Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 136, 24 November 1866, Page 2

The information which we published concerning the rush at Fox's River has since been coufirihed.by further intelligence. We* are informediflhat the berrace claims are turning out extremely Avell, and that there is an extensive area of ground of a similar character. The Nelson Government are actively pushing on the road work in the -P-uller district, along 'the ! 'coast- towards the new diggings, and taking other steps to promote the development, of the district. .Qnr ; ; informant says that a rather xmiisual spjp ■' tacle has been presented by Mr Warden Kynnersley,, he not haying thought it dero-.. gatory to his position to use the pick and shovel in hurrying on the road construe fcion. Too much praise cannot be given to Mr* Kynnersley for. hisgrcat activity, industry, •and ability in discharging the onerous duties of his post ; and the Nelson Government mny be congratulated on having such an efficient ' officer occupying the highly responsible position filled by that gentleman. The/ township of Westport is rapidly improving, •i* good maiiy. new i and extenjdy.e:lmildingsbeing in emirse of erection^ and' a good deal of business is now transacted at !the port. We may mention that the body .of Mr Bodle has been washed ashore, and that another body, 'Supposed to be that of one; of the victims of one of the recent boat accidents on the Buller, has also been found. • . The business in the Eesident Magistrate's Court has been very light the last two .days.. On Thursday the following civil cases were disposed of :- Fellows v. Evans, L 5 7s Gd, judgment for plaintiff; Bourke v. Clyons, Lo. 15s 3d, .judgment for plaintiff; and the' Greymouth and Saltwater Tramway Company (Limited) v. Aliscampbell, LG, in which judgment was given for 'the plaintiff by default;- i' ■'.'.■ - |/ ;. Mr X)obson, the Provincial Engiiieer, has been on a visit to Greymouth during the last, few days, for the purpose of ; exanuuing and i reporting on the various piiblic M'orks contemplated by the ' Government in this neigh- ' boi-hood. We are given to understand that ; Mr Dcibson has, in the fulfilment .of his. instructions selected a certain quantity of Land to be reserved for railway purposes.;; We understand that he has marked o-it the;; route of a proi)ps/ul;line of rail of- a tramway from the coal field up the Grey to/this town, the terminus of which is to be somewhere in the Maori Reserve, in the vicinity of Mackay I street.' We believe, jilso, it is intended to cut a road or track from the Brnnner Lake district- to *the ' New River, and'that other i connecting Mines of road are contemplated. We are unaware 6f the conclusions Mr Dobson has come to respecting the wharf, biit if common. sense is to be regarded, we should :' imagine his report- against the present struck ture will, be as complete as i^ossiblc. We are given to understand that there is a probability, amounting almost to a certainty, of the Government becoming the purchasers of tho bridg&at Arney street. iff^ Mr Warden Schaw, writing fronr] the ■Kanieri says' :'— Several new- companies have .been formed on Kanieri and ' Commissioner's They propose'^^^ake. up extended claims of three acres^^^p and place an engine qf.sufficienfcpbwernvthe centre. This .plan.'^v'iii work admirably, as each chum will rhave 'its separate, working gear, amlimuch manual labor will be snved, while th|^&ter'. will all collect into one shaft, and be pumped to the surface. : The mode above^miantioned §the only way to test the flats j^single.r.eni^)rise will never accomplish itj^h'ousands of poiiuds have been actuallylWrown aw^ay, and the main bottom ney^.rareachecl.' ;."'.!«rew s'oine of the Tucker Flat*miners to-"day,^ho have, succeeded, in pr(i ; 6\iriug a boring machine for that'lfsljity. Gold has bgen found at 84 feet sinking." ..Too much water, and a difficulty, in slabbing '.prevented, 'the first parky from doing any g00d.. . The weather for: ; the last fortnight has, been ve^iiy. -bad ; constant floods in the Hokitika River have caused the claims to be swamped out, and the miners doing next to nothing. There were about Mt)o on the .fieldsT-3300 miners and 700 otherwise engaged. " . j.: From: some men who arrived last evening' overland from the Pakihi, we learn that the ncsnWwet weather: has put an almostenlire stoppage to mining operations in that'locality The various creeks and streams along -j the beach were i so;^flooded as jtq render. grossing them exceedingly difficult and- dangerous. A case of drowning in a creek a few miles beyond the Seventeen Mile" Beach was reported, but no particulars were known. At [.the pakihi .mining: aflaii's are reported quiet, a largo rush of vghe population haying gone *tx> Fox's Rivef, the reports concerning which fare very favorable. We are informed, : -however, that the Pakihi diggings, are turning out rather bettor than .was reported, i A : considerable number of men,' tired of waiting fqr something extraprdinary, , have set .in at various places adjoining the Pakihi, and in most cases arc making a little n\bre than ..tucker. We are informed that one-gi-cat obstacle tp prospecting' is- the circumstance ,-.•!■■ ' • ' ■ ■ '

yat the groiihdiisyin many places exceedingly laampy, owing to -.there beiiig a layer, of hard. . aiiglomerato.at s a short] depth -from the sur-! \ fie, which prevents natural drain age*" of the smface water. Our informants speak hopefifiy of the district, but complain of the low pros given by the Banks for gold. We unlrstand that this is owing to the very infSor manner in which the gold is amalgamate,, the loss in smelting being in some easel as much as '2o per cent, above the aver.*, The Banks,- on the other handj complin that they lose on every parcel they purchfc. There arc few claims oii- the Pakihfthat can be considered more than payable with the exception of one or two which lfive been sunk on rich patches. At the SevSieen-Mile Beach nothing -..is doing. A. strong feeling in ■'favor of the country north of % Buller has been created by. the reported aabovery of payable ground in the neighborhml of the Karamea, where several parties aregaid to be profitably engaged. The gencraffijmor of bur informants' intelligence is, on %c whole more favorable concerning thevikihi, although, thoy confirm previous stat&ents as to the diggings being unable to suj&prt the large population remaining there.\ : The Went uLt Thru* says that the i old Five Mile (Kaifiri) is in a state, of nearly total collapse ffm the effects of the late rains, as the fljra are qiiit'e flooded, and, in consequence, thwaripus claims- have been lying idle for neffly a week ; in fapt, some few parties havcSone nothing since last Wednesday week.tDulness ■feigns' supreme over the . j)lace, al-nded by a distressing depression in tradl were it not for the sluicing claims on tt terrace the amount of gold returned from til once thriving diggings would be small indct. But the return of' fine weather, will,, we tlst, restore some slight portion of its departedVilendour, by enabling the severaL engine cpijames to again recommence work. "\ ■We mentioned a slionfcime • since that Dr Hector, the Director of a c Qeologic.al Survey of Ncw^Zoaland, is kpected shortly on a lengthened -visit to thcKVest Coast. We lenrn'that the object: of M visit is', to make a thorough examination oifch'e various coal .fields, and' to •'.report; on f| same to the Gbneral Government for geALI information. Ur Hector will . proceed oveVnd from Collingwood, down to tb^Upperjuller, visiting the seams at West Wa'nganiiir'oalbrookdab, the Buller, and thence to ta Grey, wheVe he will devote special atteVion to the valuable coal fields oh this ri\r. He will then proceed; down the coast 4 Southland, making careful examination of Vie country along his route. This thoroug scientific examination of the coal depofe of the Middle Island cannot be but proactive: of great benefit to the colony, and \ll be the moans of bringing the nature •ancltstent of our resources in this mineral bVrc the world in a manner that. ■will eausWcater .attention - to . tliis • source of national Wealth, and cause it to be more exteusivVy developed. ' V '... The Dunedin Evenbirj filar has'thojillp'^i''' iiig :i--Mr .T." A; 1 J. Macgregor brotightlniier the notice' of th e ! ' Magistrate- the folding fact^4rit\. ; Bumm6ns in tuc^caso Macgrct v. i Pricc'h'n<l been forwardl^;6'okarifca'f6|ervice iip'on thedefendant,^who is^Wardcißnil Magisttate there. He had received a ldcr from his firm at llokitika stating that Ye summonshad not been, served as Mr ,Pfl c refused to allow the bailiff to serve it.s rieitawould he accept service, nor swear the fft mer as to its service.- He therefore asked; fV ah 'adjournment' of the case for six weeks, i\ order that another' attempt' to .serve. th< summons might 'be made. ; The^Magi'stratc suggested.that MrMacgregor should make 'a representation .'of the facts of the case! as sibove stated to the Govefhiileht ; ' ho had rift doubt that-Mr Stafford woixULtake cognizance of ib. (ThcGUirkto the>Benth mentioned vtliat the summons had been-issued on the Ist of October.) Mr Macgregomvas unilerstop^ to state that: he would adopt the course recommended by the Magistrate. ; y ' ■ Wii have to acknowledge thereceipt of a sample, of. local production in the shape of quinine wine,, manufactured by Mr H. ;Whitmore. Itismadeirom quininei;and is stated to posse3S all the valuable properties of thiit excellent toriie, and as glich liiay bo used advantageously, in cases of fever, lqss of •appetite, or general debility. ;.-,■. .. ,v . :' The ■ Wilson Coloimii of the 16th instant,' says .-—"/ Within little more than a fortnight, eight or nine meujhave been 'drowned at Pakilii.. About affp^uight ago, a boat was capsized, and one niaiFwas drowned ■; two or three days later, 1 three were drowned, perishing 1:1 presence of. a .large multitiule, who could not aid" them. ' A' spectator ' Vayj jit ;ivas heartrending tb'^ee the men whirled about in the Avater, and dashed on L to; the rocks. Another man met a similar fate f'a day or two later ;. anil while the Nelson f jWas lying off the Pakihi, a very lamentable occurrence took place.; :We have by that steamer, Avhich arrived her^Jn Wednesday, last. , Mr OttojWiesenhaven^ and two other passengers came out in a boatj|pth four- oarsmeiv; [and -a steersman, to getfoid' board the steamer. On the way out they werie, inetf-.-iby. .several great rollers, one of twhiuh nearly swamped the boat, and had a i'secbhd wave followed immediately, ias is; often the case, and struck her as sliie w.as ; descending' into ?the trough of the sea, shewould certainly have been swamped. Providentially; there'- was no second breaker, and the boat, after great efforts, got safely to' the vessel, and put the passengers on boaril, where the steersman of the, bpat J t also; remained. On the Nelsonjyas a peraoh who< had been appointed const«ableat' Pakihi, and he asked if ,ifrwas-safet6 venture to land,ibut was strongly advised against:;it by the passengers who came out. He thought his duty called him, 'add- ! he went, -. and, ' another pas,senger. . The~b«at was capsized by.a.tremen--dous roller after, entering" the" cEaniielii which' j\yas Uned .ou,.bpth;6ides; with;spe.^ on ibbafdtlie^stetaner "op' 'aid s'eejtne mcii in- the water,' and the-people on the banks rushing in now ifnii 'then to secure a body as it was washed' ashore. ; It is believed that theftodies were all got 5 btitthat onlytwo of

:the'm>Vere""anye, as on., two rushes into th.c water, the people on getting ashore gave a . lojut.ch'eer ; but on the other four occasions 'there was no cheering, so it is feared that four, or at least three, of the six persona that left the steamer in the boat have beon i 1 ™^^:... ™I fc^!? s . im I )Ossi H e *° communicate with'the sliore: We'afe told ithat empToying common- jboatf ought ; not to , b~e f permitted there, asjfc is an unwarrantable risking of :"": life, and a wanton tempting of Providence. Only a surf-boat should be employed iu.suchij^ dangerous waters. By intelligence 1 e'eeive^-^^ overland from the Bullor we learn that three*men wore alive, but one of them was greatly, injured and not expected to live. " *' ' According to the West Count Times,, the overland road is in a bad condition. Our contemporary says :— The expensive irbad f works which connect the east and the- west sections of the province, have been mucfr; injured by tlie late heavy floods) as in one or /• two places the way is described as itupass- . able to wheeled vehicles. . Heavy land slips block up tliat portion of the road where it ' winds round the head of the Waimakuiri, the detour having been made to do away with > the necessity of crossing the main body of the v river., The. stream can be easily crossed a short distance above the turn, where '-the river forms several channels, each of whichiis easily- fordable in ordinary weather. It was " there that the Christehn'rch. coach was delayed during Saturday; waiting for the river to subside. Hence to within two miles of the Typo, the road is in fair condition, ard : there another bad place was met with, _the river have washed away- a considerable .portjon of the cutting round Rocky Point." At this place the: horses were taken out, aiirl tho passengera compelled to alight and walk some distance clown the river bed, ->to;gain ■■;'?■ the uudamaged road, agaiu, wherc^a spare ■ coach- was in readiness to receive them: ' remainder of the journey, was pcrfornied v without hindrance, excepting an hpur's'delay = on the bank of the Teremakaiu -Considering the -rough- country- to be traversed, and the ;";•",. more or less flooded. state of the rivers during . the past fortnight, ifc.js/a matter of some surprise that tho arrival and departure of the ovorland coach has be.en . timed; with so I much punctuality.. This has only been effected by the excellence of the arrange- • - ments made and> carried out by the propric. tary, .who,- ; by placing the.very best description of cattle and good conveyances on tho - road, under charge of skilful drivers, -have succeeded: in very -faithfully.- fulfilling the terms of their contract with the Government. It is expected that the damaged parts of the/ road will be passable in a week or so, as.-- • strong parties are already at work removing the debris at the Waiinakiriri, and cutting a new track round Rocky Point.