MINING REPORT.

Kumara Times, Issue 2866, 9 December 1885, Page 2

MINING REPORT.

[By oun Special Mining Repokter.] Complaints are being made all along the line of workings of insufficiency of notice given when a blast is going to be fired. It may be that a long immunity from accidents through shots going off may tend to make rait:era more careless ; but I am more inclined to attribute it to the fact of so many claims being worked into one another, thus causing the sound of warning to travel along the workings, inst.-ucl <>f rising to the surface as it did when each claim

was working out of a separate opening. It is often very difficult to determine, when traveling along, whether the sound of " Fire!" proceeds from a claim or two or two off, or just directly beside you. I dont think there is a nvm on the field but would regret very much if any accident were caused through his insufficiency of warning. It would be a great protection to the general public and to neighboring claims if a man was always sent on the surface to give timely warning when shots are about to be fired. Some claimbolders do make a practice of doing this ; but the great majority simply sing out when they are about to light the fuse, and a person that may be deceived by the sound may walk right into danger instead of away from it. Very good progress is being made •with the head-race tunnel job, as the contractors have no trouble with drift overhead, as it has been all- washed away formerly, and nothing remains but the roots. Some chopping has to be done to get the lathes ahead but the bulk of the roots dont get down that depth. A number of miners are beginning to talk seriously about the No. 1 Channel tail-site. The late verdict for damages by the assessors in Tait and party's case against the Government does not give universal satisfaction. The assessors were principally drawn from claims that have a grievance looming -in the distance, and it was quite natural that they should try to establish a precedent that might be of value to them in dealing with probable grievances arising out of ISTo. 2 The fact that the case was between the Government and a private party may satisfy some minds as to the result; but we should not lose eight of the fact that in this case the Government means this community at large. There is still about 200 feet requiring to be driven to connect the No. 2 channel shaft with the outer end; and, till this is done, there will be considerable loss of time through foul air. It is becoming more apparent eveiy day the necessity of having a shaft connecting with the new channel from some accessible point for the lowering of material required in its construction. Where the present shaft is situated may be suitable enough for lifting dht, but how they are going to get to it with drays without some road-making beats me altogether. A great deal of speculation has been going on for the last couple of weeks as to whether the water in the Government dams will last till the Christmas washings-up. The showers that we have had, though valuable to horticulturalists and agriculturalists, have been of little or no avail in raising the dams, as the ground swallowed it up as it fell. Mr Holmes' supply will hold good to Christmas, even if there is no more rain. A friend of mine coming home late the other ni»ht struck a match to have a look at Old Davy's totalisator, and heard that king of the water nymphs talking in a very pleading tone, and said something about twelve hours' solid rain. My friend concluded Davy was praying for rain ; and as he said he very seldom troubled in that quarter, he thought he was likely to get it. I see that valiant old sea-dog of a legislator has been at us again, and how brave he waxes with the dividing range between him and the people he seeks to traduce. It does not say much for the intelligence of the people in his part of the colony when they accept as politics an attempt to prejudice their minds against a portion of their fellowcolonists. Like many another man of his stamp, his chief protection lays in his insignificance.