THE WEST COAST.

Lyttelton Times, Volume C, Issue 11658, 15 August 1898, Page 3

THE WEST COAST.

[CORRESPONDENT GREYMOUTH, August 5. an educational case. A case will come on for hearing at the September sitting of therSupneme, Court, at Hokitika, that will he of great interest to school teachers throughout the colony. Mr Thomas, head teacher of the Totara Flail' school, Grey Valley, fell out with his com- , mittee, or the members of the obmmittoe MI out with Mi- Thomas —for which it was floea not appear very clear. The committee ap- ' plied to the Grey Education Board for ,Mr Thomas’s removal, and preferred a number of charges, all more or less serious, against him. The Inspector gave an excellent report about Mr Thomas and has work. This, however, seemed to have an opposite effect upon the: conmu-M^',to"w^ At the annual elections' the members pf thn committee hostile to the teacher were;:, replaced by men favourable td Mr Thomas ? bull the dispute was continued, some sultry correspondence passing. As a rasrilt, Mr Thomas consulted his lawyer , and the Teachers’ Association. The latter, holding that the interest involved is material to alii tea- , chers in New Zealand, have taken , the . case in hand,..and Air Scott, of r Dunedin, has been retained. -This gentleman, it appears, is in delicate health, arid may not be able to aob, in which event, Mr Jellicoe, of AYellirigton t will be asked to take up the case. A number of very important- points regarding the powers of a committee and teacher .are involved in the dispute, and will be fought out in court. Mr Hannan, of Greymouth, has been retained for the defence. A MAGISTRATE AND A SHAREHOLDER. At the Magistrate’s Court yesterday Mr . Stratford, S.M., objected to hear a case bej tween the Denniston Miners’ Union and the Westport Coal Company, upon the ground that he was a in, the Company, and, might be considered.biassed in, the matter.. Mr Free, who appeared for the plaintiffs, said he was, quite willing that Mr Stratford should hear the case,_ being perfectly 'satisfied .that he wf bul A giWTt/an impartial, hearing,; and ; Mr Harden, for the defendants, - held. q. like ■ ppinion;. but the Magistrate refused'To corisent to "arbitrate, stating that two 'Justices of (the Peace ’could hear the case. The case, was then adjourned to see, if any .power existed'for stating the case 4 fdir a higher 'C/jurt. .* ;,Tb-toyT.tee. case came, up, again'befqre 'two - Justices 1 of the , Peace. The case for the plaintiffs was that contrary to the decision of the Arbitration Court, the company did not “ cavil ”, (draw) for all places in the mine. For the defence it was argued that as some of the places were worked by machinery it was impossible to adopt this process, and that the award of the Court was only applicable to manual labour. The Bench, however, held otherwise, and fined the company. The latter has decided to appeal. The Magistrate, in refusing to hear the case, remarked that it was evident, if he was to remain, he would have’ to sell his . shares in the 'company.. I, General regret is expresed that the case, which is an important one, was not, in the first instance, heard before' a competent Magistrate.

WESTLAND HARBOUR BOARD. The Westport Harbour Board appears to be the only public body on the West Coast possessed of funds, and certainly it appears to have a superabundance of the,circulating medium.,, At the‘last meeting, helfl on Tuesday, the Railway Department, yqbte asking, the Board to sanction a'.,total of £9336 on;the following items: American locomotives, £3550; ; %tteagthening bridges, *£3ooo ; fencing railway/ £2660; and sundry other works/ £126..;'..5be sum, though a large one, was authorised'without a minute’s hesitation,,Mr O’Regan, commenting upon the necessity for the district being right up-to-date in all manner of appliances. The Board subsequently approved of Mr Napier Bell's proposals, and agreed to proceed with the work. The works are four in number, and involve a big expenditure. They are: (1) Extension of lower training wall; (2) extension and raising of eastern wallj (3) extension of upper western'training wall;; and (4) Orowaiti protective works. When all this is completed, the Westport harbour works will have cost about three-quarters of a million sterling. But the expenditure, though large, was fully warranted. THE UNEMPLOYED. The Westport Harbour Board is in trouble with the unemployed. At last meeting there was a large number of applicants for work. Messrs O’Regan, M.H.R., and Mr Colvin (who desires to become a representative) thought that something should hie done to aid them, but Mr M’Kenzie, M.H.R., thought quite differently. He declared tliat “ everyone in the district who knew a grubber from an adze, and who supported Messrs Colvin or O’Regan at the last General Assembly election, thought that they were, entitled- tO;.get work from the Board.”, This ire of the two . gentlemen mentioned/ arid J a “ trifling argument ” ensued. The matter was ultimately passed over to the tendier mercies of the engineer. JOTTINGS. The coal export at Greymouth since the Brunner mine resumed work has been particularly brisk, and so far as I can'learn,, the demand is quite as much as the mine will be able to cope with. News from Barrytown continues of a very encouraging nature.. The claim is working admirably, and the prospect of a rich return is considered safe. A fortnight will tell positively, as the clearing up will take place in about that time. The snow upon the ranges continues to impede the work of, prospectors.