DUNSTAN.

Otago Witness, Issue 749, 7 April 1866, Page 3

DUNSTAN.

(FBOH THE DAIIiY TIMES COBRESPOKDEHT.) 30th March.

There has been a great change in the •weather these last few days. Winter is evidently coming fast upon us ; but although we regret to lose the fine warm aunny days that we have so long enjoyed, the season at band is best suited for the operations of the gold miner. The gu'lies lying high up in the distant ranges are free from floods, and there is not sufficient «now to interrupt work or travelling, so that taking everything into consideration it is the best season for obtaining gold. This fact is fully borne out by the success which is attending the operations of the miners at the Nevis and Campbell's Gully, who, with but very few exception p, are very remuneratively employed. The banks of the Molyneux are showing signs of considerable activity, for notwithstanding the rebuffs and misfortunes that have co frequently attended the operations of the river workers, the modern Pactolus is still a favorife stream, and to the end of time it eeems probable that the longing eye of the digger wi'l continue to be turned towards the rich deposits of the precious metal that lie buried beneath its waters. Sluicing the terraced banks is becoming a favorite occupation, and notwithstanding the very moderate amount of success that has hitherto 'attended this description of work, superior appliances and increased water power are pausing gTound that before gave but a miserable pittance to :tbc workers, to be highly remunerative. The force of water is made to do the work which waa previously done by manual labor ; as much as from 150 to 200 inches of water being brought to bear upon a single paddock, and stones and moderately sized boulders, which hitherto gave so much trouble to the ground sluicer, who was continually hampered for room for his stone paddock, are now hurled into the river by the mere application of the hydraulic hose. The gold fields authorities, however, clog the way to this innovation on established custom. The orthodox head of water to every two men employed is far too litrle and requires to be at least doubled. The river terrace or bank working is a more arduous task than fluicing away what is familiarly known as made bills. In the one ca-e the ground is almost a compact mass of stones, some of huge dimension?, while in tbe other there are no stones larger than a goose's esg, and but comparatively few of them. A head of water that would be amply sufficient at Blacks or Dunstan Creek would not be effective on the banks of the Molyneux. Perhaps our new gold fields representatives will give this matter their consideration. In agricultural pursuits tbe gold fields denizens are making rapid progress. Where the land can be legally occupied, it is being rapidly taken up, and the plough is everywhere called into requisition. This will

give us a lasting prosperity. Experience Has satisfactory proved that the two interests grow together. The most flourishing towns in Victoria are those where mining and agriculture are in close relationship. It causes the locality to be a field where labor is alwa\ s attainable, and consequently It attracts those who are seeking the means of obtaining a livelihood ; for let a gold field be ever so productive, there are sure to be some unfortunates, who, to recruit their finances, are only too glad to avail themselves of any chance of employment in any shape. Farming in the vicinity of a mining population cheapens the cost of living, and actually develops the country by increasing the means at the disposal of tne miner, whose stock of cash goes much farther than heretofore ; consequently, he is enabled to prosecute undertakings that would be otherwise not within his reach, or he can afford to work ground which, at the old rates of living, he was compelled to abandon. A considerable number of miners are daily making their way back from Hokitika. The fame of our quartz reefs has found its way to the West Coast, and many are the private letters received here from diggers who have been fortunate, and who are seeking a field of profirable investment. Doubtless, many will be induced to return, and after all it may turn out that the ru*h to the Wtst Coast fulfilled the mission of supplying the means to develop our quartz lodes. Matters on the gold fields are by no means unpromising. There is a steadiness existing in all pursuits, which never existed before, and taking all things into consideration, there is a very promising future before us.

2nd April. The Bishop of New Zealand took his departure from Clyde for the Lake districts on Monday last. He halted at Cromwell for the night, where he preached a sermon, before a very large concregation, at the school- house. The fund L>r the establishment of a bishopric at Otago has been pretty liberally responded to ; and there ib an universal wish of the members of the Epiacopilian Church that something should be done towardssecuring the services for thia district of a resident clergyman.

A sad mishap has happened to the coal pit at Clyde. Some time during Wednesday night an extensive rush of water, supposed to come from the Molyneux, forced itself through an open seam in the coal, and burst into the mine, completely flooding it out, notwithstanding the pumping machinery was in full operation. Efforts have been made to reduce the water, but in vain j and it is feared that the further working of this splendid seam of coal cannot be prosecuted. The loss to the township will be a very serious affair, especially to large consumers, while people whose means are limited, and who have families to sustain, will, now that the winter months are upon them, find themselves very awkwardly situated. Cromwell will, doubtless, be the place from whence ■we shall have to derive our future supplies. At this place, our gold fields authorities have managed to increase the price of coal to the public six shillings per ton. It appears that for the mere cutting of a make-shift roadway down the side of the bank of tbe Kawarau River to the pit mouth, the lessees are permitted to charge 25s per ton instead of 19s as heretofore — thus increasing the price to consumers in perpetuity to the extent of nearly 25 per cent, for an outlay of not twenty- five pounds. Surely, with the increasing population and enlarged consump' ion, the proprietors of the Cromwell coal pit ought to be glad to have made a road for their own convenience : in fact, any lessee of such a valuable public propert}', and an indispensible one into the bargain, should never have been permitted to hold a lease without they possessed and were prepared to expend sufficient capital to put the mine in thorough working order, and to make euch approaches as suited the convenience of the public. Here is a seam of magnificent coal — high and dry above water, and more easily workable than any other in the Dunstan Disitrict, made deliberately over to a private party, for what ? Why for their especial benefit, and no one's else. People naturally ask what are the conditions imposed in a lease for the working of a lignite seam. The answer is, that the public shall be charged co much per ton, a price, considering the reduced costs of labor and living, more thaa the article is worth. The lessees being allowed to work the mine as they please, secure it with timber as they please, or not do so at all, and co let the ground tumble in and render the further working of the seam impossible. Some months since I drew public attention to the gross mismanagement in the letting or leasing of lignite workings by the Gold Fields Department, but no action was taken. The time has now arrived when such is imperative ; cheap fuel will become a question of bread and cheese, or a population or no population ; for without fire in this part of the country, destitute as it is of timber, no man can live. The subject requires investigation, for it is very clear that those whose duty it is to look after this portion of the public property fall short of dealing with the difficulty. A responsible head of the Gold Fields Department is urgently needed. The Clyde School Committee are now relieved of some of their most pressing difficulties. LIOO out of a sum of Ll5O voted for the purpose of school buildings has been received from the Government ; the balance, which has been written for, will clear off all liabilities, and leave things in a satisfactory condition.

A mining joint stock company (the All England Eleven at Sandy Point) has been successfully floated during the last week; actual operations have commenced, and the company will in all probability be getting gold in less than a fortnight.