MINING MATTERS. (FROM THE "TIMES," JANUARY 9.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3582, 11 January 1869, Page 3

MINING MATTERS.

(FROM THE "TIMES," JANUARY 9.)

The Star of the South Gold-Mining Company purpose crushing fifty tons of quartz at the Victoria battery towards the latter end of next week. It is proposed to increase the capital of this company £2,000 by the iaiue of 160 additional shares of £12 10s. each. The shareholders of th« West Coast Claim ara having fifty tons of stone oarted from the new leader lately opened on the top of the hill to Harrison, Howard, and Co.'s battery, whioh will commence crushing for them immediately. The atone from this leader is expeoted to tarn out well, as a large quantity of speoimens have been taken out of it, and gold if found daily in the stone. The Dauntless is one of those claims which, until lately, have never been brought prominently before the public but the recent crushing of two hundred pounds of itone from this olaira at the Victoria Company's berdan, which yielded the splendid return of one hundred and forty-two ounces of retorted gold, has attracted a great deal of attention to this piece of ground. The shareholders are now engaged in sinking a shaft on the leader, and purpoae carrying it to a considerable depth before they commence working the leader out ; some very good gpeoiment were taken out of this shaft yesterday. TheLauncestonßattery, on the Moanataiari Creek, was engaged yesterday in trying three tons of stuff taken from a new leader lately opened in the Union Claim. The battery which has been erected to the order of the Bhareholdoro of the Middle SUr Claim, by Mr. Vickery, is giviDg the most complete satisfaction to the owners. The battery is a four-stamper one, each of which weighs 7001b., the whole working without the least vibration. The engine by which the battery is at present driven is only a temporarary one, which was put up in consequence of some delay in the receipt of the engine intended for the battery, and, as Mr. Vickery wae bound to time, he had to erect the present engine ; but now that the proper one has arrived it is to be erected without delay ; this, however, will not necessitate the 'stopping of the machine for any length of time, as the present engine will be kept at work until everything is ready for connecting the pipes. The ripples and tables also do their work effectually, for, although the tailings have been frequently tried, neither gold n*r silver can be found in them. The battery is employed on the inferior stuff of the claim, which at the last cleaning up yielded ninety-one ounces of gold from eighteen tons of stone. Very little work is at present being done on the claim, on account of the immense quantity of stone already out for crushing. Thereare about one thousand tons of quartz stacked on the claim, although as yet no work has been done at a lower level than about 20 feet from the surface. The Victoria battery has completed a crushing o£ fourteen tons from thoPanmure Claim, whioh yielded nearly one hundred ounces ef amalgam. Bull's one-stamper crushed a ton of stone from the German's Claim, Karaka, taken from a large reef, which yielded one ounce eight pennyweights.

(VROU "TIMES," The holidays haying ceased and the population returned, we are informed the Wesleyan preaching services, which hare been discontinued for the past two Sabbaths, at Punga Flat and Graham's Town, will be returned to-morrow. At Punga Flat, a morning servica will beconduoted at 11 p.m., on the Eldorado Claim. At Graham's Town arrangements have been made to conduct two services, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m , in Mr. Robinson's schoolroom, behind the tapued ground near to the Graham's Town Wharf. We hope there will be an encouraging at. tendance, A Maori difficulty occurred in Pollen-street yesterday. A native lady named Elizabeth has, it would seem, persisted in remaining faithful to an Englishman who some time since at the Police Court appeared as prosecutor in a caie in which a Maori was committed for ttial for cutting and wounding. A native gentleman upbraided her with accusations of perfidiousness to her raoe in not deiertmg one who had prooured for the untutored savage a civilised trial. She retorted in very untranslatable Maori, accompanied by gestures of a terrible nature. Both parties, having exhausted their native " Bill, ingsgate," adjourned with sundry very warlike demonstrations. An accident, which was very nearly attended with fatal results, occurred on the Moanataiari Creek yesterday. It appears that two men were engaged in cutting down a I«rg8 tree, which, however, fell in exactly an opposite direction to that intended. The lower portion of the tree smashed in a tent, wbioh was fortunately not inhabited at the lime, whilst the upper fart; descended upon a whare in which ft man was soundly sleeping. The damage done to the whare was at the other end from that in which the man was lyini?. so that he escaped without injury, and also without fright; for, in consequence of his being engaged in working night shifts, his slumbers were so sound that he heard nothing of the danger which so imminently threatened him. Added to this, we are informed that the moiquitoea have become so troublesome in this locality that no one cau sleep easily at night, and consequently whoever ia able to do so takes it out in the daytime.