MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1948, 21 March 1889, Page 12

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Waipori correspondent of the Tuapeka Times writes :—": — " I hear that the party who took up a special claim on Jutland Flat above Captain Pearse's claim intend commencing prospecting operations in eatmst at an early date. They have entered into arrangements for the erection of a hydraulic elevator, which will be driven by a 15-b p. engine, capable of lifting to a height of 20f b from 20 to 25 tons of drift per hour. I sincerely trust that the operations of the party will be crowned with success ; for if they meet with the encouragement they anticipate, I understand they will set to work in real earnest. The Waipori Alluvial Gold Mining Company have made application to the Warden's Court for a 300-acre special claim within the 1500 acres over which they had a right to prospect during the past twelve months. They propose, I hear, to commence dredging and hydraulic sluicing operations at an early dati\ They do not intend to resume sinking in the meantime for the main bottom, having found that a rather expensive and profitless job. The company must have expended a goodly sum on the last shaft they put down ; and it is to be regretted that the contractor's machinery was not sufficiently powerful to reach a much greater depth. Another claim of 300 acres has been pegged off below the Alluvial Gold Mining Co.'s lease by Mr Pilling, who has formed a party, chiefly of Dunedin speculators, to give theground a thoroughtrial. If success attends the efforts of the Alluvial Co.'s operations, there cannot be the least doubt that the ground pegged off by Mr Filling will prove a very valuable property." The Southland News complains of the inadequate efforts of the Government in connection with the Stewart Island tin discoveries. Our contemporary thinks the Minister of Lands shovild have visited the locality before this and that a warden and assessors should have been appoiuted to settle disputes as to boundaries, &c. The News also complains of the nonappearance of Mr M'Kay's full report, and thinks Sir James Hector might give "the benefit of his scientific experience on the still open question as to the commercial value of the Pegasus lodes and deposits." According to the News, up to a recent date, 81 licenses, covering 60 acres each, or a total of 4860 acres, of broken bush and scrub-covered country, have been issued, and our contemporary further g a y g : — « Over this huge area there are scattered only about 80 men actually connected with the licenses, thus giving colour and consistency to the conjecture that the • dummy system ' is in full swing, and that on investigation many of the applications will be found to be those of agents of foreign syndicates. There is thus not one man on the ground for each 60 acres, and if there wero it is needless to say that he could do no more than ' shepherd' the claim—even if it were di fined, which, in the majority of cases, it is not. For the Government — which must have already received between £2000 and £3000 by way of fees — has deemed it sufficient to engage the services of only a single survey pacty, whose leader, active and skilful as he admittedly is, cannot be expected to accomplish in a few week?, or even months, the task before him." In connection with M'Elligott and party's tail-race robbery mentioned in our issue of last week (says the Crcmwell Argus of the 12th), a Chinaman named Ah Ling was arrested by Sergeant Rassmussen on Wednesday last ana was charged before the EM. with larceny of the gold. Prisoner was dealt with summarily and sentenced to three months' hard labour in Dunedin Gaol.

The following items are by the Livingstone correspondent of the Mount Ida Chronicle:— The Long Gully sludge-channel has been thoroughly repaired. Some of the shareholders

therein, having come to an understanding with Mr M'Master — the owner of the land through which it is constructed — did the work at their own cost, which gives them practically a monopoly of the watershed of Long Gully in the meantime. — Messrs Cook Bros, have again taken their race east of Long Gully in hand, and have it well forward into Mr Pringle's freehold* I am told, however, that in consequence of the hardness of tha cutting, due to the prolonged dry weather, they have temporarily stopped the work till rain comes. — Mr Carlyle is pushing on with his work on the Pioneer water race with a strong party, and is, I hear, expecting to get water in before winter.— Miners at West Maerewhenua are agitating to get a large area of known auriferous ground, now held as municipal and hospital reserves, thrown open for mining. 'The land is situate between the Maerewhenua and Otekaike rivers. If they are successful, I hear it is intended to make another effort to construct a race from the latter stream, this time without Government aid. M Heaven helps those -who help themselves." Should this eventuate,' and with Carlyle's race iv full flow, we shall have the nearest approach to a " boom " Maerewhenua is ever likely to see. A meeting of the Christchurch directors of Green's Reef and Seam Working Company (Limited), Ophir, was held at Christchurch recently, to receive a report from Mr B. P. Ekberg, who had returned from Ophir after having carried out a contract entered into with one of the Christchurch shareholders, at his own suggestion, to put in a sluicing appliance and gold-saving tables, the result of which had demonstrated the fact that there was gold in the claim in payable quantities. Mr Ekberg showed samples of the gold he had obtained from these workings. He had put through about 50 or 60 tons of the material, from stuff not expected to be gold-bearing, but which had to be removed to get to the lead. Out of this, a yield of 17dwfc had been procured from the boxes alone, without washing the blankets, and the gold was of really good quality. This was only an experimental test authorised by one of the Christchurch shareholders, but it has created a great deal of confidence in the future of the company, which would only require proper management to develop the resources of the locality. Though the cutting was the poorest of the ground in the neighbourhood, it clearly proved (said Mr Ekberg) that the quality of the reef when reached would be very rich. The Grey River Argus states that the William Tell Company, Cedar Creek, has had a lift. It appears that the tunnel which the company has been putting in for the last 12 months to intercept the reef ou which a winze had been sunk, was really running almost parallel instead of cross-cutting it. But the other day a small cross-cut was put in and the reef struck. It is large and carries good gold. The legal mauager of the Gallant Tip Compauy, Upper Shotover, wires that during the week ended March 9, 52 tons of quartz were milled for a return of 650z of amalgam (plates only). Compared with the previous week's rereturn (llloz) this is a reduction of over 100 per cent. Writing from Tasmania to Mr John Murdoch, of Invercargill, Professor Black says that the effect of his visit to the tin mines there has been to confirm and increase hi 3 opinion of the great value of the Pegasus discoveries. He advises all holding shares to keep possession of them. The [professor expects to reach Invercargill again on the 26th inst.— Southland Times.

The Southland Times says : — " An expert who has just returned from Port Pegasus after a sojourn of some months in that locality reports the discovery, on Saturday last, of the lode on a claim adjoining that of Professor Blaok's party. He says there is every indication that the lode is rich, but until it is driven into it cannot be thoroughly tested. At present the prospectors and others on the ground are simply blasting the surface to obtain specimens. He haa little faith in the alluvial deposits, there being, he says, not a sufficient depth of wash. The greatest depth he saw, aud he has been over all the ground, is 6ft' or 7ft, the average being between 3ft and 4ft. He particularly desires to warn the public against blind speculation, as there are many claims pegged out in places where not a spec of tin will be found. Some persons, ho avers, take up sections at the Land Office, finance on them, then go oyer to the island and peg out— sometimes in places where there is nothing bat bare granite. In some instances experts have pointed out that there was no tin in these places, but have been answered to the effect that it did not matter, that come people iv Invercargill wanted a claim, and one must be pegged off." The heavy galee at the end of last week and beginning of this scattered sand about considerably on Waipapa Beach (says the Mataura Ensign) and slightly retarded operations at the dredge, the race leading to which was blocked up, thus making a shortage in water supply. A scoop and some horses will speedily remove any obstacles ; eventually it is probable that water will have to be led in by fluming in order that no delays may take place. Mr F. Abelsted, a practical miner of many years' experience, and who is known to many residents in Otago as one of the original proprietors of the Rise and Shine Company, Bendigo, ha 3 called upon us and given his impres* sions of the Nenthom reefing district. Mr Abelsted informs us'that he has just spent five days in an examination of the reefs, aud is conviuc d that this is one of the most important discovery's that has been made in the color y. Heeximiued nearly eveiy claim on the various ines of reef, and saw many prospects tried from them. In every instance the yield was highly satisfactory, and if the reefs go to any depth there cau, he thinks, be little question that there is permanent work for a large population. At present the great want on the field i 9 a crushing battery, and Mr Abelsted's opinion is that the Government ought to come forward-and erect a publio battery in order to assist in the development of tbe field, most of the claimholders being unprovided with capital. The surface stone alone would give full employment to the battery for a leng time to come, and there pan be little question that if a moderate charge were made the Government need not lose any money whatever were they to adopt the course^ suggested.

A statement was made by a Wellington paper some d&ys ago that there was an enormous number of objections to the property tax valua« tioa this year. This is now confessed to be inaccurate. The number of objections is exceedingly small — so much so as to be a matter of surprise, and the majority of tne objections are confined to the value of leasehold interests, upon which a considerable variation of opinion is always to be expected. The men's quarters at the Belfast Freezing Works Canterbury were burnt to the ground early on Saturday morning. The estimated loss is £200. The building burned belonged to the Provision and Prodnce,Company. It was insured in the Standard Office for £150. The men escaped, and saved most of their belongings.

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