THE UPPER GREY DIGGINGS.

West Coast Times, Issue 305, 14 September 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE UPPER GREY DIGGINGS.

(mOM Tllfi GREY ARGUS CORRESPONDENT.) Twelve Mile Landing, Sept. 10. I have to apologise for allowing so long au interval to elapse since lagt I wrote, but I have really had very little time of my own, being almost constantly on the move ; still in one way this will be somewhat of an advantage, as I shall be able to write a long letter,, and what news I do give will be the more authentic ; taken as a whole, however, the mining news from the up districts is devoid Of much interest, though everywhere the miner is steadily lat work, and in the neighborhood of Noble's, and Duffer's the yield has increased considerably. Beginning at home, ' the diggings between {he Twelve Mile and No Town are more healthy than ever, thirteen new claims having been taken up within the last fortnight ; five of these are extended claims, and will give wages for the next six months. I have to record a serious disaster in this locality — Finnigan and party are the unfortunate victims. They commenced a longtime ago the construction of an enormous dam, sixty feet in height by .abuut the same in breadth, at the mouth of Jftyan's Creek, for the purpose of bringing water on the adjacent terraces, where prospects had been obtained varying from 1 dwt. to 2 dwts. to the dish. The mighty fabric was completed just as the rain commenced the other day, even a portion of the head race cat, when deplorable to relate the huge mass, unable to withstand the weight of accumulated water, suddenly gave with a noise resembling thunder, and tools, boxes, in fact everything the poor fellows possessed in the world, was swept away in a moment. It is when such calamities occur to the miner that his inherent endurance and courage are most conspicuous. Though ruin overwhelmed them, and- the fruits of labor of long winter months had been dashed away- in a moment, they knew gold, good -payable gold was yet there, and get it they would. After examination it was found „water could be obtained from a distance of five miles, they hesitated not a second, and have already commenced the construction of a head race from this spot. Wandering eight miles up Maori Creek we reached No Town, a quiet, decent, clean little place. It is almost incredible ,how the yied of gold keeps up from this spot ; one day last week three of the storekeepers brought down, to my knowledge," as follows : 4930z.,'5670z., 4750z. Here we have a total of .over 1500oz. received from one of our oldest workings in -one day, It is indeed something to pride ourselves on, when we have so many "croakers" around us ; however let them disprove my figures and talk after. One of the most successful parties here is the '" "Wheel party," they are making their fortune ; another almost equally good is Seaton's ; another Macnamara's. Red Jack's.— The late rush on the South Beach has sensibly affected the population of this gully. The majority of the men here have always had their pocket-books well lined, and were thus enabled to go into any undertaking requiring funds, which the deep sinking there requires. It is a thousand pities to see, the Canterbury Goldfields worked by Nelson capitalists ; but I suppose it is the fortune of war, and the sort of thing we have to put up with in spite of regrets. The principal sluicing companies here-are Redmonds', Reavy's, M'Masters', Bracegirdle's, M'Neill's, Watson's; in fact, I I might fill a column. I have known this gully yield, when in full swing, as it was four month 3 ago, over 2000oz ? in one week. At present the produce is considerably over lOOOoz. in that period. German Gully, or — I always designate it", with many apologies to the residents there — '• Drunken Gully," is in excellent fettle; indeed, I have only to make it known that three-fourths of, the usually called steady Germans aud Cornishmen are on the spree from Saturday to Wed- ■ uesday, to insure belief. It is rather a novel criterion to go by, but it is nevertheless one of the most certain. The chief water-races are owned by Sioher and party, Roskergo and party, Davis and party, Tom Dewdney and party, ad injinitum. Callagiian's Cheek. — The past month has beheld a wonderful alteration for the better in this creek, The diggers, through the enterprise of a Twelve-Mile storekeeper, are now enabled to get their provisions on the spot, saving thorn an eight miles tramp to the Ahaura. I look for- . ward to grand doings here before the summer is over, both in creek and' terrace workings, there being miles of both,yet untouched and untried. If they, turn out only half as good as they look, Callaghan's will not be a nonentity loncf.

Blackball and Moonlight Creeks. — Both these creeks are not exactly what I should wish 5 the latter, however, is the more flourishing, and the safer for any new hands to set in.

Nelsox Creek is about on a par with my last report — steady work, in some instances decent wages, nothing, however, to boast of. M'Leod and party have struck gold in a terrace about a mile below the township ; a small rush i 3 the result ; may it extend is ray earnest wish. Our Resident Magistrate, J. A. Sneyd Kynnersly, Esq., held a court here on Friday the 31st ult. There was a very heavy list of cases, principally for debt, with the exception of one for an assault, which wa3 amicably settled out of court ; and another, O'Brien v. Black, for the sum of L2O by way of damages'. In this last case, which will be of some interest to the boating fraternity, the plaintiff, who is a storekeeper, formerly of the Totara Flat, sued the defendant — a boat proprietor and storekeeper of the Little "Grey Junction for L2O for breach of contract, and the .particulars are these : On the I2tlf July last, O'Brien entered into an agreement with Black to bring down in defendant's boats from the Flat to the Ah" aura certainbuilding materials, consisting *of timber and iron, for which he (defendant) wa3 to be paid the sum of Lls, the defendant asking for, and receiving, at the time the bargain was struck, L 3 10s on account ; Black also agreed to have the materials at the Ahaura on or before a specified day, provided always the river was in a fit state. Now it came out iv evidence that from the time of making this bargain to the specified day named for the delivery of these building materials, the river was in such a state that that no

danger or difficulty would have, accrued to /defendant, if inclined to carry out his agreement with plaintiff ; in spite, however, of the favorable state of the elements, iMr Black unfortunately, as the result

Proved, was influenced by shipping a cargo of passengers, at Ll per head-, at the junction of the Grey, to abandon O'Brien's materials to an ulterior opportunity, thus leaving defendant houseless at the Ahaura surrounded by three clamoring carpenters, who had been engaged to put the store up, on the nrrivctlof tlie wherewithal. Matters went on thus, till the plaintiff's Job-like patience became exhausted, when he proceeded to Greymouth, hired a boat there to come up and bring his materials to their gaol. Now, this action wa3 for the purpose of recovering for this loss of time, loss in business, and carpenter's wages. The Magistrate, in summing up the evidence, commented very strongly lipon the defendant's behaviour in thus committing so gross a breach of faith, to the certain loss of plaintiff, and said he (plaintiff) was justly entitled to every shilling sued for, for which judgment was given with costs.

There was another case, to those present rather an amusing one, in the Warden's Court. Both Wardens were on the bench, The police summoned IL B. Burton, a storekeeper at the Little Grey, for exposing, and keeping for sale on his premises certain spirituous liquors. The case occupied the Court over two hours, defendant being an excellent hand at cross questioning, and having in his hand' a written volume of questions ; ho hammered away, however, to no purpose. The case was clear agairist him, and their Worships, after a very patient hearing, fined him in the sum of L3O, with costs. *

Having exhausted the Twelve Mile for news, I must cross the Ahaura ; and hero I find a vast improvement in the number of residents and business places; .twelve months ago who would ever have dreamt of seeing so large a township, planted in" so dangerous a position ; £put who ever thinks of danger when the" money eoines pouring in ; stjll, I advise then\ to have a few boats in readiness when the snow begins to melt. I have seen the spot, where the township is placed, under water before to-day. This uufortunate watery situation is, I believe, the reason why the Government have never laid out a township there, and have done nothing to encourage people into' risking their property and lives ; in fact, to use Mr Kynnersley's own humorous expression when Montgomery proposed to put a suspension bridge across the Ahaura, having for its materials of construction two wire ropes, and a plank eight inches in breadth, suspended from these wires, to allow passengers to crawl over on their hands and knees, " I think, did I grant you protection, both of us would be soon tried for manslaughter, you for proposing, I for sanctioning.'' r The Totara Flat is in the market, under the provisions of the Nelson Waste Lands Act, 1863, and I hear a regular Scramble is going on for some of the best sections ; there was great wisdom shown in not N forcing the sale of this block, it never would have realised L 2 an acre by any > other method thau the present, though, speaking rationally, there is no province in New Zealand where you would get such good land at so small a price. 1 (Duffer's and Noble's are among the most nourishing of our numerous gullies. ; in fact, did I mention the quantity of gold which has been taken out of these places during the past twelve months, amounting as it does to several hundredweights, notone half of those who read, this would believe it. Hotels, restaurants, and bil-liard-rooms are almost in daily progress of erection; and these out-of-the-way spots bid fair to become important townships before many months have passed

No accidents of any description haw happened from the heavy floods. This is a great point to congratulate ourselves upon, for the river when swollen as it was on Saturday evening, is a thing not to be trifled with.

The " New Zealand Advertiser" of June 22 supplies the following information regarding the stale, of the deposit fund account on the 10th October last, as alluded to by Mr Stafford in the House of Eepresentatives a few clays ago. The amount deposited on account of Intestate and Eeal Estates was L10,302'5s 7d, and the balance in the Treasury on the above date was L 10,267 10s lid, showing a deficiency of L 34 14s Bd. On other accounts, numbering thirteen, and of which we may mention Native Reserves, Wellington, L 721 18s 4d, and Natives at Wellington L 370, tliere has been deposited L20,37l 19s 4d, and of this amount 'there had not been left one fraction when Mr Stafford took office ; while to the Domain Board suspense' account there was a debit of L 39 14s Bd. The return which furnishes these particulars remarks :—": — " Deposits have always been mingled wit h the other accounts of tlie Treasury, excepting a sum of LIOOO, which was kept for a time as n special deposit on account of Intestate Estates. On September 30, 1862, there was a credit balance in the hands of the Colonial Treasurer of L32,03'l 15s 2d, and on the 30th September, 1863, a credit balance of Lll-,035 16s 3d; but by the 30rh September, 1864, the whole of the available funds had been absorbed, and since tliat date the bank account has continued to bo overdrawn ; but in the early part of 1865, the then Treasurer, Mr Fitzlierberfc, paid the amount of the Intestate Estates Fund to a separate account at the Bank of New Zealand, which causes the balance to bo shown here as in the Treasury." Whore the balances of tlieso accounts have gone to is a mystery that it would seem it is impossible to clear up;. but it is supposed that they were token up by the Domett Ministry when the necessities of the war pressed heavily on the colony.' How this can be, we c:in scarcely understand, as we find by the .return that jome of them accrued so lately as Juno 1865. l

The Grreymouth -'district must have been visited by much heavier rain than was experienced in Hokitika, as tlie river rose to an .unusual height on Saturday night. Writing upon the flood*,« the " Grey Eiver Argus" says .—". — " On Saturday night Grreymouth was visited by as heavy a flood as lias ever oc-

curred since the formation of the town. On Thursday a good deal of. rain fell, and during that night constant; flashes of lightning and occasional peals of thunder prejaged the storm which burs, ;< r i" fv\ on Friday night The wind bl.u i\..u j. ;br. >• sufficient to rock 11' wry1 I' wry building in town to its foundations, and the ruin poured down, in sheets of water.

During Saturday the rain continued with little intermission, and the river soon, became so much swollen as to cause fears of an inunda- \ tion of the low lying portions of the town. These fears were realised, for at about ten o'clock on Saturday night the river had risen above its- banks and was pouring in impetuous streams into Boundary street, and spreading itself above Arney street over the flat ground in that neighborhood. Those residents in the threatened streets who were made aware of the impending flood, hastily removed their perishable goods And chattels beyond harm's reach, and not a few thought it wise to abandon their houses altogether. The rapidity with v which the water overflowed from the river, added to the inundation by the lagoon, speedily converted the greater part of the Government Township into a lake. The Camp Reserve was in places four feet deep in water, and the » Court House was flooded up to the 6teps and all means of communication except, by boat was cut off. The residents in Arney-street again suffered, many of them having two or three feet of water in their'! houses. Beyond Arney-slreet and towards the old saw-mills ev,ery house was flooded, and in two instances houses were floated off their piles and canted over. Domestic appliances were floatiug about — pots, chairs, bottles, and other buoyant articles ; in a' few instances heavy losp was sustained by damage done to perishable goods. One person lost a large quantity of timber which had been placed under his house to dry. Assistance had to bo rendered to the v dwellers in the flooded houses by means of boats, and we are glad to learn that although there was considerable danger no accident to life occurred. One woman had to walk up to her breast in water with her infant in her arms before she reached a place iof safety. A number of sheep penned in Messrs Maclean, Fisher and Co.'s

stockyard narrowly escaped drowning, their heads only being visible when su"cpur reached them. But little damage was done to the upper portion of the town, although for a short distance above Boundary street the water spread itself up to the level of some of the shops. Behind Mawhera Quay, Mackay street was full of water, but not to the level bf the buildings, and we have uot heard of any damage having been incurred. Luckily the weather moderated ■with the turn of the tide, and by daylight tlie deluge began to subside, and in a few hours the flooded houses and- streets emerged covered with a'thick deposit of diluvium, which however favorable to vegetation is highly provocative of the wrath of careful housewives. By ri*oon on Sunday the weather became delightfully fine, and the sun shone Vheeringly. The river gradually fell, and another day will see it within its usual limits. As the local representative of Mr Rochforfc would be made personally aware of the necessity of raising" the Boundary street embankment at least a couple of feet higher, we frust the District Engineer will see that the needed addition is made. It is also very evident that until the whole length of the river bank is protected, the "greater part of the Government township, including the Court House and police buildings, will be constantly subject to damage by floods."

We take the following from the " Westlaud Observer" of the Bth inst. : — " The steamer Kennedy, on her last ti'ip from, Hokitika to Okarita, brought down several families, the 'dams and pretty chickens " of established local residents. Shortly after the vessel crossed the Hokitika bar one of the " pretty chickens" — a daughter of Mr Kennedy, of the Club Hotel— was missed from the flock

to wliieh she belonged, and there were maternal and other fears that something had happened to tlxe young thing while the vessel "was in the river or- crossing the bar. On the discovery being made, Captain Whilwell signalled to the shore, and, seeing a_ steamer some distance to the northward, which proved to be oue of the harbor tugs, considerately steamed towards her, and related to those in charge the circumstauce of one of the juvenile passengers being missing. This information „ was conveyed on shore, and very little inquiry resulted in discovering {he object of anxiety peacefully engaged in' the pleasant occupation ■ of consuming some of the delicacies in the stock of a fruiterer's shop, which tlie natural de3ire for sweet things, and tlie possession of a shilling, had tempted her to enter. It appeared that while the family party were embarking, this iruant member found her way to the fruiterer's, aud, as the children wei'e sent below until the vessel crossed the bar, her absence was not discovered until the steamer was outside, and uutil occasion was given for the fear that a more extraordinary occurrence than the very ordinary one of au appetite for plums was the cause of her disappearance. As soon as the circumstance and the truant were discovered, a friend of the family rode down to Okarita, accomplishing the*ourne>y iv onefourth of the- time occupied by that unique institution, the overland mail, aud, having alleviated parental anxiety, he returned by the Kennedy, going over a greater distance in less time than nrany travellers by the same route have done for some time pasr."-

The following petition to the House of Representatives is in course of signature iv Christchurch, and was expected to be transmitted for presentation by the next mail : — " That your petitioners view with alarm the present depressed state. of the colony. They believe that tliis results from the continuous state of war in the North, from heavy taxation, aud from the uncertainty which prevails respecting the future liabilities of the colony. That your petitioners desire respectfully to express their opinion that the time baa arrived" when it is absolutely necessary that each province should bear- the cost of thov police or other force, required to preserve tranquility , within its boundaries. That your petitioners were led to believe that the loan of three millions sterling would be amply sufficient to meet the cost of suppressing rebellion, and restoring peace to the | colony. Under this impression they cheerfully consented to the imposition of a scale of Customs duties higher than any that is iv force in the Australian colonies. This taxation presses very heavily on the colony, not ' only by increasing the price'of imported goods,

but by deterring intending emigrants from coming to these shores. That your petitioner! would therefore pray your Honorable Houss to take such steps as may be necessary to diminish the cost of Government, bo that there may be no necessity for increasing the permanent debt of the colony, or imposing additional taxation, or depriving the provinces of their accustomed share of the Customs revenue."

The " Nelson Examiner" of the 4th inst. has the following :—": — " Since a postage of threepence has been substituted for that of a penny on all newspapers leaving New Zealand by the Panama route, we- shall for the future discontinue publishing our usual Monthly Summary for transmission by this route, withholding it until the Suez Mail leaves Nelson. This^ arrangement will be continued so long as the postage remains as, at present fixed." We receive very incomplete files of the Wellington - papers, and cannot verify from them or any other source, that- the threepenny newspaper stamp has been substituted for the penny stamp by the Panama route. MrFitzherbert's financial statement was made on the sth instant, and contains no allusions to any alterations in the general postal arrangements —the expected increase of revenue of 1/7000 in this department being based upon the " gradually diminishing disproportion between revenue and expenditure." The "■ Argus" states : — " The flood on Saturday night should settle the choice of routes for the' proposed tramway to the Saltwater. Had > the line been formed along the route originally intended a great portion of it would have been destroyed, to say nothing of the probable damage to goods, and the hindrance such an accident would be to business. The shareholders should, in their own interest, give serious consideration to the matter, and we are certainly of opinion that the public interest will be better served by taking the line through the Maori reserve and along the back of the ! lagoon to the sea beach. We are glad to learn | that" the Government has been requested to survey this route as well as the one from Arney-street, so that the shareholders will have reliable data on which to decide their choice." The Nelson papers contain the following telegrams from Wellington :— " Sept. 3. — TLe committee of both Houses has decided unanimously, on the petition of Sir David Monro, ' ngainsfc the power of the Nelson Waste Lands' Board to put up for sale, of its will, lands held under pastoral 'leases. The recent forced sale of lands ha 3 been declared void, and the money is to be returned to purchasers with interesf. The intelligence from Wanganui •speaks of an immediate attack on the rebel pahs being contemplated. G-eneral Chute is to assist Major M'Donnell in the enterprise. It is expected that the ousiness of Parliament will terminate in a month. SeptHi-««s3^ The proposal to -impose Stamp duties has not been received with favor by a large party in the House of Representatives. An attempt will be made to get the proposal withdrawn by 'reducing the sum allowed to provinces out of the Customs Bevenue by L 50.000. The debate - oii the question, will come on to-night. The result, at present,- appears doubtful. The Colonial party will go any length to prevent increased taxation, short of turning out the Ministry. The Provincial party clamor for the full three-eighths of the Customs." We regret to have to record a crowning \ misfortune to the succession of misfortune* which have been sustained by the schooner Sis-. ' ters, since she left Melbourne for this port. She had a protracted and severe passage from Melbourne ; in consequence of that circumstance she landed her cargo in bad condition, involv- ' ing some claims against freight ; she -was detained while undergoing repairs and receiving ' a cargo of timber beyond the time of a steamer being stationed here ; and, on Tuesday last, as she was loaving the port, she was driven ashore, was abandoned, and has since been - sold as a total wreck. On that morning she cast off her moorings during the first hour of ebb-tide, and with a fresh'breeze off the land, such as very infrequently happens here, she sailed down the river as far as the bar. On reaching the bar, which was not unusually heavy, there was for a time every appearance of her getting tcp sea, but, just as she reached the last of the break, the wind died away, and three heavy rollers drove her broadside on to the beach, her liead holding southward. All command over her was lost, and each sea drove her further ashore, until .she was sent upon the * beach nearly at the same place where the Bruce was driven, about two cables' length to the southward of the port. Her position and the absence of appliances rendered the possibilities of her being got off very small indeed, and, after the usual formularies, she was stripped, her cargo discharged.'and on Wednesday the lot was sold, including hull, cargo, and material. The whole realised L 133, the hull bringing Ll2, the sails L 37, the cargo, consisting of spars and some kegs of butter, L 32, and the remainder of her gear LSO. an old vessel, she is strong and substantially built, quite capable of standing for some time the buffeting which she may get " on this beach, but it is- doubtful if she can be removed from her position and be brought into the fiver without very great expense, and unless she is carried there by the force of the sea, the chances are that she will be broken up. — " Okarita Time 3," September Bth. A Singular Case of Poisoning. — One of our correspondents in New York sends us a long account of the poisoning of nearly a whole community of persons in that portion of the Walkill Valley which lies in the western part of Orange County, New York. It appears that 'about two months ago various persons began to be attacked with violent fits of sickness, the symptoms of which were considered by the physicians to point clearly towards poisoning by lead. Many cases proved fatal, and it was some time before the cause of the nusclu'ef was discovered. At length it was found that the lead was conveyed into the stomachs of the sufferers by bread and meal ; and as the greater part of the flour used in that region was ground at the mill of Mr Marsh, of Philipsburg, an' investigation waa at once^made in that direction. Mr Marsh had four "runs" of stone, a*d not only ground the corn used in all the country around, but sold a good deal of flour by wholesale, so that his mill -was kept running night and day.. The sst of etonea set apart for custom work was very old. It waa constantly needing repairs, and large cavities frequently appeared. Instead of filling these holes, some of which were as large as a hen's egg, with the cement generally used for that jpurpo&e, tho foolish miller put in common lead and pounded it down. When the stones were 'set running, the constant attrition of course wore off the lead and mixed the particles with the flour. In every pound waa mixed load enough to make a small buokshot. In tho process of fermentiug tho flour and making it into ,bread the lead became carbonate of lead, one of the deadliest of poisons, and only the lai-ge quautities taken causing a counteraction in the system prevented even more fatal consequences. By examination it was found that lead could be detected in the flour with the j naked eye. Six leading physician's report ovor two hundred cases of poisoning wliioh canio I under their charge. It need hardly be said that the milfis closed for the present—Bo^ r ton paper.