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Grey River Argus, Issue 88, 4 August 1866, Page 2

We were shown yesterday a remarkable specimen of auriferous quartz, found in a sluicing claim at Maori Gully, Arnolddistrict. It. was a small boulder about the dimensions of an orange, composed of a pinkish colored quartz, and thickly studded with gold all over its outer surface. The weight of gold in the stone was calculated at from four to six ounces. The singularity of ttie discovery of this rich stone consists in its being the only one of the kind yet found in the Gully, It was -found at a depth of about seven 'feet. ' : ; - ' . It may be useful to miners on the Nelson side.bf the river to know that Mr Warden Lightbarid will hold a Warden's Court at ; Cobden, on Wednesday next, and on each siicessive Wednesday, until the return'of Mr Warden Kynnersley from Wellington. The public are now able to appreciate the great improvement made by' the embankment at the end of Boundary street, the utility of which induces the hope that the whole extent of the river bank opposite the town will be similarly protected. The tenders for the erection of the new bridge over Coal Creek, and for constructing a road- from it to the Cobden' Wharf, were • opened the other day. Tor the bridge the tender of MrE. Sutherland, L 348 Us 9d, was accepted. For this work there were nine-, teen ten'dere, viz., A. -N; Casson and Co, Greymouth, L 520 ; Hanson,; Bryant and Co, do, L5lO • Knyvettand Co, Cobden, L 430 ; iE. J. Cahill, Greymouth, L 560 ; Bioheno and Hecly, do, £442 12s ; E. Stubbs and Co, do, L 560 ; t A. and J>Stcnhquse, Cobden, L 383 ; J. C. Kollooh, do, L 348 6s ; William Miller,' Hokitika, L 352 10s ; Alexander M 'Donald, Cubden, L 398 ; ; Aldi-ich, Boyle and Co, Greymouth, L 378 10s ; Eobert Sutherland', Cobden, 'L 348 3s 9itr Campbell' Kettles and M'Lauchlin, Gbymouth, L3S2 ; G. P. Fellows and Co, L 550 ; John Whittaker, L 395 ; Mattiicw.Edgax, L4OO ; C. P. Soulby, L 375 ; E. Aldrich, Hokitika, L4OO. For the Road, ;the tender of E. J. Cahill was accepted, but he subsequently threw it up, and the other tenders being considered too high have been referred to the Provincial Engineer for decir sion. The tenders were as follows : — John Whittaker,. 4s lOd per yard for rock and 3s 4d for earth ; Matthew Edgar,- 5s rock 3s 7d earth ; C. P. Soulsby, 4s 8d and 3s 2d ; J. M. Duke, 6s 6d inclusive ; J. Towers; L3O per chain; E. .Donovan, LSOO road and bridge ; A. J.~, Johnson, Is 4£d' and 2s 6d ; John -Sweeney and Co, L3O per chain or 2s 6d per yard ; Bicheno and Heely, L4B 7s 6d per chain or 7s Dd per yard ; J. G. Kellock, 4s 2d per yard all round ; E. J, Gahill, L 192 the •whole ; G. A'ldrich, 5s per^yard all round. The following notice of a new machine for washing the fine- gold found on the West Coast beaches, ■■will no doubt be interesting tomineis.' It is taken from a letter' from Okarita, published in the West Coast Times: — "An importation* which promises to be of • vast importance to the' entire community ror years to come,: has been introduced at considerable expense from Melbourne, by Messrs Williams. It is one of Wilkinson's patent amalgamating machines,' aud I consider it is admirably adapted 'for ..working the poorer ground on the beaches wtiich^ would not. pay by the ordinary method' of 'sluicing. At present I cannot* speak positively as to the merits of the machine, asf when the prospectors tried it for the first time last Tliiu:sday they were obliged to knock as itwas found-the nitric acid used was of inferior .' quality. Next week I will be enabled to furnish you with the result of a- week's washing, r as I propose visiting the Messrs Williams' claim again at t]ie\erid of the week: The place Messrs Williams have chosen" as the scene of operations is on the Waiho Beach, a short distance in the scrub, I consider the site unfortunately chosen, as a the dirt is very stony, and' I know the ground to be,very poor. -Had Messrs Williams made enquiries*, I think they could have been directed to other parts of this beach where there is a large' quantity of washdirt, wjth very few stones. For the information of your readers, I will endeavor todescribe the machine, which is exceedingly simple' and inexpensive. It consists of a box about 12ieet long and f our ieet jivide, with an incline of about one and a half inches per foot: About two feet from uudei* the hopper there is a trough; "the entire width,, in which is put about W,enty-fiTe or

thirty pounds of "mercury. ■ Then Ihere is a revolving brush, made out of whalebone, whi^h revolves in an, opposite direction to the flow of water ;• and the- action of this brush 43, to bring the mercury in the most lively manner *tp be intermixed with the sjmd and gold brought tP it, by which means {. it is impossible for any gold to escape. There are two of these brushes* and troughs,' and they,< as well as the hopper, are turned by -a fly-whetsj. and band of leather, -The entire bottom pf the machine is covered with copper plates coated with mercury. The water % required is supplied by a tin pump, and I believe the machine is capable' of putting through from fifteen' to twenty loads per day, I am of opinion it is a most c%ient apparatus for saving~gold j but --for it to pay it is absolutely necessary a site should*, be selected where there 1 is a large quantity of poor dirt easily proeurabje." '. Mining affairs at Okarita appear to be mv proving. The Westland Observer of Saturday last says that upwards of 600i5 o'zs. of .gold* were shipped by the banks 'during the week. The Lagoon has assumecl quite an . un» wonted liveliness, owing to the constant and -extensive passenger traffic 'to and froi» the various diggings; on the^Souijh Beach. jN'q ' less thian a dozen boats, arc now i>iying upon it ; -and from what we have leariit from the' boatmen, they must be earning a good' deal of money. One • boatman informed us that in four days he had taken £ 12, .being at the rate of sixty passengers daily. The giwnd ■ 0:1 the ' peninsula, opposite tho end of A rney street, is being taken up rapidly for business and residence purposes, and we should not be Surprised to .find it soon quite a busy place. ' The following paragraph, from the Daily Times of the 27th inst. , affords proof of the importanoe of encouraging agriculture 'on gold fields : — "Jt is a matter of congratuiation to find that the people of Otago still have faith in the stability of the province. This is evidenced by the avidity with which the agricultural leases are being taken lip on the gold ffelds, and the large sums realised by the sales of land in the course of the month. The allotments in Lawrence brought upwards of £1400, those in Balclutha and Fairfax, about £600 ; and at the* sale of Block IV., Otepopo, which was sold by auction,- about 4740 acres were sold for nearly £10,000. The system of leasing the-agricul' tural lauds on the gold fields is a great boon to the industrious miners and others, who possessed of little capital, may be desirous of following the "business of farming^ as they re--tain their means to assist them at the outset, a*nd supply their wants until the crops are ready for the market; and it is a pleasure in going over the inland country to see here and there homesteads, well formed with sod walls, whose stockyards show the bountiful results of honest industry." •'.".'" It was generally' expected that the notorious Sullivan would come down to Hokitika by the Auckland, for the purpose of giving evidence in the case of Wilson, the suspected murderer of Mr Dqbson ; and cigainst the men implicated in the Okarita Bar.k robbery, .but, we understand, it isunccrtain yetwhen he will b.e able to leave Nelson, owing to the protracted length of. the magisterial examination now going on there. , Another seal' has-been, captured at Okarita under Ihe following circumstances :- Two men, John Sullivan and' his mftte, were walking up along the Bluff, when tho former observed what he imagined to be a dog fitting upon a'rock thirty or fortyyards from' the sea. Seeing the brute floiuider awkwardly towards the water, he pursued it, and tried by a preliminary kick to stop its progress .thither. The brute growled and went on ; so Mr Sullivan attempted to seize it by f the neck. It not only growled again, but bit it 3 assailant in the arm, and, this making the latter more desperate, he threw himself upon the animal, rolling over with it, and latterly holding its hind flappers until his mate killed it by a blow on the head with a stone. As a moonlight : adventure it was rather an exciting one while it lasted,- but it .wjis no joke, after ■ tlie capture .was' effected, to carry the beast into town, as it proved -rather a, wet, heavy, and misshapen swag ; but its captors succeeded in carrring it to Messrs Hennelly and Foley's, and have since been attempting to save the. valuable skin." Numerous other seals, says the local . paper/ have been seen along the shore during the late fine weather.