BLACKS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 978, 14 January 1881, Page 2

BLACKS.

(FROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESfoNfeuNT.) Christmas Ims once more passed and by this riitfe the festive season : with its holidays are over. Jt matters ] but little, whether peop'e are grave ! or guy ; in commemoration of the one great event, of onr Christian era there is bound to be a holiday,- and of a j veii'y tho Christmas of 1880 and New Year of 1881 has been u joyous I one. _ Hiicei, concerts, balls and theatrical representations were, all provided fir the spec-al delect, tion | of 1 their separate and several, admires, ' and the hearty support given to each fairly evidenced that not alone was | the public grateful for Hie attention ! paid them, but that they were ripe for thorough eijovrnent. There has been a great deal of croaking about bad times and general depression, but the liberal manner every c ill was responded to gives the lie direct to the malicious and wicked slanders that wire hatched end circulated. To those who watch with disc imination ! and care which way the hare runs, tho ' past holidays must perforce pr..ve to ; them that the Blacks District is not only sound and healthy but progressive ; and in the race of life, so long as there is pro.-ress, however slow it may be, there are hopes of greater things. Without in the hj ast, being desirous of bolstering up the district,my fai li in it f-ntn what 1 have seen during the past few weeks is the more confirmed, and I have but little doubt that other places with greater pretensions will have, in the oo rse of a very few more i ears, to acknowle ge their littleness and grant us the prp. cedence. A district such as this, which must he understood to embrace the rich golden localities of Tinkers, Diybiead. Devonshire, and the deep lead at Blacks No 3, also itt fertile acres studded over with dozens <f comfortable homesteads, plenty of them freehold, one and all 1, a,- i g at the present time, unequalled crops of every deseriprion, the least not being wlie.it, cannot po-sibly he wiped out; and, a- I saiil Inf re. it .must ‘-re loner rank amongst tin- foremost. Tim s ■■Z son by no means has been favralde. yet the heart of anv m-criV-l fn-nrer would he gladdened could he but sea the thousands of acres blooming wiih tlu-ii fast ripening crops, and "awaiting but tlie reaper and thresher. A great boon to the district is tlie Flour Mill at Sport is ' reek, but more <o I would it be did Imt the fu-mm-s | m o’<-‘ largely of wheat. May be th. y I w-i 1 awake (o their error sooner ili.ui 1 think for, and it is to he hoped tl, y will, as tlie veriest child can see that this one grain is the only p-yi <r ore. I The land in ihe district is adapted j foi wheat it well and properly p»-e----pue l and the mill with i-s p-.'werful and improved machinery is able to turn out good flour. There is a fair jai "a of barley, which is l.iokit g i remarks' ly well, ami if it is but of a ! good malting description will (Ida ready market amongst tlie local breweries Now as to mining: T hat industry rem dns prosperous ns ever, that is experience teaches that the yield per acre is equally as good as e»'er, but the present season from the quantity of rain th ic has fallen keeping a steady supply of wate- in the water-races will be exceptionally god and more than the ordinary quantity of gold obtained. No par ticu’ar claim or locality has-so far the advantage, a I alike having plenty of water and accordingly yielding plenty of "old. The deep lead at B'acks No. 3 is again commanding attention. I do not mean that any new' c aims are opened up, but I hear there is a probability of another party being formed to test it. A strange fact in connection with this lead is that no claim ever opened on it but that paid remarkably well f.r a time but through some mischance or other (I won’t say mismanagement) had to give up. A very general impression, and in which 1. quite concur, is that if a lead of similar richness was in the neighborhood of sumo of the Victorian goldfields, where they know how to work and manage deep ground, a dozen or more claims would be at work. Of current topics there are none to dilate on excepting perhaps tho s"lo held by Mr Fachn on monday last at Ida Valley, when ho sold a farm, and a few agricultural impl. meuts, and some few horses and cnitle Tho latter rea'ized as tv whole fairly remunerative rates. The land, however, was sold cheap; as it fetched only at the rate of 50s per aero Mr Flannery of Tinkers Gully, one of tho kicky miners, being tho,- purchaser. He is the right sort of settler, and I doubt much if at the end of a year he will take twice what ho gave for it.