MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1932, 30 November 1888, Page 13

MISCELLANEOUS.

Mr Robert Neill informs us that Messrs Park and Lacey advise him that the Walls rolls are taking well in Australia, and *;hat they reassert that they will do all that has been claimed ior them. The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company have, they state, just ordered their second Be t, and the third set has been supplied to another company. The steam dredge was successfully brought down the Clutha to Coal creek on the 19fch. The dredge is very large and unwieldy, and bringing it through the rapids must have been no easy task ; but the owners have succeeded in bringing her to her moorings safe and sound. The leading feature of this craft is that she can work where there is no current ; and as coal is cheap in the district she should do well. «f

Mr William Whitnall has discovered a reef of gome promise in his claim at Roxburgh East. A. party of miners from Miller's Flat have bought Falconer's claim at Dismal Swamp. The late owner has, from all accounts, been doing pretty well. He is said to have got in all 960z of gold last winter out of his claim.

" A Miner " writes as follows to the Cromwell Argus from Bannockburn : — " I crave space to call attention to several gold mining areas and leases, granted months ago, upon which not a band's turn has ever been done, or likely to be done so long as the holders are not touched up on the subject. Towards the end of July last a large claim of 500 acres on the Nevis was applied for, by some Dunedin capitalists, as a prospecting area, and was granted, Naturally enough, I looked, with others, fot some good prospecting being done on the Nevis this season. Up to now not one spadeful of earth has been removed. Meantime, the country is locked up from the working miner, and presumably held for speculative purposes, else why not conform to the conditions of the grant. Were the holders to carry out prospecting as they should do, no one could grumble, but it is hardly good enough for the individual miner to be barred from working the ground, should ho want to do so. At the time this area was granted you took occasion to remark very strongly upon the iniquity of permitting mining monopoly, and you suggested that a field of usefulness was opened for mining unions and associations, to see that the conditions of such leases were carried out, but apparently your suggestion has fallen dead born on the ears of those most concerned, and it is in the hope of stirring the miners to some action that I now call attention to the above. If, as you suggested, mining unions were to keep an eye to holdero of claims who evade the conditions, and take action for cancellation or report fche neglect to the warden, there would be fewer mining monopolies ; but so long as the miner (whose interest it is to keep the country open for work) is apathetic and selfish enough to content himself with his own immediate requirements, so long will capitalists keep their iron hand upon the people's patrimony. I ask my fellow miners to give this question their most careful consideration, and further I request that they will take the matter up and act in such manner as may best conserve their own interests.

The Southern Standard reports thafc Mr R. W. Jones, after a great deal of trouble and expense, has at length come on to the washdirt in the shaft he has been Binking on Mystery Flat at Waikaia. Mr Jones has sunk 23ft before striking the " wash," and the flow of water into the shaft is at the rate of about GOOOgal an hour. As the pump he has is capable of pumping 26,000 gal an hour, it is easy enough to keep down the water now. The present trouble is to keep the shaft, and afterwards the tunnel, from falling in, as the shaft goes down through loose gravel. Two Christchurch shareholders in the claim held by Hudson and party, of Dunedin, situate on the Waipori Flat, above Captain Pearse's claim, paid a visit to Waipori (says the Tuapeka Times) on the 21st, and examined the ground. They expressed themselves highly satisfied with fche prospects shown them.

The Queeustown Iwharf and Shipping Co.'s jetty hare (says the Wakatipu Mail) been rather crowded with machiuery of late, intended for mining ventures. It belongs to three separate companies. The dredge plant is for the Big Beach Co., and is in course of erection on the Lower Shotover river. Mr Miller, manager for the Londonderry Company, Skippers and Shotover Terraces, has also received a good deal of plant in the way of piping, &c. The Maori Point Slip Co. (M'Grath, R. Neill, and others; have landed their powerful centrifugal pumping machinery. This, which is the largest pump yet introduced in the South. Island goldfields, will be worked by hydraulic pressure, and a combined (double power) turbine. Other machiuery is yet to arrive of a new character for Messrs R. Neill, Sew Hoy, and Co.'s licensed holding Hear the Gallant Tipperary.

Mr Win. Power, formerly of Wellington, writes from Sudest Islaud (New Guinea) diggings :—": — " The colour of gold can be got at the heads of all ravines and gullies. There is no wash— only by scraping crevices with a chisselpoiuted pick or knife, a persevering man may get ldsvb per day, or less in mauy instance*. I wish to point out to New Zealand diggers who were ab the Kimberley goldfleld that this is not half so good, and the climate is unsaitable for Europeans to work in without great danger to their health. There is nothing to warrant a rush at present. I hope this will be made as public as possible, as it may be the means of saving many men from great misery and loss of life." Venus Extended. — The general cleaning up of the Venus crushing was completed last night, the result being 181oz retorted gold. The directors met at a later hour and declared a dividend of 6d per share, payable on and after Friday next.

The Round Hill diggings (says the Western Star) continue to show 6ignß of considerable progress. There is evidence is all directions of new ground being taken up by both Europeans and Chinese, and although most of the new arrivals amongst the former are only making "tucker" so far, some of them are well satisfied with their prospects. A few of the Europeans v»ho were on poor ground have abandoned their claims for a time to engage in shearing. Many of the Chinese, on the other hand, who seem to have managed to secure the pick of the ground, are doing well, some of the parties making £6 and £8 per man per week. Operations at No. 1 Sludge Channel Company's claim have been stopped in the meantime on account of the recent flood breaking aw ay tkeir wing dam. At 2 Company's (Ooueher, O'Brien, and pirty's) the claim is only being worked half-time on account of the scarcity of water, but three °* the party are at present engaged in briugwg in an additional race and have only about 10 chaius of it to construct, when operations Jf*H go on night and day. At No. 3 Company (Jabez Hay's) work is to be commenced this week, aad arrangements made for preparing a site for the plant, which will be brought on to the ground shortly. Bufc it is in the Canal proposed undertaking that most interest is centred, and as Mr Beal, civil j^giueer, and Professor Black have been engaged by the promoters to report on the practicability Oi the scheme, and are expected down this week, l se matter will goon be get at test. Should

those gentlemen report favourably on the project, the company will be at once placed in the share market, and it is generally anticipated that it will be floated without the slightest difficulty. With this accomplished, the future possibilities of the field will be something very great. Warden Allen telegraphs to the Minister of Mines from Blenheim that gold has been discovered in Watamonga Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, some miles eastward of Picton. The Gore Standard states that Mr R. W. Jones, after a great deal of trouble and expense, has at length come on the washdirfc in the shaft he has been sinking on the Mystery Flat at Waikaia. He sank 23ft before striking the " wash," and the flow of water into the shaft is at the rate of about 6000 gal an hour. As the pump he has ia capable of pumping 26,000 gal an hour, it is easy enough to keep down the water now. The present trouble is to keep the shaft, and afterwards the tunnel, from falling in, as the shaft goes down through loose gravel. Mr Walter Hislop received the following cablegram on Saturday from the manager of the Mount Hyde Gold Mining Company in Melbourne: — "Directors meet Tuesday, prospects remittance hopeful. (Signed) Brentwall." A Blenheim telegram states that Gome's claim at Mahakipawa has washed up, yielding 48oz of splendid gold, Mr White, a prospector at Sudest, contradicts the recently published reports about the island. He says that only a few men have made more than wages. The Brisbane Courier's correspondent states that there are between 400 and 500 men on the island, a great many being scattered about prospecting. There ia only sufficient water in the gullies to prospect with. Sullivan and party are reported to have taken 200oz out of one gully at the west end of the island in 14 days, but up to the present no payable gold has been got in the adjoining gullies. The gold, as a rule, is small and fine, the gutters are narrow, and generally the gold is within IBm of the surface. The place is good enough for men who are satisfied with 2dwt to 4dwt a day, but even this yield will not last long with the number on the field. A few men are making a few ounces per week, but the gold is very patchy, and 50ft of anything on the place would be .worked out in a week.

It is stated that Mr L. O. Beal, the engineer who is making the survey, and Professor Black consider the main sludge channel at Round Hill one of the most legitimate mining speculations in New Zealand/andjthat with proper machiuery, although they only save half the gold proved to be in the sludge, it will be a most profitable undertaking.

Extremely favourable accounts have been received from the newly-discovered reefs at Nenthorn. That there is an extensive reefing country in that locality has now been placed beyond dispute, and one which, in our opinion, after the process of development takes place, will prove to be one of the richest in Otago, if not in the colony. Parcels of the surface stone, on being reduced, have given excellent yields, although poor results were expected. Crosscuts are being put in the reef, and the result is awaited with considerable anxiety. A large area of country has been pegged off. — Mount Ida Chronicle.

An Auckland telegram states that news is to hand of^the discovery of promising gold-bearing stone at tho Tiki, iv the Thames district, upon some ground which is being worked by an Auckland syndicate. A reporter of the Marlborough Express has visited Watamonga, the new goldfield near Picton, and finds the place very accessible. The working will be shallow. There are 20 men on the ground. Mr Parkes, inventor of Parkes' process for dealing with ores, has staked in an interview that at Katikati he obtained aome specimens of quartz, valuable in gold and silver. He brought away from the Hot Lakes district a large quantity of specimens for shipment to his house in London, including efflorescent sulphur, silica, obsidian, &c.