MAGISTRATE’S COURT KUMARA

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 11 January 1901, Page 3

MAGISTRATE’S COURT KUMARA

Wednesday, Jan. 9th.

(Before Messrs Aitkon, Benyon, and Campbell J. P.) The Court resumed at 9 a.m, on January 10th. Thomas Yinccnt Byrne, cross-examined by Mr Murdoch : Pring was never with me at Foley’s Creek, Foley’s Extended or Brandy Jacks. Had no conversations with Pring re Foley’s Creek or Foley’s Extended, excepting the one at Greymouth. I did not know of the relationship of Pring and Lawsons until about the time of prospecting Foley’s Extended. I met Lawsons and Pring between May and September in Ryan’s Hotel. Tansey came in. Cannot remember being told of Pring’s relationship with Lawsons at that time. I was aware of it at the time of signing option for Foley’s Extended. By Mr Aitken : Lawsons have marked out with the intention of floating same Foley’s Crqek, Foley’s Extended, Winsloe’s, Armstrong’s No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, Lee’s, Lawsons’ and Williams’, Three Mile and Tanscy’s. By Mr Guinness : Will not swear that they pegged Tansey’s, but they had an interest. Lee’s claim I will not swear was pegged by Lawson, but they wore interested and I always understood it was pegged by them. When G. Lawson told mo he could find the bottom in more than one place in Foley’s Creek in less than two feet Tauscy was present. I saw the reef in a cut put in by the prospectors on the bank of tlie Creek. Mr Fleming took charge of a great deal of' the prospecting, employing Lawson Bros, nearly all the time. When the result of Foley’s Extended prospecting became known, Foley’s Creek Company wired suspending operations, .and appointed Mr Brigans to further prospect and on his report the com [fan y refused to take over the claims—Foley’s Creek claim and Brandy Jacks. Mr Guinness objected unless the telegram and letter were produced. The Court adjourned five minutes to have them produced. On the Court resuming Mr Byrne produced telegrams and letter from Secretary of Foley’s Creek and Brandy Jacks, refusing to take over the claims on the ground that they had been salted and declining to be bound by agreement. By Mr Murdoch : I don’t know of any independent persons apart from Lawsons and Pring or the parties connected with them who got payable prospects in Foley’s Creek locality. I know of plenty who did not. I believe Mr Swan went on to Foley’s Extended and wouldn’t give a report. I believe Lawsons were until him.

Carr Peter Carlsson, svrorn, said: I am a miner at present managing for Bell Hill Company. Messrs Byrne and MTlroy are interested in Bell Hill and Foley’s Extended. In September I was a fortnight in town. On the evening of the 18tn Tanscy and M'llroy arranged with me to do some prospecting on Foley’s Extended. A party was formed —Dunshca, Pring, Rodgers and myself— I being in charge. We started on Friday the 21st, the wet weather keeping us back before that. W e finished one shaft on Friday, 22ud, depth 9 feet. I tried five dishes going down. In the first four I fot just an odd fine colour. In the fifth got about one-third part of a grain. The first four dishes wouldn’t pay salt ; with the fifth put it wouldn’t be payable. Mr Pring tried prospects and got more gold than I did. 1 got jealous and tried my best, but could not get as much as Pring. The gold that I got was put into a paper with Pring’s and after put into the stuff that we washed in the box. Wo first set the box at the shaft to wash but failed and took it to the creek. Setting it there we pumped water from the creek and carried the dirt in a hand-barrow to the box and washed it there. Pring and Dunshea carried the dirt from the shaft to the creek, Dunshea shovelled the dirt into the head of the box, Pring meanwhile picking the atones out with his hands to keep the box clear. Seven barrow loads were brought altogether As soon as the first barrow load was put through wo let the box run dry and I found in stirring the stuff between the riples, the largest piece of gold that came out of the test. I could also see the fine gold showing very freely. I said “This looks very well.” After the second barrow was put through I got the second biggest speck in the second ripple. I reckoned that the seven barrow loads would equal about -V load. The dirt from the bottom of the shaft was put through first. According to the gold that showediafter the first barrow, I would have expected to get close on an oz>, if the average kept up. I saw no one else

about the locality, and the stuff was I (- varied tc the creole immediately on being I irowii up and was.ied. I (irmly be* laved the test to 1: ■ genuine; While t icy were sinking the shaft £ Went , up tno cr.cek and , tried .four dishes; but couldn’t get a colour. I was working for wages and didn’t salt the ground. I had no interest in the property at the time, but when I returned I tried to get 200 shares but only got fifty. I handed the gold over to Mr Mtllroy on Saturday, 22nd September, in the presence of Pring and, I think, Rodgers. M'llroy cleaned and weighed the gokl and gave it to Tansey. I said the gold came out of seven barrowloads from the first shaft. Pring must have heard me. I did not go back with Rodgers. In consequence] of rumours and to satisfy-myself, having an interest in the claim, I went on the 7th January, 1900, to try the ground myself. Tl'lTil -in. . 1 j • 1 .

I bailed the same shaft out and tried ten dishes from top to bottom. I couldn’t get cron one colour. The first dish was taken from the bottom. Comparing my last prospecting with my first I swear the ground was salted. I have no doubt whatever the gold I got first never came out of that shaft, I only tried one shaft, Cross-examined by Mr Guinness : I panned the dishes, but didn’t get the dirt myself. Rodgers handed the last dish up. I handed the dish to Eodgers. I do not remember who was in the shaft as each dish was handed up. There arc a hundred different ways of salting. I cannot suggest how it was done in this instance;

The Court resumed at 2 p.m. James Herbert Rodgers, sworn, said he was one of the men engaged to prospect with Carls son. We started on Friday. One shaft was bottomed while Carlsson was in charge. I tried a dish or two while we were sinking. Bottomed at 9 feet. At 0 or 7 feet I tried two

dishes and got nothing. At Bor 9 feet I tried another and got just a colour. The stull' washed was taken from the bottom of the shaft. I did all the pumping by myself. Carlsson and Pring were picking the rough stones out of the box. This witness corroborated Carlsson about the washing of gold, the meeting in MTlroy’s, and handing of gold to Tanscy. I saw Dunshea wash at least one dish.

Ho came back with the dish in one hand and said nothing, I believe he got nothing. The last dish Carlsson washed was scraped from the bottom. All the other dishes he washed proved valueless, but the bottom dish yielded;} to *of a grain. I know Pring washed more than one dish. Ho came back once and said it was no good. The stuff from the bottom of the shaft only remains on the surface about 10 minutes before they commenced to carry it to the creek. It is an out of the way locality. I saw no strangers about. I did not put any gold into the box nor do I know of anybody else doing so. On the Monday Pring, Dunshea and '

myself started a new shaft. Wo got down about o feet the first day. The dish prospects yielded nothing. On Tuesday wo wont back with a man named O’Grady. Ido not remember bottoming that day. The bottom is about 8 feet. In the last 3 feet I tried one dish. I got a small speck in the others, only a colour. It was worthless. We did not go to work from the Tuesday till the Saturday for various reasons. Pring came in on the Tuesday and did not return with us on Saturday. From the bottom of that shaft we put through about h yard of stuff, yielding 1 dwt 1 gr. On the Tuesday the half load of stuff from the bottom was put to one side to be washed as these were our instructions. Wo all

know this was the stall to be washed. At the time I believed the test was a genuine test. On the Monday, December 3rd, proceeding the action Tanscy v. Lawson in the Warden’s Court, I, with Dnnshea, went to prospect my shaft and Carlsson’s. We tried 8 dishes out of Carlsson’s shaft and got 7 colours of gold of no value whatever. I tried 8 dishes out of the shaft I had sunk and did’nt get a colour. lam satisfied the ground was salted. 1 have had over 20 years experience as a miner in Kumar a. Cross-examined by Mr Guinness —I am positive Pring was with us on the Tuesday prospecting. On December :srd I did not wash any stuff through a box.

By Mr Murdoch—l do not consider dish prospecting a good test. The stuff was hauled up by either Dunshea or myself. Carlsson had a sore shoulder and could not do so. Carlsson sometimes helped me t'o pump when the water was low. Prom where we had lunch we could not hear anyone going to the shaft. Re-examined by Mr Hannan: I do not think it possible that I could have missed getting some gold in my dish tests of December 3rd, if it contained gold such as wc got on washing the stuff through the box on the previous occasion, fu dish prospecting there is no comparison in trying a high face sluicing claim and trying ground only 7 to 8 feet deep. The appliances wc had in the box would have saved any fine gold had it been there. I worked in Irishman’s Gully in the same locality as Foleys, and the gold I got there contained more fine gold than the Kumara gold or the gold produced.

Albert Edward Dunshca, sworn, said’: I was one of the party prospecting with Carlson and Rodgers. This witness corroborated Carlson and Rogers evidence in respect to the prospecting, excepting that he was not sure Bring was present on Tuesday, 21th September at the prospecting. I went with Rodgers the day before the case Tansey v Lawson was heard in the Warden’s Court, to try the shafts again. The evidence here was the same as given by Rodgers, Witness stated he had had seven years experience in alluvial mining. To mj r mind the gold shown in court did not honestly come out of the ground. Had there been such gold in the ground. Rogers and I must have got some. Before Pring left some of the dirt from the second shaft was carried down to the creek, where it was afterwards washed.

Cross-examined by Mr Guinness: I swear Pring helped me to carry one barrow load to the creek. I swear we didn’t start with Carlson’s shaft on Tuesday, 19th. I was cutting firewood on Cape Terrace on that day for a Dredging Co. There were odd showers, I swear positively Carlson did not speak to me, nor I to him about the case since he left the witness box. It was entirely on private business. lam not sure I was not at work on Tuesday 25th September, and that I met Lawson's stuck up at the Blackwater. The reason we didn’t run the stuff through the box on the occasion of our visit before the case in the Warden’s Court was because we were not instructed to do so.

Patrick Tansey (senr), sworn, said: The informant is my son. I was instructed to do some prospecting on Foley’s Extended. I commenced on November 20th. I went to prospect entirely new ground inside the same claim. I had no idea at that lime that the portion of the claim already prospected was valueless. I started to sink a shaft about 20 or 25 chains higher up the creek than Carlson’s shaft. I was assisted by David Hannah and Daniel O’Hara, miners of Cape Terrace. Wc sunk a shaft and bottomed at oft, and obtained only a few colors. I reported to my son the result, I did not try Lawson’s shaft on the 20th, as there was too much water in it. I started to sink a shaft on 21st about 25yds from Carlson’s shaft. We bottomed that shaft at 9ft, hut got no gold. In consequence of this result I was instructed to clear Carlson’s shaft out and try it. Owing to the

failure of my second shaft, I lid i strong suspicion something was w x>ng, so I scraped Carls; ons shaft clean and pul the stuff aside in ease there shou 1 be “salt;” We then took I n varcl i-ut of the shaft all around and went to some trouble to get it. We took it to the creek and washed it. • I now produce the gold (only a few fine colours). I reckon it would run l-2ffth of a gram to the toad. I also washed the stuff I had put on one side that I was suspicions of having been salted, and I got one speck that 1 consider was foreign to the place and no fine gold at all. There would bo about a dish of dirt in the scrapings of the bottom. I was then instructed to go to Rodger’s shaft. It bore every evidence of having been filled up purposely within two feet from IhcTop. On 23rd November wc cleaned it out and dish-prospected it. Wc tried 9 dishes including 4 taken around the bottom. The result was so small that I eould’nt get it together. On 20th November we visited 3 other shafts on (he ground, sunk before Carlsson’s and Roger’s. The first shaft I was led to believe to bo from 12 to 11 feet deep. I found it was only five feet deep and bad been bottomed. I prospected it. In 9 dishes taken from the bottom 3 feet of solid ground I got 8 fine colours of no value. No. 2 shaft was’nt bottomed. Wc tried 6 dishes and got a few fine colours. On the 27th we went to No. 3 shaft. It was about C feet deep and wet. We tried six dishes and got a few fine colors, valueless. We sunk both of the wet shafts a foot deeper than originally. On that date it was publicly known that Foley’s Extended was a duffer. I consider £2 10s or £3 a sufficient price for sinking these three shafts to the depth wc found them. I consider the ground is utterly worthless. My conviction is that the sample of gold produced in Court as the result of Carlsson’s and Roger’s shafts never came from them. My opinion is that it looks like having

been picked from a sample. I have bad over 40 year’s experience as a practical miner. Cross-examined by Mr Guinness : I put the 2nd shaft where I would expect to find gold if Carlson got it, From half to two-thirds of (he stuff washed came from the bottom.