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Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 419, 3 December 1868, Page 2

The Sports Committee met on Tuesday evening at the Post Office Hotel, and have added, as will be seen by advertisement elsewhere, another clay's races to the programme. They have inserted what has been the desire of many, a trotting match, with a prize of twenty sovereigns, and a miners' purse, of the value of fifteen sovereigns. It will also bo borne in mind that the s:iie of the booths takes place on Saturday next, at two o'clock, at Messrs Robertson's offices, in Gladstone street. The purchaser of the Grand Stand will have the sole privilege of erecting an upper stand for the public, and no licenses will be allowed to be transferred to the ground excepting those of the seven purchasers of the booths. The name of the unfortunate man who was drowned at the Ohiki River, to whom we alluded yesterday, was Greorge Aher. His brother, Edward Aber, reached town on Tuesday evening. Both brothers had been working for some time up the Lyell river. The canoe in which the deceased was crossing is described as having been a most miserable apology for a boat, scarcely deserving the name of boat or canoe. The crossing-place in anything like ordinary weather is a very safe one, though the boat at no time was capable of holding two persons with any degree of safety. The only paddle in use also was a make-shift, a short-handled shovel, which was used by the boatman, Ered. Moore. "We understand the boatmen are subsidised by receiving a free license, which is certainly equal to whatever outlay it would be to have a good boat provided for such a crossing. Either there should be some other kind of subsidy or some peiialty enforced on obtaining such subsidy; but these are matters too often only remedied by serious accidents of the kind.

The horse-racing spirit and competition have, to a small extent, already set in. and daily may be seen a fewlovers of the turf doing an exercising canter on the beach, in anticipation of the forth-coming races. Yesterday afternoon a match was made up for £lO a side, between Mr Trimble's black filly named " Black Bess," and Mr Cox's "bay filly. The race took place on the beach beyond the Orawaite river, and the distance was about a mile and a quarter. A great many of the town's folks went out on horseback and on foot in the afternoon to witness the race. A smart run was made of it, but the

exact time or distance was not taken. Mr Trimble's filly won easily by several leDgths. Another landslip took place on Tuesday evening, at Giles Terrace, above Alexander and party's claim. A buge boulder about eighteen feet in diameter rolled down, and lodged a few feet above the tunnel. The sand and dirt blocked up the face of the tunnel, and the party have since been clearing it away. There fortunately was no one at work in the tunnel at the time, and no other damage was done, beyond causing the delay of a day or two's work.

The English Suez mail was received at the Bluft' at an early hour yesterday morning. It was brought from Melbourne by the steamer Gothenburg.