THE GREY COALFIELD.

Colonist, Volume VIII, Issue 758, 27 January 1865, Page 3

THE GREY COALFIELD.

His Honor the Superintendent, accompanied by Mr. Burnett, sailed in tho Wallaby on Tuesday last, in order to examine the coal workings at the Grey, with the view of devising measures for increasing and rendering permanent tho supply of coal from the extensive deposits of that river. "We understand that a strong lighter or coal barge, suitable for the conveyance of coal down the river is being built at Melbourne, and will shortly arrive in Nelson. At present the coal has to be brought from the workings to the port by the tedious and somewhat dangerous means of canoes, a species of navigation which tho more useful and more profitable barge will supersede. The College Governors' Election.—This is what the Wairau Record thinks of certain proceedings in tliis business. We presume Mr. Saundors is the person alluded to, but not named, in the closing lines of tho paragraph :—" The election of four Governors of the Nelson College has not, it seems, been carried on with that fairness which ought to rule in such matters ; and a great deal of correspondence in the papers lias ensued. Ifc is asserted that unfair marueuvres were resorted to by Mr. William Adams or his friends. Wo trust that such is not the ease. Had we known that he had resorted to such practices we certainly should not have split our votes in his favor, but have plumped for a man whose blunt honesty and high integrity have been constantly proved ever since Nelson became a settlement. Tee Quarterly Return of the value and quantity of gold exported from New Zealand during the quarter ending 30th September, is published in the " Genei'al Government Gazette" by which it appears that 641 ozs. had been exported from Auckland, 3125 ozs. from Nelson, 2810 ozs. from Marlborough, 3022 ozs. from Havelock, 5139 ozs. from Lyttelton, 85,345 ozs. from Dunedin, 1804 ozs. from Invercargill, and 7 ozs. from the Bluff Harbor. The total official value of the gold thus exported is £393,458. The Scab in Sheep.—We learn that a report has been received by the Government from the principal Scab Inspector, which states that the means that have been taken for curing the scab in sheep has been very successful, there being now only 14,943 diseased sheep, or supposed to be diseased, out of 288,517 which were reported to bo diseased at the beginning of 1863. It also appears that of all the cures adopted, tobacco and sulphur, without any other ingredient, has been the most successful.— S.M. Herald. In an article on Mr. Stafford's recent speech at Nelson the New Zealander says:—" Mr. Stafford censures Sir George Grey for not issuing the proclamation of confiscation six months earlier ; but he ignores the question, whether the Ministry of that date advised, or were willing to adopt, a confiscation thus defined. Again, there seems to us to be a palpable fallacy in Mr. Stafford's strictures on the policy of December. He censures ifc for confiscating merely such lands of ihe rebels as have been conquered and occupied. What would be the use of professing to confiscate more ? The doing so would be a mere brutum fulmen. Indeed ifc is self-contradictory to talk of confiscating that which is not within our power; such a declaration would be merely a pretence of confiscating, or at most a threat of conquest. Wheat Harvest in South Australia, —The Adelaide papers state —It is anticipated that the yield of wheat this harvest will be from ten to twelve bushels per acre. There is a great failure amongst the hill crops this season ; and the probable quantity for export is expected to be less than that of last year. The exports of wheat for the past year, up to Dec. 31, amounted to 205,000 quarters, besides 42,000 tons of Hour. The Customs receipts at the Port of Adelaide for tho year 18G4, including outports, was £207,000.