MAHAKIPAWA.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume I, Issue 11, 4 March 1890, Page 2

MAHAKIPAWA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

A fire broke out on Wednesday, and some more trees have fallen across the track ; this is a great hardship to the men up the creek. It is to be hoped the Road Board will clear them away at once, and not leave the track blocked up for weeks as they did after the last fire. Of course it is a great shame that fires should be started, but it is not fair to punish a whole community for one man's misdeeds. It is tolerably certain that whoever lit-the fire, it waß not one of the men that make use of it, so we hope the Road Inspector will look at it in this light, and put men on at once.

The results of the week's work have been very encouraging. The Golden Hope got 32ozs, the Justin Time 48ozs, the Homeward Bound 26ozs, and the Never Surreuder 52ozs for one day's work. This claim is between the Waira- ; rapa and the Long Time, and has been perseveringiy worked for months for hardly any gold. They have driven-" up the creek 80 feet and could get •- nothing to pay, they came back towards the shaft and put in a cross drive i to the right and got nothing, they then ; paid attention to the left side, and in : the first set dropped on 52ozs. This ? is an exemplification of how men can work a claim out without getting gold, ; as only for the Never Surrender principle they might have considered it a duffer and, abandoned it. Our enterprising blacksmith has an interest in this claim, and I know no one more deserving fortune's favours, as he us always to the front in every to forward the prosperity of pur field.

Our School Committee held their monthly, meeting on' Wednesday. I , understand that it was proposed to write to the Education Board re firewood,! suppose for the coming winter. It was suggested by one of the members that it would be as well to request the Board to supply a chimney and , fireplace, as the present building that # is facetiously called "the school" is : not supplied with that luxury. I think , they could have ,gone a step further. t

and requested the Education Board to add a decent Government school to the proposed fireplace. Now there are nearly forty children of the required school age in the district, and we are clearly entitled to a school. Hundreds of pounds are spent on the Blenheim schools, and we see a grand flourish in the papers about the beauty of the architecture, the polished desks, grand ventf&iion, &c. I consider that if the location Funds are so low that they camrot lay out a few pounds to build a school, when the sons and daughters of our hard-working miners are left (for all the interest the high and mighty Education Board take in them) to be brought up in ignorance, that the grand affair in Blenheim is a disgrace to the country instead of an ornament. Why are we utterly ignored by the Education Board who didn't even trouble to an-

swer our Committee's correspondence until they complained to head-quarters. A prominent member of the Education Board, on a decent building being offered for a very small sum of money, remarked that probably in a short time this place would be deserted, which opinion was evidently co-incided in by the other members of the Board who were present. Now if it was turnips and sheep I should say the Education Board would be competent judges; but as judges of the longevity of this or any other goldfield I should imagine them to be as ignorant as they seein to wish our children to be of scholastict lore. All sensible men will agree with me that the fact that.hundreds of pounds have already been laid out here by men who have made mining their special study, is sufficient proof of the permanency of this field. I fancy the; Education Board look upon the hardy miner in the same lighi as the old Scotch wives at the first of the gold rush in Otago, who told the miners from Victoria when they came to the homestead to buy provisions—" Gang awa with their clout houses and hairy blankets (tents and opposum rugs)," the old wives being too thick-headed to see that the miners would lead them from poverty to affluence. Is it possible the august Education Board have got the same complaint as the old wamert. If the Education Board took a common sense view of the situation they could see (but there are none so blind as those that wont see) that if we had a Government school with com* petent tuition we should have far and above the average attendance. Mr Litchfield, our local gold-buyer, purchased for the week'2soozs, for which he paid away somewhere about £9OO. This money, together with the gold bought by the store-keepers would be nearly all spent in the district if the Education Board encouraged married men to locate their wives and children

here by giving them a decent school. As it is now money is being constantly sent away to benefit other places. There was a lecture given here on Tuesday on physiology and phrenology and a magic-lantern entertainment in Mr Oliver's new Theatre Royal, by Mr Rush, the entertainment was both instructive and amusing, and was well patronised. Mr Cdombes, who has been the right hand man for the Alice Fell, has been

appointed manager for the King Solomon Company, the proof of the wisdom of the directors in choosing him from

several applicants, can be ocularly demonstrated by inspecting the first-class work he has done for the Alice Fell

Company, which Company are through the reef, and driving across towards the gutter, and, I think, are not far off the metal.

The Mahakipawa Company are waitfor their pump, which is being cast for them in Wellington, their wheel is all complete, and in turning round it is a breast wheel, and is a credit to the builders.

The British Empire Company have had everything finished for a fair start, and have only got to build their wheel. In the meantime they will continue sinking, as they expect to be able to sink a good way before they tap the water. The Hibernian, I hear, are on good gold. lam told it looks better than anything they have seen yet.