THE LAKES.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2167, 18 April 1870, Page 2

THE LAKES.

[D.unskui Times.) Mining operations in the neighborhood of the Shotover arc in a most flourishing condition, and I question whether the yield of gold averaged more per head even in the palmy days of this modern “ pactolus,” while so far as the business people are concerned, things never were better, as there is plenty of money spending and no bad debts are made. At Skipper’s Point a township is forming. The tunnelling claims and the works a£ the Reef gre maiply instrumental in attracting a large population here, The yield of gold in some of the former is something fabulous. Shareholders in Finney’s and Aspinall’s are netting LI,OOO per month. The Nugget and Cornish Company are busily engaged preparing for the erection of their crushing machine. They have purchased the plant of the . British American Company, at Skipper’s, which they intend removing at once tq their raining lease on the Shotover, On Friday last I paid a visit to the dredge now working a little above the Sandhills off the right hand hranoh of the Shotover, and I am happy to say that little doubt exists about the thorough success of the new enterprise. The machine is moored in the centre of the river, and operations are proceeded with precisely in the same style as on the Molyneux. Of course there is not the same depth of water, still there is plenty to float the dredge. The stripping is between ten and eleven feet. The washdirt is about one foot in thickness, composed of heavy gravel and bonhlerg. Intermixed with blocks of cement arid lying Upon a false of decomposed granite “ and sqlijsj; igtefmuced with clay. In no part of the river here, has the main bottom been reached. The Shotover above the Sandhills runs terough a broad flat. Th§ rocky gorges through which the river runs elsewhere entirely disappear, and give place to a fine open country which continues for about eight miles up to the base of the great dividing range. From prospects ohtsined it is thought that throughout the whole of this distance the. river will pay for dredging, while in numerous places below its junction with the Kawarau similar opportunities pfesent themselves. The work is rather more difficult than on the Molyneux, the bottom ground being set much closer and finer, and requires great labpr to break up, The shingla —or as you term it io yopr district the “ sh” travels very fast after _ a rise iq the river, filling up any opening made by the dredge in a very short space of time. To overcome this difficulty it will be necessary to erect Mams or breakwaters. The proprietors are Messrs Ashworth, Greeves, and Company, from the Kawarau Gorge, who style themselves the Enterprise Company, their vessel bearing the designation. It was built by Mr George Aitken, and is about the largest machine yet in use, being thirty seven feet in length by a width of fifteen feet. By an ingeniously contrived undershot wheel it pumps its own water the sluice boxes being thus supplied independently of manual labor. All the timber used in the construction of the dredge is red birch from the head 1 of TaVa Wakatip. For boat-building the wood is

eminently suitable. When ready for work the total cost was a little over L7OO. This large expenditure arose from the material having all to be packed from Queenstown. The Company purpose putting on a night shift at once, so as to keep the work going on continuously.

A verdict was returned at the quarter sessions at Taunton on January 6 which may be catalogued with the Welsh decisions which have now become proverbial. Thos. Parfitt, William Pryor, and Charles Olding were indicted for stealing 1181bs of iron on Nov. 26, and 2161bs of iron on December 2, the property of Messrs Fussell & Co., of Elm. Mr T. W. Saunders prosecuted. The jury at first found Olding guilty of stealing the iron, and the other prisoners guilty of drinking the beer purchased by the sale of the iron! Of course such a verdict could not be received, and, after further consideration, all the prisoners were found guilty, and sentenced each to two months’ hard labor.