MINING REPORT.

Kumara Times, Issue 2921, 10 March 1886, Page 3

MINING REPORT.

[By our Special Mining Reporter.]

The Lead, March 9

As was reported in your columns some days ago, the prospecting shaft has proved a duffer, and although I never had much faith in the exact locality, I am sorry the energy and pluck of the prospectors has not been better icwarded. They have drawn the slabs and are prepared to sink again, and I hope they will go a considerable distance in the direction of the saw mill with their next shaft. They have a strong notion of driving an old shaft that was sunk early on the rush, not far from the shaft they have just sunk, and a very nice sample of gold got, but not sufficient to pay for working. I have not. heard how things are looking with the other prospecting party, who are putting in a tunnel where the Christchurch road descends the hill beyond M'Connon's mill, but it is a long time since I advocated prospecting in that direction • and if they can only start at the proper level, I have great hopes of their efforts being rewarded with success. Notwithstanding the growl of “ A SI nicer ” in your issue of Monday, I have to report that the No. 2 Channel is progressing very well. The driving io nearly completed, and the boxing is being pushed ahead vigorously. They had a slight mishap the other day, as Mansfield’s tail-race broke through into the channel, and the water made a bit of a mess ; bub they will soon put ib to rights. I have seldom lost an opportunity of reminding parties that cannot sluice into the new channel that they should see that all win* can are put into it as soon as pnsGb’e; hut your correspondent affects to ignore that fact,

and adopts a now cognomen every time he wants to say something mean. The miners here should insist upon the Government taking the necessary steps to get water to flush the new channel and other necessary wor k done at once, or the channel will he a long time completed before it can be utilised. There is much need for such a body as the Miners Association as there is really no one here to push matters that are urgent. It cannot be expected that the Manager of Works here will do it, as I understand it is usual to get snubbed for suggesting any new expenditure, however urgent it may be. The requirements of a place like this are beyond the ken of officialdom; and the people of this place, both business men and miners, stand greatly in their own light when (hoy fail to have some representative body to urge their needs on the Government. A number of people think that our representative in Parliament should attend to all these tilings; but that is quite a mistake, as nothing is so calculated to injure the usefulness of a member than doing work outside of his ordinary parliamentary duties, without first being asked by his constituents to do so. Now is the time to square matters with the Government, on the eve of a general e’ection, as they cannot afford to be scared even by the ghost of a Captain Suiter in the Ministerial cupboards. All that we want is that the new channel will be used for the purpose for which the money was voted for its construction, viz., to relieve the No. 1 channel to the fullest amount ot its carrying capacity; and if they wont do it, there must lie wheels within wheels.