LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1465, 13 December 1879, Page 19

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A celebrated mine on tie Thamn g ildfield the Caledonian, was closed on the 3rd of latt month, when all the Workers were discharged. The shares in this mine stood ones at L2lO, and the tailings from the battery during toe ' period of the richest cru&ings used to bring trom L 5 to L 6 per ton at aucoion ; one parcel of several hundred tons reached to somewr a about L 7. The fabulous amount of yold. which came from this mine in its most fl 'urinhiug days could never be correctly »scercained on .account of the wholesale plunder which was carried on almost indiscriminately by the workmen. I Quartz-mining , enterprise is lokicg up (eaya Saturday* Daily Tim^) t and Ounjdm thareholier* tre getting good returns for some of their investments. Within the past woek three dividends hava beeu dejl&rei by .which shards held in Otago benefit to the amount of about L 2400' Ona iudivi<iiz<*l pocketed L 360. W* understand a lar^a number of Tipperarjr (&acet>wa) "hares chtngtd hands on the sth at Ll7«x div y the pM.I up capital being L 2 10<s per -shar*. We believethere are bright days yet i-% store for th mo -vho invest cautiously and judiciotuly ia mine actually at work, aud for those ti re spac tUtively inclined somi admirable ptospeits c^a. tie shown in macy instances, in tbe cut* of mint's only wanting capital to open tuetu u;i. Tmis is especially the case in the Ma-etown district. . Two handsome cakes, the produce of 536 tons stone, came down the Tip^erwy ckiui last Thursday (says the, Arrow Observer), &ud were lodged in the Bank of New Zealand. They weigh about £05 ounces; and should prove a strong argument ia favour of immediate construction of the Macefcown tramway. The mine ia now looking as well as «rer ; and a similat, if not a larger teturn, is expected by Chiistmaa. Mining operaiaoos at Waikaia (or Switzers, to use tbe old, familiar epithet) are not particularly brisk at present (s*vb the loaal cones* pendent of theTapanui Courier). The " Wind ing Creek" still rolls down its yellow tribute 10 the Waikaia, and thereby to the Mataura andthe sea, reminding by its colour anyone sr!m has visited R»ne of the " tawny Tiber" falvius Tiber. But though work in brisk enough, returns are not ao good as of yore. There are indeed not many more than a ocoie diggers of tho Caucasian race upon the field : the Cbiufciea being the mainstay of tbe ipiaoe ia respect ,to its mining population. Yet those who have gwd reason to know, say that. the beat days of Switzers as a goldfield are still to come In. .many claims it is believed that an improved system of ground-sluicing bymaohmery would result most remuneratively. But the wherewithal is scarce at present in Swittsrs as elsewhere, and henoe the \ development of its auriferous resources is retarded. Nevertheless it is a very patent fact J that tbe " ready" is much more plentiful at j Waikaia tfutn in manj another plaoo^ I

For last month's work at the Cromwell Company's mine 641 tons of Btone were put through the stampers, yielding 545 ounces* A dividend of Is 6d has been declared. The effects of the recent discovery of rich specimens at Printz's claim, Longwood (says tho Western Star), has had a beneficial effect upon business generally, and a more confident feeling has arisen regarding the prospects of the field, and, as a natural sequence, of the district as a whole. There is not the same amount of feverish excitement regarding these prospects that attended the exhibition of those phown 12 or 18 months ago, but there is more confidence felt even by those who <have alwaysbeen doubtful of the merits of the discovery. And, when viewed from a practical standpoint, there is good reason for the increased confidence. Siuca Mr Printz bought the claim, he has driven over ,7oo feet, in the course of which he ha? laid bare the reef in various placeß and at different levels. Rich prospects have been taken from "the reef at tbe low level of the claim for a distance of over. 170 feet, which entirely disproves the current idea that one or two V pockets " only -were discovered, and that the remainder of the, reef is barren. The decision arrived! at by Mr Printz and . the Geelong Company, to jointly erect a battery as soon aa possible, has given great satisfaction throughout .the' district. All classes of the community are indirectly interested in the progress of the field, and all other subjects, politics included, are only secondary in point of interest at the present time. Prospecting has received an impetus, and four newlebses have been applied for during the week, these being pegged out in a differeut direction to those taken up last year. The old grumble is, with some reason, being revived at those. claiooholders who continue to hold the ground without- complying with the conditions of the lease," and unless n?en ate put: on very Bhortly, steps will 'be taken in accordance with the Mines ' Act ; to' determine such leases. ' ■", \' -' ' ' -i /The Oreti correspondent 'of : the SouthlandNews writes -as follows :~Freritz and party, of whom I wrote last week, are in for a ; " good' thing." It appears that they have' sluiced away . the surveyed line of the Ocepoki and ,Waiau railway. .They have received notice, to desist from further mining' in their, claim, and "are summoned, I am informed, for £300 damages, by the Government. They are, I believe, in a state of- agitation 'over the "affair; but I ' don't' , think it », quite as bad as it looks, and' that ' opinion ik ahare'd by others ; indeed, I heard a man say , to-day that he would take all the consequences of their sluicing aw*y the line fora.