SATURDAY, DECEMBER. 15, 1883.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 28, 15 December 1883, Page 2

SATURDAY, DECEMBER. 15, 1883.

It is to be hoped that our mine managers and directors will use all means in their power to efficiently treat all blanketings and tailings from their crushings. It is now a well ascertained fact that in the early days of the Thames, thousands and thousands of pounds worth of gold were lost to the miners through the inefficient appliances then in use. Even with the best of modern crushing machines it is estimated that fully 40 per cent, of the gold is lost, and it behoves all connected with the crushing of quartz to experiment and endeavour by practical experience to discover new methods of gold saving. We think the Government would be perfectly justified in. offering a substantial bonus for the discovery of an efficient method for treating quartz that would save, say 80 or 90 per cent, of the precious metal. Our American cousins are noted for their inventive genius, and if the prize were \ made sufficiently tempting, some of the | inventors of the land of wooden nutmegs might be induced to experiment in this direction The science of goldsaving is as yet in its infancy, and in view of the enormous loss at present sustained through want of knowledge, it is of paramount importance that an effort should be made to effect some improvement. In the matter of crushing appliances we go on in the old hum-drum style of 20 years ago and adopt a let - well - alone policy. We may quote one instance of the great loss of gold from the ordinary crushing plants. A few years ago, at the Thames, a man named Tookey owned a small allotment on the foreshore of Grahamstown, and on this allotment a quantity tailings from the batteries had accumulated. The allotment was mortgaged to the New Zealand Insurance Company, and, we believe, eventually passed into their possession. Mr John Brown, the well-known tailings plant proprietor, leased the allotment for one year for £100, and during his lease took upwards of £5000 worth of gold from the | ground. The question of gold saving is one that might well be looked into by the Government — we believe the appointment of a small commission of thoroughly practical men^ or as already suggested, the offer of a substantial bonus throughout the Colonies, England, and America for improvements in gold-saving machinery would result eventually in a substantial increase in the material wealth of our mining districts and of the Colony generally.

The Piako County Council will doubtleas at its forthcoming meeting make some better arrangements than at present exist for the working of the rramway. We are not inclined to censoriousnesp, being well aware that there are many difficulties in the initiation of a new undertaking, and the present cost of working the tramway must not be taken as u criterion of what the coat will be when things have fallen properly into their places. It must, however, be patent to all that a serious loss of public money must occur if the tramway, sending down 40 trucks i a day, takes 20 men to work it. Indeed the present charge for transit will barely pay wages, to say nothing of wear and tear. Our knowledge of practical engineering is very slight, in- 1 deed we scarcely know the difference between a pulley and a spur-wheel, but i

i bettered cheaper method than at preseiit obtains. We have noticed that consider-, able delay is frequently occasioned by empty waiting for the full oneito pass on thejower horse grade. Much of this could be obviatod by the laying of a couple of loop-lines at advantageous points On the grade* It also sterns strange that it flhould require three men for each break. On other incline tramways we have noticed one man break the trucks and start them as well, and we feel sure that a slight alteration in the breaks would lead to a reduction in the number of hands employed. But the scheme that commends, itself to us most, and which we believe would lend to the reduction of the trnmway staff by one half or one third is this : Additional trucks should be obtained and fifteen or twenty trucks send down the first steep grade at once. The men could then be moved to the next grade and so on. This, if it is practicable and we believe it is, would enable one set of ment o work the three steep grades. We have no doubt however that the Council will give due consideration to this important matter, and arrive at a conclusion that will be satisfactory, to all. We understand that it is the intention of the authorities to place the locomotive in the lower horse grade during the holidays.

On account of the Christmas holidays the meeting of the Piako County Council will be held at 11 a.m. on the 19th inst. at Cambridge. Edwards, the walkiat, is now in Auckland, and intends performing. Dr. Goldsbro', of Auckland, is dangerously ill. Two fillies by Musket have been purchased by Mr Ashbury, an English M.P., who is at present doing the colonies, and witnessed the victory ot Martini-Henry in the Melbourne Derby and Cup. The committee of the Te Aroha Jockey Club have very*t»Tacefully given signification of their appreciation of the services of their hon, secretary, Mr P. Puvitt, by presenting him with a handsome English saddle and silver bit. The presentation was made to Mr Pavitt last week. At Kawhia lately an old native died while sitting on his horse. One of the inevitable effects of the meat freezing industry has already begun to make itself felt in the South. The <JhriBtcimrch butchers have raised the price of meat Id per lb. The following are the entries for the Oxford races, to be run on Boxing Day :— Maiden Plate.-— Quilp, Flying Mary, Whalebone, Snake, Joe and Bull's Eye. Hurdles. — Quilp, Old Ireland, Whalebone and Chanticleer. — Cup. — Flying Mary, Larry, Snake and Joe. There will be no Band of Hope mooting next Monday evening. Under the superintendence of Mr F. Pavitt, architect, tht» additions to the Premier Hotel, Waiorongomai, are making rapid headway. The additions include a commercial room, bar parlour, and a billiard-room on the ground floor, and ten commodious rooms above, making the total number of rooms in the hotel upwards of 30. A balcony will run along the entire Kenrick-street frontage. Mr West is the contractor. It is expected that the work will be finished about Christmas, and Mr Kilian intends to mark the event with a grand spread to the miners. Mr E. T. Roche has had a smart little steam launch built for him in Auckland, and he intends putting it on the Upper Thames trade. The machinery was manuf actui ed at Messrs A. & G. Price's foundry. Coal and iron seam have been discovered at Raglan. Mr Claud E. Purchas, a brother to Mr Gr. H. A. Purchas, of Te Aroha, has passed the Solicitors' General Knowledge Examination. It is stated that another attempt is to be made to establish a public house near the mines. We trust any applications in this direction will be promptly refused by the authorities. The country is dreadfully rough and, numerous fatal accidents would folloW the establishment of a grog shanty as surely as night follows day. " Lucky " Hunt, of Shotover fame, is at present prospecting at Karangahake. The assay value of the Te Aroha gold melted at the Bank of New Zealand was : — New Find, 53s per ounce ; Premier, 56s 8d ; Colonist, 56s 6d ; Werahiko, 48s 9d ; and Waitoki, 48s 6d. When this news reached the Aroha there wns a pretty genera] feeling of disappointment at the low value of the gold, especially after the high assays of the gold from the Welcome and other mines. It seems to be certain that the gold from this field will have as great a variety of values as the Thames gold, and the price obtained for the first month's crushing must not be taken as average value of our gold. We are given to understand that immediately after the Christmas holidays the Piako County .Council will call for tenders for the formation of the main roed between Te Aroha and Waiorongomai. The funds for the work are in hand, having been obtained from the Government under the provision of the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. While on this subject we would like to draw the attention of the County authorities to the bad state of the pack track up to the mines. On Monday lust we, inspected it, and can safely assert that in fully a dozen places there is a foot of soft clay on the roadway. This makes communication slow and laborious. We have received from an esteemed correspondent the following, characteristically Hibernian epistle which, without any* feeling of malice, we give verbatim et liberatim: — "Sir in reading , your last issue I think your report of the Consert &, Ball given in aid df the liomanpathilec Church Building fund^ hasent^donp Justice to thoßa good Leadys &'^Honerable Gintlemen who took such' active* Part in so Charitable institution. It is. scarcely suffisent thanks mearly to : mintion that Mist) uo & so sung, & Mr go & so. sung, but pearaon, that took Part should be mintioned and, the • part,, they took. Moid fitP iliuhmcn Htfll'p WILH Ml'H. LiIAVIeKS

whole always rearfytlb/leand a'Healping Hand'haa been Cneayer mentioued i^ fte jthe? ; liaB'Mißs Clearklwho is'a-sVce ofltfoy to: ;this place sense \ve;werfii'a bWased by. that young lendvs preasence. I don£ know who tp bleam or Win fait whether Correspondent or EnVbUt as a whole the report of Program is only a boil over thare>iß nl&o Miss WarieiTyhif Contented her selfe to hmnbley, set down nil night and play for the Bull & Mr Feeney who Could be onley Compared to an old Armey viteron never qnaled till the small hours brought the whole to n close. Signed Figfuludal (alis Michael W. D. OK.") [With reference to the complaint of our' correspondent, we may .mention that the< promoters of the concert are to blame for any inaccuracies in the report. The usual complimentary ticket was not sent to the Press, and the report had to be compiled from a variety of sources afterwards. Ed.] At a sitting: of the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday last the details of a women's quarrnl at Shaftesbury was gone into before M^esßrs Wells and Stafford, Justices of the Peace. The casus belli Was not made very clear, but the ladies seemed to have had a lengthy wordy duel. One of them was eventually bound over to keep the peace for three months. At the last meeting of the Thames County Council, Mr Cuff solicitor, wrote on behalf of Mr ,Jaroes Clarke, of Te Aroha • olnimirfjjp&jO^compensation for injuries and loss of time suffered' in consequence of his horse stumbling over a heap of stoneß placed on the main road at Kopu by the Council or its servants. Failing compliance an action for substan' tial danviges was threatened. — The County Engineer produced the specifications to prove that the contractors were required to keep the road open for traffic in such a manner as to enable tfie safe continuance of traffic during the progress of the work. — It was resolved to forward a copy of! the demand to the contractor, and hold him responsible for any action brought by Mr Clarke, and that the latter be informed that the Council recognise no 1 liability in the matter. An important announcement regarding Messrs Samuel Coombes and Company's Te Aroha branch appears in our advertisement columns. A cricket match between Te Aroha and Waiorongomai is on the tapis. This district possesses several "knights of the willow and tmndlers of the leather who would not disgrace the noble game anywhere, and ye think that during the holidays aTe Aroha team might be got together to play series of matches with some of the Auckland Clubs. Messrs Stafford, and Trude, and Lawless are men whom selection committees for Interprovincial matches should not forget. Mr C. Balcke*B stock of Christmas Gifts is well worth inspection. Mr A. H. Whitehouse aunounces that all purchasers of goods of the value of 10s and upwards will be entitled to a ticket for the drawing of £10 worth of goods, which will take place at the Pubic Hall on the 22nd insf. Mr G. S. O'Halloran has taken the late residence of Captain Moore, situated in close proximity to the Hot Springs, and has opened it as a first class boarding house, where visitors can be accommodated either by the day or week. The situation of the house is charming, and it will no doubt very soon become a favorite resort. The Rev Father O'Reilly will conduct mass tomorrow — at Waiorongomai, at 9 a.m., and at Te Aroha at 11 a.m., Messrs Wells and Soutter have afforded an additional proof of their enterprise by connecting their Te Aroha and W.iiorougomai stores by telephone. The cost of the connection, we understand, was £60. The Martha (Waihi) crushing is said to be improving. The manager obtained 200 ounces of amalgam last week. MrJ. F. Cocks announces in our advertising columns a distribution of gifts amongst his customers at Christmas. In conjunction with Mr Whitehouse he has taken the Public Hall, and the prizes will be drawn for at the same time. A dance will follow, and the proceeds arising therefrom will be handed over to the Library Fund. A meeting of the Library Committee was held on Saturday evening last, when there was a fair attendance of members. A lengthened discussion took place as to the hours of opening the Reading-room, and of otherwise extending the usefulness of the institution. It was finally resolved that in order to meet the requirements and suit the convenience of all classes of the community, the hours shall be as follow : On week days from 10 a.m. to 12 ; 2 to 4, and 7 to 9 o'clwck, p.m., on Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m., these being the only hours when the opening of the Readingroom will not interfere with* the Church services held in the ' adjoining hall. The Reading-room is free to all, but as its maintenance is largely dependent upon the subscriptions tj the Library (which is 58 per quarter), the committee trust to see shortly to see shortly a large increase in the number of members, and they are anxious to receive as many subscriptions as possible before' the end of the year, in order to secure a proportionate share of the Government grant in aid of Public Libraries, which will be distributed in January. As the institution kas yet only struggling into existence it is hoped the : community will readily lpnpond to the appeal of the committee by subscribing without delay. At the next meeting of the governors of the Thames High School (says the Star) a proposal is to be made to call one of the scholarships "The. Werahiko Scholarship," in memory of the late Hdno Werahiko, the discoverer of the To Aroha goldfield. Hono Werahiko has claims to grateful remembrance from the Thames High School, aft the revenue of the school is derived chiefly from Waiorongomai, Te 'Arohn, which is on the land set aside some.years ago as an endowment for the Thames High School. ; Master Kenriok, son of our respected Warden, has passed the Junior Civil Sovvice 'Examination. »- short time ago Messrs Wells ana! Soutter wrote to the Chief Postmaster^ urging the establishment of a daily mail sei'yice between- Hamilton and* Te Arohu/ /The) following r«.ply lnut been received /from Mr' Biss :— r <* Gentlemen, —I am directed tb.infonn you, in reply to your letter of the 44tji-,qjtimo, that the, Poht- ■ I master-General f regretH he is unable* to' establish a daily- mail service between 1 Hamilton, and Tv Arbha. ' It is uoheidorod

I;lial;tije^poBtal requirements of the district tire at-; present met^'by the daily service jl f rom Thames, and the triweekly mail 5 erbm Waikato/V , < /' ■*• Mr McLevnon, watchmaker and jeweller of Jiarnilton, has opened a brunch at mil ' r te Aroha. : Messrs Macky Bros, have a boiler and j engine for sale. t - [ ' J At the quarterly meeting of the Ohinemuri Licensing Commissioners on Saturday lubt, Mr N. Cleary's application for a license for a .public house at Karangahake was struck out. i Strange to say, the frightful catastophe ; which has just taken place at Java was predicted two years affo by a scientist of 1 the name of Delaunary, in a memoir presented to the French Academic dcs Sciences in 1881. M. Delannay indicated August 2, 1883, as the probable d>ito of the cataclysm, and thus made a mistake of two days. In the same memoir he states that another and more terrific convulsion of nature will take place in the same spot in 1886. Blackburn and Miller wrestled in Melbourne on November 7 fdr £100 a side, "- catch as catch can above the waist use of legs, tripping allowed," There were five falls. Blackburn clean cross-buttocked Miller twice, but Miller, with the arm hold, threw Blackburn over his head three times times, with ease. There was great excitement over the final tussle. Complaints are made that though the County Council are spending some £50 or £60 per month in repairs to the Te ArohaWaiorongoumi road, it is still almost unpassahle for the simple reason that the men employed do not touch the worst places at all but|go on tinkering upjthe better portions. We are assured that £25 worth of properly made titree fascines — not untied handfuls of of short scrub— would enable goods to be carted to Waiorongomai at 10s per ton. The Thames High School Governors have, expressed their willingness to find the money to make Kilgour street, which is the worst portion, when the 1 County Council are ready to go on with the work. The Council should apply for the money at their next meuting.