Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 24 August 1867, page 6


EOCKHAMPTON".

FBOM our files of tbo Bulletin to the 20th instant, we abridge the following :

Another parcel-the Jost-of fishplates for our railway arrived laBt weok by the Clarence. The delay in forwarding them from Moreton Bay, where they arrived six weeks ago in the Empress of tho Seas, is unaccountable. The remaining rails required have boon borrowed from tho stock of tbo Southern line, and tbo material is now complete. Tho con tutors will finish tho lino in o week or a fortnight. Tho painting of the terminal buildings will tako

another month. Wo aro not aware that it ia

contemplated to have any formal oponing of

the line.

The averogo export of gold from this port is fully 1000 ouncoa per week.

A publio mooting was held last ovening for tho purpose of taking steps for the formation of an Oddfellows' Lodge in connection with the Manchester Unity. The meeting waa well at-

tended. Mr. C. J. Skardon waa voted to tho

chair. Mr. Dibdiu, in proposing that in the opinion of this meeting it is time that a now Lodge bo formed in Eockhampton, explained the working of OddfellowBhip, and the benefits

to be derived from it. Tho motion was seconded hy Mr. King, and carried. Several people sub-mitted their names, as being desirous of be-coming members of the proposed new Lodge. Messrs. Dibdin, Lynch, Skardon, Tuekner, Brigñell, King, Wells, Palmer, Edmunds, and Flynn wero appointed a committee to canvass the town for members, and bring up a report.

A party of five Eockhampton blacks, about 1 o'clock yesterday, attacked two Wido Bay blacks, oppoBito tbo Alma Hotel. One of the Wide Bay follows bolted-the other seized a large stone, and opened tho skull of one of the Eockhampton darkies ; the blood streamed copiously from the wound. There was no policeman to check the riot, and tho blacks, in the>ery heart of the town, were able to carry out a free fight, which mighl have ended in murder, and march off without one of them being arrested.

A meeting of a few persons WOB held on Mon-day night last, at Frazer's boarding-house, for the purpose of forming a Registration Society. Mr. M. Bryson in the chair. The following resolution was carried :-" That those present form themselves into a society to be called the Rockhampton Electoral Registration Society, to secure the registration on the Electoral Bill of every man in the district entitled to vote, with-out regard to party or political opinions." A committee was formed to carry out the object of the meeting.

THE Bia NUOOET.-The news that a big nugget, weighing thirty pounds, was found at the Bnglan brought several eager inquirers to our office. The imprcsBion entertained by thom and the publio generally was that it was too good to be truo. Thoy would not believe until they saw and felt tho monster. We have taken pains to verify the truth of the statement, and the evidence before us satisfies UB that a nugget of about tho alleged weight has been found at tho Raglan diggings. Wo havo seen a man who saw it. His testimony is reliable, and wo be-lieve it. Ho saw it in clear daylight whilst in company with two old diggers, ono of whom handled it in his presonco and declared he judged it to weigh thirty pounds at least. Our informant describes the nug-get UB being a bar of gold, about one foot long, four inches broad, and threo inches thick, of a quartz-like color, and not BO bright or puro as the Morinish gold ; there is a littlo quartz embedded in it, with several indonts, and ita shape is irregular. The finders, whose names

our informant docs not know, stated thoy got it at no great depth, at the Two-mile EuBh. Thoy havo.not yet sold it.

In a later edition the same papor says:

" Tho big nugget reported to havo beon found nt tho Raglan has not turnod up yot in Rock-hampton, and thero is a univorsal cry that it is a hoax. Unloss theso scoptics sec, feel, and bite it, Thomas-liko, thoy won't bolievo in it. Wo gave all tho evidenco wo got, and it WBB sufficient to convince us thal a genuine nuggot of about thirty pounds was found. Our in-formant was ablo to desoribo ita form, sizo, color,1 and even tho very ¡ndonts and bits of quartz in tho nugget. It is just poasiblo ho might havo boeu hoaxed. Ho is no diggor, but ho has boon for monUiB at Morinish, and lately at Raglan's, and muBt havo soon several nuggets in thal timo, and know tho difTeronco botweon tho real metal and ' olinkers.' Two persons at Raglan had tbo nuggel in thoir banda in his prcsenco, and one of thom, au old Victorian digger, should know the weight of the nuggot. Mi". Brabo called at our ofllco yesterday, and slated ho had just como in from Raglan, and that ho had beard nothing of the big nuggot. This is mere nogativo evidence and goes for nothing. There was a gold buyer out thore aftor tho timo our informant Btated ho saw tho nugget, and ho hoard nothing about it, and ho was told by tho diggers thoy bad no gold to sell, ' but tho price offered, £3 10s., waa not sufficiently attractive to draw it . from its hiding placea. Since writing tho abovo wo aro informed by Mr. Commissioner Jardino's ordorly, Patrick Do lonoy, that ho waa informed by a digger, whom ho hud known for tho past two yoars, that tho nugget had been found by a Cornishman and nu Irish Ynnkeo ; that thoy only lot this digger and bis mate, a man naraod Kolly, know of thoir find ; that thoy brought it to tho tont of Dolany'a informant, who saw it, and doaoribes it na about a foot long, six incbos in width, and three inches in thickness, a round bolo on each ond, nnd tapering towards one end. Mr. Hat-ton, North Star Hotel, who visited tho Raglan diggings a few dayB ago, etatoa positively that no nugget of tbo weight roported-thirty pounds-has boon found thoro. In this conflict of testimony the only witness that can aettlo the point satisfactorily is tbo big nuggel itself."