OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10311, 19 March 1895, Page 8

OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

(Fhom Our Own Correspondent.) Giieyjiodth, March 7. TUB UNFINISHED lIOAD.

Agitation concerning tho completion of the dray road meant to connect the town> of Kumara and Gioymouth continues, and tho folk of these places are not only going to deputationise the Premier this week thereon, but petitions are now in course of preparation which are to be anted around the town and district memorialising the General Government on the matter. I may mention that the road, which was commenced at both ends eoine tiniu a^o, was conscrucLcd to within three miles of tiie centre, and if nniohed it would not only be a boon to the towns mentioned, but would ajau alfoi'd great facilities to many people living bu the line. Hitherto the unwillingness of the Government to complete the work is said to be uue to the absurd supposition that it might prove Bonous opposition to the llokitika and Ureymouth railway.

HOW DAKED III; ! The Greymouth Charitable Aid Board is up on its tail end, and' with curling beard demands in burning indignation•■■how the Hon. Mr Reeves, Minister for Kducation, dares- to ■' no unwarrantably iuterfare with its subsidies," &c, &c. The Minister, evidently holding ■ doubw as to the board'a integrity, deducted one day last week from theG. C. A. B/ssute.dy of£2U3lls3d the silmof i;li(J7sld for maintenance of children in industrial 'schools, and then notified tne board by wire; whereat, up went the board's temper to along degree above fever heat, and last J!'riday the chairman told the Minister of the Crown in plain Jinglisu what lie thought about him and his action. Referring to the matter, the Grey Star says thataa these industrial school maintenance grants are paid quarterly, and the last was met on December 31, there wai no necessity lor the Minister's husty action. ;

I WHAI MIGHT HAVE BEEN, One evening after the Greymouth sun had put . his nightcap on and covered up his head, a six-ton truckload oi Blackball coul was being haulsd up by a wharf hydraulic crane. As the mass of iron and black diamonds mounted ur>, suddenly a man' moved out of a. group of loiterers ueir by, as if with the intention of parsing under and on up the quay. Just at that particular instant another bystander ejaculated : " Say, Jim, 'tisrl't safe 1" and grabbed _iho adventurous spirit. That moment there was a startling crack overhead,1 then a thud, a crash, and a smash. The Iron frame had broken, and down shot that six-ton truck, breaking up the steel railway rails like so much glass. The m»n wasn't below, but he saw it all, yet he didn't Siy anything—he only thought all the more. Had matters been otherwise ordered that man would not have bain next day charged on hU " bike " by a "playful" little red bull, nor have had to "scoot" a mile in order to free himself of the creature's iuconsiderate attentions; the irate quadruped would not have been shot as a dangerous "lunatic" on the highway, and a certain clever mender of bicycles could not have tamed the extra halfsov. for repairing the '• bike," which went helter-skelter down q, declivity for some unknown, reason., -,';....; . .

...... ."■". . MISCELLANEOUS HEMS. , ■ ...... ■ , . A 10 days" wonder for Arcadian. Paroa was tho locomotive home of Mr Robert Keown, a 25 years' residentof.the rural-district and inthe immediate vicinity of the ola Kumara-Greytramwayline. The latter .company having become!' bust," Mr Keown had his eight-roomed Australasian Hotel moved holus-bolus to its new site by the Hokitika-Grey railway, over a spacs of 14 chains. . There appears to be a "little boom" imminent over the iangdon's reefs, iv consequence of tha fact that the prospectors' reef has widened out to 4f o and that the same shows excellent gold A party is being formed amongst the business folk of drey and Hokitika for the purpose of acquiring a licensed holding close to the prospectors'. Colonel Fox, who haa just completed his tour of inspection of the Coastal voluntesrs, holda the general opinion that if the men had more intelligent officers they would know their duty better and become smarter companies. I am with the " cominaader-in-chief" in this respect, but ono requires to be behind the scenes to get at the true cause. It ia not so much thoofficers' fault as it is that of the Defence department's loose—nay, farcical—manner of conductingtho examinations. 11l give your readers one instance. Before a certain corpi became formed, tbe "heterogeneous " mass of men about to " enroll," met and selected their captain and lieutenant3,asisdonein every case. In duo time tha probition period passed by and Captain A. and Lieutenants B. and C. " went up for examination." Not one of them knew anything about drill noryet about-any thing that they should have known, consequently they "went up" with "mixed" feelings, but, quite contrary to expectations, all three passed with flying colours. It was a very stiff examination, too.'buttAp answers rvere aU supplied for them! This occurred long after the early days, remember, wßen a fourroomed house floated bodily over the Grey bar playing "Rule Britannia,"—or at all events the musical box inside did—the occupants' barely escaping with their lives. For the four weeks ended January 5, 1895, the net earnings on the Brunner railway amounted to £1270555 d. ■■■'-•■■ ...-■■■-

Next ■week:Greymouth'B/ ambition is to soar high, for the Hinemoa is not only' to come here for the Premier nnd family, but the steamer is to cross the bar and come into port. Yet there is a little lump of salt in the teacup, and !t has-been maliciously or otherwise dropped there by seme Wellington, press agent, who wires that " as the Hinemoa will be light she will enter the Grey port," Ac, an atrocious adjective the Grey newspaper takes exception to as a ".libel on our port," the paper stating that for the past year the Grey bar ..has had'aii average depth of 20ffc of water,whereas the Hinemoa, when loaded, draws only from 14ft to 16ft, and that although the Buller bar has a lower depth, the Government steamer hesitates not to cross it. •■■■ : : ■■■ ir: ; ' '

After driving a total distance of 400 ft; but of an estimated length of- 600 ft, the' Brunner prospecting':lrive has come across " a likely formation, indicating a close proximity to coal." The present contract'may be completed within'the'current month/

At the opening of the Hokitika Horticultural Society's show, the Hon. the Premier strongly advocated the establishment of dairy factories, pointing out that the Wesb Coast was essentially a root and grass growing country. ""The newsof the death of Dr Maunsell, formerly of Dtmedin, caused universal regret throughout the West Const, where he was particularly well and favourably known some yeais back as a legally qnalified medical practitioner at Hokitika. '

The trustees of the Grey River Hospital reckon that by the proposed alterations in the staff, by whicli it is intended to substitute female nuvse3for male attendants, a saving of £250 per annum in salaries—or a salary list of £785 as against £1223 10a paid in 1893-will be effected. A Vexing delay in the construction of the Coal Creek Railway Company's bridge h«s arisen owing to a misunderstanding amongst the shareholder.! thereof. However, Mr A. R. Guinness, M.H.R., and Mr Joseph Taylor, representing the shareholders, have gone to meet the directors at. Wellington, so that in all probability matter 3 will have been rearranged ere this reaches you. Last Saturday, whilst Mr James Chesney, one of Hokitika's most popular residents, was driving a buggy, the horse took fright and bolted, throwing him put on to the metal road, bruising his body and cutting his face rather badly. ■ Mr Walter Hill, founder of the West Coast Reform Miners' Association,, has just been presented by the Kumara Miners' Association with an address, appreciating his efforts to advance the mining industry on the West Coast. The celebrated Hinemoa has just ventured over the Grevmouth bar, and is' now safely moored alongside, thepiei-j—and what, is. she ? .Nothing more nor less than a dirty, battered,'old tub, a. ■ white elephant to the colony, a reproach to the Government, and a disgrace to her captain and crew. Of the hundreds who visited " our boat" yesterday there were tio two opinions about it. [From the metal of the lee scuppers to the "fine brass of the binnacle" filth reigned supreme, with disorder and negligence on the decks, the lubberly cet of seamen lounging and lyin? about everywhere. There is nothing smart either in the vessel or her crew, nnd neatness in evidently an unknown quality, if I except the figurehead of Hinemoa herself blowing her golden trumpet—and even her cleanliness may have been owing to the surges of the Grey bar as she dived her way through their carded, wool-like spray. I never yet saw collier, barge, or cattle boat fetched into any port in such a state of filth ss was the Government steamer Hinemoa yesterday. Mr O'Regan, M.H.R., presented on Saturday last, on behalf of the residents of Reefton, Mr G. B. Shepherd (late mauager of the firm of ForsytU and Masters) with a handsome testimonial in the. shape of a purse of sovereigns on the eve of his departure from quartzopolis. At tho monthly meeting of: the Westland Charitable Aid Board last Monday correspondence showed that body to be jarnbed again for want of funds,' there being a demand for £324 overduo to the Westland Hospital. It was shown that all the local contributing bodies—Ross Borough Council excepted—were greatly in arrears, and Mr J. F. Byrne, a leading man in the ArahuraKumara mining districts, stated_ that all the rates of the Westland County Council went in chnri-j table aid. The chairman thought the only way out of the difficulty was to strike a charitable aid. i rate. 'Twas an announced tax that laid Rienzi, the Roman tribune, low!

The annual assessment for the borough of Westport for this year is £19,888, as against £19,893 for 1894. ...

Mr A. Matheson, Greymouth, has chartered the barque Rangitiki, of the New Zealand Shipping Company, to take away the Coastal portion of the ,trial shipment of New Zealand timber for- London, direct.' ' - ' ' ■ ' ; There is another, row in Westport, the coal hewers having received noticesof a reduction to £s 2d per ton from the Westport Coal Company. . . The loangahua Times, referring to the recent Is divideuds from'tbe Big River and Hercules mines, says there, was quite a flutter of excitement in town on Saturday evening, the chief cause being the excellent return from the former Re Colonel Fox's dreaded visit of inspection, the Brunner News hazards the opinion of its local volunteer corps " that the men looked cleanir than on the occasion of the colonel's last visit!"

Mr P. o'R.egan, M.H.R. (who has been appointed to the editorial chair of the Inanguhua Times), has commenced " writing down " the Government. Tremble the Government. The session will delay till Mr O'Regan be done! Once upon a time—it was during the Indian Mutiny (our clever and widely-popular friend, Colonel Morris, may possibly have heard of the incident)—just on the eve of a great, battle, the commander-in-chief, running his eagle eye along the lines, cried out, "Is Sergeant Driscol O'Donnelhere 1" and that noted fire-eater answering in the vernacular, " He is, sor!" the Commander-in-chief commanded, " Let the war begis !"