THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, JULY 18, 1873.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 228, 18 July 1873, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, JULY 18, 1873.

Ik vol. 2 of the "Transactions and "Proceedings of the New Zealand In- " stitute " Dv Hector contributes an able paper on mining in New Zealand, which, as far as Otago is concerned, gives the essence of his observations daring a scientific tour made some years ago, when obtaining data for the geological survey of .New Zealand, not yet. we believe, completed. It is not our intention to offer, in this article, anything pretending to be a. criticism of a very valuable paper, but rather wish to cull a few remarks bearing upon what, in our opinion, is a highly desirable initiation of a system on our G-oldfields of-reliable scientific information t:> be obtained through "Mining Surveyors, as in Victoria. Dr Rector says": —"The river- " formed deposits of gold'of : the "inte- " rior of the South Island are divided " into three groups, according to their " position and the manner they are "worked. The oldest drifts are de- " posits at high levels, out of the reach " of the present drainage system of the " country, so that they can only be " worked by bringing water" to bear " upon them by a system of fuming; " In Otago such terraces have formed " the source of the bulk of the alluvial " gold'obtained from rich diggings of " the second class, which are marginal " deposits of rivers and streams, or " shallow alluvial flats. 'Gabriel's " Guliy is one instance of this, : at " the Blue Spur, between Gabriel's " aud Monro's Gullies, we find a patch " of the high level older drift thac. has " been tapped and sluiced dowri\ Ithe " bed of a modern stream, which cftr: " centrated the gold. The remaining " form of alluvial gold is that liberated " by streams which are excavating " rocky beds, but the amount is very " insignificant compared to . tbst o.b- ------" taiced in Victoria with this, form of " mining. The quantity of gold got by " shallow sinking on falsa bottoms, has " naturally led miners to expect that " deep leads ivill be found to rest on the " true rock bottom" It is a very common argument against any system of scientific aid on the" Goldfields, that after all the practical man is the best discoverer—the best and the quickest • that there is no royal road to find gold ■ any more than to obtain learning, and, that any money spent in .scientific ex- j plorations is only money wasted. If we wished to be bitter we might point to monuments of folly m the shape of races incompleted, or cut at quite unnecessary heights, done solel v by the unaided practical man, but we do not

wish. On the other hand, we are proud of the skill and energy the miners of Otago have, time after time, displayed in circumstances where they have had to depend upon their own quick eye and brain ; but still we fearlessly assert that the truly practical man shows his practicality by seizing on every opportunity the assistance of science. Science cannot say, here is gold or there is gold, but often she can say where it is not. She can often tell the nature of the ground a proposed shaft will have to go through, and of ten could foretell the failure°of projects based on insufficient capital to encounter the natural difficulties that she could have pointed out. JNo labot is so utterly lost to the country as in impracticable mining schemes. The man who breaks stones does better, because the material he prepares is of use afterwards, and thus pays toll to the general good ; but the abandoned race, reef, or drive, what use is it ? on the contrary, it disheartens the men who_ have been employed on it, often driving them from the couutry, and does, by its continual presence, often drive away also investing capital. And here is the great object that the Victorian system has in view, and which is so eminently calculated to bring in valuable returns to the country, that adopts it. By the excessively elaboi rate returns of the Mining Surveyors published quarterly, any intending capitalist, in his office in Sandhurst) Melbourne, or London, can judge of the value of a project he is asked to invest in. Not a shaft is sunk in any gold-mining district but it is reported on and a geological section of it prepared ; the results obtained from the claims and reefs are most minutely tabled, showing every result. By these reliable reports the confidence of the capitalists is obtained, and they are not at the mercy of any cooked documents or wild schemes projected by some excited visionary, only anxious, perhaps, to raise a false price on fictitious shares, and then to sell out to reap a handsome profit, not caring in the least that the deluded speculators will never again place confidence in really deserving and profitable mining companies. Dr Hector puts this very well. He says :—" A systematic sur- " ve 7 greatly increases the chance of " finding minerals, by indicating those " areas which will reward a more tho- " rough investigation, and limiting the " search to profitable fields. After " the actual discovery of a mineral " lode scientific knowledge is also " equally useful, in order to encourage " and direct the operations when, the " indications are favorable to success, " and to repress too sanguine specula- " tors when they are the reverse. This " latter duty is a.thankless but ■" still not the less important and use- " ful in assisting the true progress of "a country. It is especially impor* " tant in all new countries that those " mines should be first worked which " show the greatest chance of success, " as failure is sure to create distrust " on the part of capitalists, and, what "is still worse, to discourage further " explorations." Is not that prophecy shown to be true repeatedly, even since when written, in 1869. We have a right to demand the scientific aid that the country has, to thoroughly explore and report upon our deep leads and quartz jeefs. "We contribute a revenue of over £40,000 per year, and our Goldfields administration is, as at present administered, only a charge to the general estate of some £IO,OOO, leaving a balance of £30,000 that we get no fair return for. This is a matter that the Miners' Association might very well discuss and endeavor to develope into a practical scheme to be pressed on the Provincial Government during the next session. We do maintain that it would pay the country to keep up an efficient staff of mining surveyors, at a cost of £4OOO or £SOOO, to assist the practical labor and energy we already possess in developing the G-oldfields, and in sjuiding and giving confidence to the efforts of capitalists —those who still have not lost heart in their endeavors to develope the hidden treasures of the Otago deep leads and quartz reefs. Dr Hector does not claim'' infallibility for science ; he places her in the true position of hand-

maid to diligent search. He says : "A positive assertion that minerals "exist in such a district, or in such a "direction, is very easily made and " can never, be positively disproved. "It is, therefore, quite safe, and likely " to catch any credit that may arise "from future discoveries, but I am " glad to say that it is rarely that true " science ventures on such predictions. " It isvery different in the case of a " positive assertion that a mineral does,. " not exist in any particular locality, " or that it cannot exist under certain " conditions, which is a statement that " should only be ventured from actual " observation, as it can, if incorrect, be " at once confuted. G-eological science " will not, therefore, enable us to dispense , with ■ diligent and extended "search."

The church-going inhabitants of Dunedin seem to be afflicted with severe kleptomania at least, a charge is made against them. In a hymn-book in Trinity Wesleyan Church there is the following written notice.—" Pew 21. - Notice.—Three hymn books having been stolen from this pew during the last six months, the owner of this book respectfully reminds any persons who wish to exercise their thievish propensities in the: same direction that hymn books are of no use to them where they are going, as their time will be more fully-occupied in that endless and not too pleasing occupation of weeping, wailing, and gna3liing of teeth. —B/7/71.'"' The owner of seat in pew No. 21 being, by his own showing, so seldom at church, he might, without any very great hardship, carry his small book with him when he does go. As, however, he has an itch for notoriety, we are inclined to add—Dunedin papsr3 please copy. A bbidge that might very probably be constructed, if the subject was well mooted, is one over the Manuherikia river. There is no doubt that the traffic over such a bridge might, on a scale of very low charges, be made a profitable enterprise. We commend the matter as one deserving of agitation, for the river in question is not always so wellbehaved as it has been of late. .:, £SOO is placed on the Estimates for the erection of suitable police quarters at. Cromwell. W e believe attention has been drawn to the desirability of doing the same for Naseby. It is the intention to allow the Police Camp to be removed, as proposed by the parties desirous of working the ground, and probably the desirability, in such a case, of erecting permanent buildings will be fully entertained. The Police are most anxious to give every facility to the miners to work the ground. The matter will now rest with the Provincial Council. It is not probable that the Provincial Council will be prorogued till the middle of next week, and, indeed, perhans not till the end. The s.s. Wellington was*specially laid onto convey members of the Assembly to the North at the last moment, but was only taken advantage of by Mr Mervyn, the member for Mount Ida, all those members who thought their presence necessary having left previously. The Council at present appear inclined to go to work with some expedition, but the work to be got through is, by accumulation of arrears, considerable, and members who have hobbies will not be easily prevailed to forego them—honestly enough attaching considerable importance to their special views. * The debate on the motion of MrM'Glashan, the member for North to develope the coalfields of the Province, but, at the same time, indicating specially theMolyneux and Mataura districts, came on for dis--cussiori on Monday. Mr de Lautour said that, unless the particular district mentioned was struck out of the motion, and full discretion left to the Government, he should oppose it; because, although the district he had the honor to represent might not be classed as carboniferous, yet it had the better stamp of actually showing the coals. This was embodied in the form of an amendment, and carried, after considerable discussion. His Honor's Message proposing three new Hundreds is of considerable interest, as showing the determination of the Government to settle the country with celerity, if possible, and with discretion. A Hundred of 20,000 acres is on the line of main road between the Deep and Lee Streams, on Runs 185 and 160. Another Hundred is on the Bellamy Run, near Lawrence, a run that it will be remembered was the subject of a case in the Supreme Court, and lies between Lawrence and the Beaumont. The remaining Hundred, of 10,000 acres, is immediately adjoining the Mokareka Hundred, near the Mataura River. We are glad that the programme of the late Government, with regard to the ■ allocation of blocks under deferred payments, h#! been departed from. In the new programme ! a block of 2,500 acres, on Runs 121 and 80, i is declared at Macraes on what is known as the Deep Dell Run, and another block at Hyde, of 2,000 acres, on Mr Main's Run No. 205. We hope that this will be a benefit to Hyde. Although the acreage of the block is email, it is to be hoped that it will, if carried into law, as is probable, be largely taken advantage of, because, if so, it is to be expected that another block adjoining the one now declared will be opened. -One other block is declared not far from the boundaries of the district, and suited to the requirements of the aett'ers at Blacks and German Kill. It • is situated near Mr Sloaa'e, the dairyman on \ the, PoQlburn. j

: The motion of Mr-Eish-to remove the tollbars three miles from Dunedin, was lost. _ The very vexed and mueh-disputed, question of bridging the Kawarau River wa3 temporarily settled in the Provincial Council last week. Mr Hallenstein moved—'' That, in the opinion of the Council, it is desirable that bridges should be at once erected over the Kawarau at the Nevis, at the Morven Ferry, and at Frankton Fali3." Mr Fish spoke against the Frankton Fails bridge, moving, as an amendment, that the bridge at Frankton Falls be held over for independent consideration. The Goldlields Secretary said that, taking into consideration, the very bad state of the main lines of communication through the country, and the necessity for making these lines in an efficient manner, it would be-quite impossible to make these or any bridges; but that the Government had received an otter—on contingent restrictions —to make a bridge at the Nevis Ferry, of a very advantageous nature. Instead of a waggon having to pay, as now, £3 to come and go, the charge would only be 165., or Bs. each way, and that pedestrians .would''go. free. He thought, if such advantageous terms could be obtained by voluntary oifer for a work the Government had not decided upon, when they came to publicly advertise for bridges at the other places mentioned, offers would be made of an equally favorable character. Of course, in the offer made, a3 in all others, the course of construction is to be under the inspection of the Provincial EuIgineer. • Mr Clarke, of the Arrow, pointed (out that the bridge at Morven berry was the jmost important and the most immediately necessary, and was, indeed, of such public utility that it would be very disadvantageous if placed under high toils. The district was justified in asking that this bridge should be at once constructed out of- public revenue, which he moved as an amendment. The amendment \ya3, however, lost on the voices. The Goldlields Secretary, however, stands committed to push these works forward on the plan he indicated with as much celerity as possible. •: Mr Hallenstein, gave it on the authority of the provincial Engineer, that the cost of making the approaches to the Frankton Fails Bridge would be £6OO. In a debate on a motion by Mr G. F. C. Browne, of Waitahuna, to provide free education in the District Schools for the children of parents who were not able to pay the usual school fees, it was asserted by several members that such pb>ver existed already in the Committees, who had authority to pay the fees, at the expense, of the State, to the master, such payments being refunded by the Education Board. It appears to us that the master having power, independent of the Committee, to summarily recover in a Court of law the defaulting fees, shows clearly: that the power at present existing, is certainly deficient. ' It may meet the case of children who,_ at. the time of joining the school, are not in a position to be mid for; but ifc certainly does not meet the"ca3e of those whoss parents, become involved during the course of tuition, and .become unable to pay arrears of school fees. This is a subject that we should like to see di3CU3sed—indeed, the whole svstem of District School tuition might be very greatly changed with manifest advantage. ■ The attention of the Government has been drawn to the state of the road between Linburn and Serpentine, especially the hill immediately descending iTpon the Serpentine township. It has been promised that enquiries shall be made at once into the state of this road, and improvements will no doubt be shortly effected. The usual monthly meeting of" the. Mount Ida District School Committee was held in the schoolroom on Monday week last. Present —II. Wilson (chair)" E. T.. George, M. Brookes, J. Stewart, J. Billon, and E. C. Smith. The minutes of last meeting were read and combined. The Secretary r.'ad monthly report from schoolmaster, which was considered highly satisfactory, showing an improvement in the tone of the school, and also in the number of scholars attending. The report was ordered to be received and acknowledged/but to be held over for discussion at special meeting. A memorial, signed by twenty-. ; firejheads of families, protesting against tho late increase of the school fees, was read. Resolved that the consideration and discussion of this matter be held over for special meeting. Resolved that a special meeting of the Committee be held this eveuing (Friday) at 8 p m Letter from Secretary Brass Band, asking permission to use schoolroom for uraetisin* two nights per week, was read. As the schoolroom was engaged every night during the week, with the exception of Saturday, the application had to be refused. Letter read from Education Board relative to mining on the Naseby school reserre, stating that the subject would be considered at the next meeting of the Board, and suggesting that as the ground is a part of the emolument of the teacher, his consent should be first obtained. Letter from Mr Menzies, consenting to an arrangement was alsoread. - The ordinary meeting of the Town Council was held m the Naseby Water Works office on Tuesday last. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Cra Buach, Wilson, Brown, Hore, and Brookes. The minutes of last ordinary and special meetings were confirmed.—Letter from 0. A. de i auiour, Esq , M P. 0., in inference to Government assistance to put main roads in repair, suggesting that the Council should accept a sum of £2OO, which he thought the Government would be prepared to give. Resolved that the offer of £2OO for compensation be accepted.—Letter from the agent of the-bank of New South Wales, iu reply to one -forwarded by Cr Buschke signing of "cheques;: i was read; The nc'ion of Or Busch in the/ matter'' was deemed irregular.—Legal : in reference to the retirement of Council-i lors and Auditors was read, iuforiniug the;

Council that sections 16 and 17 of the*o£a»o Municipal Ordinance, ISGS, is the only prorision for annual elections, and that one Councillor from each ward and auditoi-3 retire. Letter from Auditors stating that an audit had been raadeof the Corporation accounts, and had baen found correct.—Letter from C. A. de Lautouv, Esq., M.P.C., in reference to the proposed bye-laws was read. Consideration postponed until next ordinary meeting.—A memorial, signed by seventy-one rate-payers, was presented by Cr Brown, protesting against the purchase of the Town Hall site in Lovenstreet, and asking that tho matter be referred to the next Council, was read and received Ecsolvcd that the prayer of the memorial be held over until next ordinary meeting for discussion.—A ballot was taken, when the following Councillors retired, one from each ward, Crs Busch, Brown, and Hore.—The presiding officers at the various wards were appointed. .: '

An adjourned meeting of the school Committee was held in the Water Works office oa Monday evening last—Mr Indor in the chair. The object of the meeting was to consider motion to reduce the school fees. The Secretary state a that from calculations he had made at the present rate, on 87 scholars he found from the quarterly report, that the total' amount of fees for twelve months amounted to £251, and with Government subsidy would amount to £3Bl. Deduct ng £2BO for teachers' salaries, a balance of £lOl would remain. On the other hand, the total fees ; for months at the old rate on same I number of scholars amounted to £344, which, i after deducting salaries, leaves a balance of 1 £O4. Mr Howlatt suggested that a uniform rate of fees should be imposed. Motion by Mr Brookes was carried unanimously—"That the suggestions by Mr Menzies, laid before the Committee on "tho 9th May last, and carried, and also suggestion No. 2 (considered on 4th Juue last) be resciutled. That the following be the rale of charges—2s Gd, 3s Gd, and.os per month. .'That the fuel, pens, ink, &c., be furnished out of the school fees, and that a sum, at the rate of 20 per cent, be deducted from the foes, and carried to school fund. The domination for the office of Mayor of Naseby took \Aiwji at noon on Thursday la3fc, at the Council Chambers, Victoria Hall. There were about ©0 persons present. Only two nominations were lodged, namely L. W. Busch, proposed by J. G-. Bremner, and seconded by Michael Brookes: and E. T. George, proposed by K,. Glenn, and seconded by G. Stephens. A vole of thanks to- the Mayor terminated the very quiet and orderly proceedings. The poll will take place on Monday next the 21st it:st. Why the speeches of Messrs Ilaggibt and de Lautour on Stout's want of confidence motion were nop, printed seems a mystery to many. We understand thar, several of the Government supporters went to the ' Daily Times' office to ascertain, if possible, the reason why the remarks made by the speakers above mentioned had not been published (as they were considei*ed two of tho most damaging speeches during the debate). They were told, we believe, that Mr • Stout had made an arrangement with the to revise the reports of the speeches, and had struck out the eloquence of Messrs llaggitt and de Lautour. The Government have promised to thoroughly pitch and metal the new road via Houndburn Hill, and a sum of £2OOO is expected to be be expended on that portion of the road. A tention is also to be paid to the road from Serpentine to Liu burn. We are requested to draw attention to the sale by tender of l-12th share in the Otago Goldmining Company, at St. Bathaus. We believe that this is one of the most permanent and profitable invcatmdnts in the Province See advertisement. Tns impending Mayoral election has stirred up our lively burgesses to energetic action. Two cmtiidar.es are in the field for the coveted honor—viz., Messrs E. T. George and L". W. Busch. The election will take place en Monday next. A meeting of members of the Church of England and others interested in the settlement of a clergyman in this district, was held last evening in the schonlhowse, Naseby. Mr fc[. W. Robinson was called to the chair, and read a letter from the Right Ilevd. Bishop of Dunedin. to the effect that he intended to ask the Kevd. E. Williams, now on his way from England, to take charge of the district, and reside at Naseby. A resolution was passed that it was desirabl? to have a resident clergyman, and a Committee was appointed to collect promises of support. The committee was instructed to place itself in communication '■ with the out-distriefcs of Sf. Bathana, Ham.il- I ton, Hill's Creek, and Kyeburn, and to report j at another meeting to be held within three weeks. The Press throughout the Province, with only one notable exception, support the Government action, in tho unfortunate Maerewhenua land Bnle. Wb understand that blocks of land will shortly be thrown open at Hyde and Macraes.