News of the Day. WEST WANGANUI COAL MINE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 110, 6 September 1866, Page 2

News of the Day. WEST WANGANUI COAL MINE.

It will be recollected that some months ago, Mr. Pachten, commissioned by a number of Melbourne gentlemen, visited Nelson for the purpose of endeavouring to buy the lease of the West Wanganui Coal Mine from the hands of the company of Nelson shareholders who then owned it. Mr. Pachten was BuccessfuWand, together with Mr. Landor, a coalviewer^[Hhat experience in England, visited West Wang^^^Hid, having formed an estimate of the value^^^Hoal-dcposit, and obtained the sanction rf the^JPson Government to the transfer of the rotse, proceeded bock to Melbourne in order to arrange the preliminaries for the formation of a new company to work the mine on an extensive scale. Mr. Pachten has now returned to Nelson, and has favoured us with a prospectus offihe undertaking. In addition to the acreage on the north-west side of the inlet, which amounts to 640 acres, and another patch close to Coal-point of 200 acres, the Government were applied to for and granted a lease of 1,280 acres on the southern shore. The average yield of one seam, the upper one/ is estimated at 2,000 tons per acre ; that of the lower one at 4,500 tons per acre. The cost of plant, sinking the shaft, &c, for working the seam on the northern shore, has been estimated, if barges are used, at £5,600, and if a tramway and pier are made, at £7,588. On the southern shore, the cost would amount to £5,276. As soon as the mine is properly opened out and got into thorough working order, the cost of raising the coal to grass is estimated at 7s. per ton. Appended to the prospectus are certificates from the masters of various steam vessels who have used the coal, who all agree in their opinion concerning its excellent qualities, both as regards its steam generating power, and the absence of ash and clinker attending its consumption. The analysis of tho coal made by Mr. John Kruse, of Melbourne, compared with that of Newcastle coal, is as follows :—: — , "WesfWanganui. Newcastle. Combustible gases . 4455 29 20 Sulphur . . . 1-05 5-20 Coke .... 5125 5880 Ashes . . . 315 6.80 10000 10000 Specific gravity . . 1*24 1*34 The capital of the company is to be £35,000, in shares of £1 each, and the shaft and appliances suggested are to be capable of raising at least 1,200 tons per week. We are heartily glad that at least one of our rich coal deposits will now be worked in a systematic manner, and that both the shareholders, the publio in general, and the revenue of the province, will be thus benefited. We trust that the remainder of the shares not yet disposed of in Melbourne will be soon got rid of, and that the exertions of the company will prove a contrast to those of the holders of the Grey lease, against whom complaints are constantly appearing in the Greymouth papers for the dilatory manner in which the mine is worked. Mb. G-tjugx's WAiBK-Coi^trß Paintings. — In noticing two of Mr. Gully's more recent works in water-colours, some days since, we suggested that, before sending them away, the artist should give the residents of Nelson an opportunity of seeing and admiring them. Mr. Gully has requested us to state that he shall be happy to submit them to the view of any persons anxious to see them, at his residence, Trafalgar-street South, but adds that they are at present unmounted, and so cannot be publicly exhibited. The Tele&baph.— Two men were despatched this morning, by Mr. Tipping, of the Telegraph-office here, to repair some faults which exist in the line of wires between Nelson and Picton, through the wires having been badly spliced and stretched, and to remove branches of trees which had fallen upon them. Rumoured Death of William Thompson, thb Maobi Chief. — The Southern Cross, of the Ist instant, contains a paragraph stating that a report had reached them of the death of William Thompson. A gentleman who obtained, the news from native sources brought it to Auckland. The Crost places greater reliance on the tidings, owing to Thompson having lately been in precarious health. AbBIVAIi OF THE NEW GOVEBNOE OF VIOTOBIA. —The Argus of the 14th August states that :— " His Excellency, the Honourable Sir J. H. T. MannersSutton, X.C.8., the newly appointed Governor of Victoria, arrived at Sandridge Pier at ten o'clock last night. Owing to the brief notice given of his Excellency's approach, and the late hour at which the mail steamer which conveyed him to these shores reached the bay, it was not possible for the event to be marked by a public demonstration of any magnitude, but he was received with all the marks of attention and respect practicable under the circumstances." His Excellency was duly sworn in on the 15th ultimo. Sullivan's Wife. — On the arrival of the Otago from Melbourne, on Tuesday last, a report circulated through Nelson, that the wife of the prisoner Sullivan had reached Nelson, and further that, accompanied by the police, she was perambulating the streets in search of lodgings, no one apparently being willing to receive her inside their thresholds. This adds, we believe, one more sample to the many we have had before, of the wonderful inventive genius which some fiction-monger in Nelson is possessed of. We have made inquiries, but have not succeeded in tracing the rumour to its source. The Peisoneb Sdxlitan. — The West Coast Times of the 31st August, states that " the question as to whether Sullivan, of Burgess's gang, is identical with the Sullivan formerly connected with them in Otago, has been set at rest, the Otago Sullivan having only been discharged from custody in the Hokitika gaol, where he has undergone a month's imprisonment for larceny." This question was satisfactorily settled in Nelson Borne weekß back, by the dissimilarity of the marks on the two men. The Pbisoneb DbLact. — This man, who is in custody on the West Coast on a charge of conspiring to murder Mr. E. B. Fox, has been again remanded until the 7th inßtant. Kaubi Gum. — The export of kauri gum from the northern island is becoming very large. The Queen of the North lately left Auckland with 4,754 cases of this substance besides a quantity in bulk and casks amounting in all to about 450 tons. A quantity of prepared phormium tenax was also shipped to England iv her.

Mb. Wabdin Kykxbbslky.— The correspondent of tho Grey River Argui, at the Buller, writing on tho 24th ultimo, says : — " To-day the Kennedy arrived, bringing a few of the aristocrats of Nelson. Among the number it the worthy R.M. of Cobden, Mr. Kynnereley, who is always welcomed amongst us, m ho is always ready to listen to our requests with an earnest ear. Niw Zealand Fkbn Teke at Home.— Amongst the objecta of interest exhibited at the International Exhibition, held in May, at Kensington, a New Zealand fern tree was conspicuous. The Field, •peaking of the fern, says, " It would liavo been comEirativeiy poor were it not for that noblo New Zeand fern tree (cyathea medullaris) rearing up its thick item and wide-spreading graceful crest, and crowning with verdure the brilliant parterre." Paupibism in Auckland.— The increase of pauperism in Auckland is mode tho subject of a leading article in the Daily Southern Crost, which advocates the imposition of a poor rate to remedy the evil. IT.M Ships at Auckland.— H.M.S. Falcon and £ik are both at Auckland. Mm. Kindib,— lt it said tbat Mrs. Kinder, and her other paramour, Arthur Jackion, hare returned to Sjdnej. Tni RIOHHT QtTABTZ RkOT IN THE WOBLD.— A quartz reef, yielding 2,000 ozs. to the ton, is said to have been struck at Wood's Point, Victoria. If true this is by far the richest known reef in the world. Thi Fctubi o? Westland.— The Grey River Argus, in an article published on the 28th August, makes the following romarks : — " As yet the country has not been half prospected. There are hundreds of iquare miles of territory where tho foot of the European has never been seen, and where possiblj lie hidden richer treasures than have yet been discovered, and we may reasonably expect that the next lix months will result in tho opening up of many new and rich mining districts, and in the more complete and profitable development of those already known. These expectations are sufficiently probable of fulfilment to warrant their being shared by the Provincial Governments, and should impress upon the minds of the authorities the necessity ef preparing for the increased duties and responsibilities which an accession of population will 'force upon them. This is not the time for pursuing a pennywise and pound foolish policy in the matter of the expenditure of public money on works needed to open up the country, and encourage the development of its resources. To curtail the expenditure now would be an aot of folly, and as unprofitable as foolish. The Government ought to anticipate the demands of the district, and endeavour not only to retain the present but to invite further population. The provincial authorities have it much in their power to decide whether the prosperity of Westland during the future shall exceed that of the past, or whether it shall decline. A liberal expenditure on roads or tramways throughout the interior would be the best investment for capital the province could find. Make the country accessible, cheapen the cost of living, and we venture to say that the population and revenues of the district would bo double in a very short time." Auckland, and the Pbemieb.— The ingratitude of Auckland towards Mr. Stafford is astonishing, but of course she will not admit she is guilty of it ; no one yet ever pleaded guilty to the basest of sins. Notwithstanding all the confiscated lands given to her by Mr. Stafford, and the £100,000 lent to her to colonue those lands, but lent to her whilst in a state of impecuniosity which renders the loan tantamount to a gift, her journals can write as follows : — " Our space does not permit us to do more than congratulate the Province of Auckland on the overthrow of the Stafford Government. It was a Ministry which lived, during its short existence, on false pretences. Its leader, Mr. Stafford, appears to have spent a lifetime building up a reputation as a politician to destroy it utterly; for, after the experience the colonj has had of him for the last twelve months, we apprehend it will never again trust him, except in a subordinate position. Mr. Stafford has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of everybody, that he can conduct the office business of a department ; he has likewise demonstrated that he has no claim whatever to the title of ' statesman,' as applied to him by ourselves and his admirers, in the innocence of our faith." Auckland unfortunately fancied that Mr. Stafford would be obliged to side with her efforts at separation, forgetting that Mr. Stafford has always vigorously opposed such a measure, and, finding her mistake, she is disgusted at her own obtuseness, and with the Premier generally. William Thompson.— The following is from the pen of a Wellington correspondent, and appears in the Daily Southern Cross, of the 22nd ultimo. We have not seen the subject alluded to in any of the Wellington papers, so we extract it : — " On Monday, the 13th instant, a dinner was given at Osgood's Hotel to William Thompson and his native companion, by Messrs. Feathereton, Whitaker, M'Lean, and other members of tbe Assembly. Mr. FitzGerald proposed the health of their guest, which was responded to by Thompson in a very pleasing manner. He said he was always desirous of living at peace with the pakeha, and that it was only when his people joined the war that he was carried away with the current. He would like to invite the gentlemen present to his country, but unfortunately he was no »r very poor — even the food which ho and his people were using had been purchased by borrowed money ; but when his people recovered a little, and again had abundance of food, he would be most happy to receive his pakeha friends on a visit, and make them as comfortable as he could. During the course of the evening, Thompson offered to play draughts with Whitaker for the Waikato. Whitaker played, although not for the proposed stakes, and the Maori chief won. Thompson then played with Featherston and M'Lean, and beat them — thus vanquishing the threo Superintendents." The Lyttelton Times, speaking of Thompson, says :—: — " He is an intellectual man, with a remarkably fine set of lower features, far removed from the cannibal type. But he is, phrenologically speaking, devoid of all the calculating organs, and plentifully supplied with cunning." Thi Stxamkb Kaikouba.— A correspondent who kindly sent us an account of the Kaikoura's trip from Wellington to Panama, and who was more than usually competent to form a comparison between the accommodation of that vessel and what is generally found in steamers, wrote as follows :— "The second class accommodation will be found almost as good as the first, and I think many will gladly avail themselves of it whose means will not jet allow of the best." The special correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross thinks otherwise, and says : — " Now, we have a word of advice to offer the company regarding the second-class accommodation of the Kaikoura. It is, to say the least, very inferior, and is a disgrace to the steamer. The cabin is small, badly lit, and badly ventilated, and is not to be compared with that of the Taranaki, or some other of the steamers on the New Zealand coast. It is much to be regretted thst it is not on a comparatively equal scale of comfort with that of the firstclass. It may be that the company desire to follow the example of the P. and O. Company, and drive all the passengers into tho saloon ; if so, they are certainly going the right way to accomplish it. Would it not be better policy for them to make tho second-class as comfortable as possible? Many would then prefer to travel home second-class by steamer than first by sailing-vessel, as the fare is about the same, but the saving of time great. If this plan were adopted, we are sure the company would command nearly the entire of the passenger traffic at present in the hands of the sailing-vessels." Quiknslasd Tbiascby Bills.— The Union Bank in Melbourne, having been appointed the agent for the sale of Queensland Treasury Bills, invited tenders for them, £170,000 worth were tendered for. All were accepted, except £3,000 worth below par. Imminse Kauri Pinb.— The Daily Southern Cross states that the largest kauri log known to have been sawn in New Zealand was cut a few weeks ago at the saw-mills recently erected at Hokianga by Messrs. J. Webster and Co. — R. Davison, manager. The log was forty-six feet long, eight feet through, containing 10,000 feet of timber j and was broken down in one hour fifteen minnteii and entirely cut op in on* day*

Meeting at Otahuhu.— A very numerously attended and influential meeting was held in the Otahuliu district, in Auckland, on the 21st August, for the purpose of expressing the electors' disapproval of Colonel Haultain's conduct in the House of Representatives, and requesting him to resign his seat The gallant colonel was likened by one speaker to the unjust steward, who made " frionds to himself of the mammon of unrighteousness," probably, it is eaid, because the enemy had offered him a sheep run. A large number of speakers addressed the meeting all condemning Colonel Haul tain for not abiding by his province, and voting with the majority of the Auckland members on Separation. .The following resolutions were passed :—": — " 1. That, in the opiuion of this meeting, the course taken by Colonel Haultain, during the current session of the General Assembly is inconsistent with his pledge to his constituents, and detrimental to the interests of the province. 2. That Colonel Haultain, having forfeited the confidence of his constituents, be requested to resign his seat for the district of Franklny. 3. That the chairman of this meeting be required to forward these resolutions to Colonel Haultain." Rotai Visitobs in ViCTOEiA.— The Melbourne Argus says that the Due de Penthiovre and the Comte de Beauvoir, accompanied by Captain Flauvel, have been seeing a good deal of the colony since their arrival in Victoria. They have travelled to several of the best gold-fields, the pastoral country, the trans-mining districts,' and some of the best sporting grounds. To quote the Bendigo Independent — " Their plain unostentatious manner has won them the good opinion of all who have had the honour of conversing with them." They are about to proceed to Sydney, and thence to California.