MINING NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 152, 5 January 1871, Page 7

MINING NEWS.

Wednesday's "West Coast Times" ropoi'tsthat -'aiush, which is likely to be important, took place at the 'Paddock' on Monday, at midnight, and long before daybreak yesterday the whole of the ground was pegged o^t. About eighteen months ago,, che Fifeshire Lead, situated in, the Big Paddock, was lost, and tlioftgh many attempts at the time vere made to discover it, they wera unavailing, nuid the place was -abandoned. Recently, however, M'Quilkin and party, while driving in^m old shaft some distance from where the lead had broken off, came upon payable gold, and following up the discovery, they have proved without a doubt that the old lead has been discovered. The lead was lost about half-way across the Paddock, and where the present discovery has been made is a considerable distance from that point, but in a line with it, so there is ,every probability that the whole ofe-'the intervening ground will be found to bo auriferous. The gggund has been taken np and i>egged out to Mr. Castle's priv.ito property, or within a few hundred yards of the Tramway Station." A Kaiiicri correspondent of the " Westland Independent" gives the following account of the rush recently reported :—": — " All the

'available ground is now taken up. In fact., the claims are three feet deep all along the s>upposod line of the leads, and therefore you did perfectly light in .id vising str.mger.s to be cautious. Nine claims have been pegged out along the ' fancy line ' — four 011 each side of the prospectors. On the one side these claims lead into private property, and on the other into ground that has been aheacly worlsed out and abandoned. The prospector^ are M'Quilkin and party (five mers, and the prospect two to four grains of a very good sample of gold, being both finer and heavier than the rmvjority of gold that has been got in that district. The washdirl is from Sin. to 12 in. thick, of a loose wash, between two thin layers of a brown cement, and the shafts are about 95 feet deep. To the South of the prospectors, the parties on the compass line arc Davis and p-irty (four men) Griffiths and party (four men), Barney and party (four men), Forbes and party (six men). To the north of the prospectors are Whelm and party (four men). This party struck gold last, evening just as they were leaving off work for the day, but what the prospect was lam unable to say. ' Next to them, Westhorpe au.l party (four men), Whitfield and party (four- men), and Bishop and party (four men). The Black \ffawlc machine is close to the rush, and a tramway, less than half-a-mile long, would rer-ch all tho claims. Some lins spec 1 .--- ••■■> icna, lead ore, with ■ a pc '■■• .1 '^" >' silver, are stated by ifc> \ '. " •- ■ i'ress "'" ' to have been^Bkine ; fY'-v continuation of the i.-p..-. 2j.;th of the Waipai'r^^fcatliin 't ■ , " : - "*?w>y vince. >'<"::.--' , ( wi^^|^^^^^V^ • '-: g.-. • • ; v .).';iv.\'^ ■^^^^^^^^^^PJP J •:. ;, 1 kt.." fro 01 Hie ;•; i'r.'Vii'."- 01 <*!!- Timr I *-" •'•' , Waiha.ni, yj 11 J •<: I " .c month is n . >- J - : -OO covers the forking .v \ LI, OOO has been carried ' , -■ i or* c fund, and a dividend of ' o ; •!' '-.lare declared. The '- tj .'i .-I.orough Advertiser" mentions tlu-A " Over half a ton of gold (14,000ozs) was on Tuesday taken down by escort to Gastlemaine, for transmission to Melbourne. A new ' Jack ' coach and a team of four bay horses were specially sent up byMessi'S Robertson, Wagner, and Co., for the conveyance of the tv/easure."

The Land Transfer Act still hangs fire, as the Chief Registrar is at Canterbury, too busy with the settlement of his own private affairs to have time for any official duties beyond signing the vouchers for his monthly salary at the rate of £1000 a year. In the meantime,- Air. Gawler, the South Australian solicitor who has come down to teach Mr. Moorhouse his duties, and who,. it is said, is drawing £3 3s per diem in addition to his travelling expenses, is walking about doing nothing, as of course nothing can be done till the Registrar is here. Why Mr. Gawler should have been down at all is one of those official mysteries which the outer and ignorant world cannot penetrate. Mr. Moorhouse, as a professional man, should have been able t:> understand the Act, or, he might have gone to Australia to see how it worked. It was not necessary, however, that any extra expense should have been incurred in this respect, for the gentleman who has been appointed chief clerk in the Registrar's office, Mr. Geoi'ge M'lntyre who has been a member of the Hansard staff since 1867, was for some years in the Registrar's office in Tasmania, and is, I belive, fully acquainted with the practical working of the Torrens Act. Expense, however, seems no consideration with the Government in these days. The only wonder is, where the money comes from to meet all the expenses incurred. I believe tiie secret is that the powers given to the Government under the Temporary Loan Bill, passed in the last days of the last session, have been liberally used, and that with the kind assistance of the Bank of New Zealand, a considerable portion of the £500,000 has already been i*aised and spent.

A correspondent writes thus to a contemporary: — " Why is itthattherp arc iso many lawyers civ-pping np all over the colony 'at ti^ present time as candidates for oft'-e for the Assembly ? Is tLctfe not something ominous in tnis P I must confess lam somewhat sceptical of the patriot ism of these philanthropic gentlemen. I will go a step further, and would advise the electors not to increase too much that element in the house of our lawmakers. Is it not possible for more mischief to be done by lawocraey than has yet been done by squatocruey or clodocracy. The learned fraternity are nofr-rsutorious for their liberal views. I hope they -will pardon me if 1 express- a fear that a. fulness of their own craft has somettaujr to do with it. Was there «ob souief^h*; said about making land inoro easily J "~ transferable in the Assembly last session ? Lawyers can talk of liberal land laws, extension of the franchise, vote by ballot, &(.-., but when it comes to a case affecting their own pockets, will they bo like the farmer, whose bull was killed by his neighbour's bull ? Will the case being altered altor the case ? Let us have liberal land laws to secure settlement, but let us have chortp Law as we-11, ao in iich needed in |his colony. Will lawyers help ua to ishis ?