MINING NEWS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11493, 28 January 1903, Page 5

MINING NEWS.

Our Reefton correspondent telegraphs that the mine manager of the Big River Company reports that the reef bas widened out from cue foot to two feet. The reef is now irom tbe top of the drive to five feet down the face. THE DTJNEiDIN SHARE MARKET. (PBE33 ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) DUN"EDIN, January 27. ▲ sale on the Dunedin Stock Exchange was {Bade of New Learning Rock shares at 18s. MINE MANAGERS' CERTIFICATES. STRONG ALLEGATIONS. (SPECIAL TO "THE TRESS.") DUNEDIN, January 27. A correspondent of the "Star" writes re examinations for mine managers' certificates *s fallows:—"lt lias been patent to all "in the know , that in the past the standard has been a very low one, with the result taa»t Jiunibera of incompetent men have managed to with the result that men working in many mines in New Zealand havo teen subjected to risk through the. ignorance x>l ihe managers placed over ithein. Not only ■o, buft much valuable property has been teckdeasly ruined beyond recovery by the incompetence of men to whom the examining board lave weakly granted tickets. I speak advisedly whe:i I say that in past years ocr- • . lain laboured candidates Lave been coached up in the very questions that they were set to answer.later at the examination table

_. " it is necessary, in •ome cases, that candidates draw plans of »crkinjr», etc.. and I know for a fact that in BJ*ny cases the candidates have been al»o----llltely incapable cf drawing the 1 plan of an eidinary kitchen, nnd yet they have produced BJoei eleborateiy drawn plans" that have been ) drawn by competent mine managers and surveyors. These have been innocently accepted fey "the examining , bonrd, antf the men have ; teemed ceitiffcwtes. That ar.y mine manager, or surveyor, should lend himself to a criminal deceit of this kind is a disgrace to our civilisation." Tho writer does not sign his own name, but there is every reason to believe thiri fee i* a responsible person.