WARDEN'S COURT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 69, 22 March 1906, Page 3

WARDEN'S COURT.

[Before Mr T. Scott-Smith, Warden.]

A sitting of the Warden's Court was held in the Courthouse, Blenheim, this morning, when John Danks, of Wellington, mechanic, applied for a license for a claim at Top Valley, being that known as the Lord Hopetoun claim. Mr Baillie, who appeared for the applicant, applied for a certificate of abandonment in respect to the Lord Hopetoun claim. Mr McNab, appearing for the Jubilee Gold-mining Company, opposed the granting of the application or the certificate, on the grounds that the area applied for was at present lawfully held by the Company, and consequently not open for application or liable to forfeiture, that no application had previously been made in respect of the abandonment of the said plain), and that the provisions of the Mining Act, 100 f 5, had not been •complied with by the applicant. The applicant, John Danks, gave evidence to the effect that he had visited the place, and re-marked the claim. The work done on the claim during the five years it had been held by the Jubilee Company was practically nil.

Cross-examined, witness admitted that he was acquainted with Ocean Thompson, miner, who bad offered to show him a reef if he gave him 1000 shares in the claim. Witness also admitted offering to withdraw the present application if the Company would allot witness 1000 shares in the Jubilee Company.

For the objection Mr McNab called

Frederick Oscar Lindstrom, manag^" of the Lord Hopetoun and Jubilee claims, properties of the Jubilee Company (now known a« tl]e Wairau Gold Mining Company). Witness described the operations of the Company. The two claims covered the one reef. The out-qrop of this reef was on the Jubilee claim. A spur, on the one side of which was the Top Valley Creek, and on the other the Armchair Creek, divided the two claims, the Lord Hopetoun claim being on the very steep side. On this side there was no suitable place for a battery site, and so it had been decided to approach the reef, which dipped at an angle of 45 degueea, from the Jiibilee side. It would be necessary to drive 1280 ft to cut the lode, and 461 of this had been completed. If the Lord Hopetoun claim were taken away from the Company, all the work they had done on the Jubilee claim in order to reach the reof on the Hopetoun claim would be rendered unavailing.. The point at which it was expected to strike the reef was 900 ft within the Hopetoun boundary. It had been found impossible to descend from the old Jubilee tunnel to fojlow th,e reef, owing to the lack of air; and so a lower horizontal tunnel had been (started. There were now five men employed, but as soon as th«j boring apparatus, imported from America at a cost of £1000, and now liv Wellington, arrived, sis more j^e.^

would be i.>ui: on. The; hardening of the rock a.s iiio shaft deepened necessitated the procuring oi this apparatus. Cross-examined- Tho tunnel had been in progress lor 12 months, and had proceeded about 1(>() icet. On the Jubilee claim 38. men had been employed for three years. The Company had abandoned three other adjoining claims. Nothing could be done by the present work until the reef was hit. Robt. Smale, one of the directors of the Company (now the Wairau Gold Mining Company), said tliat the expenditure to date on the claims had been £7548 Is Sd. On the Jubilee claim they had put down a shaft 250 ft, and got the " dip " of the reef, the outcrop.of which was on the Jubilee claim. Th& Armchair Creek side was too stoop for a battery site, and it would be quite, necessary to make the Jubilee side the battery site for the Lord Hopetoun claim. The water on that side was also better.

Mr McNab said this was one of those cases of which there had been 16 since lie had been connected with the Warden's Court. The man Ocean Thompson had been connected with most of them. His Worship could surely see the blackmail in the attempt to extort 1000 shares in exchange for a stay of proceedings. Thompson was again at the bottom of the application ; it was the same man every time. He was, to uso a vulgar term, a regular "jumper." _ Honest townsmen who wished the industry to succeed should not be badgered in such a manner. He was sorry to note his friend's connection with so many of the applications.

Mr Baillie said that his client was a respectable man of means, and it should not be insinuated that his application was not a bona-fide one. He contended that the mining regulations had not been complied with as to the number of men employed. The Warden declined the application, without costs.