THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 1862.

Colonist, Volume V, Issue 466, 11 April 1862, Page 3

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 1862.

Since our last we have been making progressive steps in our mineral researches and mining operations, and our expectations remain hopeful, if nothing very definite can as yet be chronicled The Government staff that left some time since for the West Coast has returned; we have therefore further details this month on mining matters, and hope next summary will contain etill more favorable intelligence. The West Coast has for some years been looked upon as a terra incognita; and although we are gradually becoming more familiar with its features and peculiarities, ugly as well as enticing, we have an immense amount of instruction to imbibe before we can in the least degree form an opinion of the true relation to the future interest of the province which that part stands in at present. The two great elements for getting up the commercial steam are known to exist, gold and coal, and who shall say at present to what extent of richness the auriferous land may be capable of being developed, or to how high a trading position these carboniferous deposits are capable of elevating us, snch acquisitions are very important elements to success with any community, and we are at least certain upon one point, that of the undeniable excellence of the Grey coal, the proofs of which are furnished in another part of this paper. Out of these, at present, crude objects of contemplation whereon to build a foundation of success and progress, we may, without incurring the risk of being charged with visionary hopes and inflated opinions s await with equanimity the moment that shall indubitably prove how justifiable have been our expectations: and our gratification will be none the less when we remember the fact that, however much our hopes and fears may have alternately kicked the beam previously, suggesting a course of making the most of the uncertainty which finds but too many parallels, as a province we have used no charletanism, have applied no undue means, to raise our metalliferous lands into notoriety for the sole purpose of profiting by the waifs and strays that follow the wreck of over eager enterprise and wild speculation. The Mary returned from the West Coast yesterday, after an absence of six weeks. She was detained some time in the Grey, in consequence of the heavy sea on the bar preventing her getting out. The report of a party consisting of his Honor the Superintendent, Mr. Burnett, and Mr. Rochfort, having gone overland from the Buller to the Grey which reached us some days ago was correct, these gentlemen having proceeded up the Buller through the valleys of Oweka, Inangahua, and Mawheri-iti. An examination of the coalfield in the Grey district was made by Mr. Burnett, of which further particulars will soon be obtainable. A discovery, however, in connection with the coal deposits at the Buller, gives us undoubted authority for stating that by a close examination made by Mr. Burnett a coal-field of even greater extent than that to which theattention of all has been directed at the Grey has been discovered near the Buller, and Mr. Burnett remains behind engaged in further investigations in the neighborhood of the latter place, in the expectation that coal will be found much nearer to the port than the seams above referred to.

It is to be regretted that the capabilities of the Grey as a harbor for vessels does not improve upon acquaintance; the Buller however is very highly spoken of. In both districts sections of land have been surveyed by Mr. Brunner, and townships selected. The great obstacle to the speedy development of the Grey district appears to be the difficulty of approach that is experienced through the shifting sands at the entrance of the river, affected by each fresh that occurs, and rendering its navigation, as far as is at present known, a matter of uncertainty and even danger.

By the Prince Alfred yesterday morning we received our usual southern mails, and also the December English mail, about which so much conjecture has been made, as well as alarm felt for the safety of the vessel and all on board. It appears that the Bombay (the vessel in question) sailed from GaUo on the 25th January, and a week afterwards she broke the shaft of her screw and had to bear up before the monsoon, for the Mauritius. Having expended seven days there in refitting, she resumed her passage against strong easterly winds up to King George's Sound, which place she left on the 16th March, again experiencing head winds accompanied with foggy weather and reaching Port Phillip heads on the 21st, leaving the New Zealand mails to be brought on by the Aldinga, which reached Otago on the 31st, bringing Melbourne items to the 26th March, by which we see that Sir William Don, while under an engagement at the Hobart Town theatre, died suddenly on the 19th March, and that the railway between Geelong and Ballaarat will be open for traffic very shortly. A match between the All England Eleven and twentytwo Victorians was commenced on the 20th ultimo; the Argus of the 25th says :«— I The termination has surprised every one,

after the play exhibited by the Victorians on Saturday, inasmuch as, supposing it wen-' arranged to play out the match—which it '>

not—the Victorians would not in all probability b j beaten except by a small ma jority, if indeed by that. When the slumps were drawn on Saturday, the game blood thus:—Victorian first innings 140; A!! England, 218; Victonan second innings (part played), 89, or leaving a balance of 11 to the credit, of the colony, with five wickets to go down. That balance was increased to 74 by the admirable play of Thompson, A'Beckett, Conway, and O'Mulliine, and the tof-al score was Jsj. The Eleven went in promptly, and when the wickets were drawn, at six o'clock, the telegraph showed 7 —8—63. The game has been pronounced a draw by the Victorian captain, and he has no doubt very good reasons for so doing, being an old cricketer, and well acquainted with the custom on such occasions. The decision has met with some opposition, but chiefly from those who had betted large sums upon the result. The All England Eleven were to sail for England on the 26th.'

The Castlemaine players (22) appear to have come off best in a match with the players from the old country, having beaten them with three wickets to go down. The Mount Alexander Mail on this subject says :— 'Those of our English readers who knowsomething of cricket will perceive from the score that there has been something beyond • bad ground ' to explain the defeat of the redoubtable Eleven. The pluckiness with which some of our young cricketers stood up to the tremendous bowling of Griffiths excited the. admiration of the Captain of the Eleven, and he is reported to have said that rather than face it so constantly as some of them did, he would pay a large amount of money. Mr. Makinson's body, for instance, presents a curious stucco-like appearance— the ' red, white, and blue ' marks from his shoulders to his shins presenting irrefragable evidence of the punishment he had received. Mr. Drinkwater also met with a severe blow in the early part of the second innings. Indeed, there is hardly one of the Twentytwo who did not bring from the field some bodily indications of the vigor with which they had been assailed by their opponents.'

The loss of four officers of the Dover Castle in Hobson's Bay is announced in the Melbourne papers. The Dover Castle was one of the Blackwall line (Green's) of ships. The names of the four young officers are— Henry Birrell (19), C. P. Elliott (20), A. Dorling (16), and A. Voisin (17). Two of the bodies have since been found.

The Lachlan Diggings, New South Wales, have another start. They are said to 1 eclipse all the discoveries hitherto made in these colonies. 1 From the Otago papers we learn that the 1 first regular fortnightly escort, from Waipori, came in on the 27th March, bringing 1144 ounces of gold; a large quantity has been received by private hand previous to the escort.' The working oi the coal and lignite in different parts of the province of Otago is likely to be vigorously prosecuted.

A most destructive fire (the first) has occurred at Napier, by which the Golden Fleece Hotel, and Messrs. Barraud and Co.'s, Boyian's, Williamson's, and Aaronson's premises, besides the public school, were totally destroyed in the short space of two hours. The estimated damage amounts to £7000, of which about half is covered by insurance in various companies.

Volunteers.—A meeting of the members of the Waimea South Rifle Volunteers was held at the Wakefield Anns, on Saturday last, April 5. About thirty members were present, Mr. John Squires in the chair. The following persons were elected as officers of the company under the new regulations : —For Captain, Mr. H. W. Perry man, unanimous. For Lieutenant there were two proposed, Mr. John Squire, and Mr. Joshua Bird; they were ballotted for, and a tie was the result— 13 votes for each. The chairman gave his vote for Mr. Bird, who was declared elected. For Ensign three were proposed — Mr. Alfred Baigent (12 votes), Thomas Tunnicliff (10), William Lyne (4).

Chrome and Copper.—lt will be seen by our commercial report that several hundred tons of chrome and copper ore are now being shipped direct to England by the ship Queen of India, which came from Otago to this port for that purpose, as well as to take home wool.

Thk Cosmopolitan Band.—An advertisement in this issue gives notice of a musical company, who rejoice in the foregoing appellation with the addition of ' Colored Opera Company' to boot. We are particular to give the full title as the public will then have little difficulty in understanding the nature of the entertainment that is about to be offered them by the new arrivals ; and if we may judge by the'success of the company who in that particular line preceded them in Nelson, we should say that the opportunity of again enjoying the pleasure of hearing new songs, glees, trios, &c, exceedingly well executed will be geneially welcomed. We observe by the Wellington prints that violin duetts as well as grotesque performances on that instrument may be expected, and all the company are spoken of as clever musicians who get through an evening's entertainment with taste and effect.

Government Prizes.—ln addition to the list of the firing which appears in our first page we give the following as the result of ihe competition at Waiinea Wcsf, which took place yesterdiiy :—

Talknt at a Discuunt.—Tosliow thostaieof our labor market, we copy the following advertisement from our contemporary :—' Wanted, a situation as assistant in a wholesale warehouse. Salary no object. This gentleman displays a peculiar taste m the choice of his amusements. NoncE.--Thc mails for Europe, India, China, and Australia will close at the Posf.-office, Nelson, at Xbree o clock to-morrow (Saturday) afternoon.

Cotton.—The first shipment of Fiii cotton was j a start, not having proceeded more than a quarter sent home - ■ . - ru>n:in2 in the. Dat earance of arrived hi |P\ i IP*" 1 i^% 111 "IF* v/n ' "'^"" Colton Sn 111 ka Man I § 111 1 th<> other hale realis "^ I I I I%& %J> La I vy ( , wd\ the third, a tn>::■■:■■■"■ v natural st; ties, bur Austi-aliar HBil cr of siiw.li to congrat 1 ns ; i;.;■••;■ so success nsw< •■ '^'v Herald. Mvsn;i iat v '•"•"' was latelj W% S^T S\ W*% %v^ such porti Wm El J^klLJ' F WP be identif few pcarancf i sorr belonging PIIIfIHML^i^ ye diij (j(/ , the head c V , a > a , l%: e we atrain

he was last seen alive, andit is said that the clothes found besides the remains have the appearance of having been partially burnt. Steps have been taken to hold an inquiry in the matter, when something more satisfactory than at present appears may be elicited. Maryborough.—The following letter to the electors of this province signed 'An Elector,' appears in the Press of April 4th :—ln July, 1860, the first Appropriation Bill passed by the' Council of Marlborough, initiated a course of folly and extravagance to which it would be difficult to find a parallel, and (he last meeting of the Council led fo the startling disclosure, that in the short space of twenty-one mouths we are involved in debt to the amount of £10,000; and so ignorant were the Superintendent and his Executive Council of our financial position, that the estimate of expenditure for the ensuing year was framed on the most extravagant scale, and the real state of things was only elicited by the Council in session. And what have we in return for this lavish expenditure ? Miles of road without traffic: a wharf without vessels; a warehouse without goods; a depot without immigrants ; and a spacious building adequate to the business of the General Government, and for which 6ome future Council will have to find a use. And to whom, think you, our precious Government had recourse in this dilemmas Such blundering financiers were not likely to be listened to by the manager of the bank, and they were fain to avail themselves of the mediation of the heartily abused opposition, and Mr. Sinclair succeeded in making temporary arran^aments, which it is hoped he will mature in Nelson. When you are next called on to exercise your franchise, remember these things, and chooso your representatives accordingly.

Peal of Bells.—The following resolutions were unanimously adopted at the meeting which took place on Tuesday last, Mr. C. Elliott in the chair:— Mr. Walcot moved, and Mr. Webb seconded— That it is desirable that a peal of bells should be introduced in Nelson. Mr. Jackson moved, and Mr; Lucas seconded— That the bells when obtained shall be called the City Bells, and be vested in Trustees, to be appointed by subsciibei's to the fund, who shall hold them for the u?e of the public generally, and not to be subject to the control of any particular religious body or sect. Mr. Lucas moved, and Mr. Cook seconded— That the control of the bells be placed in the hands of a Committee, consisting of six gentlemen to bo chosen yearly by the ratepayers of the city. 11 Mr. Leaper moved, and Mr. T. C. Batchelor seconded— That a Committee of nine gentlemen be appointed to collect subscriptions for and to carry out the above object, such committee to consist of Messrs. Walmslcy, Webb, B. Jackson, Drew, Elliott, Thornton, Leaper, Walcot, and Knowles, and to report to a public meeting on tbo evening of the second Tuesday in May. Mr. Webb moved, and Mr. Bush seconded— That the bank of New Zealand be requested to act as Treasuier for the fund, and that all subscriptions be paid into the said bank. Naval Squadron.—The Ctago Daily Times has the following :—lmportant to New Zealand.— The whole of the naval squadron had left Sydney for Auckland. The Sydney Empire, of March 15, says:—' H.M.S. Harrier left Sydney for Auckland on Thursday last, as we had announced in our issue of last Tuesday, H.M.S. Miranda will leave port for the same destination immediately after the arrival of the English mail this evening, and H.M.S. Pelorus, bearing the flag of Commodore Seymour, will take her departure in the early part of next week. The three vessels will rendezvous at Auckland on the 25th inst.' Either events of importance are anticipated in the North, or the Commodore had determined, now all danger from an imperial war is for the present removed, not to allow his Excellency an opportunity of again complaining of not having a steam vessel at his disposal. The Sydney Herald says :— Men-of-war on the Station.—Fawn, seventeen guns, Captain Cator, at New Zealand ; Harrier, seventeen guns, Captain Sir Malcolm M'Greijor, at New Zealand ; Miranda, fourteen guns, Captain Jenkins,, at New Zealand; Pelorus, steamer, twentyone guns, Commodore Seymour, in Port Jackson (since left with the Governor for Norfolk Island.)

Steam Between Otago and Melbourne.—The Otago Daily Times of April 2nd says :—The Aldinga has marie another of her rapid trips. She left the Port on the 17th March, so that she has only been fifteen days going and returning. It is to be hoped that that the inhabitants of Dunedin will take a public opportunity of testifying to the esteem in which Captain M'Lean is held, and the service which he renders to the Province. A dinner and a testimonial would be an appropriate acknowledgement.

PROSPECTING IN THE WANGAPEKA

AND BULLER DISTRICTS. [We are indebted to Mr. William Grant for tho following interesting account of a few days prospecting made in these regions. By some wishes the publication has been delayed to the present time. It is dated 28th March.]

In compliance with the wishes of my fellow men, I proceed to forward you a little information respecting a prospecting tour that Antony Henduckson and myself were engaged in, up to the present time tho continuation of Blue Creek beyond the mouth of the cave was a mystery to all. On Monday 10th March having everything ready for the journey, we commenced our exploration, leaving the cave early in the morning, steering a south west course. We kept moving ahead as well as we were able till 4 p.m., when a dense fog set in, obliging us to encamp for the night by the side of a small brook ; feeling rather bewildered on account of the closeness of the fog we turned in and slept until exhausted nature was well refreshed.

11 th. Making an early breakfast and finding everything to indicate a fine and clear day we at once made for a high hill ahead of us, on reaching the top we discovered a creek running due north and south; from the direction we at once came to the conclusion that it must ho a continuation of Blue Creek, and we made for it, but had considerable difficulty in reaching it, on account of many precipices and other obstacles, which at length we overcame and found it to be a dry creek, with boulders, rocks, &c. &c, very similar to those that are to bo found in the dry creek adjoining the cave, supposed to be the head of the known Blue Creek. After a long and diligent search we found water which enabled us to test the dry bed, but did not succeed in obtaining a prospect, still following it_ further up, but losing the water for several miles we were unabled to try the ground. Having left the bush behind, and being surrounded with bare country from the top of the ridge we could see a considerable distance, and espied water, having reached it, wo camped for the night. About sunset a heavy gale came on from the outh west which was anything but comfortable to us in or colier domicile.

12th. Up at daybreak, the wind having ceased the sun at length came shining out in his full glory, which put quite new life into us; we made

tried' (he experiment, and found gold of a 1 !t round quality. By what we saw of the coun. ry if hns every appearance of a gold bearing district. From this (the main) range we could see a large river bed, which we thought to be the Bt;U?r, with small creeks and gulleys, all running in a westwardly direction. The weather having broken prevented our further exploring the country; we thought it advisable to make for home. In this vicinity owing to the great scarcity of water, it will always bo a great drawback to the prospector as well as practical diggers. 14th. On the west side of the cave we found on the 12th there is a dry creek or river bed, which we wore determined to follow down if possible, after travelling a few miles, we came to a sluice head of water running from a hill on the east side, which did not run on the surface for more than 300 yards before it disappeared below the shingle. We might have travelled a mile or so when we were obliged to take to tike to the hills on account of steep rocks, &c, when we again descended the dry creek. We saw two caves not previously known, (he one having water, the other dry. Still continuing along the dry creek for some distance there is everything to lead one to suppose that originally it must have been the bed of Blue Creek, even now in heavy freshes it is quite evident that the subterranean passage is of such limited space that the water actual boils up through the old dry creek, (the supposed former bed.) In conclusion, I must urge on the Government the extreme necessity of assisting the pioneer diggers, many of whom are men of experience, having on the Californian, Melbourne, and Otago Sold-fields; with these am ng us, in a wilderness of minerals, tinie is of more importance to the province than money; if the Government would come forward with aid to cut tracks and give sufficient inducement to prospectiug parties it would be the means of raising Nelson from the helpless condition and enable her to attain and maintain a footing equal to any of the sirted provinces. One of the most important things to be done, would be to cut a bridle track to the West Coast, connecting Nelson,. Wakefield, Wangapeka, Buller and the Grey River, a thing which would be a great privilege to the diggers, as they would be enabled to explore and work on either side of the ipain range, according tc average earning of each inf.,., it is r thing quite impossible for men to explore to any extent, unless assisted by the Government. Only let the Government take the matter alluded to in hand, and offer a handsome reward for the discovery of a good payable gold field. I ana certain with the advantage of the before mentioned bridle track something could be found to equal the most sanguine expectations.

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