MINING NEWS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 363, 23 April 1903, Page 5

MINING NEWS.

_ .» The height of the river at the Alexandra bridge !as» eve .1114 was a shade over 5 feet above the " normal " mark. The Enterprise Dre Iging Company has declared a dividend (the sixtieth) of Is 6d per share. Two men of Kianga (N.S.W.) the Other day picked vp a nugge: weighing 21bs. The New Vincent dredge resumed work on Monday. It is intended to place a powerful oil engioe on the Molyneux Falls dredge. The current wheels are to be removed. The New Roxburgh Jubilee has declared a dividend of 2s per share. At a meeting held on Thursday the Goal Creek Flat Company decided on Voluntary liquidation, Messrs Kyle and A J C Brown being appointed I iquidators. It is proposed to form a new company. By advertisement in this issue the dredgemaster of the Davis Bend dredge invites tenders for the snpply of coal to the company's dredge. The New Bendigo dredge took about 20 tons of coal aboard yesterday, and will start on the journey down the liver to her claim to-day (Thursday). The Dunstan Lead dredge is operating on highly payable wash. The return of 90oz last week is the largest leturn this dredge has yet won for one week's work. The auction sale of the Old Dunstan Dredging Co.'s dredge and claim has lieen postponed in the meantime. The tale will probably take place at Clyde on Friday, May Ist. - The Moa No. 2 dredge stopped on Friday for some small repairs, and resumed work on Monday night. The «lredge is now heading out towards the liver.

The Olrig dredge was stopped last week for some neceesary repairs The dredge resumed work on Saturday evening last. The Coronation Co/s dredge is working steadily, but the returns are not made public. The following items are taken from the "Mt. Benger Mail" : After re ceiving a good overhaul, the Gold King diedge has again been got ready for work, and we expect to hear of some more good returns from her. —The Jubilee has been shifted from her summer ground over to the west side cif the river.—The Lady Roxburgh diedge made a start on Monday after noon. —The Molyneux Kohinoor has' been shifted over to the east side of her cliim.—Another good return is expected from the Endeavour dredge this week. The ground is getting deeper, and the bottom has changed to hard reef.

• The following items are taken from .'the " Cromwell Argus ": The Junc- -■ t§on No. 2 started work last week.— Some difficulty is being experienced in getting the Junction No. 1 on her ground owing to bars in the river.— The prospecting tunnel at Foreman's claim at Kobertson's Terrace is still being driven into the hill, and it is expected that the wash will shortly be struck.—The operations of the Point d'Or are somewhat hampered by the presence of the New Royal Maori. Two dredges working the same bank are apt to get in each other's road.— The Rise and Shine only worked a little over three days last week, owing to the job of replacing the elevator slides by rollers. The slides have not worked well since -they were in, the friction being considerable. It will take nearly a fortnight to replace the slides by rollers. The wash continues good as this week's return shows. PERSEVERANCE GOLD DREDGING COMPANY, LTD. The following is the directors' report to be submitted to the annual meeting of shareholders in the above Company on May Ist: " Tour directors beg to present the report and balance-sheet for the year ending 31st March, 1903, and are pleased that the year's operations nave been so successful. Ten shillings per share has been paid in dividends, and the reserve fund still stands at £SOO. "The amount of gold won during the year was 36720z 6dwts lOgrs to the value of £14,257 Is 6d. The average return, reckoning 52 weeks in the year, would be 350z 6dwts for each dredge, but taking the actual dredging time—the No. 1 dredge worked 43 weeks and the No. 2 40 weeks—would mean an average return of 440z 4dwtß. "The average weekly expenses amounted to £142 18s 2d. The maintenance account is being gradually reduced, and both dredges are in very good working order. " Messrs George Spencer and Robert M. Finlay retire from the directorate, and both are eligible for reelection. " The auditors (Messrs L. B. Grimstone and C. E. Richards) also retire and are also eligible for re-election." DESTRUCTION OF DREDGING LAND. The following letter, giving the views of Mr Thomas Mackenzie, M.H.R., on the above subject has been addressed-by him to the Right Hon. the Premier:—

" Dear Sir.—There is a subject of great public interest which I wish to bring under your notice. It is the criminal waste of valuable land by some of the dredging companies. I am conscious of the difficulty of the subject. Still, I hold that the serious loss for all time of valuable land requires some restrictive legislative enactment, combined with reasonable compensation to those concerned in the undertaking. In cases when only a

few acres may be destroyed little notice i may be taken, but where a stretch of : several miles, thousands of acres in ex--1 tent, of the most valuable land in New : Zealand is all to be washed away—destroyed for ever—merely for the sake of a trifling amount of gold, in some ; instances hudly payiug wages, surely it becomes the duty of the Government to step in and say it shall not be done. The mere fact that a man may possess for a time valuable land should not give to him the right to destroy that land. The State acd posterity have an interest in land far beyond that of the temporary holder. Some of the lands I refer to are of such an excellent quality as to be practically inexhaustible, and capable of supporting hundreds of people in comfort for thousands ol years; and if that is so, surely the State will not stand idly by and see all this destruction going on without raising a hand to stay it. In our beautiful New Zealand far too much destruction has been permitted all too reidily. Spiendid forests of grand timber have been cut down and wasted; beautiful native birds have been ruthlessly slaughtered; some of our fine bush and forest scenery have been burnt and disfigured; and now portions of our lands are to be swept away. I would therefore urge on you the necessity of making some provision for classifying the lands and preventing the destruction now going on.