MINING REPORT.

Kumara Times, Issue 949, 15 October 1879, Page 2

MINING REPORT.

[Froii our Special Mining Reporter.}

It is satisfactory to see that onr interests, locally sneaking, are not being overlooked altogether V>y the Westland Covnty Council. If the communication received V>y the Council had any truth in it, sd far as Larrkin’s being about to' be deserted, then why did the people clamor for and why did the Govern-

ment agree to spend so much nionev on a sludge-channel, that will be princi* pally serviceable for the ground at Larrikin’s ] it is quite true that some of the claims at Larrikin’s are getting worked out, hut it is equally true that for every claim that has been worked out for the last two months, there have been two new ones taken up, and that the population of this part of the district is largely on the increase. Only the oilier day Johnstone and party got on to gold in a new claim that went lldws. to two loads,- and as the same' lead was worked in other claims it is probable a few more claims will get on it before it runs out. I dont wish to make people imagine that this islikely to be a continuous lead of gold, but there are a good many runs of gold that are likely to be picked up again, that have been partially worked. There exists no natural conformation of the country here at this joint that would satisfy a practical miner that the lead had nfn oiffc. And I believe it only requires a little patience and perseverance to trace the general run that has been worked some distance l ahead. Clapton and party are sinking with this object in view, a few hundred yards ahead of the last working claim, and in the direction of the darn ; but I fancy the country falls too rapidly just w heer they are, and if the bottom has the same fall, the gold might not bo retained therehut higher up where the country is more flat, and resembles the present workings. Touching the correspondence that lately appeared arrent the accident, T agree with both yotir correspondents that something ought to be done - , both as to avoiding accidents, if possible, and for the speedy release of those unfortunate enough to meet with them. At one time in the history of this field, when fatal accidents were almost of weekly occurrence, I advocated amongst my acquaintances the appointment of a practical man, either by the Government or by the miners themselves, to visit, if possible, every claim in the district, and see and report on the various systems that were then in vogue for securing the ground; and, had that been done, the intelligence of the miners themselves would have enabled them to adopt the system best suited to the nature of the ground. It has taken over two years to accomplish what might have been done in' a month, and I am morally certain would have saved some lives,- We have now all got to know the best systems, by our own experience and our intercourse with one another and now, when theground has been so largely worked, and ought in the Very nature of things ta be more dangerous, we seldom have a fatal accident, and certainly would have no more if a mining inspector were appointed. There is no law in New Zealand of a restrictive nature applicable to raining, and without laws what would an inspector do 1 ? And il you have the laws, it just means 4bat a great deal of the ground that j&. now worked would be left alone if conditions were attached to the working of it. If we followed up the argument of S. B. H, that an inspector would frighten away the accidents, then we might close the Hospital and appoint a sanitary committee, with a

its hear], to frighten away malaria, &cr Accidents are inevitable in mining; let ns use the intelligence of the miner to lessen their number.