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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5409, 24 December 1888, Page 2

As an aid to the Tubing industry tho Government should certainly erect a small plant, capublo of treating at least a ton of ore, in some central locality. Somo time ugo it was said that the New South Wales Government had decided to erect such a plant, tho cost ()f which wou.l.] pot exceed £300 tQ £500. Strange mit may sueni, in all Australasia there is nq plant at which the quantity we havo mentioned can bo treated, Companies with their own machinery do not care to bo bothered with small lots, smd trials ate cn.rneu out under great difficulty, On Friday and Saturday tho promoter*, of the Maharahara Copper Company tried to smelt a ton (,f ore, but did not succeed, which need not be wondored at, seeing thoy had to do five operations hi'one. Copper re. quires to go through live different processes, and an attempt was made \o do Iho lot in one operation. The appliances wero primitive. The operators wore not experienced men in the lino, and, owing to many defects all that could ba demonstrated was tlio richness of tho ore. Tho very fact that the ore was of a very high class militated against tho success of the experiment, for tlio larger percentage ot* oopper contained in the stono necessitated greater heat, which could not bo got. But as, we said tho other day, assays are the [..'...pel' test for copper, ior any crude swelling could only succeed m saving v portion of the metal. Before tho ore was put in the furnaces an assays personally selected four samples at random, and the results were as follows :—No. one, ■•il'-> per cent.; No. two, o';.-4 ; No. three, 'O'i per cent. : No. four, 14-5 per cent. ; or an average of ;; 1 ■;; Vvr ~o nt. The lowest of tho four wou'd ni. ;! .i i,j g h]y profitable results m working the mine, so tho value of the find can now be properly appreciated.

Gbeat care continues to be shown by the railway authorities lest people leaving Napier by train should becomo enervated by too much luxury. In hot weather especially this care becomes very noticeable, and by packing passengers like herrings in a barrel there is not the slightest fear of them taking their ease in the train. About this time of year people are given to travelling rather more than at other seasons; they aro going for Christmas holidays, or taking advantage of cheap fares—both most reprehensible practices—and the less they are encouraged in such action the better, of courso, for tho railway. When we say. "the better for the railway", we do not mean for the revenue, because that is a mere it om i iko the rol ii ng . ato( _ but fol . tho comfort of the employes. It was very hot on Saturday morning, and there was an unusual number of passengers, but it was gratifying to notice that no extra accommodation was provided for them.. To have put the employes to the trouble of adding another carriage, after the train had been mado up would have been most unwarrantable. There did not seem either anyone about to have given the necessary order, and so the train was despatched, a tew minutes after its proper time, to allow for tbo issue of tickets, with tho carria.ro seats and some of the platforms crowded. At Hastings another coach was hooked on to tho train, and some degree of comfort was obtained.