OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 54

OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

— ■ '^ ■ y ■ i ( 'i, r>\' t ( i- (Fiiom Oob Own ComiRSPONDBNT.) , "; • Westi^nd, -December 8. A TOWN DIVIDED. v ,„,„ J. Since the suspension ;of^the^t6wn"plßrk.tli&^; of^the^t6wn"plBrk.tli&^ townspeople of Hokifcika are div/ided 4 .o^:iQ^lii*£ r .j two matters. First, a very, largo section hold ' I that the sentences were top severe— especially* the latter one of depriving ; Mr'Ptfake''oE His , situation, a post he had held with credii-for^., many years previou3 to ithi •. 'f unfortuVato' * event," and backed their, opinion by present^ nig a numerousty-sigoed petition t&th&Bo'f^ftM k Council stating that they (the petitiot\er*}»''fe'ei-' ing perfectly satisfied w'.th the'^ow^^lfifjfjtt the council retain him in theSposition of towni ' clerk. This ths council pointedly refused to do, •>' and, according to the local papers, they unanimously res >lved ta dismiss the, erring'qQloia)^/' and to invite applications fr^m'pers7>ns"w!Ui£g - to fill the vacancy. And sothat'i&ilfe wiaahrStp^;! to a 20 j oars' faithful service^nbrpensioib, , n»gkiad word, not even the courtesy of «v pteaenbai; ,£ tion. , . ' } \ r ■ ' ' ■• " BAD FOR THE COOS ! " '' ' ''"'" Last Saturday's train, whitet.' getting from Hokitika to Greymoulh, came up/against three live cows and cut them up into mincemeat ; bub tha bones nearly derailed the'*engine, when''ia? J such a case there would probably have been a seiious catastrophe, as the" spot was hari'by 1 a dangerous place. JtiJver since the" railway began to run similar accidents have been occurring , wherefore both press and public^ h'ave"nrgea the desirability of fencing in the line, but up to the present Government ba^shqwa no sign of, ■ doing anything that way, so l suppose inatttti will continue as at present till some, wholesale smash happens. * ' ~ '^ **««v~ *■ -•• STRUCK OH.-.UV, The owners of the petrdleqmr'fipripgj/on the Christchuroh road near, to GreyrioubhKSr^^uDi'ej^ lanb over the gratifying intelligence from then* 1 Balolutha Ga9 Company, which, ib appears, is a large consumer of crude oil, jfo. fch6"-.eK*cb. that the company is prepared to take the ; oil injlarg'e" ']. quantities provided it 'can be supplied at area* , sonable price. The d ucoverers .are two_ wood?' A cutters, who, ,ib is reckoned, are now in ib. | Rumour hath it that they have been offered a £3000 for the find and that a substantial ' rdeposit has been already paid. - ; „ < a " "WE ARE .THE PEOPLE." Up at Moonlight live tha people.^- i •,lMoon-~& light" lives on a percb 3000 ft up. To get there sloughs of black mud, acres of peat -bog^an.d. , .. quivering, rotten moss, roadways of bulrushes, rotten logs,- and toadstools have to J b©-nego- ~- ttated, when yon Snd " the people " to consist of one sawyer, 93 years of age, one > Noah's' Ark billy goat, two other hatters ranging between the ages of 70 and 140, four doger*l7 'eats^-and « 77 hens and a game rooster to keep oriier.., .The total values of imports and exports fcom^Moohlight during tho last decade are':, Exports— gold, 520dwt; hens, 372; • l shingles,.'V3(so.; imports— whiskey, 1760ga1 ; beer, 500hhds ; ana,"C saur kraur, 172 barreli. Last Tuesday M^oon« \ light held a monster public indignation meeting,. " and passed very vigorous mol/ions anenfc Mtr. Guinnees's proposal for the re-imposition of the*'' gold duty, calling upon Mr A.R.G^to withdraw, his amendment at once, a,nd in theevent; of his - . not doing io, to circulate a petition throughout the Grey electorate, calling on him to resign his . seat, as he has lost the confidence of his mining constituents. Moonlight, being _ the people*." is going to be represented. f . '•. J - 2 FONNY THINGS OF THE COASIV,.- ---t? - "•" The editor of a West Coast %aper., thu«Jy' v winds up his article on tho "Taxation' 'of 'Mm-"' ing Profits" » ."When it is known^all profit*..are to be taxed the balance .sheets ""will be presented in a different form." -'» -*. v A, Nelson Creek correspondent winds -op*1» -^ glowing description of a N.O. wedding by..»d- l r vising the blushing bride to " take 1 her'mothec " for her model, and then," &c, &o. *' : \'V~. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. : ' 'i« : -.%m* Fire-eater Sammy Hill, of- Wellington; offers , to flatten out Pug Muston at Greymouth for,. , £2Q, all to help make a Coastal holiday. Bptfr

Bragft had much better go and earn an honest fccnTTft^; blacking boots if need be. j^LTbe current year's output of Ibe Blackball amounts to 45,722 tons, or 2667 f^oSJT of jralfecrea stover the output of last year. 1 • The company employ 90 men steadily. , ■ The accidents for the week comprise a Den--iiistou Hill operative named Hamilton, who had fheirrfeecftp ar±d ankle cf bis- left leg fractured by * coal fall la the mine. Another man named Kaia was injured at the Cardiff coal mine, "Weatport, by getting severely jammed bstween t- two coal truck?. Last Monday an employee, tw whilat at work in the Wealth of Nations, Re« fton,- defended 150 ft of shaft with the cage, which tr'bjke away, and his casa is precarious. W. Bainbriclga, a stoker at the B runner mine, was badly scalded last Tuesday by the bursting of a, steam p'-ps.