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Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 686, 19 July 1870, Page 2

It is, to say the least, unfortunate that on the present occasion an adjournment of the sittings of the Supreme Court should have occurred at so short a notice. The delay has been occasioned by thoughtlessness on the part of the authorities in having fixed a day for the opening of the Court in Nelson so close to that appointed for the Conrt of Appeal, at Wellington. As it happens the number of witnesses, whose attendance will be required from the West Coast, is unusually large, and the expense entailed upon the Province in the case of the prisoners connected with the Southern Cross affair will be so great that the sum of £BO, placed on the Provincial Estimates for Supreme Court witnesses, will be greatly exceeded in the above case alone. We cannot but think that there has been also some neglect on the part of the proper authorities in failing to make known, at an earlier stage, the necessity of an adjournment, whereby much inconvenience and ex-

pense to counsel, witnesses and all concerned would have been averted. The movements of so many are affected by"the proceedings of the Supreme Court, and the public purse as also the means of private individuals are so seriously prejudiced by any irregularity, that it cannot be matter for surprise that the present adjournment should have given rise to a wide-spread feeling of complaint.

The s.s. Phcebe arrived at Nelson as the Kennedy was leaving that port, and the time did not admit of tho Nelson mails being sorted and tho Westport portion forwarded. The Hokitika and Greymouth mails were forwarded per Kennedy. His Lordship the Bishop of Nelson arrived in Westport yesterday, and. as notified elsewhere will hold services, this evening at Harrison's store, Giles Terrace, and to-morrow evening at St John's Cburch, Westport, on which occasions there will be special collections towards clearing oir the debt on the Westport Church. G. Donne, Esq., M.P.C., returned from Nelson, per Kennedy, yesterday ; his stay after the closing of the session having been protracted in consequence of there being no steamer for a fortnight, and also having, we unders*and, at the last moment, to arrange for the defence of the prisoners in the Southern Cross fracas, who are to be tried at the ensuing session of the Supreme Court, sitting at Nelson in August. Mr Conolly, ol Picton, will conduct the defence. In the B.M. Court, yesterday, the proceedings were limited to mulcting an inebriate in the usual penalty, and in the case of John White, who was brought from Nelson per Kennedy, charged with perjury, the prisoner was remanded in the absence of Dr Giles at Addison's, who is a necessary witness in the ease. White will be again brought up at 1 p.m. to-day. The Christy Ministrels arrived per steamer Kennedy shortly after midnight on Sunday, and gave their first entertaiment at the Masonic Hall, Westport, yesterday evening, when a very full house greeted this clever company. The performance was a success, and the audience took frequent occasion to vent their satisfaction and were boisterous in their plaudits as ever. The facetia, a most important element in nigger entertainment, evinced marks of great care and attention, and the adaptation of the numerous original jokes was irresistibly comic. We have not space to comment on the vocal part of the entertainment, but may say en passant to the patrons of the Christy's, who were absent on this occasion, that Mr Kainford's magnificent lasso is as sonorous and musical as ever. No happier delineator of tho nigger element with its uncouth grimaces, odd antics, and absurd drollery could be imagined than Mr Bent. His look and general get up on the stage are most appropriate, while he possesses a ready faculty of seizing th< se little touches of stage business that are always acceptable to the public. The company appear to-night and to-morrow, prior to leaving for Charleston, and on each occasion there will be an entire change of programme. Mr Salomon returned from Charleston yesterday, and purposes holding a clearing sale of jewelry at the Empire Hotel, until Thursday next, when he leaves per Kennedy on her return trip to Nelson.

Gray, G. Wilson, and S. Ileig'iway, left per John Penn yesterday, as passengers for Home by the Ni-w Zealand and San Franciscan line of steamers. Messrs Gray and Wilson were shareholders in the well-known Maori Chief claim, and I ave disposed of their interest to Mr William Wilson, the purchase money being, we understand, £IOOO. Two Westport residents, Messrs Corr and Dickenson, left town to visit the Lyell reefs on Wednesday last, and arrived at the Lyell township the same night, and visited the reefs the following day. They followed the line of reef as far as the prospectors, and examined their tunnels, con isting of a main tunnel with a T drive at the end. They examined tiie stone and discovered leaders in all the drives, and tested three distinct leaders, finding good stone in each, as also gold in the dishes they washed off. On the surface they traced three other distinct leaders with equal results. Some of the stone they brought to town,in whijh gold is generally and very plainly visible. They then visited No. 1 South, in company with Jacklin, one of the partners, and found a mass of mullocky reef, fifteen or sixteen feet wide. Not having much time to spare, they tried one dish, promiscuously taken, consisting of about four double handfuls of stone, &c, and on washing it off, obtained about a grain of gold. According to the pospects, they estimate tlie ground to pay, even when washed by ground-sluicing, at the rate of -L'6 to £9 per man weekly. They also heard that No. 1 North had got the same reef with like results, but time would not admit of their inspecting this portion of the reef. The reef, as at present disclosed, is so soft that it may be raked out without using a pick, and it is in consequence of the facility with which it may be obtained that it is estimated to yield such returns by ground-sluicing. In reply to a question by Mr Armstrong. Mr M'Lean stated in the House of Representives a few days ago, that the expenses of the Government steamer Luna amounted to .£SBO a month, or £6960 a year. Mr James Brown, Dunedin, and Mr Joseph Perston, Goodwood, have been appointed Justices of the Peace for the Colony. The prospectors of the coal peam at the Kanieri have been granted six weeks' protection, at the expiration of which they will have thoroughly tested the ground. A billiard match, 500 up. £lO a side, was played at the Prince of Wales Hotel Billiard Saloon, between Moore and Gomez, resulting in favor of Moore. The scores at the conconclusion of the game being Moore 501, Gomez 482. The Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill, brought forward by Mr W. H. Harrison, by which it was proposed to confer on Borough Councils the power of imposing fire rates, has been thrown out by the Assembly. A young man named Adolphe Eisfelder, who followed the occupation of a butcher at Hokitika, was found dead in his bed on the morning of the 13th inst. He had been suffering from epileptic fits, and it is supposed that his death was caused by an attack during the night. Mr H. J. L. Augarde, broker, Nelson, quotes Perseverance shares, 30s paid, at 4us ; Culliford's, 37s Gd paid, at par.