BANNOCKBURN AND THE CARRICK RANGE.

Cromwell Argus, Volume VI, Issue 290, 2 June 1875, Page 5

BANNOCKBURN AND THE CARRICK RANGE.

By Viator.

Having a few days to spare, and not having been in the above localities for over eleven years, I determined to "peg out" of the " metrolopus," as Mrs Malaprop hath it, and have ocular demonstration of the progress made during that time. To say that 1 was ' astonished thereat, would give but a faint idea of my feelings ; audi was disgusted with my own shortsightedness or want of foreknowledge. fears ago 1 looked down from the summit of the Carrick upon what is now the busy scene of mining operations, and was then literallv " monarch of all T surveyed," so far as gold-digging privileges were coucerned ; and if I had only known, etc., etc., how differently matters might have been ordered for " Viator." However, regrets are useless, but I sometimes fancy, despite the orthodox belief, that an occasional peep into futurity would be of incalculable benefit to the world in general, and to mining communities in particular. The prophets.of olden time were, a useful class, and it is a pity the business has been allowed to fall into" desuetude. But come, move on, I hear your readers say. So, { stick in hand, I cross the Great Sahara,— the Uromwell flat,—and arrive at Wilson and! Charlton's new coal pit on the east side of i the Bannockburn Bridge. They have a shaft •

down 136 feet, and the seam is now nine feet thick, of excellent quality apparently. The lignite is raised by a whip and pulley, and I should say the proprietors have a good thing in hand., A short distance below the Bridge is Mr Stuart's coal mine, worked by an adit in the terrace. The seam is apparently the same as the above, and splendid lire-clay is here obtainable, from which excellent bricks have been made. This promises to become a large industry in time, as I believe a steady demand is setting in ; but the supply, from various reasons, is very scant. 1 now cross the Bridge. This structure has been frequently described, so I will endorse the general opinion, that it is a credit to the proprietors, and a startling result of that private enterprise which the Government seem so particularly anxious to foster (?) on the goldtields. It is to be hoped that this session will not come to an end without something being done to relieve the district of the intolerable burthens of the tolls at this and other crossing-places on the rivers. The contributions of the Bannockburn district to the revenue ought to prove to the legislators that common justice, if no other reason existed, entitles the population to some consideration in the matter.

The late falls of snow and rain have given a good supply of water, and 1 found sluicing operations in full swing, and, so far as I could learn, the returns are in all cases highly satisfactory. The gold miner is generally bashful, and proverbially reticent, but from what I saw, I can come to no other conclusion than that the greater part of the Cromwell contributions to the Escort come from the alluvial deposits of the Bannockburn. Work is carried on very systematically, but the construction <.f main tail-races, or sludge channels, up Bailev's, Pipeclay, and Smith's gullies will Shu tly become imperative, as they are fast silting up. If a few petty jealousies regarding priority of title, etc., were set aside, and private companies were allowed to set in and construct these necessary works, a great boon would be conferred on all parties, and the future prosperity of the place assured on a firm basis. Tunnelling is also being carried on to a considerable extent, and rumour says with extraordinary results. The vast fissures on Doctor's Flat, caused by the subsidence of the old tunnels, give evidence of golden piles in bygone davs, and this ground, as indeed thousands of acres elsewhere in the place, when once abandoned by the " moles," will become the prey of the "amphibia," (Anglice, slnicers,) and furnish a livelihood to many hundreds of this and succeeding generations of those who make their living between land and water. The great and only want here is water, and this will be in a measure supplied when the Carrick Water Company's race is completed. And foreseeing the splendid returns sure to accrue from thw undertaking, it is a wonder it has been allowed to " drag its slow length along" in the manner it has done h'itherto. If Cromwell is to become the mining centre so fondly hoped for and grandiloquently talked about, it must become something more than a mere spectator of the stru<?gles°of its outlying districts. It should 'guide and assist to. the utmost extent, for upon the health and vigour of its branches, the parent tree depends. The dam lately constructed by Goodger and party seems to be remarkably faultv, and an immense quantity of water is daily lost by percolation, to the great detriment of the tunnellers below it. B-fore leaving this locality, I must bear testimony to the great and severely felt want of female society, and I am assured bv many eligible young men, if a given number of those "young ladies" who have done us the honor to visit our shores, under the auspices of a paternal Government, were to try the matrimonial market of the Bannockburn, they might find something to recompense them for their long journev. Some people may think this is what Artemus calls a " goak," but I can assure them it is a stern fact ; and pity 'tis so. [f permitted, I will continue my story next week, and tell your readers of what I saw in the reefing line. For the present, good day.