MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW ZEALAND. [LETTER III.] Statistics of Mining.

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 14, 6 September 1845, Page 3

MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW ZEALAND. [LETTER lII.] Statistics of Mining.

To the Editor of The Neai-Zealander-Sir, — In making an estimate of the average expense of mining in New Zealand, I shall, ass.vine that which is at present the case, name!)-, that the ore is near the surface, and easily accessible by levels driven into the face of the country, and consequently that no expense is incurred for sinking and draining the mine. These expences which form so considerable an amount in the Cornish mines are at present comparatively unknown in the mines of this country, but it is evident, that as the mine progresses, these expences must come into the account. I also suppose that the work is chiefly ' tutwork,' that is, work done by the fathom, and this method is perhaps better adapted to the present state of mining in New Zealand, than the 'tribute s)stem,' (see letter 2). The e.vpences therefore, on each ton of Copper ore, fiom the commencement of breaking it m the mine, until it is brought into a marketable state, may be estimated as follows :

Thus under the most favourable circumstances, every ton of copper ore brought into a marketable state, and fit for smelting, may be estimated to co&t the New Zealand proprietor £3. ss. per ton, and I believe that this estimate is as low as can be safely assumed. If to this be added the ] dead chuiges, amounting as previously observed, i to.CS. ss. per ton, we bhall liave£ll. 10s. for the i total expense of every ton of copper oie sent to i London or Liverpool from New Zealand. ( J have previously shewn, (see letter 2), that I the dead charges alone on every ton of Chilian I copper ore, amount to £11. ss. per ton, to which i it v\ c add the cost of extracting at £8. ss. pei I ton as in New Zealand, and the duly amounting < to lSs. per ton for ores of 20 per cent., w e shall I liave £15. ISs. as the total cost of Chilian ores, s sold in Liverpool or Swansea. It follows there- i foie that we possess an advantage in New Zea- i land at pi esent, in our mining ope» alions, as com | pared with Chili, to the amount of nearly £4 per i ton, on ores of 20 per cent., which 1 believe, will j be found to be about the average of all the ore < that has been hitheito raised in New Zealand, j Ore of this per centage may be worth from £17. ( to £IS. per ton, as previously obseived, thus i leaving a piolit to the propuetor of from £5. to ' £(i. per ton, assuming the standard for line cop- I per to be £110 , bin Idoubt whether the standard ( at present be so high as this, as I find the fol- r i loving announcement in a late English news i paper," The Mining Company of lieland have / declared a dividend of \2\ per cent., on their deposited capital, lor the last half year. A serious I decline in the price of Copper ore accounts for i (he fact that their profits are not so Jaige as the) t would otherwise have been. The ore (cake- ( copper?) has fallen from £98. per ton its price s in 1840 and 1811, to £84 per ton, its price at I present." — Morning JP^JT", Jan. 8, 1845. This I decline is attiibuled to the operation of the new i Uu ifl'j which came into opeiationiu 1812. 1 lam aware of the fact that some of the New i Zealand oics produce upwards of 20 per cent, 1 and lam told that assays fi oin selected specimens ( have produced as high a per ceinage as 40 and ( 50 per cent. But it must be borne in mind, that \ assn)s Irom selected bpeciniens do not give a cor- ; rect ebtunate of the average produce. There are > feiv opeiatiuns which requue greater nicety and i conectness, than the mode of taking an assay in I a lot of mixed ores, as practised in Cornwall. ( The Cornis.li a?say mastets do not take a select i sample, and deduce from it the value of the ore, i but 4 heap containing 100 tons or upwards is <

divided and subdivided o\er and over again, until a fair average sample is procured, and from it (he assay is taken. The following is the manner in which copper ores ate sold in Cornwall, by what is called ' ticketing,' and the same method is used in '• Wales. When there is ore to be sold in a mine, (in Cornwall,) the Agents of the principal Copper Smelting Companies, of Wales and Bristol, (who reside at Truro and Rediuth) are informed that on such a day samples will be taken. Each agent then goes to the mine on the day appointed, and irom each of the heaps of ore, one is made the quarter of the quantity to be sold. Fiom thib quarter the samples are taken, after the ore lias been w ell mixed. Each of the agents then puts some of the ore into a small bag, in order to make the assay, on which the price is fixed, the result of which is kept a profound secret till the sale takes place. This geneially follows about a fortnight after the samples have been taken, when the adventurers in the mine, or their agents, and the agents of the Smelting Company assemble and generally dine together at the mine. Each of the agents then gives in d paper or ' ticket, 1 containing his offer for each kind of ore, specif) ing the weight of etch heap ahva\s expressed in tons, writing for example' IS tons of such a heap of ore, at £5. per ton. All the papers are then read aloud, and he who in his ticket bids most, has the ore. These sales now take place weekly at Truro, Redruth or Pool, which places are in the heart of the mining districts of Cornwall, and it is usual after the results of the last sale are published, to announce those that will take place at the next ' ticketing days.' distinguishing the mines, and the number of tons of oie (of 21 cwt.) which each intends to sell. Previous to the year 1542, foreign copper ore might be imported into Great Britain, for the purpose of being smelted, from any countiy, and under any flag. On arrival of the cargo at Swansea or elsewhere, a bond was given at the Custom House, which bound the pany to return the quantity of fine copper, as ascertained to be contained in the cargo of ore, into bond within a limited period, or to pay the duty thereon a* foreign copper, which amounted to £27. per ton. The cargo of ore was tben weighed out by the Custom house officer, and samples from different parts of the lots of oies taken, which wese then sent to the assay masters in Cornwall, and the highest produce of the two was entered as that of the cargo. Since the new Tariff has come into operation, this system has been entirely re- model led, and now copper ore may be imported into Great Britain from any part ef the world, at the following scale of duty :

The English Mining Companies complain that the effect of the new Tariff has been to lower the price of British ore, in consequence of the large and increasing importation at the reduced duty of copper ore from Cuiia, and other conn tries 'where slave labour is evclusively employed in working the mines. This however is u ques tion which I must leave to the free traders and Sir Robert Peel, to settle amongst themselves, and shall content myself with observing that after the enormous sums of money, (upwards of 20 millions!) that have been expended in abolishing slavery, in the British Weht Indies, and consequent ruin of the planters in Those Islands, it does appear somewhat inconsistent to offer a premium on the employment of slave labour in Cuba, and other slave holding countries, to the manifest injury aud depreciation of the/ree labour produce, of British industry. But to return to mining prospects in New Zealand . — the moderate import dut\ on Colonial ores of 20s. per ton of metal, cannot seriously interfere with the profitable working of mines in New Zealand, although if the axiom that the colonies form an integral part of the Biitish , Empire be correct, — this duty ought to be abolished, and the mineral productions of thtfcolo- i nies placed on the same footing as those of Great Britain. It is siuely enough that colonial mining ; enterprizes should have to struggle against all the obstacles and difficulties inseparable from such investments in new countries, where theie is no surioundingpopulation accustomed to mm- i ing, and also against the heavy dead charges, ; previously mentioned, without fhe addition of a duty on impoitation. But the lamentable one- '. sided policy which attempts to squeeze all that can be got out of her unfortunate colonies, appears to be still the ruling maxim at the Colonial i Oilice in Downing street, as I perceive by Lord i Stanleys Despatch of November last, that he " hopes that Governor Fitzroy hasnot overlooked the prnj)riety\ of seeming to the Crown a moderate scigneurage on all precious metals in New Zealand," and turther adds that " such a seigneurage, ma> in process of time, not be unimportant as a means of revenue." I presume that under the head of precious me- j tals Lord Stanley includes Copper, Lead, Manga- , nese, &c, the produce of ihis country, although ( these metals do ,not properly come under this , denomination, and I am not aware that gold or ] silver has been as yet found in New Zealand. But to return once more to our subject, it will be seen that in regard to exports, we shall stand neaij.v in the same position with respect to England that Chili now occupies, this is, if our mm- a ing prospects are not " nipped in the bud," by t Downing street despatches.; that is to tay, that 1 our exports will consist chiefly of bulky art i- t cles. (the bulk of which it is to be hoped will i greatly inciecise in the course of the next two i \ears), such as copper ore, manganese, (?) d^e I woods, limber, fla\, and a little wool. Ido not ] name thdt much talked of commodity called ] Kauri-gum, as 1 have no faith in its permanency i as an article of export. It follows therefore that ( if our exports increase as they ought to do, vessels i must come to New -Zealand in ballast, or at all I events only half full of metchandise as they now t

ii go to Chilii in which case our exports must pay i the freight for the outward as, well as for lbe homeward passage, for it must be recollected r that as our exports increase, so also will increase i the lates of freight. It is highly probable therei fore, that we shall shortly be called on to pay , £5. or £Q. per ton freight for all bulky commodi- - ties, including copper ore and kauri gum\ Whe- , ther this latter article will support so high a rate I of freight remains to be seen, but respecting the 1 former, there need be no aj prehension on the , subject, if no ores under 25 per cent for average s produce are seat home. 1 But I have already trespassed sufficiently on ■ your columns for this week, and must bring the « 1 subject to a close in my next communication. Your's, &c. F. S. P.

To the Editor of the New-Zedander. : Sir, — The following statement of facts may i serve to show the veiy injurious, unjust, and op- ' pressive results of the working- of late enactments ; — and tend to obtain redress for such as me. In consequence of the very great inconvenience i to which myself, and the Holuanga settlers were i subject, by bemjr required to take a journey of 45 miles to the Bay of Islands, once a quarter, in order to pay the Property Tax, there being no ■ one to receive it at Hokianga; I availed myself of the opportunity which offered on a visit last Christmas to this place, to pay my fiist quarter to Mr. Ho^g, the tax-gatherer here, intending to pay the taxes subsequently, to the official at the Bay of Islands, at the expense of travelling 45 or 50 miles to do so ; but it so happened that belore the second quarter was due, Mr. Pringle, (I think was his name), retired from Koiorarika, and came to Auckland. This event rendered it impossible for me to pay my second quarter's Property Rate to Mr. P. at the Bay of Islands, consequently on a visit here in April last, when the Tax was due, I found that Mr. Hogg, had been removed to Wellington, as Collector of Customs, nor could 1 iind anybody authorised to receive it; hence it went unpaid, to my very great sorrow, as will appear by the following facts. Having occasion again to come to this place on business, but a few da>s since, I was on Monday, the Ist instant, served by Chief constable Smith, with a summons, by which it appeared that I was compelled to pay 17s. 6d. — although 1 was not only willing but sought an opportunity to pay the original amount, which was 10s. You must uncieisiand that the Manukau Company's Land claim was to be investigated by His Excellency, in conjunction with the Executive Council on the 2nd inst., which rendered it inconvenient fur me to obey the summons at the time required, and at the suggestion of the chief constable, I instantly proceeded to the Police Office, and tendei ed to the clerk of the Bench the sum. named in thesummons, viz 17s. 6d. — complaining at the same time of having to pay 7s. 6d. more than the original debt. But judge my astonishment, the clerk of the bench, Hardy I think is his name, demanded of me 225. 6d.; — as a matter of course, 1 inquired the ground of this second addition to the costs, when after some hesitation and stammering, the man informed me, that having appeared, 1 thereby pleaded guilty, and consequently subjected myself to the additional penalty, thus annexed. * This being the state of the case, I concluded that I had better endeavour to be at the place to which .1 was summoned, within office hours, rather than be fined for appealing too soon! In this however, I was mistaken, for when I appeared on Tuesday, at 2 o'clock, p. in., having instantly proceeded thence from Government House without loss of time. Mr. Beckham informed me that the amount now to be paid was £1. Ss. 2d., at the same time courteously intimating that any statementl might feel disposed to make as a plea against the fines imposed, would not be listened to, or if made, would be unavailing; fuitlier stating, that if the amount demanded, was not paid, the course he would next pursue, would be to issue a distress warrant, or arrest my person ; this, if not intended, might have put me in bodily fear, hence, I offered to pay the amount, provided Mr. B. would give me a receipt, to which ,he replied," We give no receipts here." I then asked for time to think on the subject, to which Mr. B replied," We will give )ou till to morrow 12 o'clock." I thanked Mr. B. for the indulgence, and retired. To day, at 11 o'clock, I appeared at the Police Office, and ! paid the sum demanded, of £1. Ss 2d. I then, [appealed to Mi. B and his brother magistrate, to the effect they would deem it right and proper now to remit the penalty, viz. ]Bs. 2d , that I might be saved the necessity of troubling His j Excellency, with an appeal on the subject, which would unavoidably require a detail of the facts of my case, which I considered remarkably hard, and peculiarly oppressive. This drew from Mr. Beckam reiterated expressions of his opinion that I had no means of redress but by applying to the Governor. But my time being more precious than the monej , I have concluded to offer the above narration to )ou for publication if you think proper. Youi's, &c. Auckland, 4th Sept. W. WHITE.

To the Editor of the Neio-Zealander. Sir,— lt was considered that when this country was colonized, English letters and newspapers would be reuglarly sent to their respective localities. Some months have now elapsed since any mail arrived in this river, notwithstanding several vesels have frequently come here from Auckland If any thuuy could be done by the authorities to remedy this evil, I should be thanklul. Your's, &c. A Constant Reader. Hokianga, August 8, 1345.

It seems to be acknowledged that the right of aeaich is not only universally disagreeable to all the nations which have by treaty roncuned in it, but that it has totally failed to make an impression on the slave trade. In fact all the eflbrls made foi this purpobe do not appear to have diminished the supply in the least, while they have fearfully aggravated the horrors of the u iddle passage, and the lossoflifei both on that, and previous to the shipping of the negroes It is more than probable that the right will be abandoned, and a commission, appointed by England, and France, is now considering whether more effectual and less annoying measures may not b© substituted.

Work in the Mine, including cost of driving through unproductive ground, &c Gunpowder, coals and candles Diessing and sampling the Ore, including cost ol sieves, dressing floors, &c Superintendence, and sundry incidental charges, as wages to day labourer, cost of tmibei, &c. Intcieat on cosloi Und, buildings andmachineiy I CI lUU. £. s. d. 1 5 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 0 15 0 0 5 0 Total cost of ore per ton. £3 5 0

Prom Foreign Countries. Copper ore containing not moie than 15 parts of Coppei per ton, of metal Ditto, containing not more than 20 parts of copper per ton, of metal , Ditto, containing more than 20 parts of copper per ton, of metal Ditto, of and liom Buti&h possessions, per ton of metal Coppei in pigs, or bricks, Rose copper, and all cast coppei, from British possessions, per cut. . . Ditto, in bars, rods, or ingots, hammered or laised, pet cwt Ditto, old, fit only to be le-manufactured, per c\U. £. s. d. 3 0 0 4 10 0 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 3 6