TE AROHA TRAMWAY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1884, 2 August 1884, Page 3

TE AROHA TRAMWAY.

Complaints re Working. At the übiial monthly meeting of the Pi.ilvo County Council hold at Cambiidgo on Weilncbday night, the chanuian of tlio Ti am way Committee submitted tiie following icpoit : -- To If. (iilhliiiu, jun.i &•><[•, neciet.u\y tianiw.tv coiiiimttoo, Auckl.uid. Dc.u iSii, — 1 have tho honoui to ioi)oit .is follows. :— Khi.ih-. am> Kmtmhi'ihi, - The leceipts fioni the ti.unway for the foui weeks ending the l'.Jth uist. aie <.i^ follo\» -. . -

The oubn.'iv woikmg expenses for the same penod ,ue .is pei pay-sheet attached heieto - t'HO Is lid— which would have left a balance of U>'2 IK 7d. This balance li<i», howi'vui, b >en i educed to to £'10 l)s 7«.1. by the tost of lt'panuig the lino after the heavy iain> we have had duiuig the month. I'kisim Kivti'Ol' 1 Tin: Li\r.— The line at piesont is in a- fan ~-tate of lcpan, but hua\y i,\nii dmmg tln^ time of the year aie hablo at any moment to c.au>e damage, which it is impossible to a\oid or giuid against. C'lHKivi' Month. — For the current month I e-tiiiiiite the mimboi of tiucks to be Inouyht d*>v\ n w ill be about the same as last, noi can any %ciy laige incieate in the levonue bo expected until mmv clashing machnieiy i-> elected on the line of tiainway. — 1 .mi, &c, ' If. H. Ada Mi, Managei. Ci'. Filth siid it would be seen, tliere Mas a suiplus of £30 on the months woiking. Had it not been for the slips caused by the heavy lams experienced lately, the suiplus would have been £71 instead of iSO. — Cr. Chopincll thought that tlieie was something ladieally wiong in the management ot the tiatnway. The council hud given it eveiy chance and yet this was the Hist month a surplus had been shown, lie thought they could veiy well devise some veiv much better, inoic advantageous and moio economical way of woikmg this concern. — Ci. Gould suppoited the lemaiUa old. Cliepmell. He thought it Wii:> possible for them to have the tiamv,i) uoiUcd by contiact — Cr. Chepinell thought the oluuges which liad been lex led weie altogether pioliibitoiy. The present thai go per ton far exceeded the estimate. — Ci. Filth explained the cause of the piesent hijjh late chaiged for the conveyance of quait/, on the tiamway. Undei the uicumstanccs he did not think the piesfnt tanfl'at ali exoihitant. It was piuely a question of ciushing power. Again, thuie weio veiy few mines woi King when compaied to the number which they were led to expect would be woiKing. If theie weie four batteiies woiking they could cany the quartz at lod. a ton. He conbideied it would be utteily iniposible to w oik the tramway with fewer men than at pieactit. Ie would be uiong to put such a v dluablu woik as the tiamway in the hands of contiactois, as it would be a pei feet wiecKin about six months,, — Or Chepmell said when the tiamway was undei token they weie told the)' would be able to cany quartz at 2s but now it was 4s Gd. Nothing but fiist class stuff would pay undei tins tanlF. In view of she gcueial disatifafaction which pi e\ ailed, he thought a competent engineer should be appointed to repoit upon the gear and the woi king ol the tiamway. — He believed the (Jovcituiicnt would allow the distuet engineer, Mr I3ecie, to inspect and lepoit upon the tiamway. Cr Maclean demuried to this course. Mi Beere might go to Mr I'iuclias and to Mr Adams and icpoit accoiding to what they told him. — Cr. Chepmell suggested another gentleman, a Mr Coibett, of Waihi, a veiy competent man. He would propose that the Government be requested to ask Mr Beeie to report upon the gear and the woikmg of the tiamway ; and failing this the council to employ Mr Corbett, ot Waihi, to do f-o.— Cr Filth : Supposing these men ropoit that it is necessary to replace the biakes at present in use? — Cr. Chepmell did not consider this a. sufficient objection to his pioposal. — Cr. Fnth gave as his experience that one engineer always leported against the woi k of another. Whoever was appointed to make this leport should first satisfy the council as to his qualifications. — Cr. Gould seconded the proposition, which was carried unanimously. Cr. Chepmell also enquired had become of the engine for which they had pjid £700 ? They were now paying £70 interest upon this piece of expenditure, and though the eugiue had been on the ground tor a considerable time it had rever yet been made use of. — Cr. Firth said, though the engine was not in use at present, still it was being looked after. He admitted that the purchase of this engine had been somewhat premature. Had the crushing power of the present battery come up to expectations, or had another battery been erected ©n the flat, then the engine would have been indispensable.— Cr. Chepmell thought they should sell the engine for what it would bring.— Cr. Firth did not approve of this couree. It was quite possible that the time w as not far distant when it would be required.— Cr. Williams remarked that as soon as the railway was completed to the Aroha, and coal could be had there at £1 a ton, and thus enable steam power to be used, batteries would then be erected to meet all possible requirements.— Cr. Firlh also quoted the fact that some of the mines bad not turned out equal to what was expected. For instance, the Eureka mine, one of the leading mines on the field, after the expenditure of a large sum of money, had turned out unpayable. The shareholders in this mine had" spent £500 in constructing a wire tramway to connect with the main line, and the mine was now practically abandoned. This alone made a difference of about 1,50 tons passing' over the tramway. Cr. Firth referred at some length to the company's battery at Waiorongomai. When they purchased it they were given to understand , that it would crush on an,average 500 tons a week, but they had found jtaeapadjy pst to ex-, ,cced BQ9,to»sV TU,swaa,a/sajiVe<J ooa<

siderable disappointment. It wa3 found that; the Aroha quartz was very much harder than the Thames quaitz, and it cost £1 a ton to bring this quartz to the hoppers. The cost at the Thames did not nearly approach this. The conversation on this matter after a few other remarks (hopped.

A dreary picture is given of the state of business in the diamond fields in South Africa. The vicissitudes caused by the collapse of the mines are as remaikable as. those in California a tew ycais ago from mining speculation. Acorrrapondent, writing ftom Kimberley, saya he met a man who, two years ago, had been offered £ 250.000 for his interest in one c'aim, and refused it. Now he has not £1 to his name. Another, who was offered £70,000 for his interest, now keeps a butcher's shop.

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