The Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, March 10, 1874.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 226, 10 March 1874, Page 4

The Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, March 10, 1874.

In our last issue we re-published an article from the Coromandel Mail on the discovery of a method of amalgamating on an entirely new principle. The discoverer of the new method is a Mr Arthur Ford, who is described by the Mail- as a " mechanical engineer by trade, who has spent much time in bringing his present discovery to a practical issue," and as one " who brings highly respectable credentials with hira." The paper from which we quoted the article is published in the centre, we may almost say, of the greatest quartz reefing district in New Zealand, and is such a respectable authority on all reefing matters, that for these reasons alone wo are fairly entitled to assume that there is really something in the discovery.. -That better appliances for extracting the gold from quartz might be introduced than the ones we have at present in use, we think no one at all acquainted in the slightest degree with these matters will for one moment hesitate to believe. Much has been said of the necessity which exists, oa the Carrick, for instance, of introducing some cheaper motive power for crushingmills than steam, before the reefs which abound in that direction will pay for working, and water power is looked upon by some as the agent which will yet develop its mineral wealth ; but the idea that improved machinery would enable us to enjoy even the luxury of steam power at a handsome profit has not yet gained much strength. We shall presently show, however, that there are good grounds for thinking that more attention should be directed to the discovery of better appliances for extracting and saving gold, than even the introduction of cheaper motive power. In this latter case we can only hope to save a small percentage of the present outlay in wages ; whilst in the former case we might' hope to double, and even treble, our present yields of gold.

That the Resent style of crushing ma- ; chines, with all theif, costly ..appendages pf tables jand amalgam barrels, lose a coh- ' siderable quantity of gold, is well-known; & but the exte'nt to Which the loss occurs is, ' . we, feai, ,but seldom realised. Occasionally "a trial of the tailings is made by some enj t'erprising directors or .proprietors, with. 1 a •"••result that dtartles them for the time; but • the apparent " hopelessness of 'finding:, a . remedy soon makes them lapse into.the old happy-go-lucky style.; The tailings are stacked up, it is true, but it is with the

Micawber-like hope that " something will turn up" some day which will enable them to extract the riches which lie concealed in them, rather than the certain belief that they are valuable, and that their duty lies in discussing the method of extracting the riches from them before they take the form of tailings at all. Every one believes, in a loose kind of way, that seme machine will be invented some day which will profitably work quartz mill tailings, but .why should the machine not be made to catch the gold at the; first crushing ? It would surely be as easy to do it then as it would the second time. Most assuredly it would be with more profit. Samples of the tailings from the most important mills in this district have been assayed by persons skilled in the business, and the result has almost invariably been astonishing. Sometimes the samples have been taken from one place and sometimes from another, but on the whole we do not think, we are overstating the facts when we say that the: average amount of gold which is daily run to waste fron'i > our present batteries, and with our present appliances, cannot be fur short of from 14 to 2 ounces to the ton. A' sample taken lately from the tailings of a certain battery after a not very rich crushing of stone was finished, went, indeed, at the rate of five onnces to the ton. We are sure that no one

will dream of blaming the managers for results like the one we have meutioned. They, do, the best that possibly can be done with the appliances at their command; bufithc appliances themselves, v/e mean to say, with facts like these staring us in the face, are of the rudest description, comparatively, to what they might be. : Men- with great experience in quartz crushing matters speaking of this new amalgamator proposed by Mr Ford, say that if it will only perform half,* or even quarter the work which it is said it will do, it will be a great invention. It is said that it will only cost from £3O to £4O. We wonder if we are too sanguine in expressing a hope that some of the enterprising directors or proprietors of quartz claims will make enquiries into the matter and assist Mr Ford in introducing his invention if there is the least show of its practicability. An invention which would really attain the ends which the one we have called attention to proposes, would simply be the means of making the fortunes of many individuals in this community, and of making the Bannockburn district especially, the most prosperous one in Otago.

The fact that.no applications were sent in for land under the deferred payment system in the Hawea district, did 'hot, we must confess, surprise us in the least. Somehow or other, public feeling has changed as regards the Hawea Block,— why we cannot tell. Partly the reason no doubt is that no information could be obtained regarding it till within a month ago, and till then there was great uncertainty as to whether it would be thrown open at all or not We do know for certain that there were half a dozen applicants who would last year have been glad to have taken 1000 acres on the same ground for which now there is not a single applicant. Land, we suppose, is like everything else; if it cannot be got when it is wanted, it must remain vacant till the demand for it again arises. One thing has helped, and will we are afraid, help for some time to come, in delaying the settlement of the block of which we are now speaking. An impression has got abroad that the best of the land in it is already sold, and, worse still, that it is the property of one man. It is quite true that the first-surveyed block of 2500 acres or thereabouts is entirely sold, and we believe we are correct in saying that more than 1800 acres of it is the property (or was) of the Hon. J. M'Lean. There can be no doubt it is good land, but the reason why it got to bo looked upon as the best, and, m fact, only good land, is because it is situated on or near the line of road, and is the land of which most was seen and known. Thousands of acres yet remain, however,--of which this second block lately advertised is a portion.; further from the Lake, it is true, although that is not altpgether a- disadvantage, bub nearer to a market than the first block was. It

is not timbered land, but it is with'inrcasonable distance of an extensive bush, so that fencing and building material could be obtained at a comparatively trifling cost. Water cannot be said to be plentiful, but the ground is suited to the growing of crops for which little water is required, and if necessary, there is even great facilities for brihgirig water upon the ground. -Regarding the climate, we are only asserting the truth, and what is well known to any one acquainted with the district, when we say that it is one of the finest in the Province. The summer heats are tempered by the close proximity of Lake Hawea, and the winter is extremely moderate. The grass which is growing on the flat at the present moment is a sufficient testimony of the truth of what we are saying; nay, if proof were wanted, the success which has attended the labours of the only settler the neighbourhood would be sufficient evidence pf it. Why, then, should people wishing to settle be so chary of choosing the Hawea district for a home? Simply, we believe, from ignorance of the nakre of the country, and because hearsay, statements of its poverty have been accepted by persons who ought to have examined the place for themselves. The opportunity is not altogether gone yet, however, and we hope it will be yet taken advantage of.