The Inangahua District.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 174, 11 March 1873, Page 7

The Inangahua District.

A correspondent of the Grey River Argus, after touching upon the harm done to mines bythe employment, generally through patronage and favouritism, of incompetent working managers, goes on to say :

"Now let us come to the real cause of. the unhealthy aspect of the district. The reefs lave not realised the expectations at first furmed by many who invested ; it is a notorious fact and patent to every miner of com-mon-sense and experience, that the reefs as a whole are fearfully poor. I state openly that there is not a single claim on the field that will yield an ounce to the ton, taking tie stone all in a face. None of the claims lave come up to the trial crushings. If a poor crushing takes place from a mine where better was expected, the excuse is that a large quantity of mullock had to be put through. Such lame excuses will not go down with people of common sense. Nothing is gained by mystery and secrecy. If the returns are poor, publish them (there have been poor claims on other gold-fields): the absent shareholders and general public will have more confidence where mining is conducted above-board. A large amount of money has been thrown away in tunnelling when shafts should have been sunk. Directly a party of men discover a reef on the surface, the first thing they do is to go as far away from it as Mssible and put in a long tunnel, causing a Iw of time and money. Why not follow the «t% iown from the surface, and prove the pFfo down to a respectable depth before carrying in these enormously expensive tunnels at low levels, in total ignorance whether the reef may last to that depth ? It is madness to expect that every single claim here tillbear the expense of large plants on them ; instead of 10 or 15 heads of stampers, one donkey power would suffice for many of the claims for all the good stone obtainable. In conclusion, I may state that T believe there are many payable claims on this field, but it is not the reduction of a paltry 10s, a week on the miners' wages which will effect a revolution in the returns, but knocking on the nead (the curse of the district) the leasing system. Hundreds of acres are now 'Fmg idle which, under proper management, would have supported three times "ie population, and where one claim is now getting gold there would have been twenty feady with stone to supply the mills. The leasing system has driven away the best part «the population, and Reeftonites are now suffering the consequences of their own acta. L eases they would have, and leases they have B°t, but a good thriving busy population wild have tended more to promote the wel'?reof this gold-field than continually harassing the Superintendent to grant large blocks J land to encourage a lot of land-sharks and 'wok-brokers.— I am, &c, Junius."