The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1869.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 223, 22 September 1869, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1869.

Within 100 miles from Nelson there is a district with which but few of ua are acquainted, and yet it is one that would be greatly missed did any thing occur todeprive us of the benefits which we are constautly but almost unconsciously deriving from .it. We allude to the tract of country known as the Upper Buller district, which includes the valleys of the Mangles, Matakitaki, and Maruia from whence a small, though constant, stream of gold is flowing into Nelson from one year's end to the other. A gentleman who has lately returned from a trip into this part of the country informs us that, there are dotted all ove'* these valleys and plains small parties of men who have fcr a long time been steadily at work and are making excellent wages, that is to say from £3 10s. to £o per week. An attempt made last year to cultivate potatoes was so successful, the grower easily obtaining £25 per ton for them, that there are now to be seen round every digger's hut small patches of land which are being cultivated with a view to gi'owiug this valuable vegetable. Beef and mutton are also to be obtained at moderate rates the former selling at sixpence per pound by the carcase,, so that the only really heavy expense to be met is that of flour and sugar, which have to be carted from Nelson. The cost of these articles, however, is, greatly euhanced by the state of the roads, which in places are very bad. At cs the Slips," for instance, the cart track is impassable, and as the bridge over the Buller is below this portion of the road, it is rendered practically useless, the- drays having to cross the river above it. Again, the track down the Mangles is in a wretched state, but our informant assures us that it would take a very small sum to put it in good order. When we consider that there are in this part of the country, between 300 and 400 hard-working men, who are obtaining quantities of gold, which, though small in themselves, amount in the aggregate to no inconsiderable sum nearly the whole of which passes through NelsoD, we cannot doubt that it is to our own advantage to afford them every facility for carrying on their operations, and we trust that if the Government have the means at their disposal, they will repair the roads during the coming summer season so as to render the cost of conveying provisions to this outlying portion of our province as small as possible, thus encouraging others to try their fortune where so many are now doing well. There is one other grievance of which the diggers complain. Water races have been, and are still being, formed to a considerable extent — in one instance to a length of nearly four miles — and, in order to secure to themselves the benefit of these races, it is necessary for the owners to register them, which, at the present time, can only be done by going either to Westport or to Nelson, a journey involving the waste of several days. This, as we have said, is complained of as a great hardship, and in order to remedy it, we would suggest that Mr. McGregor, a storekeeper who is; well known as a respectable and trustworthy man, should be authorised to receive, applications^registration, with instructions

to forward them to Nelson by the earliest opportunity. There may be practical difficulties in the way of making such an arrangement with which we are not acquainted, but wo merely throw out the suggestion in the hope that, if feasible, it may speedily be. acted upon.