Local Intelligence.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XX, 6 March 1861, Page 2

Local Intelligence.

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Tuesday, Mabch 5. [Before J. PoYNTEB, Esq., Kesideufc Magistrate, and E. K. Newcomk, Esq., J.P.] James Drew, of Trafalgar-street, was charged with having violently assaulted Maurice Harris. Prisoner admitted the offence, but aaid it was done under exciting circumstances. The Resident MAGigMUTE: Hojv could it be tmder exciting cii'ciunstaucus ? You cijuie to liio

about the cause of your quarrel, and, from what I told you, you should have taken your proper remedy. You had no right to take the law into your own hands. I shall inflict the full penalty of £5, including costs, or two months' imprisonment.

TnK Government Buildinos.— As a portion of the Government Buildings is now completed, and the remaining portion nearly so, the public officers in several of the departments are preparing to take up tlieir quarters in them, and in a few days the Superintendent's and Land departments will be duly installed there. The Council Chamber (or Town Hall, as v c hope to hear it called) will bo ready for the Provincial Council when it shall meet next month, and this noble room will henceforth, we suppose, be at the service of the public on all occasions when the use of such a Toom can be properly claimed by them. v Nelson Institute.— The new building for the Nelson Institute is now so near completion that the books which comprised the library in the old building are now being removed into it, and by the next vessel from England an important addition of several hundred volumes will be made to them, the proceeds of a donation of £300 from the trustees of the trust funds. The museum is also partly fitted up, and the vnluable collection of geological specimens obtained from Europe may now be seen to advantage. It is contemplated, we believe, to have nn art exhibition and a fancy bazaar, for the benefit of the Institute, so soon as the necessary arrangements can be made for them\ The Collingwood Gold Mining Company.-*^

This company having set aside all the quartz obtained from the presumed Quartz-reef upon their claim wherein gold was visible, collected the remainder and, having submitted it to D. Gibbs, Esq., for assay, that gentleman has reported that it gives a proportion of 3 ozs. 6 dwts. 16 grs. to the ton. This result would of course have been considerably larger had not the quartz been assorted.

Shocking Death at the Aoeebe Goldfields. — On Saturday morning last news arrived from Collingwood that a weather-boarded publichouse, occupied by Mr. James Crooks, the recent proprietor of the Golden Age Hotel, had been totally destroyed by fire during the night of Thursday the 28th of February, and that the charred remains of a human body, supposed to be that of Mr. Crooks, had been discovered in the smouldering ruins. The house was situate in Golden Gully, and what is most singular is, that none of the diggers residing in the immediate neighbourhood heard or saw anything of the conflagration, and knewnotthatthehousewasdestroyed until the Friday morning, when, finding that it had disappeared, some of them went to the spot, and saw only its ruins lying upon the ground. Search was made, as it was known that Mr. Crooks had been seen there late at night, and a portion of a human body was found, but it was so fearfully burned as to prevent identification, the head and lower extremities having been entirely consumed. On Saturday night Mr. J. Blackett, J.P., and Mr. John Sharp, Magisstrates' Clerk, proceeded to Collingwood in a whaleboat manned by a portion of the pilot's crew, so that the many rumours which have been in circulation will speedily be set at rest by the active and searching inquiry we feel assured that Messrs. Blackett and Sharp will make. James Mackay, junior, Esq., R.M., passed through Nelson early yesterday morning, from the Pelorus and proceeded at once to Collingwood, from which place he had been absent on very important business.

Tabanaki Steel— Within the last few weeks the cutlery world has been startled from the quiet tenor of its way by the announcement of a new member of the iron family from the antipodes, which is so finely bred, and so capable of high polish and perfect finish, that it bids fair to become the aristocracy of the whole order. Ever since the settlement of New Zealand by Europeans, their attention Ims been daily called to the peculiarities of a kind of metallic s*nd along the ihores of New Plymouth, in Taranaki. This sand has the appearance of fine steel filings, and if a magnet be dropped upon it, and taken up again, the instrument Will be found thickly coated with the iron granules. The place where the sand abounds i 3 along the base of Mount Egmonl, an extinct volcano, and the deposit extends several miles along the coast, to the depth of many feet, and having a corresponding breadth. The geological supposition is, that this granulated metal has been thrown out of the volcano, along whose base it rests, into the sea, and there pulverized. It has been looked upon for a long time as a geological curiosity, even to the extent of trying to smelt some of it; but, although so many years have passed since its discovery, it is only recently that any attempt has been made to turn it to a practical account. In fact, the quantity is so large that people out there look upon it as utterly valueless. It formed a standing complaint in the letters of all emigrants that when the sea breeze was a little up they were obliged to wear veils to prevent being blinded by the fine sand which stretched for miles along tho shore. Captain Morshead, a gentleman in the west of England, was so much impressed with its value, that he went to New Zealand to verify the reports made to him in this country, and was fortunate enough to find them all correct. He smelted the ore first in a crucible, and subsequently in a furnace ; the results were so satisfactory that he immediately obtained the necessary grant of the sand from the Government, and returned to England with several tons for more conclusive experiments. It has been carefully analyzed in this country by several well-known metallurgists, and has been pronounced to be the purest ore at present known; it contains 8845 of peroxide of iron,ir43 of oxide of titanium, with silica, and only \L2 of waste in 100 parts. Taking the sand as it lies on the beach and smelting it, the produce is 61 per cent, of iron of the very finest quality ; and, again, if this sand be subjected to what is called the cementration process, the result is a tough, first-class steel, which in its properties seems to surpass any other description of that metal at present known. The investigations of metallurgical science have found that if titoriium is mixed with iron the character of the steel is materially improved, but titanium being a scarce ore, such a mixture is too expensive for ordinary purjjoses ; here, however, nature has stepped iv, and made a free gift of both metals on the largest scale. To form some idea of the fineness of this beautiful sand, it will be enough to say that it passes readily through a gauze sieve of 4,900 holes or interstices to the square inch. As soon as it was turned into steel by Mr. Mushet, of Coleford, the Messrs. Moseley, the eminent cutlers and tool makers of New-street, Covent-garden, were requested to see what could be done with the Taranaki steel. They have tested it in every possible way, and have tried its temper to the utmost, and they say the manner in which the metal has passed through tlieir trials goea far bej-ond anything that they ever worked in steel before. It has been formed into razors, scissors, saws, pen-knives, table cutlery, surgical instruments, &c., and the closeness of the grain, the fineness of polish, and keenness of edge, place it in the very foremost rank, almost iv the position of a new metal. Some Bilk cutting tools have been made, and so admirably have they turned out, that one particular firm will, in future, have no others. In the surgical instruments the edges have been examined by the misorope, and have stood the test in keeping the superiority, A number of gentlemen interested in such matters have called at Messrs. Moseley's, and have taken various articles of this steel away for the purpose of trying it. It is stated to possess peculiar advantages for gun barrels and boring-cutters for ordnance purposes. As far as is at present known of this extraordinary metal, it bids fair to claim all the finer classes of cutlery and edge-tool instruments to itself, so well has everything made from it turned out. The Messrs. Moseley, in whose hands tho sole manufactory of cutlery and edge-tools is vested for this country, have placed a case, filled with the metal in all its stageß, in the Polytechnic Institution. There is the fine metallic sand, some beautiful specimens of the cutlery made from it, and the intermediate phases of the iron and steel. An official experiment is expected to be made at some of the Government establishments Bhortly, and it is also intended to forge some chain cables, anchors, &c, in order to fully set forth the great superiority of the Taranaki iron. — Morning Chronicle, December 1.

EXPLORATION FOR A ROAD TO THE WEST COAST.

We publish the following report respecting the country between the Rivers Grey and Clarence, which hae just been furnished by Mr, Malhig, who wins wnt

by the Provincial Government to see if any road could be obtained to the Grey via the Clarence.

To his Honour the Superintendent, Nelson

SlR — I have the honour to furnish you with a report of the country between the River Clarence nnd the hpad of tho Grey. After reaching the Clarence, I tried a pa9s about nine miles below Lake Tennyson, leading westward, and followed the stream to its source in a low saddle about five miles up ; but, owing to the difference in tbe levels of the Waiau-ua and Clarence rivers, I found thedescenfc to the stream running into the Waiau-ua too steep to take our pack horse down ; we were therefore obliged to return, and follow dowu the Clarence till we came to the pass by which Messrs. M'Rae and Bursill reached the Waiau-ua last year. We found it rather swampy in places for the first five miles, but after that the valley became more contracted, and, towards the Waiau-ua, it was n perfect gorge, which rendered travelling extremely difficult. On taking a good look at the country, I saw that it would be useless to attempt to take our horse any further, so Jlr. Wright returned with it to Tarndale, whilst Stewart, Winter, and myself, after dividing our loads, and seeing that there was no possibility of finding a road down the Waiau-uo,followed up that river to its junction with the Henry, atid thence by our old road, to the grass flat reached by Mr. Lewis and myselfjast year. .-""We were detained here for two days by heavy rain, "which made the river too high for us to cross ; but as the river fell on the third day, we started down the Boyle, crossing or rather wading down it nearly the whole way (five and a-half milea), on account of the thick growth of wild-irishmen, Spaniards, and spear grass, which grew on either bank, entirely preventing our making any progress. At the junction of the Boyle and Lewis we found Mr. Handyside, who informed me that these two rivers, instead of running into the Grey, as had always been supposed, form the River Hope, which runs into the Waiau-ua about seven miles above Hanmer plain. This I soon found to be the case, for, on following down the river for about three miles, to the junction of a large stream called the Doubtful, flowing from the westward, atid having ascended a low hill, I could see the course of the Waiau-ua for several miles, running almost eastward.

Owing to the thick fog which remained in the Doubtful valley for several days, I was unable to follow it up, but I feel almost certain that there will eventually be found a pass into the valley of the Ahaura.

As my main object was to endeavour to find a road to the Grey, I determined to follow up the Waiau-ua, in the hope of finding some break through the great mountain range which might lead to the Grey. After ascending the Waiau-ua for about four miles, we came to a large stream, and as it looked open, and in the right direction, we followed it up to its source (about nine miles), when we were brought up by a great range of mountains, the lowest part of which was about 2,000 feet high. As it was the only place where it was possible to ascend, we set to, clambering up the best way we could : about half-way up the hill consisted of a mass of loose shingle, which made it almost dangerous to attempt it, but as this was the only place where we could get a view of the country, we renewed our efforts, and at last reached the summit. The view which we obtained from the top of this hill was well worth all our trouble in reaching it. At the foot of the hill was a lake, hitherto unknown, from which the Grey takes its rise : its length is about four miles, and about three quarters of a mile wide, and, from the colour of the water, must be of great depth. A very high range rises ou the western aide of the lake, on the other side of which I could distinguish the pass through which Mr. James Mackay's track runs ; and to the south-west it was not difficult to follow the winding course of the Grey valley ; and further south could be seen the mountain ranges which bound the valley of the Aliaura.

As I have now tried every pass likely to lead to the Grey, I am satisfied that there is no possibility of making a road to that river, to strike Mr. Mackay's track, north of the Ahaura. From the general features" of the country, I believe that the route discovered by Mr. James Mackay will be the best, as it is so much lower than any that can be found by the Waiau-ua. If it is the intention of the Government to make a road to the Grey, it would be advisable to send some perSon down Mr. Mackay's track, who should carefully go over the road to see if there are any means of shortening it, as I see in Mr. Mackay's report that he believes there are many places, by which, if any person had time to explore them, the road might be considerably shortened by taking it over some low hilh, instead of following round the river. A road may eventually be discovered from Hanmer plain to the West Coast by way of the Doubtful, and thence down the Ahaura j but as so little is known of the latter valley, I cannot give the slightest idea what such a road would cost. There is not much difficulty with regard to the Doubtful, for even in its present state horses have been, taken to that river.

I hare, &c, C. Maling.

Nelson, February 28.