THE COUNTRY.

Evening Star, Issue 3508, 21 May 1874, Page 3

THE COUNTRY.

UpkrShotove*. —From our own correspon- «■ ji • monotonous character of life here affords little scope for a regular correspondence. Accidents and offences are fortunately few and far between, and mining operations are only noticeable as samples of patient perseverance unvaried by very rich or startling results, while the similarity of the scenery with that of any other mountainous part of the Province precludes the necessity of description. It may, however, be safely said that the Shotover will be of immense value to the Province as a labor held, but its development will he slow and almost impossible without improved means of communication. Another bridge (at Maori Point) is urgently required. At present the only one we have is under repair, and thus danger has to be incurred in crossing the river, whieh is frequently flooded, The late Exeputrve was the only Government which did its best to do us justice, and much regret is felt at a change. Mr Bastings as Goldfields Secretary was admitted the best we have ever had, or are likely to get, and the Mining Associations are, I believe, fully ajive to the fact, and will try whatever means they can to have him re-instated, if Fwil 6, Sappers, the miners are complaining that the commonage reserved for great cattle is ov .® ri^ n with sheep, and no doubt the matter Ii e ® rou ght officially under the notice of the Government. I have just visited Skippers reels, and found only one party at work in this important quartz region—Southberg and party, only thl ' ee - They are putting f 500 tons of surface stone, which yields m zclwt to over an ounce per ton. Their mmiU 8l !! >P \ 13 v . ery limited, or they could hattpvv ** ul ?hers of men, as they have a fine The a V Qe .*haußtiblß supply of quartz. Sl PhamU s Co - have a magnificent array of fSE "S? commodious buildings, at present Their reef /nr 1 * 86 1 w*™ h ft °k of water-power, level the { ™ re? f ß) - 13 developed at a low level, the mountain rising thousands of feet gwMwr tjjjA -nJUaJS an S: limited amount of quartz, which averaged throughout 7dwt; per ton. Tips worked qn ft , BCa 0 s hpuld pay a handsome dividend, Smiiri be as. permanent _aa any mine in the world. The post of obtaining a water supply would be only about LI ,500: and looking at the expense of the machinery ■ and development ox the mine) already incurred

there is little doubt but the enterprising proprietor, Mr Bullen, of Melbourne, will take action before long to place this extensive pro perty on a full working footing, and thus °P®J l permanent employment to large numbers of hands. The mine having been opened and machinery erected by Mr Fred Evans, the present manager of the Shotover Company, every arrangement has been made, not with a view to a little temporary prosperity, but so as to admit of every ton of quartz above the level of the works being knocked down on the stopping system direct into the trucks, thus reducing the working expenses to the lowest minimum. The generality of quartz reefs which have been wrought in Otago have been dealt with under a system the reverse of this, and thus the working expenses have been enormous, and only large yields would ensure success. Chinese parties of ten and twelve in number are systematically re-working the whole of Skippers Creek. The season is favourable at present for all kinds of industry.