Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1895.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1752, 20 July 1895, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE.

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1895.

'■'•This above all—to thin# own salt bo toe®, \nd it toast follow as the night the day Thou eanste not tinea be fal&o to any nan.' , ’ * Shakbsp*abb. ' .

"We fegret to hear that certain re. marks we thought it our duty to make two OB’ three weeks ago on the risk of over-speculating in mining adventures have been misunderstood by our-"Wai-orongomai friends, as intended to apply to them. Such was far from our meaning. At the time we wrote overy day saw three or four companies .floated on the Auckland market; shares taken up and changing hands at an advance of from S 3 to 50 per cent, in an hour or two. No field, however well established, could stand such suicidal speculation. On most of the ground pushed so confidently on the pyFdfCj and with such successful results to the promoters, not a pick stroke had been made; they were recommended on such grounds as that one was situated in a gully similar to the Hauvaki; and another commanded a view of the AVaihi mine, though actually five miles from it as the crow flies. So far as we know and believe the company which purposes investing , in Waiorongomai is a genuine venture, j

; and the past history of the plac' though u ifortunate, affords every, reason to believe that the new operations will be successful. This may appear paradoxical, hut is strictly true. The new people have everything in their favour, including the warnings of the past. An enormous sum was expended on an elaborate plant which cost at least 25 per -cent, more than necessary —50 is probably nearer the mark ; the systematic work done on the hill was extremely limited and confined to a couple of mines; the elaborate plant could not save what gold was won. It is now intended to thoroughly test the main reef throughout its length-and breadth ; in three places it has given in the past valuable returns, the New Find, the Canadian, . the Premier ; the money necessary for the purpose is to bo found, and money was never so cheap in the civilised world’s history as it is now in Ij<ondon, where it is absolutely hungering for employment. For treatment the cyanide process is now available with its recent developments, which will render possible a successful treatment of the slimes so prominent an element m local tailings, which have hitherto defied the Mc-Arthur-Forrest method. As the result of recent legal proceedings the cost will probably be largely reduced, either by the final reversal. of the patent or by judicious concessions on the part of its proprietors, A good deal of misconception appears to prevail as to the proceedings of the Fleming Syndicate. It has been complained that they seek - a monopoly of the hili; arid also that by their delays they are driving the scanty surviving, mining element out of the district. As a matter of fact they -are anxious to obtain.only the main reef on which no Work has been done for some time, and which was never really worked except in three places ; they are by no means eager for other .ground. No doubt they wouldgladly purchase such claims as the Loyalty and Palace, if these could be obtained at a reasonable figure ; but those who fancy that the success of these mines has been any element in the inducements which have led the syndicate here, and enabled them to command English capital, are utterly mistaken. The South African mines have shown the world the immense value of large reefs ! systematically developed on a large scale though worth only a few pennyweights to the ton. Waihi has emphasized the fact and has proved that we have such reefs in New. Zealand. Small reefs, however rich, of which there is no guarantee but that they are here to-day and gone • to-morrow, are no. temptation to the capitalist,’he has -lost enough by them already; what he wants is a reasonable guarantee of a continuous dividend. Men prepared to develop such reefs naturally require a large area; nor would it be fair that they should go to the expense of prov- ! ing. it,’ and others reap, the benefits of ! their enterprise and expense. We regret the delay in starting ! operations, but it appears to have been largely unavoidable. Negotiations with Loudon are tedious; so are surveys, and a thorough survey is necessary before the plan of oporatibns can be decided on or any detailed prospectus submitted to the market. Strange to say most of the complaints as to delay and starving out miners have come from those who have least right to complain. For the past two years or nearly so the Loyalty has given excellent returns, far exceeding the average per centage of ninety-nine mines out of a hundred. During all this time it has been worked by only four men, though the area was long thought ten, and recently proved -seven men’s ground." Protection to this extent was obtained time after time on the ground that only four men could profitably) work the ground, As, however, these j four made only'two. shifts, and often | worked in one, it is obvious to every-1 one that with three shifts from six to ! twelve could have beep employed. When the Warden insisted cn such a rich claim being properly manned the managers preferred forfeiting the extra ground, but with the advent of the Fleming Syndicate a ; sudden change took place in their views. In place of forfeiting 3 acres they have taken up some 165. This may be denied as all the shareholders are not identical, but the ruling spirits are the same. Talk about starving out miners comes with a very bad grace from these ; or even about monopoly, as ! they have practically monopolised the bulk of proven gold bearing country outside the main reef, y