MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12394, 2 July 1902, Page 6

MINING.

The dredgemaster of tho Shoddan'a Freehold dredgo reports that the return last week was 40oz. 1 . ,?• J- Ramsay reports a return o! 230z from the Waikaka United dredge last week. Tho New Golden Gravel dredgo obtained l® o2 JSdwt during tho week ended Saturday last. The dredgemaster reports that he was opening out and working in old ground, but ho cxpccts a better return this week. -A telegram was received by the secretary of tho Sailor s Bend G.D. Company from Mr « of. the directors, yesterday stating that the dredge was being moved up stream. The drift was bcul, but tho dredgeinftster intended to resume work yesterday; ■ ' Tho new buckets for the Cromwell dredge have arrived - at the claim, and the dredgemaster and crew are busily engaged in fitting them/up. This operation is well ; in hanij, and in all probability work will be resumed at an early date. The secretary of tho Kelly and Casey Company reports a return, of ls>oz ldwt 4gr. for 4S hours' dredging last Wfcek before tho river rose. The dredgo -was 'then pulled two or three lengths ahead, in the hopo of meeting with shallower ground, but it proved to be of similar depth to that in which the dredge had been working; so tho original position was taken up on Monday, and dredging will probably be resumed to-day if tho river continues to. fall. The dredgemaster of tho New Alpine Consols dredgo wired-yesterday that he cxpccts to resume dredging this morning. With, reference to last week's return, he writes that he had only timo tp wash tba two top mats on the three first tables, but he got practically all the gold. Tho machinery of tho Erickson's Reward dredge has been running satisfactorily since the alterations were effected, and the dredgemaster expects to bo ablo to report a tetum at the end of tliis week. The directors of tho Mannherikia Gold Lrcdging Company have declared a dividend (the filth) oi 2s per share, payable on the Sth inst. At a meeting of tho directors of the Un-, duun<frcd Sluicing Company on Monday, a dividend of 10s per share was declared, 1 in addition to which all the liabilities to date were paid off, and £300 was lett as a reserve fund. The claim yielded 401oz • 12dwt sgr of • gold between April 1 aud June SO. Tho finances of tho Junction Electric G.D. Company will not apparently bo affected to such ah extent as was-at first anticipated on account of the sinking of the No. 1 dredge. The efforts of the divers nnd engineer have been highly successful, and have resulted in the recovery of the engine, boiler, and winch, which constitute, i valuable asset. ...They, will probably not attempt to recover.the remainder of the machinery, but it is likely that . th<> dredge will'be sold as sho lies at Cromwell:'' The secretary of the Lady Charlton Company reports that the dredge has stopped owing to the top tumbler being completely worn out. The dredge has only five yards to work in order to reach the shaft sunk under tho supervision of Mr Jackson, and which yielded such handsome prospects. The directors of the Manuherikia G.D. Company have declared another dividend of 2s per share, payable on Tuesday next, Sth inst. This is the filth dividend declared, and when it is paid shareholders will have received £6000 baolc—equal to halt the capital of the company. The dredgemaster of tho Golden Glen dredge reported oil June 39 that ho started to : shift the dredge down the claim on Thurrday,Vthe river hr.ving risen about 15in. He eoulct.not get into the place where he intended to start work however, as there was not sufficient ,witor, so he had to go about four chains further down, where there is about Bft T-ae work of putting the buckets on the dredge will now bo rendered more difficult on ?ccoiint of the rooky nature of the bank. •Some TOtls bother was expetienced : in' getting tlfe.mathina down, and it was found necessary to-'pull Hex over the bottom in several places. The dredgemaster intended to start ballasting on Monday morning, and expected to commence refitting the buckets yesterday, The . final, meeting of shareholders, in . the Yellowstone G.D. Company (in liquidation),was held at the, Coffee Palace on Monday'evenirig, Mr H. Stokes presiding. The liquidator'presented his balance sheet, which was pawed, and it was decided to keep the books for three months, after tho lapse of which period they will be destroyed. Tho amount lost by shareholders in this company has been very small as compared with the majority of other companies, about Is CJd per share proving sufficient to discharge the liabilities, while the amounts paid in above that sum have been roluv-H. The dredgemaster of the Vincent; Extended ilredge reported on Juno 28 that he washed the top mats on the previous Wednesday afternoon with_ satisfactory results, his opinion being flm'lhcre was about 20oz on them then. On Thursday and Friday the drift bad, and Dn Friday night he struck a hard bottom, hut sn Saturday he got on to a soft bottom again, jarrying good gold. Judging by the prospects then lie expects this week's return to be a gocd leal more than foe tho previous wash-up. The Iredge worked, splendidly all the timo she was on tho soft, bottom, but the pump was broken an Saturday while the dredge was on the hard bottom. At the time of the report the river was failing fast. The dredgemaster of the Biver Molynens ilredge wires that work was resumed on Monday morning. Up to the present shareholders have not displayed much willingness to take uji their quola of the preference shares, but thej must dscide within the next fortuight or so what. they intend doing in the matter. The fimvaces ot the company wo not in a positioi tq stand much strain, and if tho -directors' proposal is not agreed to liquidation must follow as the only alternative. Tho claim car. scarcely be considered to have had a fair trial vet, and tho experience of a few companies ii the past has proved the wisdom of going to c little further expense in order to thoroughly test the! value of the property. Should liquids tion be forced on the directors an attempt wil bo made to reconstruct on the basis alroacij mentioned, which will clear off pressing liabih ties and leave a good margin for working expenses. : . The latest information to hand .with regarc to tho ladcter of tho Bendigo dredge'is that tin dredgemaster has 42ft of it on board, whili there uro 20ft still in the rivet. The bucket; and links are lashed to the tumbler framing and it is expected that they will bo recoverec without much difficulty. The breakage in th> ladder occurred at the butt plates, and thi .stays and angle irons, both top and bottom are broken, but all the material necessary t< effect repairs can be procured at Alexandra The dredgemaster has found that it is im possible lo recover the remaining portion of th ladder without the assistance oi the sand pum]i which is, however, probably working by tin time, as the secretary has received a telegran stating that the pump was fitting up well, an< that it would be working yesterday. As the shares in the Alexandra Lead Compaiv are in good demand at present a few particu lars regarding the company should prove, in teresting. 'ihc fiuances aro in a' thoroughly sound position, and if the dredge obtains 2000 or more this week, in all probability a spccia meeting ot directors will be called for the put pose of decaring a dividend on the prcfcrenc issue. About £375 will be required to pay : dividend oi 5s per share on these shares, bn the directors will no doubt take the precautioi of setting aside a fair sum as a reserve funi before distributing anything in dividends. Thi. course will almost assuredly meet -with th liearty approval of the great majority of share holders, if they consider what would bo th result of a serious mishap to the dredge if.th directors had not a good sum in hand to fal back on. This company is a striking cximpl of what can be done if shareholders have 111 pluck and, of course, the money to. put thai hands into their pockets and holp the compwi, out of its financial difficulties. A good deal c trouble was experieuced by the ■ directors i getting the preference shares taken up, am but for the contractors and engineer taking n; some instead of receiving'money it it .quits pes siblo that the company would have been force into liquidation.

The charge retorred, to in our issue of Jime 31 against the dredgemaster of the Manuka dredge \t. Waitahuna, for employing three men on the dredge with insufficient certificates, and ihost against the three men for working withonl proper certificate!, came before tho court wt Lawrence on. Moaday lost, when all thn informations wero dismissed, as it. wa* found that all tho men btid the qualifications necessary for their rear s oe'tive positions. Tiie matter was brought uwk-r the notice of tho Hon. Mr MVtpsmi, Minister of Mines, on the occasion of bis recent visit to Dunedin, by the owner of the dredge (Mr A. C. Broijd), but tho-latter , was rafovmed that it came •yithiii the province ' of tko Marine Depigment, and riot tho Depart- | jwrnt of Minos, and' consequently the Minister could not interfere. The drrigemaster of the Rankleburn Amalgamated Companies' dredge (Mr P. C. M'Clute) reported on June 27 that after moving the dredgo down-atream ■to clear the reef, and then out and across to the east Bide of tho river, ho dredged this for some time, but the prospects being very'poor indeed, he. dredged right across the river back to the west side to a spot above the reif, where lie has come on to (leap ground, arid tho prospects are looking a deal better. Heis convinced that the eastern side 'of the river does not carry any depth of waj>b. |; und little-pr no gold. In conscqueuco of Jthifting the dredge, so .much and in'findin? (to gold on tho ea3tevn side,, ho .did not think it worth while to wash up hist week. The prospects are now improving, and'he,hopes to be able to get a satisfactory l return this week, Where he is dredging the ground, runs to an average depth of from 28ft to 30ft, »nd as tho dredge works ahead the prospects look more encouraging. DUNEDIN -STOCK* EXCHANGE. I|ho share market opened dull rooming, and it appeared that tho business ■would bo very limited, but at.the afternoon call there was a decided improvement, a very fair number of transactions being recorded. .There TOI3, however, no material alteration in the quotations. The river showed a substantial drop, being 3ft lin above the normal mark, while tho weather was fine and frosty. ■ Alexandra Leads showed a further improvement, and three parceU were quickly taken up at 7s 6d, at which price more were inquired lot but tho best rcsconse was 7s 9d, The preference share 3 also hardened, and a sale was made at _255, while a further buying offer at the same price elicited no response. Two lots qf Bcndinoes changed hands at 5s 9d, at . which, figuro there were but- would not come down below Gs. A sale of Dunstan Leads was recorded at 3s Gd, but another soiling offer at, that' price was not. responded to, Electrics eased a little, but Endeavours were steady, as also were Fourteen-mile Beaches. A'parcel of Gentle Annies changedi hands at ' 10s, and further shares, were .procurable at lis fid, but the transaction appeared to satisfy all demand. Golden Rivers?were a'shade easier, and four sales were mado at 4s 7Jd, while tho closing quotations were 4s Gd and 4s 9d. Junction Electrics ware steady, and two lots were taken up at 15s, while further buyers were in the'market at 14s'3d, but there, were no more sellers. Manuherikias '. hardened slightly, but Meg and Annies wero'inclined to recede somewhat. A said ,of the latter was effected at 15s Gd, at which figure there were further sellers, but buyers'drew .up at 15s. Molyneux Kohincors were steady, .as also were Monte Christoss. Two lots', of,tho. latter were taken up at 19s Gd and 20s respectively, but a further selling oifer at tho last-mentioned price did not elicit a better resyor.Bc than 17s. Two sales of Old Dunstans were recorded at 3s 3d, which appeared to meet all requirements, as there were no further, quotations.', Rise and Shiuea hardened, and one transaction teals place at 22s Gd, after which buyers cldscd at 22s and sellers at 235. One lot' of Waimumu Centrals was quitted at Gs, and mote ■ wire wanted at the same price, but holders would not accept loss than 7s. Sales were made yesterday at the following prices:—Alexandra Lead, 7s Gd; Alexandra Lead (preference), 255; Bendico, 5s 0d; Dunstan Lead, 3s Gd; Gentle Annie, 10s; Golden Kivcr, 4s 7£d; Junction Electric, 15s; Meg and Annie, 15s Gd; Monte Christo, 19s G;1 and 20s; Old Dunstan, 3s 3d; Rise and Shine, 22s Gd; Waimumu Central, Cs, The following are yesterday's latest quotations, subject to the usual brokerage:— Alexandra Lead—Buyers 73 63. alters 7s 9d. Alexandra Lead (preference)— Buyers £1 ss. ■ Beudigo—Buyers 6s 9d, sellers Bs. Central Charlton—Buyers,ss ' Cromwell—buyers £2." Dunstan Lesd—Sellers 3s Gd. Electric—Buyers. £1 14s Gd, sellers £2 18s Enterprise—Sellers £1 6s. Fi-st Chance—SMlers lis Gd. Fourteen-mile Beach—Buyers 9a. 6d, sellers 12s Gd. Gentle Annie—Sellers lis Gd. 1 Go]d King—Sellers 4s 3d. Golden Gate—Buyers £1 Rs. Go'den River—Buyers 4s Gd, sellErs<4s9d. Junction Electric—Buyers Ms 9d. Kelly and Casey—buyers 3s, sellers 4s. .Ladv Roxburgh—Sellers 4s dis. Lafranehi's Freehold—Buyers 7s 6d, sellers 12a. •' Last Chance—Sellers ss. Leviathan—Buyers Is, sellers 2s. Ma'uherikia—Buyers £1 lis Gd, sellers £1 lis Gd. Me; and Anuie-Buyers 15s, sellers 15s 6d. Mo'yncux Kohinror-BuycVs 3s 3d, sellers 2s 3d dis. Monte Christo—Buyers,17e, sellers £1. Nelson. Creek—Sellers £.1 .Ss.' New Ha'fway House-Buyer? 2s Gd, sellers Is. North Besses-Buyers 12s 3d. " No Town Creek—Sellers £1 17s, ' Olrig—Buyers £1 Is, selldVs.£L 3s 6d. Pacto'us—Buydra £3 103. ~ Ri°o and SMwrjßuyers £1 2s, sellers £1 3s. Roxburgh'Jubilee—Buyers Cd dis: Roxburgh ■ Jubilee' (paid)— Buyers 17s, Sailor's Bend—Buyers £1 10a Gd, sellers £1 153. Teviot—Buyers 3s, sellers 4s Gd. Unity—Sellers 19s. Victory—Sellers £1 Is. ' Vincent Extended—Sellers 4s. Waimumu Exler.dcd-S.'llers lis Gd. ■ ' Sr.uicina. Roxburgh Amalgamated, (contrib.)—Buyers 3s Gd. HAPPY VALLEY GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. An extraordinary general ■ meeting of shareholders in tho Happy Valley G.D. Cojnpauy was held last evening to decide on ihe number of directors and to fix their remuneration. There wore eight shareholders present, and Mr V. G. Somcmlle (chairman of directors) presided. The Chairman slated that in accordance with the resolutions passed at the annual meeting voting papers had bien sent out to all shareholders. He would first deal -with' flic matter that required no discussion—the question of the secretary's salary. Tho result of the voting on that issue was that 1315 votes wero received in favour of reduction, and 2990 against reduction, so that shareholders would see that there was a fairly unanimous desire that the secictary's salary should remain unaltered. At t.'ais juncture 'Mr Join: Thompson (Lawrence) nude a few. remarks witTi reference to Mr Hall's action in moving that a reduction be made in the number of directors and the secretary's salary, and characterised the letters that had appeared in the press as cowardly attacks on the gentleman in question. Mr Hall, in reply, said that took action in response >o requests made by several shareholders. lie was quite content to leave the issue in the liauos of .shareholders, and hat not voted either one way or the other himself. The Chairman said the next business was the question'of the number 0 f directors. The l'csu.t of the voting was that 2420 votes were in favour of the number being reduced, while 72c were against reduction. The business of tin meeting was the election of directors, and the feeling of the directors themselves was .that iii the event of shareholders desiring a local director the number on'the board should be four, After referring to tho possibility of the directors being placed in an unenviable position should there be only two in Dunedin, ho suggC3ted tli&-t o show of hands bo takeu as tc whether shareholders desired a local director. Mr Hal! said ho thought it would be vers much out of place to try and 'put in more directors than the shareholders desired, and he would be strongly agninst more than three being elected. The Chairman thereupon moved that the company, have a ;ocal director, the motion bcin< seconded by Mr Hull and carried. The Chairman then moved that the numb?] of directors be Used at four, and that theii remuneration be 36 guineas per ■ annum. Thii was seconded by Mr Hancock. Mr Ilall at first objected to there being morf than three directors, though the fees propose* to be paid to them did not amount to mor< inan three would -have received, his Tcasoi being that he had ft number oi proxies ii favour of three. After a little discussion, how cyar, ho withdrew his objection,. as ho con sidered the desires of shareholders would b< met if the remuneration wer? reduced. Thompson then made a few remarks witl regard to tho working of the claim, saying tha the prospects were never better than at present the wash never looked belter, and he cspsclcc about 230z this week. On the election of directors being proceedc. with, tue Chairmail proposed Mr Thompson su local (lucclor. This was seconded bv Mr Hal and carried. Ciiairmon also proposed Messrs J li. Hancock and Martin PcaTcc; but the fomt dceiucd lo retire from the board, • and *\I Pearce was thereupon declared elected. The_ Chairman then moved .flat clauses 7urn 75 o; tlie articles of association be alter« |o read the name as clause ,Noa, 68.- and 5S :able A, " Tlie Companies Act, 1552," to pro T'.de that one-third of the directors shall rotir ■>nuualiy. Tho motion was seconded by M H".ucock and carried. In reply to a question, it was slated lhat th -ost of.runnuig the dredge.was about lOoz pc week. A voto of thanks to the chair brought th iroccedings to a close. MALONE'S BEACH DREDGING PANY.The second annual general meeting of sshai-c 'io!a.;is in the Matono's Beach Dredging Coir '.icny war, held at the oilicc of Messrs Dunca wd Power, liattruv street,.yesterday afteraco; Uv K. Harty (chairman oi direcir.rs) iir. aided, and there were seven olhcr shareholder jjreseat.' ' '

Tho following is the annual report: — - "Tho directors, in submitting the annual report juid balance sheet.of ilalone's Bcach Dredging Company (Limited), ban" to say that no contracts or negotiations as to the purcluisc of a dredge have been enteral into. Tliut this policy has been, a right one is amply borne mil by the present low-prises ruling for dredges sold lately, It is expected Hint tiie company'a c.ainj will be tested by one of the adjoining dredges shortly, at small cost io shareholders as complied io' purchasing a- dredge even at present pricss. The retiring directors are Ja-s. Scoular and -Jas. Craig; both eligible, they ofier themselves for re-eleatior.. The auditor (Mr Jas. Brown)-also retires, and is eligible for a further term, for which lie oU'eri himself. On June-30, 1001, the profit and leas account showed a debit balance of £596 Cs lid, and the expenditure during the 12 months brought tho total up to £718 IC3 7d, but s 3 £-20 lGs lOd WftS received in interest the debit balance to be earned forward is reduced to i'GSS 130 3d. "When tho books were closed the arrears of calls amounted to £3486 ss; while 500 shares, on which £'25 had been paid,, have been forfeited, lhe company has cash on deposit (o the extent of f93G 2c 7d, in the bank $43 8s Bd, and accrued interest £'3 7s Bd, while the stmdTy creditors represent a liability of £39 3s Sd. lhe Chairman in moving the adoption oi tiic report and balance sheet, said he had really jwt-hmg to add to what was in the former. Ihey had played a waiting game, to see how the adjacent claims turned out. One of these had not proved'as rich a3 the eWcholtlern could tjosire, and some lower down were getting some gold, while some others had not yet started. This -being the case; the district had bc-en tried, and in nnother sense it had not been tried. Mr Harty then referred to tho results of the working of several claims in the vicinity of Malone's Beach, and as to what they had done. Continuing, ho said it would be for the meeting to decido the future of tho company, and he mentioned that two proxies had'been, received, and both favoured liquidation. The claim bad been protected, and tliev y?ere in tbo .position of having some money in the bank (£036) on deposit, and £43 there besides. Tho directors would be glad to receive any suggestions as to the future of the company. Mr J. N, Lawson seconded the adoption of tho report and balance sheet in order that it might be discussed. Mr L. Joel asked if anything was known as to what position the vendors would take lip in the case of liquidation. The Chairman replied that they had not been officially approathed, but he understood that the vendors' shares were practically held by one family, and they did not press their claims in the matter. They wero not in, any way prejudiced. If Mr Joel moved in tho direction of liquidation the directors would approach the vendors to see whether they would stand aside. He felt they would not stand in the light of subscribing shareholders. He did not think there was one single, case where tho vendors nod pressed their claims against the subscribing shareholders. Mr Joel said they might move a resolution for liquidation, provided tho vendors would not press 'their claims, but where others had bought vendors' shares he thought they would bo entitled to something. The motion for t-he v adoption of the report and balance sheet was then carried, Messrs James Scoular aud James Craig were re-elccted directors, and Mr James Brown auditor. The Chairman then said the directors would be glad to receive any suggestions, and if they did not do so they would simply wait on and see how the other claims worked out. Mr J. N, Lmveoii suggested the ndvisableness of making an attempt to leaEe a dredge for so much a week, or get her to work on tribute. By this means they would ,gct their claim tested at small cost. He bad como to 1 the meet, ing in favour of liquidation, but he did not think they could lose much if they set a dredge to work for a time. Mr Joel moved that the directors take steps to try tho claim at a moderate cost, and if they could not make satisfactory arrangement l ? to call the shareholders together again to consider the question of liquidating the company. This was seconded' by Mr liY Carter, and carried, and the meeting ended. VICTORY .GOLD DEEDING COMPANY, The following report will be presented by'tlie directors of the Victory G.D. Company at the soconcl annual meeting of shareholder:— " In presenting the balance sheet for thc.year ended 31st May, 1902, your directors have to report that the dredge had her trial run on the 12th June. Under date 21st June the dredgemaster (Mr George Pettigrew) advises that he is about QQft down, ar.d that a little gold b -wing. He will require to stop for a few d«ys to allow the erection contract to be completed, and to attend to a few matters incidental to the startiug of a now dredge. The directors hope to have fuller information to put before the shareholders at tho annual mee'ing.' The retiring directors are Messrs W. H. Adams and G. M Marshall, who, being eligible, ofier themselves for re-election. The auditor (Mr H. Mitchell) also offers himself for re-election." On May 31, 1001, the profit and loss account showed a debit balance of £16112s Cd, and the expenditure under that heading during the ycai amounted to £093 10s Ud, making a total ol £1071 3s sd, against which the sum of £3 9s was received in transfer fees, leaving a debil balance of £1082 lis 5d to be carried forward. In addition to the debentures the company has liabilities to the extent of £517 ,6a lid, while the cash in the bank smounts-to i/Ovlls'W in addition to which - tlierq is a . deposit of'ft with the Railway Department. MEG AND ANNIE GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. The directors of the Meg and Annie G.D Company will submit the following report tc shareholders at the fourth annual general meet ing:- . " Your directors, in submitting their annua' report for the year ended 31st May, hav< pleasure in drawing attention to the-accom-panying balance sheet, which shows that 7s per share have been paid in dividends during the year, making 133 per share to date. The dredge, which is in good working order, re cently underwent an extensive overhaul, nivJ has just besn removed to the top end of tin original claim, setting in to work on the ground formerly held as a special claim, some 10 cliaim in length. There is a considerable area oi ground from the bottom boundary up strean yet to work. The retiring director is Mr Adair Aitkcn, who, being eligib'e, offers himself foi re-election. The auditor (Mr A. M'Lean) alse retires, and oilers himself for re-election." _ The balance sheet reveals a most satisfac tory 'financial position. At the beginning o the year these was a credit balance of £CSO IS? 4d to profit and loss, aiid the dredge won goli to the value of £G770 lGs lid, in addition te which £500 was received' as premium on the sale of 580 shares. The working expense* reached an aggregate of £31-13 IBs lid, the sun of £26-25 was paid in dividends, ar.d £1311 18! 3d was written off tho dredge, leaving a credi lulnnce of £51018s Id at Hid close of the year. The company has sundry creditors to the extcn of £377 Os 61, but against- this there is a. reservi iv.ud of £300, and £61718s 7d cash in the bank. ITEMS PROM THE MINES RECORD. Tho Mines Record states that up to the 31s March, 1902, there was entered for export a the principal ports in New Zealand 15,1(>!..1690; of gold, valustl' at • £59,536,582.' From tho Is April, 1557, to the "Ist December, 1901, golf was exported from the various districts of tin colony as follows:--Auckland, £10,012,8(10 Marlborough, £335,-19S; Nelson, £:.053,-02 "West Coast, ffil.lGO.OlG; Otago and Southland £23,033,781 ; Wellington, £10-14; Canterbury £470. Up to the end of May. 1002, the total pro duetion of the great TVn-ihi mine amounted t< £2,178,0.10, out oi which the shareholders re ccived in dividends £8588,305. The amount' pai< on the new irnv.c of shares, and included in tbi total, is £10,410. The solicitor;) for.Mr P. D. Bolting, win applied for one month's-free water from thi Government.water race .at Naseby, have beei informed that, in accordance with the rule lai< down when'payment in advance was required on.o mouth's free- water wa,s allowed to the per son who held the claim which Mr Bolting ha since acquired, aud i;o further allowance o free water can now he granted to the presen holder, as it would form a precedent for others NOTES FROM ROXBURGH." (Fnoir Our Ow:; CoKKESroKDSST.) ROXBURGH, July 1. Tho weather turned wet this aflerncon, wit! rain aud sleet." It is snowing on the tangos and therc'is every appearance of a heavy fall. Tho river is going down, but is still abou 2it higher than before the late rise. The Jubilee dredge is nearly finished now ir.ui the engineer will likely have c- run out o the machinery by the end of this week. 'Che Teviot dicdge was to have uudergon some repairs this week, but the .material no arriving she is still dredging awav. The Endeavour and Gold King dredges ar both working steadily. The manager of tho Roxburgh Amalgamate Sluicing claim'is engaged.stripping at prc-senl and is also shifting the pipe line. ~ THE WEST COAST (FilOM Oi'lt Ov/N CORRESPONDENT.! • . GREYMODTE,'JuIy 3. Tho Commissioner's Plat dredge will have trial run at the end of tho week, arul shouii bo' in full swing next week. Sho will have ;?cod deal of dead work to do before getting proper face. The Buller Junction dredge wss late in go! ting a start last vreelc owing to difficulties i: getting coal from the junction up tho rive to the vessel. The arrangements for supplyin the dredge with cor.l from the company's uiin are not yet completed. A meeting ot shareholders in the Grey Rive Company called for last night again lapsed fe want of a .quorum.

During the rcce.nt flood in {ho Bullor River the Kldorcdo .pontoons were stranded high and dry. } . The Ruby Creek Company lias taken the first step towards liquidation by gelling the dredge. As previously stalfitl,: tlio dredge wis incapable ol Ircating Die wash,'which is xougli, lhe directors of the ifontczuroa Company hr-e dccided .that tlie capital of tlie company should be £5001), with 3SOO routriljuticg shares, o:: which about llis will lie. called up. This, it is palimated, will lp'-f l'wjy's Reward' dredge up to date and suited to all the requirements of the claim and F-ovidc: » pumping engine anil plant. alio gold export from tlie Port of Greymoulk iast luonth was ISjOKox Idwl Ggr, valued at £G6,053 83 2d. : llio Shellback- dredje was expccted to get another start to-nifeM. T'lio return 011 Saturday, though for a short week, should bo' an increase on the previous week's yield. The Garibaldi diode?, last wock obtained 807. ludwt. Tlie wash has completely changed since last report, being of a. loose character, falling m freely.' Tlie dredge is working about 15ft deep. The gold is of.<l coarse character and easily saved. 'With a good run this week a fair indication of the worth'of the wash should-be obtained.