WESTLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10112, 10 August 1893, Page 6

WESTLAND.

nrEOM OUR OWN COBBESrOWDBNT.iI Gbbtmouth, August /. One of the item's in the In ® Q f^ a County Council’s list, which I drew Me* tion to last week, is the placing of ai b. g over Larry’s Creek, at tho place the coach driver was drowned a tew weeks ago. Another nearly fatal accident occurred to Mr Robert M’Niel at tbe same place, ne was,carried down.'the strearD couplao chains, but managed to reach t.ne name with his horse. The coaches from westport to Reefton, and Esefton to Westport, had each to return owing to the flood. An- effectual charge of powder brought down a quantity .of rock, estimated at 35,000 tons, at the Cobden Quarry, for Messrs Hungerford and M'Kay, the harbour extension contractors. There is every reason to believe that the Government and the Midland Railway Company will come to terms, and the work, which is estimated to give employment to three thousand men for at least five years, will be proceeded with. Tho contractors for the railway extension to Jackson’s am getting well on with the work. Driving, piles for the bridge over the Tetemakau has commenced. There were fourteen wet days here during the last month, and the rainfall waa 16-96 in. For the same period last year there were only six wet days, the rainfall being <t'4Bin. Tbe Grey County Council has applied for Government aid to the amount of JJ3OOO for various roads and bridge repairs and maintenance throughout the County. The Chairman, Mr Hannan, being’ now in Wellington as one of the Coal Creek Railway deputation, will take the opportunity of pressing the .County a claims on the Government. _ The Commissioners who were appointed to report on-the reques tof the lessees tff the colliery reserve at Westport to extend the terms of their leases and make a reduction vn rent, have recommended that the memorial of the leaseholders be maintained and that a reduction of rents and longer terms of lease bo granted. The Commissioners, consideringthsexisting rents too high, have made a complete readjustment and attached a schedule, giving the' freehold and rental value of each section; leases to ho granted from twenty-five to forty-two years, according to the various.positions of the sections on the reserve. If tho Eailway Commissioners require tho land previous to the expiry of , the leases compensation is to be made. No recommendation is made for compensation at the end of the term, but a renewal will be granted, subject to the amount of annual rent being assessed. Tho Westport News says that “ M? A. E. Guinness, M.H.R., and Mr W. Hugh Jones, also a solicitor, are out for tho Grey electorate.” At the last election the voting was very close for those gentlemen. So close that Mr Jones was congratulated ou his election, but in anotherhalf hour the voting waa slightly in favour of Mr Guinness.

The Co-operative workers ballasting the Grey-Hoiitika line have applied for an extra. Their statement is that more ballast had to be placed on the line and extra packing to be done than was estimated, owing to the inequality of the way. The engineer in charge refuses to make any allowance for this, and the usual course has been adopted—the commencement of a law suit.

At the end of June the amount of money to the credit of depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank, Greymouth, was £14,384 19s. For the quarter ending June 30 .£742 9s lid was received for telegrams. Ws are favoured with the cheering intelligence from Wellington that the Government will assist in prospecting for coal at Bnmnerton, and laying a railway line to the mines at Coal Creek. The Duffers Creek Goldmining Company has made a start with its new machinery,'which is working smoothly and up to anticipation. The mode of lifting the wash dirt is by bucket and ladder, driven by a good fall of water. The Company has gone to great expense in bringing the watsr in and long, deep tail race. As tho ground is known to he quite the opposite of the name of the Company, dividends should speedily be declared. The Cock Sparrow Dredge on the Buller Elver got up steam last week. Ths machinery has not materially suffered by the long immersion in the river. The Union Steamship Company has been in the habit of employing labour to remove consignees’ goods from the ships’ tackles to the transit shed. To this an objection has lately been made by the Company. The Eailway Commissioners, seeing that a profit could be made by employing labcur, and charging consignees one shilling per ton, besides the two shillings per ton they charge for wharf dues, notified the consignees that they intended to make . the charge' in future; The Greymouth Harbour Board and the merchants objected . to this extra charge, but tho Commissioners took no notice of the objection. A public meeting of merchants was held, acd.telegrams were sent to the Commissioners, and Mr James Mills who is at present in Wellington. As some delay occurred in receiving answers, Mr Felix Campbell moved —" That this meeting pass a resolution to form a Company to_ be called the Greymouth Steam Shipping Company, with a capital of £15,000, and that a Committee bo formed to draw up a prospectus.” It was resolved that as ths telegrams had arrived in Wellington cn a public holiday another day should ha granted to receive communications. A telegram , was'received the following day from the Commissioners That owing to the Grey-Hokitika railway, which will be opened in a month or so, requiring their attention, and the goods to bo forwarded by the railway to be handled by their employees, the extra charge of a shilling per ton was imperative. Mr Mills replied that he had no objection to land ths goods in the usual manner, but tho Commissioners insisted on taking charge of Hokitika cargo and charging accordingly. But seeing that the Commissioners intended to relieve the Company of the'expense of conveying cargo from the ship's tackles to the transit shed, he would reduce.the freight usually charged by sixpence per ton, about the cost of the same to the Company. : A telegram was sent to the Commissioners, that tho merchants of Greymouth could not see why they should pay an extra shilling per ton on their goods because, the Hokitika cargo required handling by them, but &s the union Steamship Company was willing to deduct sixpence per ton off the freight, they would not object to pay an extra sixpence per ton to the Commissioners. The export of timber from this port for the month of July is 490,646 ft.