CHARLESTON.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 661, 21 May 1870, Page 2

CHARLESTON.

(pbom our own cobeespondekt.) Mat, 17. A meeting was held in the Hibernian Hotel on Monday evening, convened by the Charleston Committee of the Miners' League. Mr Q-illespie having been called to the chair, said, the object of the meeting was to lay before the public the steps which had been taken by the Committee in furtherance of the object of the League—steps which would be fully explained by Mr Aiden Doyle, the hon. secretary, who had identified himself with the proceedings. It would also be the duty of the meeting to elect a new committee for the ensuing six months. The Chairman then called on Mr Aiden Doyle, who, after explaining the object of the League, referred to the benefits to be derived by a well-made code of mining laws. Mining Boards had been in existence in Victoria about thirteen years, and had been found to work advantageously. The Court charges were much less in Victoria than they were at present in New Zealand, and their miuing law 3 were as near perfection as possible. Objection had been made that if they had Mining Boards they would be open to corruption. If they did get them they would never be corrupted by miners, and the Press would act as a check, as it would supervise their actions. No miner whom he had conversed with was satisfied with their present mining rule 3. ' The greatest adversaries to the movement could not say the rules were not faulty. He could refer to gentlemen, who, knowing nothing of mining, rush to the Press—they have a copiously expressed vocabulary, and nothing else—and then made some quotations from the local Press in which letters had appeared in opposition to the movement. He then stated that the Wardens' conference at the G-rey was to avoid diversity of decisions by the Wardens, and then proceeded to draw attention to Mr Franklyn's conduct in the Provincial Council. He had told them not to put themselves to trouble as he wnuld forward their interests, but it appeared he had done all in his power to damage their cause. At the Greenstone the movement had collapsed. The Committee had published an address to the miners of" the Grey Valley relative to the movement. At the present time they had in the Council three honest and independent men. Mr Donne had always done his best, Mr O'Conor was warm in stormy Council and conveyed the expressed opinion of the diggers; as to the other man, he could not pass any eulogium on him, as it would be far beneath his merits—he alluded to Mr Eeid. Mr Doyle then read the petitions to the House of Representatives and his Excellency the Governor, and also the Mining League rules, which were received with applause by the meeting. He thought the meeting should have been better attended, the number present did not represent one sixteenth of the miners of the district, and he would advise them to push the Government for what was required, viz., roads, as what was required was gold, and there were no fresh discoveries to be made near the coast.

A resolution was then put to tho meeting and carried unanimously, that this meeting approves of the past proceedings of the committee, and pledges itself to support the object of the petition by every means tho constitution allows.

Mr Turner then addressed tho meeting at some length, pointing out the complex nature of the presont rules, and went into statistics, tending to show the desirability of the formation of a Mining Board for the better con-

duct of mining pursuits. He then alluded to the neglect and bad treatment of the Nelson South-west Goldfields by the Curtis administration, and after a few remarks bearing on Judge Richmond's reports, invited the miners to come forward and join the Mining League, and informed them the petitions would be round for signature in a few days. A resolution was then put and carried that a committee of six be appointed, and that the present committee retire this evening. The gentlemen elected are Messrs Reid, Thos. Shine, A. Doyle, Drennan, Turner, and Gillespie. After a vote of thanks to the chair, the meeting terminated.

May 19. During the latter part of Saturday last, every indication of stormy weather being about to occur might have been observed, and late in the evening the wind, which had been steadily increasing, commenced to blow in heavy squalls from the northward, accompanied with heavy showers, until Sunday morning, when it settled down to a hard gale from the northeast. The schooner, Mary Jane, the only vessel in harbor, sustained no damage whatever, although a very heavy sea was rolling into the bay. On Monday morning the weather had considerably moderated. On Wednesday morning we were visited by quite a small fleet of coasters, bringing, with the exception of the Satellite, general cargoes, consigned to the merchants of this place. They were all discharged and ballasted on the fall of the tide.

The volunteer fire brigade was called out to practice on Tuesday evening, but as only a few members put in an appearance the engine was not got out. Now that we are in possession of an engine and engine-house, and a large number of members—at least on the roll—it would seem that the members in general think all that is requisite has been accomplished. But of what use can an engine be to a community when members will not attend practice, as by frequent drills and regular attendance only can smartness and efficiency be attained. If any of the members of the brigade are not satisfied with the manner in which the brigade has been hitherto conducted, why not remodel the Brigade, or request the officers to hold a meeting, and by discussion, arrive at a better and more efficient method of working the brigade, so that those of our townsfolk who so freely subscribed funds for the purchase of an engine, &c, may see by the efforts of the brigade in perfecting themselves in the necessary drill; that all interest in the movement has not subsided.

A meetiug was held last evening at the Melbourne hotel to consider the advisability of petitioning the Government to open up the track from Charleston to Addison's Plat, by way of Brown's Terrace, and a resolution was carried, that a petition be drawn up and presented to his Honor the Superintendent, to open up a track from Charleston to Addison's Plat. It was then resolved, that the following gentlemen draw up and obtain signatures to the petition, viz.:—Messrs Neale, Pell, Anderson, and Behan. After a vote of thanks to the Chairman (Mr Neale) the meeting dispersed. \