Kumara Race, including Sludgechannel.

Kumara Times, Issue 2905, 19 February 1886, Page 2

Kumara Race, including Sludgechannel.

From the foregoing, then, it will he seen that, excepting in the year 1882, arf mentioned, when the slodge-channei was being constructed and the change from driving to sluicing was taking place, there has always been an annual profit, which has increased from £B2O Iss in 1883 to £IBBS 17s, in 1884; and when last year there were fewer stoppages in the channel than ever, (he race and channel together yielded the handsome profit of £3226 16s 9d, or nearly 6 per cent. (5.91) on the capital invested. So it is evident if the Government keep up a. constant and sufficient supply of water a very fair inte.rest on capital invested follows. Having disposed of the question of the cost of getting the gold, so far as this field is concerned, and where the highest price in Hew Zealand is given for water for mining purposes in proem ing the gold, let us see what the miner actually produces. Unfortunately the disposition of the gold from this large field is not obtainable by the Government separate from the gold from other fields of the Coast, and it can only bo ascertained, we believe, through the hanks. But we have the returns of the total value of gold exported during 1885 from the various goldfields of the colony, and it will be seen that Greymouth, Hokitika, and Westport have produced nearly the onehalf of the total quantity, amounting to nearly half a million of money, for last year’s produce only. Here are the

As Kutnara is the largest and most extensive goldfield on the Coast, and the gold is taken to Greymouth or nr Hokitika for export, the quantity from tliis field is included in the huge amounts above given. Westland alone has produced an aggregate of £22,500,000 in gold, since it was discovered on the Coast, being one-half the total exports of t he colony. How does this compare with the Government Railways of the colony? According to the Statistics of New lend, 1881, the best-paying line of railway was the Hm unui-Bluff Kingston Line (and branches), which gave £5 2s 7d per cent. Greymouth-Brunuer came next, with £-1 2s 3d per cent; and at

the end of 1881, which me the latest.

returns we p'-s-css, on the (iist-inmi-lioned main trunk lino, which are reS led as the lesl-pying in the colunv, J

ihe rate of interest had dwindled down

to £3 13s per cent., and the GreyBrunner, really the best-paying line in the colony, did not reach 5 per cent, (only £4 16s). So that the Kutnara Sludge-channel and Water-race paid a much higher per centage on the cost of construction last year than any railway in the colony has yet done. We now submit another aspect of the question which should not be lost sight of. The gold exported may be looked upon as all clear profit out of the ground, which is distributed in various ways, producing and reproducing its value through the population in the purchase of articles of import and export, and so benefilting again the public purse of the colony, whilst the capital invested in the construction of railways is continually undergoing a process of ware and tare, and annually depreciating in value.

And, in conclusion, allowing a little over £50,000 for gold not exported from the colony during the year, bn; made up into rings, chains, lockets, &c., and otherwise disposed of by Chinese and others, which in the aggregate is probably much above that amount, we have a yearly yield of one million pounds’ worth of gold won from the earth by 12,034 miners, of whom 3443 are Chinese—thus, one-fortieth of the population of the colony are winning from the earth yearly an equivalent to he

thp ;iiinii-il revenue or expenditure of the whole colony.

Date. Receipts. Expenditure, Maintenance and Management. 1879 £ s. d. 2,956 16 3 £ s. d. 1,500 0 0 1880 1,889 6 8 1,518 12 6 1881 2,452 14 11 2,312 4 4 1882 2,324 11 4 4,370 15 10 3,378 18 6 1883 3,550 0 7 1884 10,444 13 2 8,558 16 1 1885 11,044 11 5 7,817 14 8 Totals £35,123 9 7 £28,636 6 8

figures: — £ Auckland ... 170,416 Wellington 80 Picton 2,120 Blenheim 39 Nelson ... 14,905 Westport ... ... 65,618 Greymouth ... 258,252 Hokitika ... ... 142,807 Dunedin ... ... 270,186 Invercargill ... 21,578 Riverton ... 2,614 Total ... £948.615