THE WEST CANTERBURY GOLDFIELDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1632, 9 March 1866, Page 2

THE WEST CANTERBURY GOLDFIELDS.

[FROM OUR OWN COERESPONDOt,! Hokitika, March 5, 1860. There could be no more gratifying evidence of the confidence with which the mining community looks forward to the future of the West Canterbury Goldfield than the tendency which« displayed to bring really first-class machinery to work wherever the nature of the ground seema to require it Westland ia very young as a woldproducing country for the introd uc . tion of steam as an aid towards mining operations, and yet several engines are already in position, and others are in course of erection. A few months will probably Bee a large increase to this number. To tempt a man to invest capital in steam machinery for mining purposes, two conditions are wanted. He must have ground of known auriferous value, and plenty of it. He must see his way to obtaining something more than a few weeks' or months' employment, or the undertaking will naturally be an unprofitable one. The Kanieri district offers a fine field for the investment of capital in mining machinery of various kinds, and the claimholders have not been slow in availing themselves of their opportunities. On Saturday last the Star Steam Pumping Company kept holiday on the occasion of the christening of their engine, which is now put together, and is in excellent working trim. A large number of persons assembled on the ground, some drawn by mere curiosity, and others by a desire to inspect the plant, with a view to future operations on their own account. The engine is a small double cylinder, 12-horse power, but is capable of being worked much higher. It does its work very smoothly, there being a minimum of vibration. The company gave an excellent " spread" on the claim. The christening was performed by Mr. Shaw, the warden of the district, who poured the customary libation and named the engine the " Victoria." There was a lot of speech making, some appropriate and some not appropriate, but which I do not suppose you would care to hear further of. It is my opinion that a little Christchurch capital might be invested to advantage in some of these mining speculations, and the perusal of sharelists in which they were interested might serve to dissipate a portion ot that dulness under which, I am led to believe, your merchants are at present suffering. I see that the Otago Daily Times, in want of a better subject tor leading articles, has taken up the old and worn-out cry of the danger arising from diverting capital from its legitimate channels, and employing it in the delightful uncertainties of goldmining. Whatever may have been the effect of over-speculation on the goldfields of Victoria, there is certainly no reason to suppose that New Zealand commerce is likely to suffer from tins cause. Or, if Otago is in such a miserable plight that the withdrawal ot a few thousands from the aforesaid " legitimate channels" may prove dis.ls* trous to her interests, I cannot see that Canterbury would be iujureain any way if she devoted a very salquantity of her wealth to the development of the goldfield of which sM thinks so much. I seriously recommend my remarks to such oi readers as may have any loose casa at their disposal, assuring them at p e same time that with the exercise ot caution st good thing or two had by embarking in mining speculations on the West Canterbury ' field. There are many here who be glad to avail themselves si tk eas sistauee of steaui machinery but >' re unable to do so for want of meaibSomehow or other the re ort 1 been expectiug from Okarica lias yet couie to hand so that 1 !11 thia week to send it to you. 1 ' u!^\ ' however, that nothing of importajiu the way of discovery has my last. A great many minors ' still going south—almost enough make a rush, but I cannot lean l they are going in consequence trustworthy information received.return steamers to Hokitika no come back empty, but the nunllH ) | 1 j U passengers going are still excess ot those coining baclv. is going on rapidly at Okarita. banks have good establishments > and there are several ll t otols . an ordinary amount ot mis' fort may be obtained at u< ' ' exorbitant rates. The respondent of the gives the following with re <-'<■ V a prices " Provisions _ are so i • j^ t little advance on Hokitika Pf ,c ' when there is more com l' l ' t!tl011 ' j ie;i p. lieve everthing will be equally a_ At present flour is , t fill; hundred pouuds; butter, 3s 6d to 4s per lb ; bacon, 2a 6d per lb; sugar, 9d per j > v 2s the 41b loaf." The same, c pondent put the numbers a Bay at one hundred and ' •' j re J those at Jackson s Bay at jjttl e —both being, in my option, over-stated. I may add thai . J{ paper is to be started -i.j, Okarita, by a firm in H ° k f the* have the necessary plan l j The issue will be weekly, bi» that, I should think ike «»»j yfii l porter will be at their wits ttef up the columns with readableThe great flood which Ir P re po r week did much damage, an about the dam in course o

tion across the south channel of the Hokitika turns out unfortunately correct. About half the piles which had been driven were washed bodily out of the ground and carried away, and almost the whole of the timber and plant in use on the work shared the game fate. There is said to have been as much water going down the south channel as in the one which passes by Gibson's Quay. The contractor for the dam, Mr. Edgar, is a very heavy loser. Our - politicians appear to have all gone to sleep. The forthcoming elections are exciting very little interest. And no one has, as yet, offered himself as a candidate. It is said that a requisition will be presented to Mr. M'Glashan, of the firm of Jones, M'Glashan and Co., to allow himself to be put in nomination for one of the seats in the Provincial Council. That is the only bit of electioneering news I have to communicate. A meeting has been held at Greymouth for the purpose of protesting against the gold got in this district being sent to Hokitika for export. Resolutions condemning the action of the authorities, were passed, and the proposed escort from Greymouth to Hokitika was stated to be an unjustifiable extravagance. The smelting house and assay office of the Bank of New Zealand were opened on the 28th ultimo, and since that date some thousands of ounces of gold have been smelted by Mr; Smith, the bank assayer. There have been several committals in the Resident Magistrate's Court during the week. In one instance the prisoner, a man named Joseph Jackson put several valueless cheques in circu- j lation. Mr. Samuel Symms, charged with embezzlement, was after a lengthy hearing on Friday discharged, the Magistrate holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the crime at law. Tenders are called for by the Government for the formation of a track between Hokitika and Kanieri, a work very much called for. Up to the present time all goods have had to be taken in boats against a very rapid stream, abounding in snags and obstructions of all kinds. A few days since, a storekeeper named Schunikow, formerly of the Arrow river, Otago, was drowned whilst attempting to cross one of the rivers between Bruce Bay and Okarita. The body has not been recovered. On Friday last, a constable returning from Greymouth to Hokitika. •found the body of a man on the beach a few miles to the southward of the Saltwater river. The body has not yet been identified, but is supposed to be that of a miner, who was drowned the day previous, when attempting to cross the Three-Mile Creek. Jacobs, the wizard, continues to draw good houses. Barlow, the wellknown negro melodist, has arrived from Australia, and purposes trying to draw our spare shillings in the Corinthian Hall this evening.

Messrs Wilson, Burnell and Co., gold on Thursday last, a few head of cattle which had been driven overland. Their average weight was about 1100 lbs., and they brought £50 a head. The recent rains have given the river an excellent channel, sweeping away all obstructions near the mouthr The small steamers come in and go out at almost any state of the tide. Some new ground has been opened on the Arahura fiiver, about five miles from Hokitika. A small rush of some three hundred men has taken place to the locality. In one claim a very good prospect was obtained — something like two dwts. to the tin. dish, but I was unable to find out any other party which had been equally successful. There is a report of some newground about fourteen miles up the Hokitika, and I have seen and conversed with a man just returned from the place. His account is that a few claims have been marked out, and that in one of them, paying gold is being got. My friend may have told me less than he knew, for he confessed to having a claim there himself, and may have wished to keep people away as .much as possible. The Grey River Argus reports that the recent heavy rains have done much damage to the claims on the North Beach. Many of the tail-races have been filled up, and quantities of washdirt carried away. The Customs' authorities have seized a quantity of gunpowder at the Grey, the same not having paid duty. Mr. Prosser has met the electors at the Grey, and favoured them with a repetition of his Hokitika oration. I believe he will now disappear behind his counter. At three a.m. on Saturday, the Lambing Flat Hotel, Gibson's Quay, Hokitika, was discovered to be on fire. The flames did not extend beyond the kitchen and pantry, and were extinguished before much damage was done.

What Wanganui thinks of it.—ln vino Veritas. We doubt it. The Governor and magnates of Wellington treated Major-Gene-ral Chute to a complimentary banquet the other day and indulged in much fine speaking on the occasion. All the gentlemen, whose names were introduced, seemed the very pink and pearl of honour and ability, and each was better than his neighbour, from the Governor down to the drummer boy. Everything wore couleur de rose. It it is a pity the picture has another side. All honour to the brave, and General Chute is a brave, and is a brave and experienced officer ; but to speak of the re- j cent brief campaign as having either brought our warfare to an end or to the beginning of the end is simple after dinner talk, which, harmless enough on most occasions, can hardly be harmless when dealing with such an important subject as our relationship to and witli the natives. The outsettlers in the north-western district of Wanganui do not see very much on which to congratulate themselves. It was only this day week, when realizing the unprotected state in which the giving up of redoubts in their vicinity must leave them, that they addressed an emphatic memorial to hia Excellency, praying 'or some measure of protection from a defeated but by no means a powerless enemy. The recent campaign, not followed up by some effective measure of and defence, makes the difficulties of the situation greater than they were before it began. What the rebels have lost in strength they more than make up for in bitterness of spirit, and the •circumstances are really critical.— Wanganui Chronicle, Feb. 24.