COROMANDEL.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1723, 13 September 1862, Page 3

COROMANDEL.

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Sept. 12th. Sept. 11th. —Resident Magistrate's Court, Kapanga. Before 11. 11. Turton, Esq., R.M. Frederick Woollam was charged with selling spirituous liquors, he not having a license for retailing the same.

Wiliiam Birchill, miner, sworn, stated: On Tuesday last, I went into the store of the defendant, and purchased a glass of grog, and also bought a bottle of rum, for which I paid four shillings. The defendant asked me il I had far to go. I said I had, and he then said, "I will cork it tight." On leaving the store, 1 gave the bottle to Constable Hastie. By the Court.—This is the bottle. I can swear to it, for I marked it. George Hastie, sworn, stated: 1 am a Corporal in the Armed L'olice Force. 1 was on the Kapanga beach, on Tuesday last, and told the last witness to purchase me a bottle of spirits. He asked me where he should get it. I said, " Goffco that store," pointing to Woolhun's. The witness went, and brought me this bottle of rum, which has not been out of my possession since.

By the defendant.—l directed the witness to go to your store, because I noticed so many persons going backwards and forwards, and carrying nothing with them ; and, from their general appearance, I do not mean that they were intoxicated, but that they appeared to have been drinking. The defendant here acknowledged the offence. The sentence of the court was, that the defendant be lined £SO, or one mouth's imprisonment. The hue was paid. After passing the sentence, Mr. Turton made a few remarks upon this case ; and it will be well for many of the storekeepers in this neighbourhood if they will only take the advice so kindly offered them, or otherwise they may find themselves the subject of an enquiry similar to that just concluded. There has been a great deal of dissipation going on here of late, and it is to be hoped that this case may act as a check and a warning to all the parties to whom Mr. Turton's remarks were addressed.

I saw yesterday, about sixteen pounds weight of quartz crushed, and the yield was enormous: the stone was taken from the leader in claim No. 13, the property of Thomas Gibson and party. The result was truly splendid; there being a pint pannikin rather more than three parts full of pure, clean gold. I had it in my hand, and should say it could not have weighed less than lOlfcs.

Some of the gold was very large and nugget) , while some was as fine as the finest flour; this quartz was crushed in a small Bcrdan machine on Keren's reef; a great many of the miners and others witnessed the crushing, and seemed highly delighted with the results, so far exceeding anything ever before obtained in Coromandel. I hear of a share in a claim not far from where this rich stone wasT&keh, being sold for £250. This is more than probable, as should the claim turn out anything like Gibson's, it would be but a small sum in comparison with its real value. From Dwrt's claim six ounces of the leader were crushed, and yielded upwards of 2', ounces of very beautiful clean gold. These facts seem rather startling, but arc not the less true on that account, and are no secrets here. When machinery comes 1 imagine we shall be even more surprised. One party have in their possession about two tons of stone in which the gold is to be seen in considerable quantities with the naked eye. There will be most certainly among the miners here, men who will make their fortunes from the claims they are at present holding. From Mr. Braekenbury's claim, Kcven's reef, I have seen some very good prospects; one trial of about ten pounds of stone made by Mr. Turner was very good indeed, and will give a yield of several ounces to the ton: the reef appears to be widening in this claim as the men get deeper. In your issue of the 6th inst. I see a letter in which it states that my report of a meeting held sometime since at Kapanga was incorrect. I would beg to remind the parties signing that letter that I did not pretend to give any account of the proceedings of the Thursday's meeting, but only those of the meeting on the Saturday following, when the respectable part of the community was assembled. Has Mr. Inglis so soon repented'of his good conduct and forgotten his apologv, made before so many witnesses, to Mr. Turner? How the Thursday's meeting was conducted I can perfectly understand, knowing, as I do, one of the parties signing this letter, and a great mover in this first meeting: having jumped Leakey's claim, and Mr. Turner having decided against him, he the next morning tried the same experiment on the claim of Messrs. Ring and Co. with the like success; the chairman of that meeting had also had a case decided against him but a short time previously, so who will wonder when when they hear that in the opinion of these persons a just and energetic officer like Mr. Turner is not at all to their liking, or that they should wish for some slight alteration in the present mining regulations?