GREY VALLI GOLD-FIELDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1609, 1 October 1873, Page 2

GREY VALLI GOLD-FIELDS.

[.FROM OtTRtW CORESPONDENT.] OIvj&LORBKK. The fir3t attnp' made by the last party found toprcspect the bed of this creek has not ?> ar resulted well. A shaft was commoed in the flat just at the place where <h Back Creek crosses the Napoleon rd, but it had to be abandoned wher down about 15ft, in consequence of <jiantity of water in the drift. The part; are in nowise discouraged, for it ii their intention to sink in the reef to theouth-west of the creek, and then drive fi the deep ground. The difficulty is to fii the deepest ground by the ordinary pijess of sinking shafts. If this party ladthe advantage of being able to use a bang apparatus it would save a deal of wit eventually will prove profitless lab»r. Tt is proposed now to erect a watei-mtel with pumping machinery, but ite ill this is done, it does not follow thd tie ground can'be worked to advantage vriout a tail-race. It has been shown a-Bdf-Ounce that drainage by gravitations he only means by which ordinarily aiiferous ground, such as generally exist en the Grey Gold-fields, can be made tcpay. Clarke and Evans's party, who femerly held a leasehold further up Ctoell Creek, erecced most efficient pumpng machinery, and did everything possible to utilise the most accidental circumstance in favor of working their grouii by that means, but they were compellei to give up after nearly a year of hard ipbor, simply because their tail-race was ot deep enough. There is very little dobt but there i 3 gold here to pay, for oart from . the chances of getting Noon'n's rich lead, the gold found in Clake and Evans's and the other claims wked lower down would, under a prope system, pay good dividends. 0-OPERATION. The companymentioned above as working at Orwell Cbek, and others in several parts of the Grqr Valley, are formed on the co-operativt principle. The plan is an excellent one where it can be made to work, but it is rot by any means a new idea in its applcation to mining adventures. For mire than ten years it was, under another name, in general use on the deep leads tt Ballarat and other parts of Victoria, jtnd the system has always been encouraged by legal enactment by Victorian minng legislators. The Sandhurst and Ma-yborough Mining Boards recognised the value of the principle by passing bye-lavs specially for carrying it into operation in working, but chidfly in prospecting £>r quartz reefs. In the Maryborough district any number of persons up to twenty could form themselves into an association for the purpose of mining a piece of ground, and after registration with the Mining Registrar oi the district, who was also the Mining Surveyor, certain privileges were granted without extra delay or expense. Among these concessiens was an indefeasable title to the ground as long as the conditions of occupation were fulfilled. Supposing a company consistpd of twenty shareholders, each member held a title to a full complement of ground as allotted by the regulations, but while bom fide prospecting was going on any lesser numhflr nn»M *>«1A Wai .■nnsHeß^n.U.P* 1 "- 1 payable gold was found. The plan generally adopted was to keep four men-con-stantly at work on the claim, while the sixteen non-working shareholders contributed sufficient in cash payments to allow the working men to earn one-half the rate of wages current in the district, the amount of the balance of the wages forming the contribution of the workmen towards the expenses of the Association. By this means most of the rich quartz reefs in the Inglewood division of the Maryborough district were opened, and even the immense amount of prospecting done without any good result was paid for as it was performed, and did not press heavily en any class. The contributions per share did not average more than 3s per week. The working-men received enough to pay current expenses, and their labor was reckoned as portion of the capital of the company. When gold to pay was found, the full number of shareholders were always represented without delay, because the parties went in for dividends, and were not investors in a sharebroking sense. At Ballarat, from 1858 till 1860, when the Limited Liability Companies came into fashion, the cooperative system was in full swing under the name of "furnishing." Those who did the furnishing were mostly successful miners with a good knowledge of the value of raining property, and at the same time an aptitude for business. If a party of miners had a " good show," that is a claim in a favorable position upon one of the numerous leads then in progress, one of these " furnishers " received an interest in the venture, for which he paid a certain amount, cash down, and besides agreed to find all the working expenses (except wages) and to supply all tools, as well a 8 the machinery required, which, although rude was at that time expensive. The system at last began to be abused and fell into disuse. The furnishers, by banding together became too rich, and so powerful that they monopolised the best ground on the leads for speculative purposes to the exclusion of the actual miners. And it may here be remarked that it is only when there ia an intention existing of working auriferous ground for the profits that can be taken out of that co-operation, as regards mining can advantageously carried out. An attempt was made, nearly six years ago, to form a company to make the Lake Hochstetter and Nelson Creek water-race upon this plan, but the undertaking proved too formidable as the diggings then were. Most of the miners could get a little gold in the ordinary way of working, and it was looking too far intp the future to think of waiting for years, cutting a race, before actual gold getting "commenced. Jf the promoters of the idea, could' have .carried out their proposition, the race would nojebe fished, and the whole Province would gain by jit, which the shareholders would have mad,e fortunes. The committee formed at Reef ton early this year to revise the Mining Regulations, clearly recognised the co-operative principle in one of the amendments made, which says " that the Warden may, if he think fit, grant a prospecting claim to the actual discoverers of a reef conjointly with persons who have assisted them in prospecting either " with contributions or otherwise,'' although the said persons may not have been tfpon the ground prior to the granting thereof. The idea is certainly brought out rather confusedly, but it is there, and will be found, with the

necessary precautions to act admirably. It will thas be seen that the adaptation of the co-operative principle to gold-mining will admit of a varied application, but atter a practical trial, for nearly twenty years in Australia, it has been found that unless the workings of the system be carefully guarded against the influence of the speculative element (although that element is very desirable in its proper sphere of occupation^ there is very great danger of its becoming not only useless but positively hurtful m its effects.