MILLERS FLAT NOTES. [OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4896, 2 October 1901, Page 3

MILLERS FLAT NOTES. [OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Oar dredges at Millers Plat are still bolding their, ovm by way of weekly returns, and so far only one has gone into liquidation.

The re-constructed company of the M.F. Electric are making an attempt to fit a supplementary oil engine (in addition to the electricity) which, as far as my opinion goes, is only wasting money as the dredge, even with this extra power, is not fit to work the claim, and the claim as it stands is too small to put on an expensive dredge: No doubt an up-to-date dredge could be bad cheap shortly, but they take 14oz or 15oz a week to keep them going, and that, I. consider, would be a fair average return which might be expected from the ground. Tqq Excelsior dredge is to all appearances completed, and her machinery has been running occasionally these last few days. She has not been placed on her own claim yet, whioh may be taken as an index that she is not yet working to satisfaction.

The Ettrick is beiDg fitted up and tbere is a fair prospect of her being completed by the end of the year ; but usually it takes three or four months after completion to get things in working order — at least this has been the rule rather than the exception.

It ie to be regretted that the list of fatal dredging accidents has lately been considerably augmented, and it is astonishing to me that we have so few aocidents. In many instances it will be found that a man is placed in charge who has had probably no more than 18 months' experience in the working of a dredge. To this is added a crew of cadets who may have spent the greater part of their lives rabbiting.and after a few weeks' work on a dredge are given a shift and the safety of life and property placed in their hands. Now any experienced dredgeman knows well that the longer he works on a dredge, at least on the Clutha River, the more he finds he has to learn ; and a man may be even a couple of years working on a dredge and competent for all that is required of him in looking after tbe wnotiQ'o, &q m and &t\U not. have the least idea of the management of a dredge on whioh he may incidentally be placed in charge.

Experienced dwdgmasters do not, as a rule, go about teaching their orews like schoolmasters — a dredgeman must pick up his knowledge himself. And here is' where a little knowledge is dangerous. A man may think himself capable of managing a dredge ; he may also be Bteady and of excellent character ; but place him on his own resources in charge of a dredge and he is entirely out of his element. A little success at first makes him over-confident and a few good weekly returns from his dredge increases tha confidence of his directors in him, who, as a rule, have not tho least practical experience themselves ; and'then the old adage comes to work : " Familiarity breeds contempt." The inexperienced dredgemaster will often plaoe bis still more inexperienced crew in a dangerous position, and he is not in the least aware of it until some accident happens and somebody's life is sacrificed for the want of commonsense.

The above is only one of the many points to be observed in the management of a dredge. How to work a claim systematically, save the gold, and keep down working expenses are other items of importance where many drf dgemasters are completely at sea, and in many cases thpy lead to the inevitable liquidation and ruin of the shareholders.

I have just returned from a visit to the Cindian Flat, Upper Taieri, and the great drifts of snow still lying in the gullies show that the snowfall on the Lammerlaws must have been exceptionally heavy, and what is moat surprising is that tbe ranges about Alt. Pisa and Bathans are cpntparatively clear of snow,. The cutting of the Canadian Flat water-rage ' is progressing hat under the capable management of Mr David Weir. The cutting and benching, with the exception of a few bluffs, are nearly completed, and boxes and fluming will be commenced as soon as the timber arrives.

Mr H. E. Easton is still fighting away with indomitable perseverance at Wellington, and he has every hope of gaining the point he so well deserves. He sent me an extract from the •' N.Z. Times," and herewith I forward it for insertion in the columns of the Tuap^ika Times, as it may be interesting to many investors in dredging shares who, like himself, may have been " had."

The following is the extr&ot referred to :— "The inquiry now being conducted by the Joint Committee of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives into the irregularities and illegalities committed in connection w^h the flotation of gold dredging companies is understood to be drawing to a close. There has been a great mass of evidence laid before the committee, much of it of a damnatory character, and not improbably a result will be the institution of prosecutions against the more flagrant offenders. Another result should be the passage of such legislation as will make objectionable praotioes all but impossible in future. The report of the committee will not, in all likelihood, be read,y for presentation for tw t o weeks ; but even? at that stage of the Besaion^ it is to be hoped that members wi}l give it the serious attention which the snbjeot undoubtedly desetree. j I TUe matter to one that does nok affect 6»}y \ golaftalns Sisirieb, far ihe Investors In dredging are found in every constituency throughout the country. As showing the extent to whioh money has been invested in these ventures, it may be mentioned that a oareful oaloulatipn proves that the capital subscribed in this country for gold dredging purposes is equal to £3 per head of the entire population of New Zealand. Jn the great bulk of oases these investments will prove remunerative, but the few '■ wild cat ' ventures have giyen the whole industry a bad name. It may be hoped, however, that after the Parliamentary exposure there will be such reforms as wi}l restore oonftdenqe and a bealty tone

to the market. It seems a little peculiar that it should have been left to a Btranger, Mr Herbert E. Easton, io take the lead in ezrjoßing the rotten oondition of a number of dredging companies. The explanation, we believe, is that Mr Easton oame to this country as representative of syndicates interested in South Afrioan mines who, on account of the stagnation in the Transvaal, wished to find a fresh outlet for their capital. It was while making inquiries, preparatory to the investment of large sums, that Mr Easton found that things were not what they seamed with r< gard to a number of dredging companies, and some months ago he started his crueade of exposure in Dnnedio, which has culminated in the inquiry now proceeding. ; We cannot, of course, e&y what form the committee's report will take ; but in any case, sufficient has been disclosed in evidence to warrant drastic legislation." ;

Following are tbe returns for the week ended Monday, 30th instant :— 02 dwt gr Electric 130 5 0 Clyde . ... «. ... 66 0 0 Cromwell ... 60 15 0 Unity ... ... ... ... 60 10 0 Crolden Gate ... ... ... 60 3 O Electric Eitendod ..^ ... 58 5 0 Eamsoleugta No. 2 48 18 15 Monte Christo 48 0 0 Perseverance ... .» ... 37 10 0 ■ Alexandra Eureka ... ... 97 0 0 Mannherikia 36 5 13 Alpine No. 2 32 16 18 Molyneux Hydraulic 32 10 0 Perseverance No. 2 ... ... 32 4 0 Golden Bun ... 32 O 0 Golden Gravel 31 2 0 Otasco 3V 0 0 Earnscleugli No. 1 28 11 0 Success 28 3 2 WaAaka United 28 0 0 Cbarlton Creek 27 10 0 Central Charlton 27 2 0 Waimumu Extended 26 3 0 Olrig 25 19 0 1 Goidenßed 25 I O Incfe Valley 23 U 0 i Junction Electric No. 2 ... 22 0 0 Magnetic ... ... ... 22 0 0 Chicago 21 3 0 First CbaDce ... ... ... 21 1 0 Golden Treasure 20 10 0 Spec Gully 20 10 0 Lawrence • ... ... ... 20 3 0 Alpine Consols 19 15 0 Gold Queen 19 7 0 Waituumu ... ... ... 19 1 0 Empire flo. 2 18 6 0 Central Mataura No. 2 17 6 0 Beliance 17 2 12 Upper Waipori 17 1 0 Bliephord'e Creek ... ... J6 3 O Naumai 15 13 O Paula Beach U 7 0 Hartley and Biley 14 6 0 Happy Valley 11 8 0 Lady Charlton 11 0 0 Golden Link 10 18 3 Gabriel ... ... ... 10 16 0 Celtic W 0 0 Waikaka Queen 9 9 0 Inchdale 8 0 0 Long Valley 7 0 0 Golden Beach 6 4 12 Duuback 5 10 Golden Reward 4 0 0 Total y. 1492 19 3 WEST COAST DREDGES. Al ... ' 45 17 O Nelson Creek ... ... ... 38 fo o Sutler Junction ... ... 25 5 o CJreenstone Junction „ „. 21 16 o Gtey Hiver ... ... ... 20 o o Ah» ura River ... ... ... 19 7 o Grey Biver Consolidated ... 18 10 0 North Beach 17 16 o Keeves Proprietary ... ... 16 5 o Pactolus ... ... ... 16 o o Maori Queen ... ... ... 12 11 o Ford's Crock 12 6 12 Erickson's Beward ... ... 10 o o Greenstone Creek ... ... 8 o o The Meg and Annie dredge did not wash up oh Saturday. The dredgemaster reports that tbe bottom is still hard, and that tbe travelling drilk was very troublesome during the week. The Majestic dredge did not wash up last week. The Kelson Creek Go. have declared a dividend (the fourth) of Is per share. The ViDoeot Co.'s dredge acd plaim, opposite Clyde, is in the market to be tendered for. The Molyneux is falliDg steadily, being sift above the normal mark at Alexandra on Monday. The Alexandra correspondent of the "Daily Times " wired as follows on Monday : — The Sixteen-mile md Fourteen-mile B ach dredgeß have closed down lor some tim.e. — I believe the Golden Biver and Eendigo dredges are working. — The River Molyneux, First Chanoe, and Sailors Bend dredges are still.idle.—lt is expected that the overhaul on the Enterprise No. 2 dredge will last about two weeks yet.— The high river at the btginniDg of last week did the Earnsqleugb Efo. % a great deal of good as jt cleared away the silt and some tailiog?, allowing the dredge to do good work. At the annual meeting of ths Eawarau consolidated Dredging Co., veld. ia Cian.e.cUa ou Monday, the report stated that (Ley are making an effort to raise £700 by the issue to shareholders of ££• debentures, bearing interest of 20 per cent., secured by mortgage over the claim and plant. At time of writing £380 bad been applied for. The chairman, in moving tbe adoption of the report, said they were £658 9s 4d. The idea of raising money by debentures was to carry them over six months till they saw how adjoining olaims turned out. Only £390 worth of debentures were applied for and there was little prospect of getting the balance off. Ultimately the meeting went into committee and tbe reporters were asked to retire.

At an adjourned meeting of shareholders in the Upper Magnetic Co., held in Dunedin on Monday, the chairman (Mi T. K. Harty) said that since last meeting the debentures had all been taken up, and they could now pay off all liabilities and work their own claim or make arrangements, to work one of the adjoining properties on tribute! The owners of the Annie Queen claim had offered to take the dredge up to their claim, and, after payment of all working expenses, to divide the gold won between the two' parties, but the directors could not entertain the idea. After some disussion it was resolved : " That it be a recommendation to the directors to close down the dredge until the river is in a favorable oondition for dredging, unless in the meantime satisfactory arrangements can be made with the owners of adjoining properties to work a claim on tribute."

The Inspector of Mines in his annual report writes as follows ooncernibg the 0.P.Q. : —At Waipori, the O.P.Q. Waipoti Goldmineß (Limited) have got tbeir mine into good working order. During the year a crosscut was driven west from the lowest level for a distance of 37ft., when a vein of quartz, whioh on being' opened up has been found" to be 10ft in width in places, was out. As this vein was also out at 2ft from the ground, being stoped out at a distance of 60ft above the level, it naturally has the appearance of being a branch from the main reef. The whole of the quartz opened out at the low level is reported to be good, and this has given encouragement to the company, who intend to sink the shaft 150 ft deeper and open up the reef at a' lower level. From the 80ft level a winze 50ft in depth has proved the quartz to increase in thickness from us 3ia to $ct, & coo eider able quantity of ore has been obtained from the adit below the level of some old workings. Additions in the shape of two Union vanners have been made to tbe battery, end there is a probability that the crushing plant will be increased to twenty stamps. The present stamps are 1,2501 bin weight, and have a short, quick drop. This is found to aosffet very well with the class of ore whiob has to be treated, and a recent crushing is reported to have averaged 4fc tons per stamp per dayGold to the value of over £9j,000 has been obtained for twelve months, and a lot of concentrates are on hand which are to be sent to New South Wales for treatment. t The average yield of quartz in this mine is given as B|dwt of gold to the too. The best crushing tbe oompany bave yet had realised 190oz lldwt of gold from 193 tons of stone. Occasional patches assay as hjgh as 5,0z, to the