Untitled

Grey River Argus, Issue 97, 25 August 1866, Page 2

A number of the principal residents of Greymouth assembled ,at ths Albion Hotel last evening to wish bon voyage to Dr Epppoly, who proceeds to Europe to-day. The regret that all . heartily folt at losing so good a .citizen as Pr Foppoly has proved- himself to be, together with the warmest wishes of his ■numerous friends for his future happiness and prosperity, were expressed, and suitably acknowledged* by the departing guest. We are glad to learn that the.^lmprovement Committee have resolved to take in hand the work of initiating a Fire Brigade, seeing that the Committee appointed at a public meeting' some .time ago, appears to have entirely neglected the subject. We are informed that it is proposed to organise a putth'j subscription for the piirppse of raising the requisite funds, "in addition to tho -grant frpm the- Government of £250. ' We are strongly inclined; to believe that a system of voluntary rating would ba more satisfactory and fair, and would also result jn a larger amount being raised. It too fre^ | quently happens that in public subscriptions ! the burden falls heaviest on", those whose 1 general liberality in .public matters/induces ; them to subscribe to any pbject of public 'utility, whilst many persona who are per-: feptly able, but unwilling to contribute, evado their diity, although they' parfigpata

largely in the advantages shared by those Who subscribe. It would be perfectly, fair and reasonable to endeavor to carry into effect a rating of so much per foot on all building property, according to an estimate of its value. A portion of the fund so raised might be sot aside to compensate those owners M'tiose buildings it might be found necessary to pull -down to stay the progress of a fire. Those who declined to submit to the rate would of course be shut out fcoin any benefit, of. the compensation fund. A plan of this kind would ensure a more equitable distribution of the cost of supporting a fire brigade than could be secured by. an ordinary public subscription. But whether this or any other plan be adopted, is is equally gratifying to know that, .although somewhat late, the' lmprovement Committee hits at length decided to initiate the formation of an efficient organisation for the protection of property against lire. We learn from the General Government Gazette of the. loth inst, that during the quarter euded the 30th June, ths export of goldfrom the ports of- Greyinouth and Hokitikd Amounted in the aggregate to 134,013 ozs., value £519,610. From the port of Hokitika the export was 83,400 ozs., and from Greymouth 50,013 ozs,, of which 30,130 ozs. were the produce of the Province of Kelson. The export of gold from Duuedin during the same period was 45,008 ozs., value £174,406. The export from Greymouth thus exceeds that. of the whole of Otago by 5,005 ozs., • The public of Greymouth would read with intense satisfaction the advertisement in our last issue, calling for Renders for the formation, and metalling of the main street, fdr a width of 24 feet from the footpath. We -only trust that nothing will interfere to prevent the work being speedily commenced and carried out. We remarked a short time ago .thai there was great' necessity for a system of amalgamation, or of co-operation, on the part of the minors at the New River rush. From several reliable sources M r e leani that this necessity is strikingly apparent there at the 'present time, and that the profitable working of the 'ground is retarded seriously by the want of the spirit of co-operative enterprise —particularly as regards the (Tutting of tailraces, and the sinking of shafts in ground in which both operations arc exceedingly, costly and difficult. The number of claims being actively worked is not what it might and ought to lie, were the miners more united amongst themselves. Many claimholders prefer to wait idly by until they are.ableto ascertain the results of their neighbors' labor — a selfish and unprofitable plan, that much impedes the progress of the new diggings. We trust that a serious consideration of this matter will- induce the miners to combine heartily in any system 6r plan of working which will promote the general advantage of all. ■" We are sorry to learn that the arrange-." ments for giving an amateur concert, in aid of the Hospital funds, are 1 likely to fall through, unless the ladies of Greymouth more heartily co-operate' in the matter. We believe that considerable, progress has been made by those who have attended the practice meetings, but that the scarcity of ladies interferes with that completeness which is desirable. We trust that that this fact only requires to be made known to induce all those ladies who are able to take an active part in the 'proposed concert to come forward. We are glad to find that the Banks have arrived at' a sufficient estimate of the commercial importance of Greymouth to warrant them in converting their agencies here into branches. The initiative has been taken by the Bank of New Zealand, which has already made its office a Branch Bank, under the~ management of Mr Killing, .late of Christchurch, and formerly accountant of the Dunedin branch. We trust the othor Banks will not hesitate to at once follow tlie example of the Bank of j£ew Zealand. * The new Court-house is now almost really' for -occupation, although, we believe, tha Resident Magistrate will not move into it until the end of the month. It is the intention of the Government to make a good gravej footpath, 10 feet wide, -round the Courthouse Reserve, both on the Gresson and Arney streets sides." Crossings are to be placed at convenient intervals from the footpath to the other side of the street. We are given to understand that about 1500 acres of laud at th« Totara Flat arc now open for selection, at the upset price of £2 per acre. .The sections" comprise about 50 acres each, and consist generally of open fern and flax land! There are also some excellent bush sections, consisting principally of totara. The block is about seven miles from the Ahaura, and twenty -seven from the Port. The maps can bo seen, and other particulars obtained, on application at the" Warden's Office, Cobden. It has been tolerably well known during* the past fortnight or three weeks that a company was being formed for the purpose of constructing a tramway from Greymouth to the Saltwater,- and that a considerable portion of tho capital had been already subscribed. We arc glad to learn that all difficulties in- the way of carrying out the undertaking have been removed, and that the work will very "apon- be commenced. The lengthened absence of Mr Commissioner Sale from -Hokitika prevented the promoters of the company expediting their arrangements, to the extent desired, and it was only a day or two ago that they were able tocomriiunicfl,te with Mr Sale on the subject. It is satisfactory to be able to atate that the Com-' missioner expressed a lively interest in the success of, the _scheme, and promised the libsral ' coasitleration of- the Government to the concessions asked by the promoters/ Y/e understand that Mr Sale placed the;6ervices of a Government Surveyor at the disposal of the Company, and: also the superintendence of the work by the Engineer's department, A meeting of the shareholders is to be held : early next week fr?r the 'election pf directors,tc, ■■■■ ■■■"■■;. ■- - ; . : : ■,■;■:;-•?•■. : .