OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 19

OUR WEST COAST LETTER.

(From Oue Own Correspondent. ) Westland, February 9.

THE ROSS UNITED PUZZLE. The latest coastal sensation is the case •Crown v. the Ross United Gold- mining Company for £200 arrears of rent, which commenced in the Robs Warden's Court last Saturday alternoon, and may not finish for many weeks, so that I will only give the facts as so far elicitedOn the Minister for Mines learning that the Ross United Gold-mining Company had not paid any rent for tlfe last five years he instructed the receiver of gold revenue to sue therefor. On the receiver suing the defendants' counsel Beb up the plea that because he (the receiver of gold revenue) had only been appointed since 1892 he had do legal standing in court ; that to liave standing in the present action he would have required to have been appointed in 1 877 ; fchab tue defendant company, having discoveied £vo years ago that it was nob eatitled to pay any rent for its special claim, and there was no signature to their deed ot grant from the Crown to the defendants, and thure -was no secondary •evidence to show that the special claim had ever been applied for by the defendants or their authorised agent. Of course as the case is sub judice it will not do to comment, bat the tacts as already made public muss produce a deal of cogitation in the minds of the unfortunate shareholders for the recovery of whose arrears of calls the company went frequently to extremities. The deed producad showed the signature of the Governor as wi!liDg to gr»nt to Patrick Comuhey, but no sigus.tnre of Patrick Comubey as wiilisg to take the lands under the implied conditions. However, the lawyer (Mr James Murdoch, of Kumara) claimed to hold sufficiently strong secondary evidence to prove the covenant between the Crown and Patrick Comnhey as sufficiently binding for the purposes of the issue now before the court. TRYING WEATHER. The oldest residents fail to iPznernber snch trying weather ss that experienced by "West Coasters during the last 10 days. Today it may be blazing hot from a cloudless sky, to-morrow cold as polar weather, the Dexfc parboiling under the thick murky folds of heavy •dead fog, and the day following tornados accompanied by bitter pelting rains. What do these unaccountable changes portend, at this time of the year, tco ? SUEdIMSING LABOUR. A party of Ro^s gold-miners have succeeded in getting a promise of pound for pound on their labour from Government for bringing up a large tail race to drain known arich deep levels &bout the flats of Donnelly's Creek, and work is to ha commenced iro mediately, and is to be under the supervision ■of Captain Richard?, Government mining inspector. Ik the early days of Ross these areas ■were remarkably rich, and the golden layers ■were worked as deepiy as the water inflow would allow — i c., about 6ft. When the adit is ■completed it will drain ground sufficient to find ■a goodly number of men lucrative claims. the rorn?s as? th^b noss flats. When the caso againft the Koas United Goldmitiiag- Company by the C^own for arrears of rent is settled, the scheme, as given forth by the Ptemier when addressing the folk of Rosb last week, provides for the drainage upon gigantic measures of the deep level* by means of electric power transmitted from dynanios at the Mikonui Gorge. The flats are to bs declared a lessrvs for miring purposes, »nd will be thrown open as &ooi ac drained to individt7al mining enterprise. S»eh a scheme will employ many hundreds of d:gj?crs, and as tlie gold has been proved niore than onne to be there in payable quantities, it is thought there will shortly bo an active stir h*re once more. AN EXTENSIVE AURIFEROUS BELT. That exteome belt of auriferous cuuutry between the tottDship of Kcss an-l those rich gold digpings now being worked to such advantage at th,- Soui-.h Spit, oa the southern bank of "the Hokiciks River, is attracting considerable Attention a<i a likely goldfield, and as men I propose givipg Ihe readers of the Otago Witness the benefit; of some research I have recently made through the tract. Although little prospecting has been done, yet we have abundant proof that rich spots exist along the Hue of this immense traer, which may be said to cover as araa of 120 square miles. In the back •country, afc much higher altitudes, gold is uniformly distributed in the gravels and drifts of hillside and terrace, and the " colour "may be readily got ia any of the numerous creeka intersecting the belt; crosswise to the sen. All along the Hue the go.d occurs under tktee distinct conditions — (a) As dust, forming integral portioas of the deposit of garcd and gravel along the streams and on the beaches ; (V) as grams, forming integral portions of extensive beds of schists, frequently accompanied by layers of auriferous rotten quartz ; (c) as a pirt of the ■whole of mineral quartz veins. All tbese prove that this tract is a made one from the higher and known aur'iEerous country overlooking it from the south and easfc. Xiike the field at Kumara this perdu. goklGeld may any day become proclaimed, to the benefit of thousand*. At the Robs end •of the bslt the early pioneers found pay-gravel below the surface over 20ft, and yet without "bottom, and in many cases remarkably rich, but owing to heavy water influx (hey were prac'ically prohib'ted from going deeper down..At thafc level the gold was coarser and richer, but it had to be left there, and the. lead, notwithstanding its extraordinary rich goldfields, •was abandoned in the wild rushes to tbe fabulous fields of Robs that immediately offered. Since then beacb- combers have contented themselves with intermittently working the / black sand of tbese storm-swept beaches ; at least until quite recently. Owing to the remarkably rich cement workings in the terrace 1 ? overlooking the South Spit or northern end of the belt a reaction seti i), and claims continue to be taken up and worked, the present yields being in several cases as much as £20 a week per man. And the occurrence of gold in these beds of sandstone is not only interesting to science, but of •coneiderabie practical importance, for the presence of such a bed would denote rich deposits in the hiils farther back and higher up. Be that as ib may, the lead is extending Hos£wards, and Ross miners reckon that if they could manage to pick up once again the lost Alymer lead and succeed in connecting with the northern diggings the chances strongly favour the opening out ef a goldfield that for •extent and richness would far eclipse tbat of Kuraara. To that end agitation is now rife with the object of getting prospecting track* cut through the impenetrable portions of the belt, so as to allow systematic prospecting therein. A GOLD-SIINER'S SCHEME FOR DRAINING THE EOSS FLATS. A gold miner ct exte^^ive experience and >vf'H acquainted with the history of the Ross jTlst is of the opinion tb-it the safest and cheapest way to drain the deeper levels would aa by several small dr-tinsigg shafts, with oil

engines for the motive power. In support of that contention the following interesting statistics are given : — A two-horse power oil motor, costing £80, is now at work in Hawera. It does eight hours work for half a crown a day, aud as these engines may be had up to 200-horse power, calculations as to the cost of pumping are baeed upon the ratio of the Hawera machine. ADEQUATE WATER SUTPLIt FOR KUMARA. It is anticipated that when the Wainihinihi Creek water race, near Kumara, is completed Goldsborough, Sfcaffordtowi;, and Ca.llaghan3 ■ will have au adequ&re supply of sluicing water in the driest of weather. A NATURAL CURIOSITY. Awsy down iv far South Westland, past the Abbey Rocks, where the mollies, ihe seals, and the eea lioLS sing cantatas to the mermaids, is j a cavern, from the dark roof of which ever 'drips I water having such stiong petrifying properties I that whatever comes under its influence turns | to stone iv a few months. Expecting this natural curiosity romance weaves a weird fabric boo long to tell here, but which, if I aw . for!.uj&ie enough, I sht-.1l dec >il in the next ' Christmas Number of the OLago Witness. THE MAIN &OUTII ROAD. The work of widening and extending the main south road by (..he Government employees continues to rapidly that tastirna isnoslar dia- j tact when one may be enab'ed to ride or drive right through from the capital of Westland to Pembroke, in Otago. CANCEROUS COWS. Greymouth flesh-eat' rs were again this week thrown into states bordering on iVenzy by the fact published last Monday in the Gr^y papers that si cattle-breeder brought and offered ab the public saleyards two cancerous cow*. Luckily for everybody concerned the watca'ul inspector ordered their slaughter, v»heu iv wat. dit-ccvered that bo'cu carcases were being davoureii by caccer. MISHTILY INVOLVED. At the Greymouth H&rbo.ir Board meetiDg last Tuesday evenii-g all the members wete knocked hors de cvibat by the secretary reading out from tbe Government statistics the somewh&fc appalling announce raeot tha.t the board wa« indebted in the sum of £1,000,000 sterling. J> We only owe £100,000!" simultaneously yelled the indignant conclave. THREATENED INJUNCTION. Mr A. R. U-uinm s«, M.3.R., who appears to be always on the gui vive whtn anything affecting the best interests of the micftre crops up, warned The Greymouth Harbour Bowl tho-t if the Grry River wilt! noc proclaimed a c-ludge channel numbers of Grey Valley ssttleis would get an injunction on the gold-miners to prevent them continuing hluicing operations therein. THE CONSOLIDATED GOLOTIELDS COMPANY'S WATER RACE COMPLETED. The contractor for tbe race following the south sido of ths luangahaa River for the New Zealand GoldfiVlds Consolidated Company has jusfc completed his contract. The channel, which is 10 miles nntl 35 chaics long> i"* intended | to carry 15 heads of water, although its capacity is considerably greater. Ia ids construction 6000 ft of piping and 240,000 ft. of timber were used. DREDGING THE GREY RIVEB. Mr Joseph Taylor, a well-known speculator of large expsrience botlt !n coal and gold mining enterprise, having just forinsd a company for dredging the Grey River for gold neas the Brunwer Gorge, applied to the Grey Harbour Board last Tuesday evening to hire or purchase their small river dredge, which is valued by the harbour master at £600, acd replying thereto toe board decided to let him have the conesrn for £4-00, the terms to be £100 cash and the balnner on approved bills exceeding over a period of 12 months. MOBE LUNATICS FOR WESTLAND. Hokitika is greatly exercised in its mind over the fact tbat fche Tutanekai fetched to Greymonth this evening, for transport to the capital, a cargo of No:th Island lunatics. THAT UNFORTUNATE WAIPAKA. From the latest acoc.viut.-5 Irom Okarito, or) the sands of which the unfortunate steamer Waipara still knocks about and grinds to the tune or the wild winds and the heavy sea*, I fear that the handy little boat will nevtr float again. One account says that the bottom plates are ground go thin as to be useless for practical purposes ; another says she is yet as sound as a bell, bat a more careful report estimates an expenditure of £1500 m getting her off, so that I am afraid her owuens — who have sptnt a good deal of money on her previous, to this laai mishap — may now jib and possibly purchase another steamer suitable for the southern service, which must be kept up if the Governmeut have to treble tbe present subsidy. HOW FIBBS OHIGINATE. Last Saturday about mid-Jay Hokitika nearly experienced another fire. It appears that going decoi&tors in Mr Rubeck's (barber) shop had occasion to use a b'owpipe, and its action sent sparks, igniting the wood of the partition between tha(> shop and Dc M'Kenzie's surgery next door. Fortunately the doctor discovered it in time to prevent any real damage b?iug done. Talking of how firps originate, I once knew a lady leave a water bottle on a table prior to going out. Luck cbauced her return shortly j afterward I',1 ', to dismajtdly diacover the whole tablecloth in a blaze. The rays of tbe sun, concentrated by the water bottle, had done it. I once knew a man who owned a large house which he didn'b cccuoy, but in fact lived away therefrom some 30 miles. Business got bad with him, money tight, and living desperate, so, as he had to raise Ihe needful somehow, he hied to an insurance agent and in.-sured tbe dwelling for £200. One mghtin the throes of desperation he visited his house, aud from the outside bored an aug^r hole through the wall just immediately over the mantel shelf ; into that he stuffed tow saturated with turpentine, and after that a candle lighted at the outer end. Then he went home agaio, and at the inquiry afterwards he swore he had never been inside the house for over a week. Some time after this he returned the money to the insuranco company with a secret confession.