REEF-SALTING AT BALLARAT.

Cromwell Argus, Volume 1, Issue 49, 19 October 1870, Page 7

REEF-SALTING AT BALLARAT.

—o — Aye.]

The Castlemaine miners who were going to revive the palmy days of " the Corner " have turned out to be a couple of barefaced swindlers. Public attention was first called to certain suspicious circumstances on Saturday, morning, when the following letter appeared in the columns of the Ballarat Courier: —

" Sir,—As your paper has always been a staunch supporter of the mining interest, we wish to expose through its columns what we consider to be a deliberate and cold-blooded attempt to impose on mining speculators. We, with several others, inspected the claim of the. Revival Company to-day, and have no hesitation in asserting that it is a swindle, and we cousider it our duty as quartz miners and speculators to give the public the benefit of our experience. Our object in writing this letter is that from the favourable opinion expressed by several gentlemen (with a superficial knowledge of quartz mining) who visited the claim together with ourselves, we are afraid that they and the public are likely to be gulled, and we would suggest to applicants for shares to appoint three of their number, break down presem faces, and if they find what they consider payable gold, after that we will acknowledge our mistake, but not before.

"T. G. H. Fitzgerald, Blackwood. "John Harms, Talbot-st., Ballarat,

This letter would seem to have caused immense excitement, and we find the two evening journals denouncing the supposed reef discovery as a mining scandal and a swindle. We quote what the Mail has to say on the subject :

" The much-talked-of discovery alleged to have been made in an old shaft near Vale Park, on Thursday, turns out to be one of the greatest swindles we have become acquainted with on Ballarat for some years past. It appears that last evening several mining men and some shareholders in the proposed Revival Company had slight suspicions that all was not as "represented in connection with the rich quartz vein of which so much had been said ; and when it became known that two expeiienced quartz miners had visited the shaft during the afternoon, and pronounced the whole affair a swindle, great excitement prevailed. The letter published by Messrs Harris and Fitzgerald was the signal for a movement to he made at once in the mat ter. arid a notice was posted at the Mining Exchange to the effect that at 10 o'clock a party would start for the claim with a. view of testing the correctness of the report m.-uK The party was soon got together, and consisted of, among others, Messrs Foster, Gavin, Croyle, Oopeland, Downing, and several other gentlemen interested. On arriving at the claim, some demur was made, to their descending. The windlass had been removed, and descent for the time heing was impossible. However, after some delay, another windlass was procured, and two or three of the party descended, and closely inspected the workings. They discovered that the gold could be easily rubbed off the stone, and a close examination showed them that what had apppeared to he the precious metal running through the stone was in reality nothing but gold-leaf, either pasted or shot in. The face was at once worked upon, and a good quantity of stone knocked down, but no cold was seen, and the affair was then pronounced a swindle. By this time Mr Gaunt, acting as warden, Mr Inspector Ryall, and Sergeant M'Cullagh, had put in an appearance at the claim, and as one of the prospectors ascended the shaft, he was immediately given in charge to the police, as was also the other when he arrived at the surface.- They were then charged with ' trying to obtain money under false pretences,' and brought into the Western lock-up ; subsequently, at two o'clock, they were marched to gaol, and passing the Loudon Chartered Bank corner, where a large concourse of people had assembled, were, greeted with yells and hoots. Later in the day an information was to be sworn against a well-known local resident, lately hotel-ke- per in Sturt-street, for " conspiring to defraud," as it was thought that he had some hand in the matter. The affair of course has created the most profound sensation in mining circles, and the wonder here i.«, that so many persons descended the shaft and failed to discover the swindle. We may add that both Cawson and Hanna had with them from time to time, since their alleged discovery, some fine specimens of quartz, which of course were believed to have come from the mine. It is only fair to Messrs Gavin and Foster, in whose hands the formation of the Bevival Company was placed, to exonerate them from the faintest tinge of suspicion in the matter; indeed these gentlemen will be losers to the extent of purvey fees paid by them to take up the ground on behalf of the proposed company. No money, we are informed, has been paid for shares, bo that the prospectors bavp riot benefited much. Grew', cv?di< if, due

I • j to Messrs Burns aud Fitzgerald foi oxjf-a-iug this attemptedswindle, and » sulsuiptiou was this afternoon being s.ct \.ji tv present these gentlemen with some sunuUu testimonial for their sei vices. Jt >Vns stated in the evening that the police intended to put some miners on to i.ork the claim lor a few days in order to i'ullly test the affair.

Some days later, W. J Coleman, J. J. Cnwson, and W. Hanna were placed before the Bench on the charge.of ohtainii.g money under false pretences, and Mere committed for trial. (Jn the application of Mr Trench, tlje Bench said they would accept bail for each prisoner, himself in £2OO, and two sureties, to be approved of by the police, of £IOO each.