GENERAL NEWS.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 114, 20 February 1872, Page 3

GENERAL NEWS.

Pinck the publication of our last summary on the 23rd January, we have had a continuance of very dry weather, scarcely any rain having fallen at all, except an occasional shower, until the day before yesterday, when rain came down copiously, and has continued to do so at intervals until the time wc write. 'l’his drought has had anything hut a beneficial effect on the gold returns of the month. Many hundred tons being stacked ready for crushing, hut the mills being stopped for want of water. This has been a serious drawback, hut, nevertheless, the yield this month has been greater than that of the preceding one by several thousand ounces. T here is nothing to shake the confidence which is Jelt in the richness and permanency of the field. With plenty of water for crushing purposes there can he little doubt, of. the maintaining the reputation of being one of the richest goldfield in the World. Evidence (if people not having at all lost faith in the place in consequence of the temporary depression is evinced by the new buildings which still continue to spring up in all directions. Nothing more has been done in reference to the water supply except, tbe submission of plans to the Government, who, it. is to be hoped, will sec their way to bring in such a supply as would reach all the batteries on tho field, and induce claimholders in tne vicinity to erect others. We see no reason to alter the opinion we have already given—that the expenditure of £100,()t!t) on a high-level scheme, which would bring in the water at a height of 500 feet above the sea. lev el—-would be true economy. If the Government does not undertake the work, it is to he hoped the capital required will he found by a private company. That it will prove an excellent investment there can hardly he a doubt. Taking the present water supply to the Thames and Gralinmstown at 14 gallons per day to each person, and taking the population at ten thousand, the amount of water found at the high level has been proved to he thirty times greater during the driest season that has occurred for years 'Tiiere can he very little hesitation, therefore, in endorsing the reports of .Messrs. Blockett and O’Neill, the civil engineers : that there will he an ample supply in all ordinary seasons, but even if these goldfields had a supply at high level even for nine months out of the twelve it would he a very profitable speculation for any company to undertake. Upon the whole, the mining prospects of the district are most satisfactory, and the day is evidently approaching when the OliiiieiiHiri country, which is known to he more or less auriferous, will he opened throughout. Ihe telegranh wire is now being stretched across this forbidden country, and we shall, in a few weeks, he in uninterrupted communication with Wellington and the South. A line is also about to he com-

menced from the Thames to Coroniand !. which latter place is rapidly advancing into notice, and increasing so much in mining importance as to warrant the undertaking. The far famed

Kapanga Company’s ground is now being worked again, and through the instrumentality of Mr A. Thomas and others, English capitalists have been induced to invest, in the undertaking. Fully £5,000 will be. spent during the next six months, on machinery and buildings alone. The re-opening of this extensive

mine, from which it will not lie forgotten that more than three tons of gold were obtained under the old company’s operations, will give a great stimulus to all the neighborihg mines. The tunnel which is now being carried through the Tokatca range, from the Coromandel to the Kennedy Bay side, is one of the most important works which has been undertaken on any portion of the field. The wmk is being pushed on vigorously, and great results arc confidently .anticipated. The reefs in the UpperTararu district hold out good prospects of payable resulls when passable roads and additional crushing facilities shall have been provided. At Tiki prospects are again brightening, and Mr Bees, the speculating barrister of Auckland, has offered a reward of £3OO for ihe discovery of a payable leader on a certain piece of ground cm (ho hanks of the Mataw.'.i crock, from which good specimens have Tom time to time been obtained, hut the reef has evaded the search of the prospectors so far. The reward of £3OO, although not a largo sum, is handsome as coining from one individual, and will probably be supplemented by others having an interest in the locality, so that sufficient inducement will he given for a thorough prospect along the hanks of the Matnwai and adjoining creeks and gullies, which can hardly fail to lie suc-

cessful. In connexion with this subject it will probably ho remembered that a considerable balance of the £5,000 reward offered for the discovery of a payable goldfield in the Province some four years ago lias never yet been paid, and it might be very judiciously expended in rewards for the successful prospecting of a large portion of country known to lie more or less gold hearing, but which has not yet burn properly prospected. Wc arc sorry to have to report several serious mining accidents having occurred during the mouth, and the necessity of establishing an accident fund to meet such casualties is being pressed on the notice of the miners generally, and seems likely to he taken up readily and liberally supported. 'The new Mining Districts Bid ic.s been brought into operation, hut the regulations to ho framed under it have not yet been promulgated, and it is so far impossible to predict how it will work. It may safely he said of it, however, that the interest of the capitalist has been carefully studied throughout, and it ha-s been drawn by one of the leading lawyers in their intenst. 'There has been very little law in the Warden’s Court during the past month. The only ease of any great importance Thomas v. Bright Smile, in which a question of milling on alleged private property is involved —has been adjourned pending proceedings in the Supreme Gourt. 'The continuation of the sea-wall and road along the beach, from Haven Street to tln: Grahamstown wharf is rapidly progressing, and when completed, will he an important addition to ihe local improvements of the place. This will be another important instalment of the beach road, which is eventually to run fia to Tararu to Shorthand direct.

'The municipality is still a vexed question—considerable opposition having arisen —not so much as to the formation of a Municipality, of which the advantages are patent as to being incorporated under the existing Act which is considered by many to be unnecessarily cumbrous, and uusuiled to tbe peculiar (enure under which the goldfield is held. In this matter it is very desirable that there should he unity of action. It one portion of the .inhabitants pull one way, and another tbe reverse, the matter will bo brought to a dead-lock, and the establishment of a most desirable institution, which would he the first step tow/.rds the Thames obtaining control over its o.vn revenue, will fail to the ground or he greatly retarded. 'The new English Church of St. George was opened by the Right Rev. Bishop Cnwie on the 2‘Jlli January. The usual services were performed in a very impressive manner, and a most eloquent sermon, appropriate to the occasion, was preached by the Bishop. about I.GOO persons were piesent, amongst whom were many of our local Volunteers. In the evening the Rev. 4. Lush, the Incumbent, gave an excellent address to another large congregation. The increasing population of the. district will soon necessitate the employment of an assistant clergyman at St. George’s, and it is most satisfactory to find that, amid the inateii.il prosperity of the goldfield, the spiritual wants of the community are not being allogi thcr neglected. C)n the 281 h January the anniversary reunion of the Thames Sunday Schools took place, and a most interesting gathering was held. Nearly 2,000 children were present, and a large nmnh.T of teachers and friends. Cricket, football, foot races, and all sorts of games were played. Refreshments wore liberally provided, and a most enjoyable day was spent. Not much has been doing amongst the sharebrokers lately, and their numbers have been greatly reduced by tbe new Act which has "lessened their numbers on tins field from about (10 to 4, and in Auckland a still greater reduction in proportion lias taken place. An extraordinary case has been investigated during the past month at the Auckland Police Court. Cyrus Haley, wellknown in the town, was charged with setting lire to two haystacks, the property of Mr Thomas Russell ; also with shooting at that gentleman’s son, and further, with setting lire to a kerosene store at Mechanics’ Bay. The prisoner lias been committed for trial, and therefore we shall n f »t imitate the example of some of our contemporaries, by commenting on the case, further than by saying it exhibits some singular features. Letters have been produced in evidence sworn to he in prisoner's handwriting, in which lie says that lie and others have united together to destroy £IOO,OOO worth of properly. and live lives of the most obnoxious people in the place. We have had plenty of amusements at the Tlinuus lately—there being performances nightie at both ilieatres. At the Theatre Royal, Professor Ilaselmayer has been exhibiting conjuring tricks quite equal, if not superior, to Anderson or any otlur professor of the “Black Art we oversaw. Last night, the Zavistowski sisters, who have creat ’d quite a in Aiiki’ica and Australia, made their first .appearance lore, and created a most favourable impri ssioii. Mr 1 humpsoii, tin- agent of the Australian Mutual Provident Soeb-.v, has been giving some very able lectures here on the advai tagu s of liio assurance, and a large number of persons have invested. considering the many rival office.', to be contended with, and the fact that the GoverniiKi t itself now takes up this kind (.f business. Surrounded as the gold-digger is with many temptations,

and with constant liability to accident, added to tho general speculative nature of his business, the prudence of securing a provision for his old age cannot he too strongly urged ; and if Mr Mr Thompson has succeeded in impressing this fact upon his hearers, as he appears to have done, lie has done good service not only to tlie company with which he is connected, but to the community generally.

The news df the convalescence of the Prince of Wales was received at tlie Thames with imieli satisfaction. There is no more loyal or law-abiding population to he found anywhere, and whilst they have net as a rule any great veneration fur the sacredness and divine right of Kingship, they look upon the British form of Government as about the best, and being strongly attached to the mother country, would he sorry to see any violent shock offered to the Constitution. 'The feeling that England now regards her Colonies with more attention than formerly, has a great deal to do with preserving the strong link by which the old com dry and her dependencies are bound together, and the fact that English capitalists feci confidence in colonial securities is another strung bond of union. One thingstrikes Ihe majority of people here with astonishment, and that is, that the half-starving agricultural labourers of England prefer to remain in their present condition to exchanging it for the comfort and plenty of the Sunny South. If it he true that Dr Featherstone has to go to Norway and Sweden fur immigrants because English labourers will not come here, it is a singular fact. On (lie 1 .'ItI) instant the Star of Ilauraki Tent of Kecliahitcs held their annual festival. About 4 ! *() persons were present. The report, which was read hv the Secretary, showed the Tent to lie in a most nourishing condition, and that large numbers were being added to the association. Without at all desiring to enter into the vexed question whether or not fermented and spirituous liqticrs taken in moderation are beneficial, of which quite as mneb may he said on one side as on the other, wc can cordially approve of all efforts mails in the cause of temperance, and the fact that the cause is well supported at the Thames is a subject of congratulation. The last meeting of the Managing Committee of (be Thames Land, Building, and Investment Society was held on the j L'Jtli instant, when the statement of | accounts was produced, and shewed that, i although the Society is only six month's old, it lias fairly started on the road to success.

The Right Rev. Dr (Yoke, Roman Catholic Bishop of New Zealand, paid another visit to the Thames on (lie 11th instant, and was cordially greeted, not only by those of his own block, hut by members of all denominations, who crowded the church in Willough-strect in the evening to hear his Lordship preach, and tlicv were not disappointed, for a most impressive discourse was delivered on ‘•Confession,” which was listened to throughout with the most devout attention by tiic large congregation present. Since the arrival in the colony of Dr Croke, lie lias gained golden opinions from men of all creeds, and the presence of such a man cannot fail to be beneficial in a colony which, our friends at lmmo may remember, has no State Church, and where all denominations are on an equal footing. The good old English game of cricket, together with boating and horse-racing, have not been forgotten, ami this month bus witnessed several contests in these difi'erent branch's of sport, which have been very end it.able to those who took part in them, and proved highly interesting to the spectators. Railways and other works have been commenced in the province. As yet no line is projected which will touch the Thames, but probably a branch along the I’iako to connect, us with the line now in course of construction from Auckland to tin’ Waikato is not far distant.

By far the greater supply of coal which is used on this field is drawn from the Bay of Islands Coal Company's mines, and we are sorry to hear that, through the great influx of of water into their shafts, they have temporarily to suspend operations. 'These mines, and the trade ensiling from them, employ a large number of men and vessels, which will he out of employment until work is resumed —a state of things much to he regretted, but which will, no doubt, soon be rectified.

The virtues of the hot springs in the neighhoureood of Taupo have been long familiar to Colonial readers, and, were the wonderful cures r. fleeted by them in eases of rheumatism and cognate diseases more generallv known in England, a large number of invalids would, in all probability, be brought to these shores for health alone. Another valuable discovery of a similar cluster of hot springs has been made at Oliiwni, in the Bay of Islands district. The waters, administered internally, or used in bathing, have produced some, astonishing cures. Mr M‘Lcod, who represents (tie district in the House of Representatives, is about to erect a suitable establishment, for the reception of visitors. Mr M‘Lcod has leased the land from the natives. Quicksilver is found in large quantities in this locality, and, as it is very extensively used in mining and is very expensive, this is a very valuable discovery. Quicksilver now cosis about 4s per lb. If ns our (ontempornry the Auckland llmilil says, “ we can supply ourselves, we shall etlcet a considerable saving iti our expenditure,” —a proposition which is sell-evident. There is strong evidence that a very valuable scam of coal exists in the neighbourhood of the Miranda Creek, »;i Ihe opposite of the Thames River, the lull her delopinent of which cannot he very far distant. This will add another 1o the many sources of wealth which lie at our feet. Although there is a temporary depression in some mines, there never was a time at which the resources of the district were more promising, and the facts must ere long speak ior themselves. Immigration of the right kind, and a corresponding influx of capital introduced at tin.' present time, cannot fail to he advantageous to all concerned in their int reduction as well as to the prospects of the Thanies.generally, and, indeed,of the whole colony.