FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1875.

Dunstan Times, Issue 676, 2 April 1875, Page 2

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1875.

The Provincial Government appears to be very paternal of late, and it is really quite refreshing to find them taking a little trouble to assist the mining industry of the Province. The offer of a bonus for the best goldsaving apparatus for extracting gold from auriferous earth is certainly a stretch of unprecedental generosity, 1 and we should set the more value upon it were it not that everything possible to effect this most desirable and indispensable operation has long since been practically applied. The difficulties most affecting the miners is how to obtain gold to save, and not how to save it. As all alluvial gold must necessarily be deposited, the best apparatus to effect this has been suggested by nature itself, in the form of a tailrace, and which has been applied almost since the early discoveries of gold in California. A nything partaking of the shape of a water-course with a moderately regulated fall, let its construction be ever so rude, will save all the gold that ever comes into it. The bed of theMolyneux, for instance, has proved itself to be a most perfect gold-saving apparatus; no invention of man could possibly have answered better, and there is no room whatever left for improvement. In our large sluicing companies invention after invention has been discarded, and where there is anything like a toughish clay bottom, the same as at Tinkers and Drybread, nothing moi-e is required than to form a channel, and the water will do all the rest, the gold deposit ing itself without further trouble. Where a clay bottom is not available an artificial channel is constructed with some other material, but let it bo wood, iron, or stone, its operation is all the same, and the result equally satisfactory- The most perfectly constructed artificial gold-saving appliances are, without doubt, the tailraces, such as are in use at St. Bathans, and by Mr Kitt, at Alexandra ; but their owners have invented nothing new, they have only copied nature, and which has proved itself the very best of teachers. Why the Government have chosen the Mount Ida Mining Association, at Naseby, to be the judges, and upon whose determining the quality and value of the invention the reward will follow, is difficult to define. Perhaps it is that the Government are ashamed of their work and they strive to shift the ridicule of the affair upon the shoulders of that body. If, as we read,

that thp fact of offering tho bonus is to stimulate invention, the conditions connected with its award are so restrictive that there is but little chance ot anyone competing; while holding out the hope to inventors that they may reap a further benefit from their invention by taking out a patent, is simply nonsense. We hope, for the sake of common sense, the Central Miners’ Association, at Naseby, will decline to have any connection with this ridiculous scheme. The proposal to assist persons to prospect for quartz lodes bears some show of practibility upon it, while it evidently evinces a desire to assist those who assist themselves To subsidise the efforts of persons up to the extent of L2OO may possibly lead to very important results, and tho offer, we have no doubt, will be very largely availed of by miners. According to Mr Ulrich, in the saving of gold from quartz wc are sadly de ficient in knowledge ; but that will be afforded us in Mr Ulrich’s report, therefore, no rewards are necessary in this case, and we have the large experiences gained in Victoria to guide us. What we desire is, assistance to discover the whereabouts of gold, or increased mechanical means in the shape of a water supply to extract it from the soil, the rest we can accomplish easily for ourselves. L 250 may not do much, but, at the very least, it might open up a track to some out-of-the-way place where a score or so of miners might get a living were access only easier. The Province is suffering under no difficulty whatever through any insufficiency of means to save alluvial gold. It is the scarcity of that material itself from whence arises all the evil. To day, Friday, April 2, a meeting of Justicea of the Peace will be held in the Court House, Clyde, to revise the Jury List for the District of Dunstan. A correspondent from Lawrence yesterday informed us by telegraph that Mr Wilson Gray, District Judge, was in a very precarious state. He managed with very great difficulty to hold, for the last time a Sitting of the District Court. The business was only formal, one bankrupt appearing for bis discharge, and a mining case, which was re-adjourned. Mr G E. Barton, of Dunedin was expected up to visit his Honor. It isourpainfulduty to chronicle the death of the wife of Mr D. Soally, which took place yesterday at her residence, Nevis. The funeral will take place to morrow at the Cromwell Cemetery. Mr Faohe reports having sold by auction yesterday, the [property of Mr William Insley, known as Spring Vale Farm, realising for the sameLlSO, Dairy cows fetched LG to LG 10s ; farm implements, and other articles, fair prices. Mr Fache requests us to notice tho sale of Cattle and effects to be held at Black’s No. 3, to morrow the 3rd instant. The Secretary of the Dunstan District Hospital desires ns to notify that the usual monthly meeting of the Committee will be held on Monday the stb instant atS, p.ro. The sale of the intestate estate of Jose de Silva at Fttrick, on Wednesday next the 7lh instant we are requested to notice. G. Fache, Auctioneer. The Secretary of the Clyde Club having received a challenge from the Cromwell Club to play a friendly match at Cromwell, on Friday the 16th instant, wo are informed has been accepted. We believe it isuot etiquette for the challengers to name the ground, hut to give that privilege to the challenged , but, presuming that a return match will be played at Clyde on the 24th of May, it has been conceded. Mr. A. D. Harvey, district Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, kindly furnishes us with the information that there were four births, and six deaths during the quarter ending March 31, last. The Invercargill and Mataura railways it is confidently expected will be opened, as far as the Mataura Bridge by the first of June next. A Lawrence telegram to the Evening Star says:—“Mr Wilson Gray, District Judge, arrived here this morning (27th ult.) He is in very had health, and great fears are entertained of his recovery.” In Oamaru there are being exhibited, a calf with two heads, bred by a Mr Hami’tnn, of the Canterbury Rrovince ; and a Brahmapootra cock, with four legs. America must he a very desirable place to rosideinif we may judge by thofollowing: —John Kelly, clog-dancer, well-known throughout New .Zealand, baa been shot at ’Frisco by an attorney, who was discharged on the ground that he fired in self-defence. —There has boon more disturbances in the Louisiana Legislature. Mr Ward, representative from Grant parish, was expelled from the House for attempting to shoot the Sergeant-at-Arms. The rumor that Mr Horace Bastings will contest the seat in the House of Representatives for Waikouaiti, vacant by the resignation of Mr J. L. Gillies, we understand is without foundation. Somebody describing the absurd appearance of a man dancing the polka, says : He looks as though ho had a hole in his pocket, and was trying to shake a shilling down the leg of his trousers.” An Ohinemuri telegram states that the reef in the prospectors’ claim is admitted on all hands to be payable, and that it will yield one ounce and a half to the ton.. Coarse gold in payable quantities is also reported to he found on tho field. The mail steamship Mikado on her last trip from Auckland for San Francisco took 122 passengers, including those from Australia. The appointment of Mr George William Harvey, as District Judge of the Otago Gold-fields takes effect from the Ist instant.

The Weekly Times says:—“Tho telegraph gave us recent intimation that Mr J. T. Thomson had resigned his office of Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands for Otago, and that tho occasion had been taken advantage of to present him with a handsome testimonial. We have hoard it stated on good authority that Mr Thomson may possibly fix his future residence in Invercargill, with whose interest he is known to be closely associated. We have further hoard the snrraise that Mr Thomson might he induced to enter tho field of politics, a position in which his great talents and wide experience would enable him to render eminent service to the colony.” As an example of “ the ups and downs of life,” the Bendigo Advertiser (Victoria) relates the following :—“ An incident occurred at the weekly meeting of tho Benevolent Asylum committee last Friday, which shows how the depression in mining matters has affected some of those who, in tho exciting palmy days of were well-to-do in the world. A gentleman then 1 well in,’ in a charitable humor, gave a donation of L2O to the institution, thereby constituting himself a life governor. He remarked at the time that he had better do so when ho could afford it, as times might alter. Times have altered, indeed, with him ; so much so that, what with sickness and poverty combined, he has been obliged to solicit some temporary ont-door aid from the institution of which he is at the same time a life governor.” The Daily Times says ; “The ‘big gooseberries ’ have passed away, hut we can hear witness to tho fact that the big apples have come in. A basket of the latter fruit has been sent into town by Mr Charles Burton, miner, who has a garden on the west bank of the Molyneux, near Clyde, and two of the apples are now on view in Mr Mendershansen’s window. One of these weighs lib lOoz, and fourteen of them weigh 191b. The apple is called the ‘ Lord Nelson,’ and this is the first year that the tree from which they w'ore taken has borne.” We hear that should it he decided by the Superior Court that calls upon min’ng shares cannot he enforced unless legal proceedings are commenced within fourteen days from the date ot call, as provided by the Mining Companies Limited Liability Act, it is determined to register all future companies under the Joint Stock Act, as no company’s business can be carried on under the former.

An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the Pneumatic Gold Mining Com pany is advertised to he held in the Company’s Office, Dunedin on Wednesday the 14th instant, to consider the best means of prosecuting the work of the Company. It may be thought to be beyond our province to express an opinion on this subject, however that may be, we cannot refrain from saying that, we hope something practical will result from the meeting because, as to allow the valuable plant possessed by the Company to lie idle for months at a stretch, and to pay wages to keep it afloat, exhibits, if nothing else, thorough incompetence on the part of the management, besides entailing a heavy loss to the shareholders. In a mining case lately hoard before.his Honor Judge Gray, at Queenstown, a new-ly-fledged legal aspirant—Mr Finn—said if he held a claim ho would hang miners who came poaching on‘it. His Honor thought such remarks were very disrespectful to the Court—law should be taken cold, not hot. Mr Finn agreed, but would be glad to see another Eureka riot here, to show the Government the iniquity of the present mining law. His Honor considered such remarks came with bad taste from so new a practitioner in this Court, and he would not listen to such remarks being thrown out against the law. Many of our readers will he pleased to learn that Mr ID. O’Brien was so far fortunate as to carry off, at the Gieymouth Annual moettng, the Goldfields’ Handicap of 125 sovs., with Tambonrini ; and the Hurdle Handicap of 50 sovs,, with Tommy Dodd.

A meeting of the Shotovcr Terrace Goldmining Company was held at the office of the legal manager, Mr Hawkins. Mr Hardy was in the chair. In consequence of the directors not having received the necessary accounts from Queenstown, they were not in a position to lay before the meeting a statement of the financial position of the company. Mr Grace, mining manager at the Shotover, was not present; but a letter received from him was read, Messrs 0. S. Hervey and William Barron were debuted to visit the ground where the operations of the company are being carried on, and report to a meeting to ho held on April 20th, to which date that hold yesterday was adjourned. The Dunedin Guardian says : The following is worthy the consideration of our country readers—“ About five miles from Timaru, on the Dowr s, there are about 250 acres of land which have been planted with 200,000 trees, comprising bluegura, redgum, willows, poplars, stringy-hark, and silver wattle. These trees the proprietors (Messrs Sealy Brothers and Davidson) consider to be worth for posts and rails, at six years old, 2s each (a very modest calculation), which brings their total value to L 20.000 sterling, to which may be added L2OOO sterling for the firewood contained in the tops and branches. If the timber is cut at the proper time of the year, by a fresh growth it will become reproductive. The Honorable Robert Campbell, who is about leaving on a visit to the old country, forwarded a donation of L2OO to the Oamaru Hospital. The Oamaru correspondent to the Daily Times says :—“ It is anticipated that his liberality will bo copied by others whoso fortunes have been augmented by their sojourn in this fair Province.”

At tlio late fire at Oamarn nine buildings ■were totally destroyed, and two or three others partially so. L7OOO is supposed to be the amount of damage.

A writer in tho North Otago Times says that during the late firo at Oamaru, excited men were rushing about hero, there, and everywhere, literally as mad as hatters, Having cases of glass from the fire to pitch them on the street, smashing them to a thousand pieces, chopping down window-sashes bursting in windows and shutters thus giving all the draught possible'to the flames dragging articles of furniture out anyhow (just as well have let them be burnt as break them into fragments), even chopping down inside doorposts, with what earthly object it is impossible to conceive and generally with the very best intentions, doing all the damage that was in their power. But there was a worse scene than this : lots of mean, dirty thefts were committed, not a few with the true spirit of wreckers carrying off anything they could lay their hands on ; and yet still a worse, for a large number of sottish creatures eagerly seized the splendid chance for’them of the Alliance Hotel being on fire to lay hands on as much grog as they could get at, and were themselves got out with difficulty from the billiard-room where they were found standing round the table, each with his bottle, guzzling away, and most of them intoxicated, while the fire was actually raging close to them ” We would fain hope, for the credit of humanity that this picture has been somewhat overdrawn. It is most disgraceful if truely sketched.

News from the Palmer may be summed up in the following taken from the Cooktown correspondent’s letter to the Sydney Morning Herald “ News from the Palmer is varied and seems to take its colouring from the individual success or otherwise of those imparting it. But at present at least there is nothing doing there; the rains have been much heavier in the ‘ field’ than at Cooktown, and there seems to be little chance of any important finds till the rains are well over. The population is very sparse on the fields at the old workings, but still there are a great number of diggers scattered in small parties in the numberless creeks and gullies that form a vast network among the hills and ranges from the Palmer to the Mitchell. The chief part of the population is at the heads of the various rivers, and there cannot be less than 2,000t03,000 on theNormanby rush. Of course there is little doing save by those who have been some time there, and who, having stocked their'washdirt, can now enjoy the fruits of their forethought. . . . . Though Ido not believe by any means that the alluvial workings on the Palmer Gold-fields are exhausted, yet it must be to the reefs that we must look for any real permanency or stability here.” Mr Wm. M‘Kay, the owner, and likewise rider of Medora, in the Handicap Steeplechase, run on the third day of the late Dunedin meeting, has been disqualified for 12 months from riding on the Dunedin Course for foul riding. TVe do not presume to question the justice or otherwise of the sentence passed on M‘Kay, as we know nothing of the circumstances further than what wo glean from the very meagre statement in the Dunedin papers, but we are of the opinion that, -where foul riding—which Is nothing more nor less than thieving, and that of the very worst type—is detected the full measure of the power of the Stewards should be meted out to the culprit, viz , a disqualification of both horse and rider for ever ; it is only by such extremes that the racecourse can be purged. We speak strongly because the case demands it, this being the third instance within the last two months where foul riding has had to be punished.

We extract the following from a return for the year 1874, published in the General Government Gazette :—Number of Post Office Savings’ Banks in the Colony of New Zealand, 103 ; number of deposits for the year, 52,G2C ; amount deposited, L 099.249 ; amounts withdrawn, LC20,155, being an excess of deposits over withdrawals of L 83,103. The Province of Otago and Southland contributes—number of offices, 30; deposits, L 217,751 ; withdrawals, LI 90,680 ; excess of deposits, L 26,864 From the Agricultural Statistics for the Province for the year 1875, we glean the following : —Numbers of holdings, 3809 ; number of acres under crop, including sown grasses, 383,657 ; estimated crops—wheat, 980,128 bushels ; oats, 3,018,148 bushels ; barley, 108,430'; potatoes, 18,419 tons ; hay, 11,899 tons ; of the total acreage 244,406 acres are under permanent grass. The Grey Iliver Argus says:—“ Our Hokitika contemporary is down like a cartload of bricks upon the Provincial Council. It says :—Such exhibitions of ignorance and impertinence have been seldom seen even in such common bodies, and it would be a week well-employed if the succeeding w r cek were utilised by seme of the members cultivating the virtue of silence ; or, if they will speak, let them follow the example of Demosthenes ; there are pebbles big enough and numerous enough on the beach to give exercise to their jaws for a century. Seriously, it is sincerely to be hoped that, when the Councillors return to their places and their duties, they will follow the example of the most silent men among them ; that they will speak only when they expect to convey conviction to the minds of the men whom they address ; and that they will do so with the delicacy which becomes a Councillor and a gentleman. Many of them might do their duty ‘ with a better grace, and do it more natural.’ Had they ‘any eye behind them,’ they ‘might see detraction at their heels.’ ”

Clerical Kissing. No, there is not the least necessity for the young minister to kiss your young wife, unless she is pretty and ho is especially handsome. If you think he is kissing her for the love of the Lord, do as you please ; but if ho is kissing her because she is a very pretty piece of congregation search the Scriptures to find whether theie is any reason for not knocking him down.—Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper,