THE RE-SURVEY OF CLAIMS.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 773, 31 December 1870, Page 2

THE RE-SURVEY OF CLAIMS.

' (to the editor.) Sir — You would oblige a great number of the miners on the Mosquito Lead if you would give publicity to the. few following remarks concerning a recent decision of Mr Warden Whitefoord with regard to some of the claims on this lead. When the lead was first taken up, and frontages and tunnels applied for, there was some difficulty in striking out a correct Hue. In this dilemma the Warden was appliod to, and at hia suggestion a surveyor was sent upon the ground to mark out a base line, which coat the miners near two pounds per claim. The surveyor also marked out the sidelines of the different claims, so that there could be no further difficulty about the ground. We all then started our tunnels — a long and difficult job. We had driven on night and day, until we thought we were nearly on the gold in our tunnel, which now measured 1300ft— all driven through solid reef. Now, another party strikes gold about' 1000 ft from us, nearly on the surface; the point where this gold was struck diverges considerably from the base line marked by the surveyor. These men then — who had got payable gold, without scarcely any labor or expense— apply to Mr Whitefoord for a new base line, which he at once grants to them, sends up a surveyor, wlio strikes out a new lease line from point to point, never Btops to adjust the side lines which the new base 'line had disarranged, JMii_gQesL jtw.ay. _il_L a hurry, and leaves ua in a worse predicament than .ever. According to this decision we have all to go back,, and drive a considerable portion of our tunnels over again. When some of us remonstrated witli his worship upon the injustice of his decision, he stretched out his legs, threw himself back in the chair, whilst one hand manipulated a tooth - pick, and cQoly asked, " what is drivingtwo orthree hundred feet of a tunnel." It is certainly not much for Mr Whitefoord under his mahogany, but for the poor miner, who has toiled for nine or ten months under difficulties, of which his Worship can form no idea, two or three hundred feet is a great deal too much. I am, Sir, J, R. Ryan, Mosquito Load, Napoleon, Dec. 26ch, 1870.