MINING NOTES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume 37, Issue 9613, 6 December 1907, Page 1

MINING NOTES.

(By Director.) DEEP SINKING. In my last notes I got to the appointment of a committee to ascertain what support was likely to be given to a Deep Leads Prospecting Association. A meeting of the committee was held in the Town Hall on Friday afternoon, 27th January, 1882. The action that it was desirable to take was discussed at some length, and it was announced that the County Council had agreed to, subsidise money locally raised to the extent of 10s in the £l, £IOO having been voted. It was resolved to telegraph to the Minis ter asking for a subsidy, and to point out that the condition that only 5s per day should be paid for wages could not be complied with, as the work would probably have to be done by contract. (Evidently the conditions attached to the prospecting vote have always been of so vexatious a nature as to make the vote something of a farce.) It was decided to 'issue lists in order to find out what amount of support would be likely to be got from the public—signing the list being only a promise to contribute the amount mentioned therein. Messrs Inder and Mitchell undertook the canvass.

The committee were determined that no one should gull them over the mat ter so the list took the form of a stamped agreement paper. The agree ment, prepared by Mr G. F. Rowlatt, was as follows : signed, whose names are hereto subscribed, hereby agree to pay to Walter Inder and James Mitchell, both of Naseby, on behalf of the Naseby Deep Lead Association, the sums set oppo site our respective names in the sched ule hereunder written." The list was headed by Dr T. B. W hitton and Messrs Wilson and Ash with sums of £lO each,*bur 1 no'ict that another li<t makes the former's subscription £l2 10s On the list there are six subscribers of £lO, six of £6 ss, and several for various sums between those two amounts, ten of t 5, while guinea subscribers were numerous. Of the LlO subscribers Mr H Wilson and the Bank of New Zealand are the only ones left in Naseby now. In fact there are not very many of those who subscribed their names to that list left here, while I believe a good half of them have gone where such mundane affairs as deep sinking will trouble them no longer. Duuedin firms subscribed to the venture very liberally. The above, facts show that those old residents had a good deal of faith in the ultimate success of their project, they would not have subscribed so liberally if they hadn't. I am afraid that lists sent out for the purpose now would get. a comparatively penurious support. It seems that some of our present day miners hold the opinion that deep leads do not exist. I ascribe this difference of opinion largely to the fact that most of our young men have had no experi ence of other goldrields, while a great many of the diggers of 25 years ago were old Victorians and had seen some thing of deeper level mining over there. Another committee meeting was held three days after the one referred to above, when the canvassers reported that in about an hour and a half's can vassing they had received promises of LIOB J Is. They had no doubt that L2OO would be raised The chairman (Mr Hjorring) and Mr Ash were ap pointed to draw up a report for the public meeting held next evening Before the public meeting was held, the committee again met to approve the report, when the canvassers inti mated that they had made another short round with the result that the promises amounted to LI 50 It says a great deal for the energy and enthusiasm thrown into the work when the first meeting to discuss the the proposal was held on the 16th January and by the end of the month LISO had been raised (To be Continued,)