GREYMOUTH.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 810, 9 September 1887, Page 12

GREYMOUTH.

[By Telegraph.]

(from our own correspondent.) Greymouth, September 2. The National Bank are erecting ah office at Brunnerton. A large number of men will shortly be discharged from the Midland Railway works, as certain contractors are nearly finished and at present there are no signs of any fresh contracts coming forward. Two new hotels were opened in town to-day-one by Mr W. J. Coates on Richmond, quay, and the other near the railway station. Rain has been very heavy on the coast this last twenty-four hours, and, no doubt from the high state of the rivers, the Hokitika mail has not reached here to-day, The morning paper complains that the harbor works are not being carried out in strict accordance with Sir John Coode a plans, and that the present state of the work is a menace to the town should another flood arise. . Greymouth, September 4. The lower end of the town had a narrow escape from a terrible disaster on Saturday. The wooden backing of the old wharf, now laid down for many years, had become very rotten, and the late floods left it in a dangerous condition. There was a considerable fresh in the river on Saturday, and part of this backing underneath the large transit shed gave way, and the front of the shed subsided. Fortunately the flood began to subside ; had it risen a foot or two higher, in all probability it would have made a break through the rotten timber, and, sweeping away the shingle at the back, have let the river pour in a huge stream along the boundary of the streets, its former bed. The risk, however, was observed in time, and a gang of men soon had the floor of the shed taken up, and fresh planking laid down. Even now, should another big flood come down, tbe lower part of tbe town is not considered safe, as the backing right along the wharf is in a thoroughly unsound condition. Tbe river is still swollen, and there is no prospect yet of the weather clearing up. • The Maori for Wellington, and Herald for Onehunga, are detained and cannot get away. There is a heavy breaking sea on the bar. The Gerda and St Kilda are outside. An attempt was made this morning to get the s.s. Maitai off the shingle bank in the river, on to which she was driven by the flood on Saturday morning, but without avail. It is expected she will have to be launched, as when the river subsides Bhe will be high and dry. There are loud complaints in town over the lethargy of the Harbor Board in not providing a proper cattle-landing wharf. _ The Board have had the matter under consideration for over twelve months. A plan and estimates have been prepared, which show that a suitable wharf can be constructed for about £SOO. It is expected the revenue for cattle landing fees would amount to at least £4OO per annum, and yet the Board delay the matter month after month. The export of coal for the past week was— Brunner Coal Company, 1366 tons 8 cwt; Westport Coal Company, 1785 tans 16 cwt. Owing to the continuous wet, most of the up country mines are flooded. The Christchurch mail, due on Saturday, has not arrived yet at Hokitika. The lower part of the town is flooded. Greymouth, September 5. The Union Steamship Company intend having their engineer, who so successfully launched the Mawhera from the Cobden beach some months ago, to try his skill in launching the Maitai, which now lies hard and fast in a shingle bank in the River Grey, opposite the railway station. A series of accidents occurred during a slight gale on Sunday. A tree at the Twelve Mile, standing on the side of a hill, was blown down at about half-past 2, and fell on the boardinghouse occupied by Mrs Clark {formerly of Wellington), completely smashing the house in two- The trees broke the leg of a man sitting at the table, and also fell across the chest of one of X Mrs Clark’s daughters, aged about 14 years, inflicting serious injuries on the girl. On Saturday an elderly man, whilst riding on a J truck on Kelly’s contract on the Midland Railway, fell off, and the truck passed over s his leg, breaking it in two places. An exf traordinary escape happened to a, man workMing on the Midland Railway. He lives in a =tent alongside the line, and on Friday last he had an idea that he ought to go to Nelson \ Creek, some seven miles distant He did %ot know why he should go there, but some influence seemed to impel him. He went and stayed there all night. About the middle of the night, during his absence, a large tree fell across his tent, completely smashing his bunk to pieces. BCad he been there in all probability he would have been killed. . A new discovery of coal has been made in the Coal Creek district, near the Seven Mile Creek. Mr J. Kilgour has had a party out prospecting, and they have found several seams a short distance apart, _ each seam averaging about eight feet in thickness, it is expected that this outcrop is a continuation of the Coal Creek coal beds, Tracks ■will be cnt at once to the discovery, and steps will be taken to open up the district. The coal is of very good quality, a true bituminous coal, and situated in a country easily accessible. The Reefton mining returns for the last week are—Globe, 2900 z amalgam from 170 tens stone ; Progress, 86oz of amalgam. Greymouth, September 6. At the Greymouth cattle market to-day, the supply of cattle was not so large as usual, vet prices ruled low. The quality was from prime to medium, most of the cattle coming from Wanganui. The top price for bullocks was £9 10s per head. Mr Larkworthy s 8 bullocks, from Foxton, averaged £7 14s ; 48 bullocks, from John McGregor, Wanganui, fetched an Average of £8 Is; 28 bullocks, from Fox and O’Neill, Wanganui, averaged £8 3s. Prime beef waß quoted at about 17s od to loa per 1001 b. In fat sheep there was a large supply, and,'the demand being small, prices were low. Mr Manson’s lot was withdrawn at 14s 3d. The sales averaged from 15s to 15s 3d. Piss were soon bought up, only o 5 being in the market; extra fat brought from £3 ; useful porkers, 40s ; and stores, 275.. I There has been a heavy sea on the bar for I the past two days, ancf no shipping has been

done ; but it is subsiding this evening, and most likely the Maori, for Wellington, will leave abont midnight. Mr Guinness addressed the electors at Cobden last night, and in the course of his speeoh said he would not support any assistance being given to the High Schools and Universities- He would urge retrenchment in the higher circles of the Civil Service, and thought the Governor’s salary might be reduced to one half, and a lot of drones m the Wellington Civil Service might be dispensed with altogether. He would, by abolishing Boards of Education, save the Colony some £15,000 per annum. At the close of his address it was moved and carried that he was a fit and proper person to represent that district in the new Parliament. For their valuable services in protecting his premises during the recent fire, Mr P'elix Campbell, merchant, of Mackay-street, has presented the Fire Brigade with a cheque for ten guineas and eighteen blankets. The electoral roll for the Grey district contains three thousand names. The Reefton Building Society is in a very flourishing condition, and will pay a dividend of ISs per share on September 17th. Four boxes of gold weighing 36550 z 6dwt 12gr, valued at £14,740, were received yesterday by the local Bank of New Zealand from Hokitika. Greymouth, September 7. Captain Bendall has arrived from Wellington to superintend the launching of the Maitai from the shingle bank. It has been raining hard all day. The sea has gone down and the bar is smooth. There has been a great influx of shipping. The Maori left at noon for Wellington, and the Herald for Onehunga, while some vessels entered. Mr Petrie addressed the electors at Richardson, a station on the Midland Railway, this evening, and received a vote of confidence.