27

C—2

WARDENS' AND WATER-RACE REPORTS.

AUCKLAND GOLD FIELDS. No. 1. Mr. "Warden Kenkick to the Under- Secretary for Gold Fields. Sir, — Warden's Office, Thames, 15th May, 1885. I have the honour to forward herewith the annual report upon this portion of the Hauraki Goldfield. 2. At Tapu, in the northern portion of the Thames District, some small but valuable finda have been made during the year. A good deal of prospecting has been done, with satisfactory results. An effort is being made to get in a low-level tunnel with a view to drain a considerable extent of goldbearing country. Should the necessary capital be forthcoming a considerable amount of work would at once be taken in hand, with, I think, a fair prospect of success. At any rate, those interested seem sanguine as to the result. gwc 3. A very large extent of almost unknown country awaits the prospector between the recent discovery at the Manaia (Coromandel) and Tapu. As usual the want of tracks through a rugged, heavily-timbered country retards mining operations. 4. At the Thames proper the principal work done during the year has been the prospecting at the deep levels, carried on by the Caledonian Low-Level Tribute Company and the Deep-Level Cross Company. One satifactory result has been obtained, i.e., the proving that gold does exist at a much lower level than has hitherto been admitted, the Caledonian Low-Level Company having discovered gold-bearing stone in their drive 640ft. below sea-level. Whether it exists in payable quantities remains to be proved. 5. The one great difficulty to be contended with in working these low levels is the cost of drainage. At present, the cost of keeping the water down to the 640ft. level is £450 a month. The work is done by the Deep-Level Cross Company, who own the drainage machinery known as " The Big Pump." The above-named amount, required for working expenses and repairs, has hitherto been contributed by the various companies interested, assisted by a subsidy from the Borough and County Councils, who are also interested, inasmuch as they receive the gold duty. Trouble has always been experienced in collecting the full amounts agreed to be paid by the various companies, so much so that the owners of the machinery have had to contribute, during the last three years, some £3,000 to make up deficiencies. The individual assessment has been arrived at by a sort of compulsory agreement; in other words, the company that could least afford to dispense with the drainage had to pay the largest assessment. During the present year an effort has been made to arrive at some equitable basis upon which to make these assessments, but the legal difficulties in the way are too many, and will remain so until some much-needed amendments are made in the Goldmining Districts Act of 1873. Power should be given to fix a drainage area. This question is one of vital importance to the Thames, for, if the contributions at present paid for drainage should fall off,, there is but little doubt that the pump would be stopped, with disastrous results to the district, quite apart from the heavy loss of capital already sunk in the mines. Indeed, the mere possibility of this stoppage has had a deterrent effect upon the investment of capital. It is much easier to point to the facts than to discover a remedy, but undoubtedly the first and most necessary step would be the amendment of the existing law in the direction of giving power to elect a Drainage Board from amongst and by those interested, conferring full powers on the Board to fix the drainage area, and assess all within that area in any form that experience may shew to be best, i.e., rating ground and companies in proportion to benefits derived, either from depth of workings, or yield of gold, or both. 6. The unfortunate accident to the Queen of Beauty Mine (which will be reported on by the Mining Inspector), occurring as it did at a time when, after large expenditure, they had reasonable grounds for expecting some return (gold having been found in their lowest level), has quite disheartened the shareholders, who have determined—somewhat hastily, many believe—to wind up the company. 7. The stoppage of all work in this mine, throwing, as it does, many men out of employment, is most unfortunate for the district, which, in common with the rest of the colony, has been passing through a period of depression, intensified in this particular locality by the unusually dry summer we have been having. 8. Want of water has not only stopped the batteries, but the saw-mills, no logs having come down to the mills for many months. A large number of men have for some time been out of employment through these stoppages. 9. The " find " in the Cambria Claim, in the vicinity of the Waiotahi Creek, has done something to make up for the decreased yield from the Prince Imperial and other mines. It has also been the means of starting several new ventures, such as the Darwin, Moanataiari Extended, Wolseley, Saxon, and others, some of which have already obtained good results from the labour employed. The Cambria " find" also goes far to show how rich patches of gold may for years remain unknown and unsuspected in the immediate vicinity of workings. Taken in connection with the Prince Imperial 1a