HAURAKI GOLD-FIELDS

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 721, 27 September 1869, Page 3

HAURAKI GOLD-FIELDS

[FROM OUR OWN OOTtItESPONDENT ] Shorthand, Sept. 2. Buildings are still going up, and generally occupied as soon as finished. The last few days we have fine spring weather, and consequently the footpaths have been passable ; but the cart tracks are in a very bad state, both on the flats and up the gu'lies. Several of the crushing mills have been idle, partly in consequence of the difficulty of dragging quartz to them. One new mill of thirty stampers is now ready to commence crushing at Tararu, but it is a remarkable fact that the claim-owners there do not appear to bo anxious to avail themselves of it. Some very thick lodes of quartz exist at Tararu, but hitherto there was only only one mill there, and that the property of the owners of one claim. I suspect those thick deposits are not very rich j but from their convenience for working they could be profitably worked at a much lower average yield than on most other parts of the field. The tramway up the Moanataiari was opened for traffic about the end of the third week in A u^ust; whereas, when advertised for contract, it was stated that it was to be completed by the fourth week in April; so that the time has been exceeded about seventeen weeks! The difficulty and expense of working it, as at present designed, wilt detract con« siderably from its utility. Three other public tramways are being constructed up the other gullies. A great deal of ground has been staked out, and leases ap lied for; but hitherto no leases have been issued, and as the ground is protected pend ing the issue or refusal of the leases, a verv great deal of land is lying idle, to the injury of the public. If all persons applying for leases were compelled, on pain of forfeiture, to man the ground, not one quar ter of the number of leases would have been applied for. Meanwhile the game is to stake out, apply for lease, publish a prospectus, and sell some scrip (shares ) Companies are thus floated with nominal (fictitious) capital of from £IO,OOO to £40,0J0 ; probably in many instances the promoters have not really paid up as many shillings. The yield, I regret to state, continues ridiculously low in comparison with the highly colored reports that appear in the pres?. Over 70,000 ounces we're eiported in the first half of this year. The miners rights issued are about the rate of 9,000 per annum, consequently the average gain is very low, and would be low if the ex pOit was double what it is. Some time ago Mr Mackay astonished the colony by asserting that certain persons had made overtures to the Hauhaus to open Ohinemuri to them alone. The idea was treated in t le Assembly as absurd ; but it is not so treated here. The. popular be ief is that some person did offer certain terms to Te Hira ; first, no person but an Irishman to be allowed to mine; every man going on the ground to have a " pass " from this person, without which ho would be turned off.; and this person to guarantee to Te Hira £2 per head for every digger going on the ground, and of course acting in this matter as "receiver of revenue" to Te Hira. Wild as the scheme may appear, it is believed to have been the basis of negotiations that have continued several weeks and are not yet concluded. How such a scheme would work is an interesting question. The ex elusive part of it may be only intended as a ruse to be disregarded in practice ; but il it was attempted to carry it out, I doubt not there would be somewhat of a row, in which Britons from both North and South of the Tweed would take a promient part. Have the Government of the Colony no power, or do they lack the courage to remove firebrands and concoctors of sedition from among the Maori people? Apropos of this, I may mention a matter that i have never yet seen alluded to in print. I do not vouch for its correctness, but so many strange things do occur in New Zealand that a man cannot safely deny a thing on account of its being contrary to the custom of all civilised countries. Some months ago a proposal was made here that a large body of armed men should go up to Ohinemuri to add moral weight to the arguments of those who proposed to throw the land open. Meetings were held, and it appeared settled that this method of solving the problem was to be tried. On my remarking to a well-known politician (who, however, opposed this plan) that the Grovernment would surely interfere, and prevent the armtd miners going, as the only way to avoid a collision, he replied that the promoters of the movement asserted that they had the Grovernment sanction, and that while the Government would not commit themselves by openly supporting it, yet that they were willing for the miners tJ try it, seeing that all the attempts of tho Government to open Ohinemuri had been battled. The course proposed could hardly have failed to cause bloodshed, and and an extent-ion of the then existing Maori war to this district; and, worse than all, the Pakeha would decidedly have been iu the wrong in trying to force the acknowledged owners to give up the land against their will. As I have already stated, I do not guarantee the truth of this statement, but J suspect there was some foundation for it, as at the time the Government made no sign in opposi-

i (ion to it; and its not being oavried out; was due to the good sense of 6ome of the residents here who successfully advised caution and abstinence from, the appearance of violence on the part of the mineri. The share market ie rather dull, the natural reaction after the excitement of a month ago. The coming contest for the Superintend* denoy is now being canvassed keenly in private, but has not yet made much stir 1 in public. It is not yet known who will bo the candidates in opposition to the present holder of the office- Dr Pollen's name has been mentioned, and Mr W. T. Buckland's. Either of these would be ariimproyement upon the present one. Br Pollen is a clever man, and a good business man, but he is at present the right man in the right place as General G-overnment agent. Mr W. T. Buckland is an old settler, highly respected, and has been favorably known as an active, intelligent, and independent member of the Provincial Council. In my opinion, he is on the whole the most eligible man yet spoken of for the office of Superintendent. He has refused to contest it, but it may yet be found tha' the call of the country is not to be disregarded. If he does come out, I believe he will win. Mr Every Maclean (Deputy Superintendent) has also been mentioned, and I consider his personal character as a gentleman, and his success as a settler and stock* breeder, makes him second only in eligibility to Mr Buckland. Mr Maclean's connection with the existing Provincial Government is an obstacle to his contesting the office. Of Mr H. Ellis I need only remark that I do not considor him likely to be chosen.

We have had steamers running opposition at unprccedently low fares, from la to 33 for the trip to Auckland, for over aweek ; but to-day the successful boat, having driven off thoir opponents, have raised the fares again to the old rates, viz., 4* to Bs. The public having once had a taste of the low rates, will probably murmur ut 'having the high tariff charges again. There has beeu a sort of rush to Coro* mandel lately, and the usual and customary amount of type about rich loaders struck, &c. This may prove to be not all moonshine, but doubtless much of it is only calculated to mislead. Selling shares in soma of the newly occupied ground has boon, duly chronicled; and the fortunate seller* are said to have made their £2OO or £3OO by the stroke of luck. Some diihculty has arisen through the fact that the old L'oromandel block was leased at a fixed rental to the Government, and consequently the fees for miners' rights for the block bolong to the Government. The newly occupied ground is on the ridge (Tokatea) that divides the waters of the Firth of Hauraki from those of the eastern coast, and if the Watershed is the boundary of the Coromandel and Kennedy's Bay blocks, fcha claims may be in both blocks, and consequently the rights in that case for those claims should be equally divided between the Government aud the Maori owners of the Kennedy's Bay block. The absence of the Superintendent and his Executive from the Province prolongs the inconvenience. Mr G. B. Davy, the new Warden and Resident Magistrate, presided jesterday for the first time in the Resident Magistrate's Court. He bears the character of » man of integrity, and his appointment is favorably received by the population. Referring only to his public career, I expeot the appointment will prove to have been a judicious one, which is more than could have been expected from the authorities. It is not yet publicly known who is to bo ins colleague.