GREENSTONE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 749, 5 November 1870, Page 4

GREENSTONE.

[FROM AN" OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT. ] PoNNAMU, Nov. 1. There ha<? not been any great change in the state of mining matters in this district of late. A considerable amount of work is still going on at Maori Point, and several parties are at work in the bed of the creek from there to the junction, and also on the terraces on the South bank. But the chief point of interest continues to be the Duke's Terrace, where sluicing on a large scale is still the order of the day. Some of the claims have lately been thrown back in the working of their ground by finding that they have not started their tail-races at a suflicient depth in the face of the terrace to give 1 them fall enough in their back ground ; [ and Scott and party in particular, after spending many months in taking in a tailrace to their extended clairr, which lies some distance back from the edge of the terrace, are now about to deepen it, by starting in at the great depth of 130 ft from the surface. Three more extended claims have lately been applied for, and Mr Cooper was up on Saturday to lay them off, but as the regulations at present in force only allow about half the area that the old ones did two of the parties preferred to let the surveys stand over, in the hope that the old scale will be restored, as Mr Hoos is stated to have promised. TJ c Gre;.t Hohonu Race Company, upon which nearly all the working of this terrace depends, have for a long time past, found their supply of water insufficient for the demand. When the race is f nil about 25 heads are brought on to the ground, but during dry weather it diminishes to about 15 heads ; and during the very dry spell which took place in July, it went as low as 11. The company therefore determined, some time ago, to contract a dam, into which the night water (for which there is not much demand, as the men do not much care for working such high faces, and among such bi<; stones), by night,) mi»ht be turned, and a race of about a mile long to conduct the water into the main race again. Contracts were let for the work, and the race is now completed, and a very creditable job it is ; but the contractor for the dam, after doing more than half the work, found it was not paying him, and has thrown it up. The company have resolved to com--plete it themselves, and as every day's delay is some pounds out of their pockets, they will, I am informed, put on a large number of men at once. When all is in full working order, the company expect to be able to supply, on an average, 35 heads of water ; and more than this i* already bespoke. The price is L 3 103 per head, and at this .rate it is very clear that they will be very well remunerated for their outlay, as they deserve to be. The township lias considerably shrunk in its proportions from what it was twelve months ago, many of the buildings having been pulled down. It at one time contained nearly 30 public-houses — a ridiculous number — which of cour3C could not last, and now there is not probably the half of that, and there are still too many. Various rumors are going about that the township is to be moved to the higher ground across the creek, but I cannot ascertain any good foundation for the idea. The latter ia by far the best site, but this ought to have been found out at first, I am informed that Mr Cooper has cut a rough line for a track to Clifton. Starting at Duke's Terrace, and taking a pretty direct line, passing the workings at Mosquito ' Creek. This will be a convenience to many, as the two lines at present in use, viz., one by the Big Race, Keary's line and the Eight-mile Creek, and the other by" Marsden, are both of them several miles round, and the former ia very bad walking. ( .. „ J4