COROMANDEL.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1722, 10 September 1862, Page 4

COROMANDEL.

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] September 4th. Resident Magistrate’s Court, Kapanga, Monday, September Ist. Before Mr. H. H. Turton Restdent Magistrate. John Hagcrty, miner and bushman, was charged by Thomas Gibson, gold miner, with stealing or attempting to steal, on the night of the 30th of August, gold and specimens from his claim, No. 13, in the Driving Creek, Ilagerty pleaded not guilty. Thomas Gibson, sworn, stated I am a miner working on the Driving Creek; I am part owner of claim No. 13; late on Saturday night, or very early on Sunday morning, I was in bed in my tent when I was awoke by my mate, who said he thought he heard some one at work in our claim; I put on my clothes and slipped out of ray tent as quietly as I could, and crawled down in the direction of the creek on my hands and knees, when I saw seven or eight men in our claim; they were working with a pick and bad a candle burning, I got as close to them as I could; as soon as they heard me they blew out the candle, and I run in among them and caught the prisoner by the hair of his head and held him fast, the other men ran away; I called out to my mate to bring me a light; he came and struck a match, when the prisoner endeavoured to hide his face in an oilskin coat; the light went out; another was struck, when I recognized the prisoner. During the time I held the prisoner we both fell into a water hole, and had a scuffle. Owen Owens, sworn, deposed: I am partner with the last witness in claim No. 13; late last Saturday night I was lying in bed when I thought I heard somebody at work in our claim; I awoke Gibson, who dressed himself and went down to the claim; I followed him and heard him call out to me to come quick and bring a light, which I did; I then saw Gibson holding the prisoner by the hair of his head, and the prisoner at the same time endeavouring to hide his face with a garment, that we might not recognize him; the light went out ; I then got another and identified the prisoner. Constable Cahill, sworn, stated. I apprehended the prisoner and took him to the station; I searched him and found on him £3 10s. in gold, nine shillings in silver, a miner’s right, some other papers, and a lew specimens. The prisoner claimed a hat as his which hail been picked up in the creek. Ilagerty, in his defence, stated that a short time previously he had left his coat up the creek, and had gone to fetch it late on the Saturday night, and that when he came to Gibson’s claim he saw a number of men at work, and that Gibson ran in among them and caught him by the hair; he tried to run away but was dclaincd by Gibson; he said he did not know what a quartz leader was; had never seen one; had only heard of such a thing; he however admitted that he had been playing at cards late at night at Lilia’s with seven or eight others ; he did not know their names, though he had been living with them for some time; lie also admitted having visited Gibson’s shaft during the daytime, and having been shown some rich specimens. The sentence of the Court was that the prisoner be confined in Auckland jail for two calendar months with hard labour. Cases like the above, which in Australia would be called “night fossicking,” cannot be too heavily punished, as otherwise the digger’s claims would never be secure, unless he were actually at work or on the watch; and I can only hope that this man’s light punishment will serve as a warning to all evil-doers. No. 13 is, perhaps, the richest claim on the Driving Creek. On Thursday last, upwards of one hundred ounces of very rich stone, quite equal to any yet found, was taken from it; so I suppose these night-workers thought to make a good harvest, especially as Gibson had formerly been living at some distance fom the claim, and had only moved his tent to the Driving Creek on the Saturday afternoon, a circumstance these gentry were in all probability not aware of. The only pity is, that so many escaped, but at the same time great credit is due to Gibson for taking his prisoner. Several of the claims arc turning out very rich stones, and a share in one of the old creek claims changed hands the other day lor fifty pounds. Most of the old Otago diggers take no notice of the great new rush to the South, they hare not yet forgotten the Bine Mountain rush, and arc therefore inclined to be cautious, though most of the arrivals by the Lombard are, ere this, on their way to Auckland bound for Dunedin.

September Bth. We have lately been enjoying the most delightful weather, and it is the hope of all up here that it will continue some time longer, as the water is rapidly decreasing in the creeks, and will soon admit of their being properly worked which,as yet it has been impossible to do. On Saturday last, I saw between two and three hundred ounces of very beautiful specimens, the property of Messrs. Gibson and party; they for exceeded in richness, anything I have ever seen in Australia in the way of specimens. Mr. Gibson informed me that one of his partners had obtained upwards of .£IOO worth in a single day. In alluvial workings, but little has been done oflate, though there are several parties out in the bush prospecting, so it will not be at all surprising if many new deposits quite equal to the driving creek are found. Several new quartz claims have been taken up to the north of the driving creek, in which direction it is my opinion the most gold will yet be discovered. On rreece’s Point, the reef on the Bishop’s land has been struck, anil the men at work on it say they extracted gold from every piece of quartz that has been crushed from it.

The number of our population, owing to the rush to Otago, is rather on the decrease, but when quartz crushing machinery arrives our population will be rapidly enlarged, as one quartz reef properly worked will emp'oy more men, than two or three ctccks such as that already found; besides a reef is not worked out in a week or two like alluvial ground, but continues to employ a number of men, and a large amount of machinery for many years; another thing, a miner working in alluvial ground gets the gold with, comparatively speaking, very little expence to himself, and as the digger seldom has a settled home, he may in all probability take his gains to some other place and spend them there. Now with the quartz reefer this can never be the case, as the gold got from reefs is not obtained without a considerable outlay of capital, and so a large part of the gold is spent in the Province from which it has been obtained.

All who have visited the goldfield of Victoria and other places will fully understand this. Bendigo without its quartz reefs would long since have been almost deserted, and yet it was one, if not the richest of the alluival fields ever discovered. So that as elsewhere it is to our numerous quarts reefs that we must look for the permanent establishment of Coromandel as a gold field and not to the lew golden creeks that are sure to be discovered, hear and there from time to time however rich they may prove to be. Is there no merchant in Auckland who will purchase gold of the diggers? One man, after showing me abou nineteen pounds weight of rich specimens, told me he was going to send them to Melbourne as he could not sell them in Auckland, even if they were crushed, lie was not in want of money, but was anxious to get them out of his tent, and into some place of security. Is it a fact that there is no buyers in Auckland of Coromandel gold even if clean? Surely it has a value? In Australia a man can go into a store purchase goods, and pay for them with pure gold, quite as readily as with money. This is a thing which should be seen to, as already a large quantity of rich specimens have been sent to Sydney, and in all probability other large parcels will shortly be sent out of the province. Besides it does seem to be giving the miners themselves little encouragement.