GREY VALLEY GOLD FIELDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1624, 18 October 1873, Page 3

GREY VALLEY GOLD FIELDS.

pxjr own corrbspondent.]

. . AH AURA. li'U: Ml the EOAD BOARD ELECTION " Was the, event of the week, and the result may be considered highly satiafac- , tpry. It : was' a great day at Ahaura,- and a bnay and'therefore a happy time for the publicans. Affairs have now come to such a pass in the inland metropolis that, except on the occasion of a wedding, a funeral, a 'hdavylawsuit, ? or the occurrence of ar sensationaiicrimernow' and then, everything is flat; stale; arid nripVbfitable. An election of any sort is consequently a god-send, and the opportunity is .made the most of. The omission to proclaim additional polling places compelled voters who wished to exercise the franchise to and'as the electors in a fgreat *ni any instances brought their better and, of course, better-looking halves along with them, no doubt to 1 see that , the votes were correctly recorded, the town presented a far more, lively appearance than usual. Betting 1 was pretty brisk during the day as to who would be the chosen four from among the candidates; but the return of Mr Lash at' the head of the poll knocked the calculations of even the cognoscenti into a cocked hat. There was one element in producing this result which outsiders did not take into | account. Jn addition to the many qualificatiohs Mr Lash possesses to render him an eligible candidate for a seat in. a local Board that gentleman is an. accomplished I all round cricketer, besides being the most elegant and efficient; wicket-keeper in the Grey Valley, arid are attributes of fw greater value in the. eyes of :t^ muscular, Ghristian than any possible degree of proficiency Mr Lash may have attained in the science of striking penny rates, or of making branch tracks. His marvellous dexterity in. wielding the willow helped, to 'place hixa. at the top of. the score in this as well as in. many another contest, for it would be rank Heresy l and ' faithless disloyalty on the - part of any, disciple of the game,, as it is, or as it was in times past, to refuse to plump, for an old cricketer, no whos| wickets were stumped in ' coriseqrience. •* •- ■ ■ -■ - The first meeting of the new. Board will most likely have to be called -by the Returning Officer, for the Act is obscure on A jthfc {point. o The names of the members JjLmuai first be gazetted, and on receiving notice that this has been done,' three members may call a meeting of the whole Board- oil .giving three days' notice. The first business will be' the election of a chairman, and to take steps to appoint a secretary, for which office it is said there will, be half a score of applicants.. Valuators,' collectors, surveyor, arid other officers, will. be appointed as soon as funds are available to expend, so that it will be seen there is; a "considerable amount of patronage ,, at the disposal of the Board, and, as. a matter of course, their Worsliipa niajr/' be • ; already considered ; " some pumpkins" in the public estimation. . • hospitals. <The Art - TJnibn- 1( drawing for a gold watch^ which recently took place at Ahaura for, the benefit of- the Grey River Hospital, will realise about L4O for that institution,' This, with ! the addition o\ -the ;prppprtionate , subsidy to supplement monetary' subscriptions usually given by .the Government^ wu% place nearly Hi 20 at,the disposal of . the: Central Committee at Greymouth as the result of the artittnionyViiThisisavery handsome contribution/ and it is hoped and • universally exiected that the Greyiributh Cpriimittee will, redbgnise the fact by paying some nYarkett and graceful compliment to the lady'who inade;th6 donation., The course by the Nelson' (Gfoyerhment with reference to the Hospital building here is characteristic and .reprehensible. When the Superintendent visited the Grey 'Valley" in 1 March, he promised that it would be ;made ready for the temporary reception , of urgent cases- without unnece&ary^delay, but nine months have now elapsed and nothing has been done to the building, which is fast going to fdesjtruction. At a meeting of the local subcommittee of the Grey River Hospital, held'at'Ahaura on the Ist September, the matter was discussed, and the hon. secretary was directed to write to the Provincial Secretary, reminding him of the pledge given by Mr Curtis about the hospital building, and asking when it was probable it would be put into repair. . The letier' was duly despatched to Mr Greenfieldfibnt that gentleman has riot had the common courtesy to acknowledge the receipt of it. Cases are occurring every showing the " great warit of some %aitable refuge where sufferers can be ' prop4rly r treated, and the instance of the man. Isaacs , is sufficient to prove that Bfm^ing'inust be done to remedy the deficiency., 5e was severely injured by a fall of leajrjth. early on a Thursday, one of those., injuries .being , a , fractured : leg. Owing to the remoteness of: the place, lhe;bad:iweather, and the state J of the tracks, it was late in the afternoon of Friday before the man was brought to Ahaura. The resident medical man was unavoidably absent, and- theipatierit was, after dome i difficulty in procuring a suitable means' of cpnyeyance, taken to'Qreymbuth en Saturdky. ' All fchis time the sufferer was undergoing acute physical pain. If hospital building here had only one bed in it, the unfortunate man could have been ; afforded some relief, because, .some onSfwbuld be abbu ti, or some appliance would be at hand proper to the emergency. vu ' '""■ ■■'.■■ ! -" ; ' : "'minik6. ! ■;;'',',•'•'■ ''/. "^Andther telegram has been' received at Ahaura; cbntairiing theglad tidings which it must] btf admitted is' becoming stale through.feiteratibn, that " tenders will at once bewailed! for making the Hochstetter and CNelsbri. Creek Water-racei" Three days is allfthe time that will be allowed to eldpae before the printers get hold of the "copy" .cbritaining'the long-wished for announcement, but we shall ace what we will see, when Mr/Blackett : arrives. ' r In themeantime we ndust wait arid hope. The members -of '• the prospectirig companyj who are searching for the conjoined continuation of the Napdleoni Mosquito, 1 and.Orwell. Creek leids, at Orwell Creek have their shaft doWn to a depth of '4sft. The! greater- portiofa ; of the lifting and baling machinery and winding-gear at O'Hara arid; party's claim on the Duffer, Sullivan' Lead/ las been secured by the company, and it is now in couittfe'^of erection i at Orwell Creek. There is not much water in the shaft yet, but a large quantity is expected as the shaft. ; is deepened, and as it is not tolie^ supposed the gi'bu'riii - can ' b^ 1 propei'ly tested with " ihe present appliances, it is a'wis'e precaution make preparation in time.