THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1867.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 181, 12 March 1867, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1867.

We understand that a petition against a Municipality is in course of signature in Greymouth, and that it is probable it will receive a good many names. We gather from conversations we have had with several persoua who have signed this petition, that they have been induced to do so in consequence of the reiterated assertions of the promoters — ■ that if the town be formed into a municipality the whole cost of the public improvements will be thrown on the inhabitants — and that in cousequence the rates will be very high indeed. To strengthen the objections which a fear of heavy taxation necessarily creates, t'ae example of Hokitika is quoted as an instance of the great pressure which rates for municipal purposes may reach —and as it is said that the rates in Hokitika are unbearable, it is very natural that the citizens of Greymouth should feel indisposed to place themselves in the same position as their Hokitika ueighbors. It is very likely that many persons who do not take the trouble to think for themselves or to make themselves acquainted with both sides of the question will be led astray by such considerations as those which the promoters of the anti-municipal petition may bring to bear upon them. And we cannot but think that those who have signed this petition without r being fully aware of the merits of the case, have been guilty of a great dereliction of their duty as citizens. From all we can learn it appears that the most prevalent mistake regarding the municipality question is the idea that it is proposed to place Greymouth under the same Act as that by which Hokitika was created a Corporation. We have several times endeavored to convince our readers that this idea is a most [ erroneous one. The Hokitika Corporastion exists under, a special -.Ordinance, jframed to suit the special requirements 'and capacity of the place and its inhabitants. Larger powers of every kind are conferred on the Municipal Couucil of Hokitika than can be exercised under the Ordinance under which it is .proposed to place Greymouth. The Municipal Councils Ordinance, which is s considered quite sufficient for the pre r I sent needs of this town, was passed [especially for the purpose of enabling country towns to embrace the privilege of self-government whenever their limits or population might make such a step desirable. It does not provide for such an expensive ornament as a May oi*— -in I point, of fact the Municipal Council [under it would simply be a legally constituted Improvement Committee. As to the taxation, we have told our readers that the Act does not allow of a rate of more than one' shilliug in the £ for general purposes--i-and not more, than two shillings for special works of a permanent nature. So that .all the outcry about excessive taxation is '.'.; mere nonsense; besides, tlie inhabitants themselves will control the expenditure and virtually exercise the power of taxation. The Secretary fbir ; Public Works, Mr Beswick, when here the .other day, a very sufficient answer to some of the chief objections sjajnst a municipality^ He said it waefigyeat error to suppose that the. GoyeMftnent expenditure on public works wjffid be i Q mei ne slightest degree lessenedffi)y the existence of a municipality iOTffih'eymouth; and that J it was also emKiepus to suppose that

the Government would not rnalce grants of money to a -municipality. Surely such a declaration from a member 'of the Qovernment ought to be sufficient to show the folly of the objections referred to. The Government is bound under all circumstances to provide for all works of a generally useful character— rthat is to say those whose benefits are not ejfclugivejy Joca]. For instance the improvement of the navigation of the Grey, and the protection of its banks, are matters of great importance to the whole conrmunity of the district and to the j trade and i^enue of tlie Province. As such they are peculiarly. Government works, and should be paid for out of the general revenue of the province. The formation and the jnaintenance pf main roads are likewise Government matters, hut it is pimply absurd to think that the Government will form every petty back street, or attend to those miiiQr mattera which properly belong to the inhabitants themselves. The Government may and does very properly give assistance to the inhabitants in the form of grants of money, and would certainly do so to those of GreymQuth, but it is of no use saying that the Government must do this and do that before Municipal powers are asked for. •Some may believe with Mr- Whall, that more money can be got from the Government in the absence of a Municipality ; but we caution all such that they are seriously in error. In fact, we cannot well conceive better grounds for the Government to reject applications for money for this town than Mr Whall's own declaration, and the objections to a Municipality founded on such a reason. ; We can almost venture to predict that should the opposition to a Municipality prove successful, rod should Mr Whall, next session, ask for the two or threethousand pounds he talks about, he will be refused ; and the Government will tell him they have -no objection to give a subsidy to a Municipality, but will not otherwise grant money for exclusively local purposes. But setting aside the money part of the question, will the anti-Municipality advocates tell vis how they iutend to deal with the sanitary affiiirs of the town ? How do they propose to reduce and abate the^rdalaiia and infection which are carrying disease and death into so many families, and hindering so many from making their home here ? After all, this is the most important aspect of the question, but we have ;n ever yet been told' how it is to be dealt with, except by a municipality.

It is aririonnceel, by advertisement in another column, that on and after Monday mext the Greymouth and Saltwater Creek Tramway will be open for the conveyance of good's* traffic between Grpymputh and the Saltwater township. We understand it is probable that his Honor the Superintendent will formally open the line on Saturday, and that there will be special trips for visitors invited by the directors, and that there Will; be a public banquet in the evening. The completion of this line is a matter of general congratulation, but more especially to the in- , habitants of the Saltwater and adjacent diggiugs. who will now enjoy the advantages of cheap and rapid transit for their supplies. The undertaking has so far proved a most unqualified success, and when tho line is in full work right through, the profits of the company will be much increased. The canvas for subscriptions towards the erection of the proposed new Church of Eng- ' land has resulted most satisfactorily, about L 350 having been contributed. It is expected that fully L4OO will raised, when the building will be at once commenced. We understand that Mr W. B. Armsoh, of Hjokltika, has liberally offered to supply a plan, &c., gratis, and it is intended that the building shall be so arranged, as to allow of its extensicn at some future time. The sale of the various booths, &c, on the ' race course took place yesterday at Kilgour's Hotel. There Was a large attendance, and the biddings were most spirited, the prices realised exceeding the most sanguine expectations. Mr D. Maclean was the auctioneer. The first offer for No. I was no less than LSO ; and the crowded customers kept thereafter running up the prices, until the average of the "10 lots reached over ■ LSB. In common justice to the able auctioneer and spirited bidders, we give the list of purchasers and prices, viz. :^— No. 1, Mr Comiskey, LCO ; No. 2, Mr Giierin, L 57 ; No. 3, Mr Kilgbur, L6O; No. 4, Mr Kilgour, L 62 10s ; No. 5, Mrs Dodd, L-12 10s ; No. Ji, Mr Gilmer, L 45 ; No. 7, Mr Crawford, L 4 5; No. 8, Mr Paul, L 62 10s ; No 9, Mr Hughes, LoS ; No. 10, Mr Strike, LSB. The small stalls fetched L4O. The news from Canoe Creek is exceedingly good. On Friday, three claims on No. 2 terrace were bottomed at .fifty feet, the prospect being 8 grains to the dish with 9 inches of washdirt, which strikes deeper towords the hill. On the same day, No. 3 terrace was rushed, and several parties at once commenced sinking. Thereabout 18 claims yielding well on No. 1 temfce, and the diggers generally in this locality are doing; well. Wenoticethat a second company of amateurs announce a series of- dramatic performances at the Theatre Royal, Sweeny's Hotel, commencing this evening, when " Black Eyed; Susan?' and the farce " The Omnibus" wiU: be played. Mr and Mrs Ryan^appear in conjunction with the amateurS, some of whom are not without a stage reputation, We trust these entertainments willbe well patronised;" * ■ >-.-' A fatal accident occurred on Saturday at Shephards' claim, Darkies Terrace, North Beach, by which j a miner uamed Robert Templstqn Qrange, was killed and another narrowly escaped a similar fate. The men were in the tunnel putting up a fresh cap, the deceased behig the furthest in the tunnel,. While engaged fixing the cap the roof suddenly collapsedy th.c jßass of earth forcing the deceased against the end of the drive, and completely burying him. Fortuna,tely the

other man was driven back into ;the tunnel and escaped injury.; As soon as possible means were taken to sxtricate the juried mail, and sq uwjch expedition was used that in about two minutes from the ralanai being: given the. earth had been cleared frosh his head. It was seen, however, that he was dead, and as soon as the body was extracted jt was found thai one of the props had fallen across his neck, and another across his joins, and the ribs were crushed. The bqdy was conveyed to the Boatmans' Arms, North Point, where an inquest was held yesterday before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M., a.nd a verdict of accidental death was returned . The deceased was quite a young man about 25 years of age. He is said to have a mother and sisters residing in Melbourne, aud was wellknown on the Otago gold diggings. A meeting of the shareholders of the take Bnjnner Grand Trunk Race Company will be held at Kilgour's Hotel, at eight o'clock- this evening. As the business is of importance it is desirable that there should be a full attendance, •'*..■ : - .-' The following is the ; clause fn th.e. New Gold Fields Act providing for the charge of a rental for water used in water races :—Section 28 : Jt shall be lawful for the Governor in Council from time to time to make, alter; and revoke regulations for imposing on the holders of liceiises granted under this or any: prccediug Act, or under any rules and regulations that formerly have been, v noware| or hereafter may be in force, empowering inch holders to cut, construct, and : use water paces, dams, and reservoirs, such periodical rents, fees, or other 'payments as he may think fit. Provided always that no less rate than five shillings nor v i2bre than twenty shillings per sluice head per annum shall be imposed upon or -fiemahded on account of any water race (.-lawfully held^ occupied, and usedby virtue of a lieense^at the date of the passing of this Act. . ; . A very important decision to holders of a Miner's Eight (says tb c Brighton Ti\im\ was decided by the Resident Magistrate and Warden |rj hia Court on Wednesday last; which was that the holders of a miner's right had no power to sell or alienate any portion of the ground he his entitled to wavls, to a second party. The right to mine on any portion of land which may be allotted does not entitle the owner to dispose of the whole or anypart of it for business purposes, It is granted for a specific purpose, namely to dig and search for gold. In the case in poirii, a party. of diggers hud sold to a second person a portion of the land on whioh their claim was situated, and this person had resold it again to a Mrs Mason who had erected a public house and dancing saloon on it. The building having been completed, the miners originally holding the ground sued Mrs Maspn for being in illegal possession, but Mr Broad decided that they had no loans ifimuli in Court, inasmuch that the party h>d no right under any circumstances to part with for business or speculative purposes, any portion of their ground, The decision of Mr Broad was therefore tantamount to a judgment in favor of the defendant. We ax« glad that the AVard'en, took such ,i% goqd common sense view of the case, aa, had his de* cision been otherwise than -"what ib was, we shouldhave men taking out miners rights for i the sole purpose of selling laud, and thus perverting the specif object for wh.ich it v/as granted. In our police report in our Ji\st issue we inadvertently n;2ule an error in lntsiitiouiuing the name of Mr Edwin Ashton amongst tbosJ persons who were fined for permitting nuisances to exist on their premises. The. case against Mr A shton was dismissed, "..'..-.-V A somnambulist in Auckland has had «\ most ' marvellous escape from death. The N.Z. Herald thus tells the story ;- About 2 o'clock on the 3rd instant Policy, the night watchman, in going his rounds in Mills' lane, saw and heard a heavy body fall from one of the.uppermost windows of the Victoria Ho£el, Victoria street, at the back, a height of between thirty and forty feet. He ran to the place, and found it to be a man undressed, He alarmed Mr Mulh'gan, and had him conveyed back to the hotel. Mr Commissioner Naughton and some of his men were soon on the spot, and Dr Hooper was sent for, who examined arid pronounced that very littie was wrong with him, only a slight bruise oh the right side, and that to all appearance he would soon recover. Any person who has seen the place may well marvel how ,he escaped instant death, especially as be fell upon rough atones, old cases, and sharp pieces of corrugated iron, &c. He is a stout young man name James Robinson, late of the Ist Waikatos, and has been waiting at the hotel for a vessel to take him to Lytteltori. -He states that he went to bed quite sober, > and was dreaming that he was unwell, and was on his way to consixlt a doctor, and went to the window, , which happened to be opfen, thinking it was the door, and walked out. The annual public meeting foiv receiving the report of^the^Hospitai nominating a new Committee for the cirrent year was announced to be held oh Saturday evening, but owing to the paucity of the attendance in consequence of the heavy rain, it : was adjourned until Thursday evening next, at 8 o'clock, at Sweeney's Theatre. - r From the Qlcarita Times of the 2nd inst we gather a few items of mining intelligence. The \Eive Mile Beach has assumed a more settled appearance, and the Haast fever has completely subsided. Although but (little gold has been obtained during the week, in consequence of the late heavy rains flooding the lagoon, spring tides, and heavy surf, which has caused the water to rise several feet in the rieWly sunk paddocks, yet next week we may look for some good returns. Several attempts have been made to takeup the bottoms, but without success, although in many instances good prospects were: obtained. Abandoned claims $re being reworked with success, and at the north end of this beach the greater pa,rt 6.f the population at work are averaging Ll per day, although a few are doing much better^-LIQ and 12 per week being frely talked jibbut. On the Waiho ßeach ia feyr parties aresteatlily at work making good . wages. : The • Haast and all other rushes appear to have no charms fovtheui. Some of theni are doiug extremely

well. Twelve wiles up the Waiho a party of Italians . have been working for many - : * months on a terrace. They are expected iit * town during the week. It; is: the opinion of 'i many tha,t a rush will shortly take place in \ that locaUty. On the North Beach, Okarita v S j there are about twelve men at work, average ■ J ing from 14 to L 5 per vreet This beach is I of great extent, and capable of employing u4 several hundreds of men, At Abbott Head^* there are two parties at work— one of them « I makmgLg per week per man ; the othetdgr • j however have been very unsettled in c6nsei£ v ; j quence of the rush to the Haast, but since w unfavorable accounts from that quarter have been received, no doubt they will sctf \to '■;/■■ 4 work in real earnest, and we expect next week to report more favorably. ■" Abbott Head is situated about seven miles north of v: % Okarita. It is not a very extensive beach, - M but would giye employment to at least *20Q !fc people should thoge parties strike payable gold, as L 5 per week is not considered payiable in this district. ' / ' : ■ After an almost unprecedentedjfpell of fln^ i I weather a storm of rain b#>ke oh this town " "?K and neighborhood on Saitirdayeyqaing and- ' V^ continued throughout the night The rain fell very heavily, and although only for a few : ;^| vhourahadtheegectof considerably lncreas, tf^ ing the volume of the river^ On Sunday II morning the sky cleared and the sun shone- ;Ji with full brilliancjvand to all present appear- . §^ ances the fine weather may be expected to. last for some time.. . ■'.■''/* : >-:'mp Tke Australasian reports the complete snc-v-'Jp cess of a gigantic speculatipn-at T BalUtfa+; called, the " Wheal -Wmt^^MJi^/SEuiii^^;^ Company," The origmal^pe]|p]|ers^ arfeSiS fifth-four in number, whi^^^^d pur. chase a property, consis^^l^b acres^ of . freehold land, in the imm^Siate' vicinity of " ;^M Ballarat townatip, f O r the sum of L 54.000 '.^Wffl one condition of pqrehase beiug that the pur-* i;^^^ chasers had six months td test tlie ground,^^ and if unsuccessful in procuring gold, theyif|§|| hadtheoptionofthrowmg up the purchase. J^m ■ Three months have now elapsed, and during fS| that period the Company have been actively engaged in testing the ground, by a series o bores, several of which have reached the fili washdirt, and proved that one of the richest leads at Ballarat intersects the property. The '%! Company have therefore resolyed to exercise f| their purchasing power, and have launched S the. property as a gigantic Company, con^ sisting uf 10,800 shares .of L2O each. : So 'U great was the exciteine^/afe the 'come*,' upon the receipt of the' intelligence of the :sfi result of the bores, that as much as LIOOU -Mjii ,was offered for a space sufficieut'to erect an f&J hotel on a part of "i^ie property; Other ;ip- :JOA plications for business sites have flowed in, vj|t^! so that the Company expect to rej\lise ;> e^^|| much from the surfa.ee ajs.wiil be sufficient to^^l pay for the freehold, while they continue td'^ilp holdthe untol'l riches beneath. We have^^^ much pleasure in announcing that a welt^|||| known townsman, on, a recent visit to the Ww golden capital, cast in his lot with the ludty ;^ 1 speculators, and is the holder of an original-?^ | share-in thia-new-Dorado, ' : :: ;.-■■-.■■" ':p£?j 1 ; In our last iss»Q we gave publicity to the | intention of his Hipnor the Superintendent to 1 1 appoint a conimission for the purpose of sugr ! | j gesi;ing altqrationa or .-yneudmenta in the 'M Gt.ldlifclds 4|gulatious. This Commission is '$4 intended to composed of a number < £ H| delegates renresentiug the various inipoil«u^ t . i| niiniug clistrjpt?, and they will probably'l^ " Joined iv th^Cftmuiissibn by :sonie of th^ 1 Wardens, Itpaa originally announced tha^ ;ss tha names of fe: various delegates were to bjf||lpi forwarded to fe Honor the Superintendent?! at H()kitika not hvter -than to-inorrow,;^^^?: 't'ji 13th instant, bufeas tius^me wa.s obvid^^^i:s' to short to aUovr#hie>nij[ners iv the Greyflfe district to ohoo|e a deU|gdte, it has been ex^Sf&'-i tended to afford -t^em-a^pii^per opportunity of doing so. Anotice has beeiv issued coh'i : %^' venuiga meeU^bi'the/Ttruuerson Friday^^|§i|: the 15th inst, at the Warden's Court, at two^ljv o'clock in snthe afternoon, to nominate an^^Mlj elect a delegate to represent them in tl;e Commission referred to. As this is a matter of great importance we hope the miners wiU ;%**« take cave to select a suitable person, ■■W- ::| / We are in recceipt; of the Biighion Thnes^Mi ■% ' of Saturday, but it does not contain a nii'"^ Jp j item of mining intelligence, The population; Wm ; of Brighton appears to be increasing, as tlei^ii local paper says that as -nearly as can be;^ j estimated' thjee^ hundred people entered^3 by sea and overland bestween Suji^^^ '■■■ jday and Thrvrsdajv rxunbera of these being^-' diggers who_ hid come upon the strength pf^ accounts sent them by their mates and friendis L-^ located '.here^; -On Wednesday night th<*lf || demand for sleeping accommodation in town Wwas so in excess of the supply that majiy f I diggers experienced 'the necessity of JpasMng;; I 1 night in the blow-hole and in the bush. I | Dr Hector, the director of the Geologies V fi Survey of iNew Zealand, arrived here from Fox's on Saturday by the Tasmanian Maid. II It is Dr Hector's intention; we believe to H make some stay in this district to enable him;- I to prosecute a thorough examinati Jn of the coal and gold fields. These researches will H extend as far asjbhe Seventeen-mile Beach iit| from which point Dr Hector will ' -continul^p^ his investigations along the coast taßb^^^l-ri tikaj and ultimately to Okarita ; Tte coaf^- ' seams up the Grey ;will also command a good "|fe deal of the Doctor's time. ■ ■A *M •The Brighton Times of the 7th instj stated MsM that Mr George, Donne and !MrJP Klein /|^ will come forward as candidates to represenV '^% the Buller district in the next Nelsratypro^ S vincial Council, the election for which^ia; I pending. •/■'.'•■• .':'■' -.■; .-. - ; :' •;"■■•">■ .^ : -■■■ y';'-: ■;■■..]. ■ ''$ We are informed by the West Coco Times of Saturday that a sad^ecident tpotplace on % Thursday night at the^ riyer Aybrks above fcb^i^| Islay jHotel, by which one of the laliorer^S named JKing lost his^ life. c w^s ijra*^ being pushed on night and day, in order to ij| make the most of the moderate weather now prevailing, and the deceased it appears waa wheeling a load of ballast to one of the pon- M toons lying in the river, at about midnight on M Thursday, when the barrow slipped off the %S. plank, dragging the unfortunate man- with it.- flfi' He was seen for an instant struggling againstw' the rapid current, but bis efforts WOTgi§Jlr vain, and he disappeared before an j|PPpßl " tauce coultl be emended to him. W^^^^m

■^"jle deceased man was a native of Lon'p A sW^lld named William Pearce, his age: , M (Vo*'Y )OU t twenty-four years. Originally a. \^_ I "VJ^aiy tracle, he had afterwards taken to I '•J XXt$ t and 6nce held a claim on the Darkies K[ noiih ; of, jGreymouth ;'■ Driven }jy . Ift" -> ?ity, he! sought for and found ; employ--on the] river works, and thereimet his )nely ena 5 13 sew here related.barro^aioßg a narrov^ plank; stretching a deep and rapid river is a perilous work what we can gather it appears that .whatever was miode to save life event/of a capsize. There was no boat attendance, and this omission was, to the least, most unfortunate, for otherwise poor fellow, might have been saved. The hqd-not been found up to Friday night. It has been mentioned to us by. several Ivpersons interested in shipping business that Hf ;i few word^ front us would induce the resil| dents in Greymouth to supplement thesubWi seriptions b'fiing raised in; other ports for the fS; widows and orphans of those lost in the Star |r of the Evejiing. We trust that it is only W necessary f|jr. us to make public' mention of ; 'h the subject' in order to call forth some practi. X calprQof of the sympathy which Bhould be felt with the sufferers;^: The people of Wellington have been almost the first in the field , in the work of charity, arid Greymouth should not be behind hand. The Wellington Inde2>endmt\ says that ;a subscription in aid of - Mrs EliJiain, the; widow of the late steward of the Star.of the Evening, is being got up ' by Captain 'Mundle and other gentlemen in the town, Mrs Eltham has six children dependent up^nher -f or support, and her case is one in eyfcfy : .wp.y deserving of commiseration. We may^add^aiwa shall be glad to receive and acknowledge 'any subscriptions that may be soi;>fcp;u3 for thepui-pose refeiTed to. The West Godst Times states that information has been received by private telegram to the effect that the Chinese arrested at Oamaru, on suspicion of being the perpetrators of the Porter's Pass murder have riot yet been . sent to" >Christchurch. They were brought upifor examination before theOaniaru Magistra^eiyesterday, »nd will be probably remanded to CLristchurch at the beginning, of next wefek. " Owing; to, the unfavorable weather there was only a thin audience at the IJnion Theatre on the ocbaaion of Miss Cooper's benefit 6^; Saturday evening. The amateurs who played so successfully on Thursday evening re-appeared in|the same pieces^ and with equal effect to ":roe^previous occasion. j Our Hokitika contemporary anDouncesthat \ a letter ha^Tbeen received by the Municipal \ Council , from, the Provincial Secretary, : Christchurch, intimating the intention of his/ ■■! Honor the Superintendent to recommend his ■t Excellency the Governor to place the Mayor e'v of Hokitika on the commission of the peace. I a . We ar^ surprised to learn that Mrßlackett ■has retired from the field as a candidate for ' Superintendency of. K elgon. This step be regretted by all who had the opporgf; acquainted with Mr BJackett lie liem^ne'iifSFcharge of tbe Nelsou r est Goldficidsi In all probability now Oswald -Curtis -will be the new Supcrin« <Mr Blackett gives the follov/ing for retiring : — He had been led to determination since he last had the Kojior of /meeting the electors a week ago, by iinore carefully considereil the posiin />vhich lit should be placed, were he be successful in the contest and be elected tlie ,oft^?. The' duties attached to the of , Superintendent would fully occupy If the tim^. and attention of any one who might Hfibe elected, and more especially up to and <lvuiug^he sitting of the first GpunciL Add/cl to these duties, he felt that if he were elected he must inevitably carry with him forjii'b^nsiclerable length of time— that was until/tbjb completion of certain public works r^pA i'fesporisibilities and duties of the ofiice dfriigineer, from which no. amount of extra t&iafcarice could have relieved him at once. XVwas true that assistance might be got, but ffc assisjianceVwou'ld suffice for a long- time. This double responsibility of Superintendent siid Engineerj coupled with other consideraC- uou?, would be' more than he should like to S] undertake, aud more than he could accorrxi jilish in^ justice /to t^i departmerits .■ (hear, I').-, hear), as jbno or^ otiier of the departments |.: would to a certain extent be neglected from f time to time, arid the province wquld in con- : : aequenc^ suffer. (Applause.) To avoid this lie thought it preferrable that his friends thould inwt with; a present disappointment by his retiring at, this stage of the contest, shari.th^t they should afterwards, supposing he were electedj, have occasion to regret having placed the additional and more important trUßtm^Hs/hMdjS'S. ; *^ : -r;;'-^'S ■■ :^ ; i :',<■;• vt'-v-: ', ' Theßt^lttqnTiTTies of the 6th^^ inst, contains the f ollo'wing, mining news :— "The intelli- ;, gence wliich we have .received during the week respecting the mining operations which are being c^Hed^ri/iifithis "district,; is i of the most assuri^'Varid ; gratifying character, and, : so far as the workings on the Welshman's / Terrace are concerne-3, the results lare proving to be beyond the most sanguine expectations, On paying a visit to the terrace a few days . ago, we ascertained that there are upwards of , two hundred /holes bottomed, varying in ' depth fro|m 45 to MO feet. The depth .of 1 waskdirt averages from three to six feet, and ■ in most instances is of a very rich descriptiori. On some -of the claims as much as 50 and. 60 notes have ; been realised by each man, and^. taking the terrace throughout, from..L2o 4 /; L3ois the average weekly wages. Incon- J verßation:with an old and experienced/Victorian digger, we, were informed that the ter- . race workings areof the best description, and that on no diggings in the colony had there j been so f e^r'.v "dufffii-s " bottomed. During the past fortnight the great drawback to the '. miners hasjbeeh' the scarcity of water, there having been only about half the usual supply in the raceis. ' The miners seem to be particularly anxious fpr : rain,, intimating that they would feel quite satisfied with a good downfall once a week.: Since the occasion- of our former jvisit a number of Btpresj public I houses, &c.t have beeri prit up, and co far as we can juda| at present, the terrace has /every P^fappoarancettf becoming a very, extensive ■•'■■ to\vnshii>, f'he aecpuuts which have reached 1--V ""i '■':■ ■.;■ i ■'■/.^:'^:-- : j ■■■■';.

us from the Belfast Terrace are also exceedingly encouraging. Some first-rate prospects w6re obtained last week, and as soon as the factr became known, there was a rush of a large number of diggers to the spot. We have conversed with several diggers who have been working at the terrace, and they are all of opinion that the diggings at that place will be the most extensive and durable of any iv the district. From the south we learn that a few holes have been bottomed, but nothing like good finds or extraordinary results have been realised. .Gold, however, has been turned' 'out- of the holes bottomed, but not in payable quantities. There have been various rumors afloat of gold being found in great quantities up the river, but although there have been one or two rushes in that direction, we have not heard that much gold has been obtained." A correspondent att the Emu Creek diggings (N.S.W.)' writing to West Coast Timesonthe 9fch ult, says :— There are two leads of gold at work here, that one termed the " main'j being the best. The sinking is from 40 to 70 feet, and the returns may be set down at from 6dwts to 24ozs, the load of washdirt ; the best claims being situated on that part of the lead, whe^e a qi}Artz reef crosses it from the hills on either side. Several claims have been taken up on this reef, and tLe stone "grassed" looks very well ; but as there is no crushing machine to test it, only an approximate idea of its absolute worth can be formed. A quartz reef is also in work at.the 1 One-mile Gully, and reported to be very rich whilst another, lately discovered by a French man at the Twelve-mile rush, towards Lambing Flat, is stated to be no less valuable. The main alluvial lead is one mile long, and has been traced from 40 iuto 80 feet sinking, It is, however, very poor after passing 60 feet and not worth looking for, as the best claims give not exceeding l^ozs to the load, (whilst the majority do not yield more than onefifth of thatamouht. The latest rush here set into a place called Star Gully, where the sinking ranges between '60 and 82 feet. A prospecting shaft was bottomed at the greater depth, and the 1 five loads of washdirt first taken from it gave 3ozs sdwts of coarse gold. The lead, is not more than forty feet wide, so some difficulty in tracing it is experienced. Five miles from -the township, in a N.N.W. direction, a prospecting shaft is down .125 feet and not bottomed. Hundreds of men are shepherding it, and from the lay of the country many entertain the idea that the place is likely to prove a second edition of the Lachlan diggings. Our correspondent — whose name we may state is Richard Pearce, once a WesfclitxJ miner— concludes thus, There has been no new payable shallow ground opened lately, all the leads being deep and narrow, with plenty of men looking after them. I therefore cannot advise any one to come here, although it is likely that when the present intensely hot weather passes away, and the rains fairly set in, that new country, less expensive to work, will be discovered. At the same time thsro are idle men here in number more than sufficient to take up an area of country twice the size of that already in hand.