THE LYELL AND UPPER BULLER.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1731, 20 February 1874, Page 2

THE LYELL AND UPPER BULLER.

[fROM OT7R OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

"Better late than never" is an old saying, and a true one in most instances, notably so as regards the much-talked of, long-promised, and absolutely necessary dray road between Nelson and the hitherto much-neglected Upper Buller districts. A thousand 3heep and sixty head of cattle were last week driven over the wretched track that now does duty instead of the road, and the owners of the sheep lost about 150 out of the 1000, while the owners of the cattle, equally unfortunate, lost two fine beasts over the cliffs round which the track winds. It costs about L 2 103 to land cattle from Wanganui in Westport or Greymouth, where, if there was a good dray road from Nelson, the cattle could be driven over it to Westport or the Grey at a cost of about 13s per head. This fact alone is well worth consideration, as the Nelson atockowners would find a ready market for their stock, and could afford to undersell the importers of cattle to the tune of about L 2 per beast. The producers and consumers would both reap a mutual benefit, and settlements along the line of route would spring up in course of time and in turn would bring grist to the State mill, or, in other words, money to the Provincial chest. That the road will now be pushed on rapidly, and in earnest there cannot of course be the shadow of a doubt; better late than never certainly, but shame that it should have been delayed so long, and shame it is that in the Provincial Assembly not one man could be found to bring forward a motion for the better working of the contract system, on which a portion of this road has already been made, and under which, so far as is yet known, it will be completed. Contractors take the work too cheap, do it badly, and then go through the Insolvent Court, leaving the wages men and the settlers to " settle their little bills" as best they can. The member for Central Buller might at all events have bestowed some attention on this matter. He must have not seen the ill effects of the present contract system during his electioneering tour.

A prospecting party started a few weeks ago from the Maruia. They went up the Deepdale Creek to its source, thence over a saddle into Larry's Creek, returning by way of the Amuri Plains down the Maroia. Nothing of much consequence rewarded the exertions of the plucky prospectors, but some fine open country exists near the head of the Deepdale Creek, country that will carry a good number of settlers, and would in fact be taken up at once if the Government would only take tho necessary steps to render it accessible. A petition will shorfly be forwarded to the Superintendent, praying that a sum of money be expended on the Matakitaki an I Maruia tracks ; at present, in spite of the dry weather, .they are merely " slush channels." The reefs (to quote a local authority), shares in the various claims show a " marked upward tendency." Messrs .Carroll and Cairna have just finished crushing a small lot of mixed stuff from tho Little Wonder with a satisfactory result. The Break o'Day now occupy the stampers, and the stone they are crushing is superior to that hitherto crushed by tho company, which yielded over Boz to tho ton. Maloney's are busy blocking out, and the stone looks very well indeed.. O'Brien and Blair have just crushed about 30 tons of stone from their claim ; results about 2oz to the ton. Operations are about to be commenced on the south side of the Lyell Creek in the claim known as the Central Buller (late Golden Crown). Very rich quartz was formerly 1 procured in this claim from a thin leader, the richness and extent of which will now be tested, as tenders for a shaft, &c, has been accepted ; shares in the various neighboring claims are much improved in value, and the whole district gives promise of greater stability, as some of the leaders show a decided improvement the deeper they are worked. The telegraph contractors are pushing on their work, and it is expected that communication will be opened before the end of the next month,

Messrs Greenfield, Shapter, M'Lean, and Broad are daily expected from Nelson, on an overland tour of inspection. It was rumored that the gentlemen intended to "swag it," but as business not pleasure is the object of their trip, it is to be presumed that rumor, as is very often the case in this part of the world, is a little wide of the. truth this time.