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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1414, 11 February 1873, Page 2

It may interest our Masonic readers to know that it is intended to open the Greymouth. Royal Arch Chapter, under the Scotch Constitation, in the course of next week. We understand that the necessary charter has arrived in Dunedin, and that Comp. Caldwell, M,E,Z. of the Otago Kilwinniug Chapter, S,C,, has left by the Alhambra in order to perform the ceremony of consecration and installation. There is very little to add to the hurried report we gave yesterday of the destructive fire which occurred on Monday morning in the block of buildings bounded by Gresson and Arney streets, aud which caused the total destruction of a number of small houses, the old Criterion Hotel, and the extensive premises of Messrs Strike and Blackmore, brewers. It is ascertained that the fire originated in a disreputable house kept by a Mrs Williams, but she is unable to account for its origin, Perhaps the inquiry, which will be held to-day by jbhe Coroner, will throw some light on the subject. The members of the Fire Brigade worked with great energy until the flames were entirely subdued, and yesterday a close watch was kept ' over the amoulderiug ruins, in case of a fresh outbreak. As we mentioned yesterday, there was no insurance whatever on the destroyed buildings, and universal sympathy was yes. terdaylexpressed in town with Messrs Strik^

and Biackmore iv their severe 10--s. As a number of poor families were burned out, c capin-j oily with their H?es. it is highly necessary that a puV'"c effort, should be made to provide them -vuth clothing &c With this obje it in \ lew, two gentlemea ye3terday canva3sed a portion of the town, ard eo'lected about L2O. Those vvho subscribed are requested to meet to-E'"ght at Hunt's Cub Hotel, for the purpose of elect'og a committee for the immediate re] ; ef of the most necessitous cases. We are informed on good authority that owin« to the exceptional continuance of dry weather an opportunity presents itself of putting the Greymouth and Omotumotu road into" passable condition at a trifliug outlay. If, however, this very necessary work is delayed until wet weather sets ?i it is more tban likely that the road will be- : come impassable for heavy traffic. Such a ' result it is worth considerable sacrifice to avoid, and we would strongly urge upon the Government that instead of waiting until the existing dispute with the contractor is settled, they should at once put on a good gang of men to fill up the ruts and make good the soft places, which are already ankle I deep. Even if the outlay so incurred should turn out to be a present to the contractor, an ample equivalent would be obtained for it, by enabling the large stream of traffic which has already set in to all parts of the Grey Valley to flow without interruption. Any larger work, such as widening of the road, could be proceeded with afterwards, more at. leisure, but this work is urgently required without a day's delay. Eveiy LlO laid out now would effect more than LSO will after a single day's raiu. The rush to the auriferous ground opened at Orwell Creek, to which our Grey "Valley correspondent has several times recently drawn attentiou, is beginning to assume extensive proportions. The prospectors, Messrs John Cuneen and party, struck gold, on the range where their claim is situated, some six weeks ago. They subsequently applied for and received an extended claim of two acres. On Saturday payable gold was found in another claim, 150 yards to the eastward of the prospectors tunnel. A number of claims were marked off on Sunday, and during Monday new comers were arriving from the surrounding districts, and taking up fresh ground. The parties who struck the gold on Saturday sunk a monkey shaft a depth of 30f fc at the end of their tunnel. The prospects obtained at the bottom of this shaft were 6gr of gold to two dishes of stuff taken from sft washdirt. It is probable this discovery is a continuation of the Napoleon and Mosquito Lsads conjoined. The sale of cattle, advertised to take place at Ahaura yesterday, was unavoidably postponed in consequence of the non-arrival of the stock early enough in the day. There was a large attendance of buyers present in the morning, but other business engagements compelled them to leave before it would bo possible to hold the sale. In a recent article on the Grey coal fields, and their present position, the Wellington Independent winds up by saying : — The fact is simply this : there is a large coal field reserve of S.QQO acres set aside on the south side of the Grey river, and this reserve is entirely vested in tfye Governor, and the Government can of course deal with it as they may think fit, and it was only out of courtesy to the County Council of Westland that its consent was invited. We understand that the true position of the .question has been telegraphed i;o the County Chairman, and we have reason to believe tl>at in a few days all obstacles to the construction of the Brunner coal mine railway will have been removed. It is worth noticing here that the Grey River Steam Tug Company have given practical evidence of their desire to encourage the coal trade of Greymouth by reducing the rate of towage to a nominal price. It is to be hoped that before long the Colony will cease to be dependent upon other countries for an article which it can produce itself. The Right Rev.Dr Moran, Roman Catholic Bishop of Otago and Administrator of the Diocese of Wellington, arrived in Hokitika, f rom Christchurch, last Saturday evening. He wae njet $t the Arahura by the Rev. Father Martin and a large number of the members of the Catholic Church!' On the Qhristchurch coach coming up the assemblage' greeted the Bishop with three hearty cheers. His Lordship was then conducted by Father Martin to the carriage that was in waiting, and in which the remainder of the journey was performed. At the tollgate a halt was made, and the children of St. Mary's school, who wer.e fhere waiting the arrival of the Bishop, sang a hymn and then preceded [the procession into town. A very large I cavalcade followed the Bishop's carriage, amongst whom, 1 conspicuous by their scarfs, &c , were the members of the Hibernian Society. Shortly after the Bishop's arrival at the Presbytery, he was waited upon by two deputations, and addresses were presented to him ; the first being read by Mr Cornelius O'Driscoll, and the second by Mr John Driscoll. The deputations proceeded to the Church, which was crowded in every part allotted to the congregation; and the Bishop delivered a long address in answer"" to the addresses which had been presented. A general meeting of the Wealth of Nations Quartz Mining Company was held at Keeffcon yesterday, when the following new directory was elected :— Messrs Gulliane, Woolley, Stevenson, Maxwell, and Watson. The New Zealand Gazette, of January 30, contains notifications of the delegation of the Governor's powers Jo the present County Chairman, and the seVer-il statutes therein mentioned. Three wealthy deposits — coal, iron ore, and limestone — have been recently discovered near Raglan, Auckland. Iron sand is also obtained from Raglan harbor. These mineral deposits predict a prosperous future for that district. A terrific thunderstorm took place at Wangarei, Auckland, the other day. While it wa.s ragiug, many of the houses are described as haying been " shaken like leaves." A cutlass, a dagger, and a pair of scissors, all of superior manufacture, and made at London from the Taranaki iron sand, are being exhibited at Auckland. On January 27, 33,7000z 9dwt 12grs of gold, of the value of L 105.513 9s sd, were shipped at Auckland, per Heio, for Sydney and Melbourne. A very interesting baptismal service was held on Sunday last at Greendale, in the Canterbury Province, in the open air. Mr Saule conducted the service, after which he baptised five persens in the Selwyn river. Thero was a large gathering of people, and very great interest; is ga.i.cl to have been manifested. The Baptist persuasion is stated to be nourishing in this neighborhood, and they intend building a chapel. A recent visitor to the Ngakawhau Coalmine sends the following description of it to the Westport Times: — "The coal works are situate on the right-hand bank of the river upon the face of an abrupt acclivity, covered with timber. A wharf or staging has been erected at the pit mouth, and supporting a framework of timber erected thereon, forming a paddock capable of holding about 200 tons of Joose coals, which are conveyed from there to th.c hofd of vessels, moored in the stream below, by a wooden shoot. Above this- paddock' a line of rags have been laid, running down from tne niain 4 r JV e in the mine, and along which trucks are impelled, laden with the coal!?, Entering the niine the

visitor is at once struck with the extent of fcbe coal seam. Unlike the ordinary contracted 'mam drive' in ro'nin^ cla'nw. he lio<7s a broad and loffcy entrance cutting immediately into the c.ial measure, and expand'tig in height and width a? the interior of the mine i 3 reached. At about 200£fc from the mouth of the drive the co?l has been cut through to a width of 12ft by a height of 18ft, and neither the lateral nor vertical limits of the seam have yet been reached. The coal here loses the sooty appearance it bears at the entrance to the drive, and is bright and compact, and the seam, which at the entrance of ;the mine dips at an angle of about 40 degcees, is here nearly horizontal. A climb up a somewhat impracticable ladder lands the visitor upon the second level, where work has only recently been commenced, but which will ultimately penetrate the seam of coal at an angle with the main drive." A narrow escape from drownin* occurred in Wharf street, Westpoii, on Fiiday last. The infant son of Mr Cox, Royal Oak Hotel, falling from the river bank into the water. A young lad who was standing close by at the time and witnessed the accident, gave the alarm, and the drowniig youngster was providentially rescued. An arb union has lately been held at Napier. The first prize, which was a piano, valued at LlO7, by Gollard and Collard, the well-known makers, of Cheapside, London, fell to tbe lob of Mr Perkins, of the Occidental Hotel, Auckland. The Whangapoua Steam Saw Mills (Auckland), are again in full working order, and employing upwards of 100 men in the bush and at the mills. Nearly 200,000 ft of firstclass sawn timber were sent away from the mills from the 6th to the 27th January. The plant and interest of the famous Green Harp Company has been sold by auction at the Thames for L2OO. The Nelson Examiner says : — As Mr Kenneth Ross, a highly respected settler residing in Happy Valley, was engaged on Friday last in shingling a new school-house at Clifton Terrace, he tripped in some manner, and foil forward on the roof, and struck the lower part of his stomach severely against a bundle of shingles. Although this caused him great pain at the time, he was able after a little whils to resume work ; but later in the day, when wheeling a barrow, he again tripped and struck himself with the handle in the same place. He was then obliged to desist from work, and send 'for medical assistance, and he only survived until Sunday. Some time ago Mr Ross sustained an internal rupture, and ifc was this receiving a fresh injury which led to the sufferer's almost sudden death. The latest mining news from the Lyell is that the Oriental Company have accepted a fresh tender, and the contractors have started work. This claim is also supposed to have some of the leaders running through a portion of the ground. The Little Wonder have not started to work since their last crushing. O'JBrian and Blair have commenced their new shaft on the Little Wonder boundary, and expect in a few days to bring a few tons of stone to grass that will give them a similar return to that obtained by Cairns and Carroll. The Alpine Company are at present crushing, and immediately they have finished, the Excelsior Company will start, as they are now fully prepared. Wgrk at the Anatori quartz claims has for the present nearly cease4> as the men find it impossible, with the scanty appliances at their disposal, to eke out a living. The stone shows excellent prospects, but requires good ma,oj#nery for its profitable working. Many of the miners from Anatqri are setting in at the Karamea, the ketch Mary on her trip down bringing eleven passengers for that river, and more are preparing to follow. With regard to the yield of gold from pyrites the~Westport Times says :— " A paragraph in our last issue referring to the yield of gold to be obtained from pyrites left after ordinary crushings, stated the amount thus obtained in Anderson's claim to be at the rate of loz 7dwt to the ton. We have now been favored with some reliable data giving the exact result of the experiment. One pound weight of pyrites, taken from the tailings, and somewhat roughly treated, has yielded eight grains of gold. The reduction was performed by Messrs Quilline, Davies, and another, and justifies the estimate that each ton of pyrites will yield about 12oz of fine gold. Mr Guilline, of the Wealth of Nations, estimates the yield from pyrites in that claim at 9oz to the ton, or 3 per cenb. As somewhat similar results are likely to obtain in all other quartz claims, it becomes an important question for mining companies to consider whether so large a proportion of gold ought not to be secured as the addition will make a great difference in dividends. At Simmonds Reef, Mount Blackwood, Victoria, the pyrites have yielded lOoz to the ton, considered remarkably high, and at Sebastopol Reef, St Arnaud, &n analysis of the pyrites showed 6oz to the ton. There seems no reason why similar good results might not be attained on all our New Zealand reefs by the use of proper appliances."