer, Mr, Sale, on the hustings, exceeded his duty, and wns called to Older by two gentlemen resident in Hokitika. who pointed out that he had no legal authority to stop the election on any supposed iufoimality ; his duty was to make the return, and leave it to the pi ojier authorities to pion'ouncethe proceedings informal, if Iheyweieso. The Commissioner submitted to the correction, and the nomination proceeded. Mr. FitzGerald and Mr. Crosbie Watd weie nominated, hut neither of these Canterbury leadeis could find a seconder. Mr. McGlashan, of Otago, the founder of that settlement and recently a candidate for its Snperiutendeney), was then duly nominated, as were alto Mr. Prosier, druggist, Hokitika, Mr. Ritchie," a storekeeper, and Mr. Barff, a digger. The day on which the 'Gazelle' left was the polling-day, and the roturn of Messrs. McGlashan and Prosser wa» considered certain. The feeling against the Canterbury Government was so strong on the "West Coast, we have been informed, that a movement for entire separation will be vigorously promoted. Another cause of annoyance and iriifcation is the fact that no official return of the gold produce is publibhed. The only means of forming an approximate notion is by the quantities dripped by the banks iv the steamers. As the gold pays a duty of 2s. 6d. per ounce, which goes to the piovince, the digging population not unnaturally want to know what becomes of their money. Nothing has been done by the Canterbury authorities beyond the erection of the public buildings we have named. An hospital, so much wanted, has not been built : it is talked of, but that u all. Thousands of pounds have been spent 'on an impracticable tiack across the ranges fiomChiistchuroh, and' the Hokitika miners strongly object to finding the funds necessary for forming this Alpine way, to endeavour to create a monopoly of trade for the Christchurch merchants, and not to benefit themselves 1 in the slightest degree. It would appear that the climate is not at all inviting. It is extiemely wet. The But heavy freih iv the liver {the particulars of which we recently reported) did veiy 'considerable damage, and is an indication of what may be expected dming the summer months, when the snow is melted on the ranges and Hoods the liver. On the occasion of this flood, our informant saw ' two men leaving their house iv Weld street on'a iaft, Whioh overturned and precipitated them into the water It was so deep in the street, that they might have been drowned, if thyy had been unable to swim. Of the three vessels washed out of the river in the' fie<h, one of them, the' schooner 'Sarah,' wa» Svashed ashore by the force of the waves, and had totally disappeared in two hours. The population on the West Coast diggings, including the Hokitika and Grey, and outlying districts, is 'variously estimated at from ?5,000 to 30,000. Of the purely mining population about one in aix is estimated to be making wages ; ft small proportion, to the total numbers, is doing well. Of tho tradesmen, and storekeepers, — few of the former are doing anything at all, and trade is not good with the latter. We believe there are thousands of tradesmen who would gladly leave the West Const if they oould get an ay. Thirty-four'of tho A iickland tradesmen returned in the 'Gazelle,' unsuccessful, from the West Const, and without any great desire to leave this place again for any Southern province. It would seem that for las. per week in Auckland* working man can liva very much better than (i at Hokitika for 405.,' with" the advantage .of a good olimate beiides The difficulties in the way of prospecting are very great. The forest is dense, and the ground swampy. Jt rains' almoit incessantly, so that without capital and combined labour it'is almost hopeless to attempt to 'penetrate into toe interior. Our informant states that he left many Auckland tradebmen behind at Hokitika who would gladly return' if they 'had the means. The distress on the diggings is not seen, nor could it be, detected by a casual visitor, -on account of the well-kndwn liberality and kindness of feeling everywhere prevalent on goldfieldi. Those who have food give a meal to thoie who have not, whether or not the men have ever met in their lives before; and it is to this fact alone, our informant attributes the great prevalence of distress, without muoh outward show of absolute want, t , ' ii