UPPER SHOTOVER.

Evening Star, Issue 3553, 13 July 1874, Page 3

UPPER SHOTOVER.

(From our own Correspondent.)

July 7. In my last letter, many weeks back, I informed your readers that items of interest were —owing to the limited population and other causes of seldom occurrence. I have not, therefore, trespassed upon your columns much lately I have now, however, taken a special tour to all the claims on the river, and will commence my experiences by relating all that can up to the present moment be known about the ohotover Terrace Company.

it will be remembered that at the time of the formation of the Company to purchase the justly celebrated claims of Grace and Eager, public opinion was—from the revelations of the richness of the ground made at the trial for encroachment— -strongly prejudiced in favor of the project; in fact, it was a matter of surprise that such a claim should have been placed upon the market at all. It will also be remembered that at a period immediately preceding the pro posed sale to a company, Grace and party x a noo^ Teß elected to pay a sum of over 1.4,000 m cash to Eager’s party for encroachment, when there was nothing to prevent them iTi-i 0 ou k of the country with the gold they had already netted. This fact showed that they valued the claim at a higher rate than that sum ; and, with all the facts at command, including reports by competent men of the then condition of the mine, no difficulty was experienced in floating a company, which only bound itself to pay L 2,000 in cash for the purchase of the claim, making the vendors responsible for the genuineness of the undertaking by taking shares for the balance of the purchase money, which shares could only have yalue by yields from the mine.

. So . far , everything stood well; the mine was m splendid working order; a visitor could travel underground from Pleasant Creek to btoney Greek, a distance of about a mile • every working face was open to inspection and prospect, and the prospects to be obtained were excellent ; all that was required seemed to be the skill of the engineer to bring this hidden wealth to daylight. And then occurred the first and most fatal errer made by the directors of the company at the time, viz., the relegation ot the management of the mine to the original proprietors, who, however anxious for the success of the undertaking, did not possess the engineering skill necessary to work the ground on an extensive scale. To supplement their water supply they brought a race from Pleasant Greek, and allowed it to flow over the

surface of the terrace, to the utter ruin of the workings belo >v, as the wster penetrated through the shingly formation of the terrace and crushed out all the workings under it: their means for carrying the washdirt to the sluice were inadeqate to the number of men e ?i 1 although they had good payable faces to set their men to work in, the result was only enough to enable the company 1“ th ®y ? hose ) fc .° Pay one shilling dividend on ten shillings paid after months of work. At this juncture, another manager was appointed —Mr hied. Evans, and the directors looked to him to retrieve the errors made by the first management. He found the claim collapsed as far as all previous workings had been concerned, and had therefore to commence de novo. The previous management fought shy of him, and he could learn but little from them. His contract with the directors only stipulated that he should produce three times the quantity of nut at the same expense as before, and he carried it out to the satisfaction of the directors. At the same time, it must be confessed that errors were committed by him. firstly, he blocked out ground (an expensive job) which (lid not give previous evidence of its likelihood to pay, and the result was a heavy loss, secondly, he did not open up ground eitherabove

or below on the same level that Grace’s got their gold. ProUbly these matters would not nave tormed subjects of criticism had gold in paying quantity resulted from his labors; and beauty and exactness of his calculations were all the lost sight of, becausethe result did not satisfy m a pecuniary sense. Another step in the history of the claim is now reached. The management reverts back to Grace and party. They, doubtless, know better than any others what is known as the run of the ground, and, doubtless, will now brmg gold to view -I trust enough to pay a dividend. The claim has, however, been so unfortunate since it was transferred to a company that it would lead one to suppose that the gold had been frightened out of it by tho process. *

Queenstown, July 8. Although no great change in the weather has been perceptible here, I learn with surprise that a heavy fresh has occurred on the iShotover, doing much damage, and knocking off all the claims, ihe claim below the Moke Creek Junction which vas yielding well, has suffered a heavy loss, having had their large waterwheel swept away.