MINING REPORT.

Kumara Times, Issue 892, 9 August 1879, Page 2

MINING REPORT.

[From our Special Mining Reporter.] The long-looked-for sludge-channel is beginning to try the patience of a good many miners, and business people too, about the Kumara. No doubt the thing is being pushed as fast as circumstances will permit, but it is a great pity that more energy was not displayed in the matter eighteen months ago. It was ’as well known then as now that the work was indispensable to the welfare of the district ; but the “ do-my-time ” sort of policy of diggers generally retarded the progress of the undertaking, as it does with many other affairs of a mining community, both as a community and as individuals. If we had the railway deviation secured and our sludge-channel completed, we would then be able to look forward to many years of prosperity that can never come to Kumara by any other means. A correspondent signing himself S.B.H finds fault with a few of my ideas on the construction of the sludgecnannel. He does not dispute the ability of miners to execute the work as well as capitalists, if it was not as he says, that the majority of them are like the business people—insolvent. Your correspondent argues that the letting of the channel to miners in small contracts would retard the execution of the work ; but in my opinion quite the reverse would be the result. By small contracts a greater number of men would be employed at one time on the work, and there is no reason why a capitalist should not go in for an umber or all of the contracts if he thought he could compete with the miners. If the Government are prompt in their payments there should be no difficulty in the way of a party of miners doing the woik as well and as expeditiously as any capitalist; and what would be a payable price to a party of working men, would be utter ruin to a capitalist who had to pay for the labour. For instance, a working party takes it and make £2 10s per week per man, they will be doing as well as a good number of miners working in their claims ; but let a capitalist have it at a price that will only do that, and there is nothing left for it but heavy loss’on the contractor, or perhaps- stop and leave the men unpaid. I dont say that would be anything like fair wages for men to make, but it may turn out better when men think they have a good price, and I dont think anybody can know better what is a payable price then the working miners. They will not be impelled, as your correspondent asserts, to put in a low price for the work, as all the idle men will be required to carry on the work at a fair wages, and if they dont expect to make more, they wont tender