MINING MEMORANDA. HISTORY OF THE AMADOR MINE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 223, 9 May 1872, Page 8

MINING MEMORANDA. HISTORY OF THE AMADOR MINE.

A San Francisco letter says: — Alvinza Hayward is the hero of a story equal to " Monte Christo." He is a Vermonter,, who operated with a man named Chainberlaine in a gold lead, which was full of indications, but yielding nothing tangible. Chamberlaine at last went away disconsolate, giving Hayward all his interest. The latter worked at the thing for months, and was buried deeper and deeper into the ground ; but at last his family was next to starving, all his labourers left him, and he knew no friend in the world except Chamberlaine. "My God ! " he said to this man, who had meantime beeh engaged in stock-rais-ing, v I am on the verge of this great strike. I know it. Can't you give me a little money?" Chamberlaine had been on the verge himself several times, and he shook his head sadly. But he had 3000 dollars— his allburied under a haystack near by, and he went and dug it up. "Take it, old fellow," he said with Californian heartiness ; "do your best." Witfi this money Hayward recommenced, and he had worked until it was all spent,nd a his men were reduced to a bag of beans for nourishment, when to the gleam of hope, the precious ore blazed suddenly, up, and the Amador mine was the richest in the world. When this mine was paying 40,000a month Hayward made over to his friend one perfect third of it. Chamberlaine retired .upon 1,500,6^)0 dollars, and moved east to educate his children, Hayward buying back the^whole. Finally, even Hayward grew tired, and he sold out the mine to a stock company, of which General Colton is president. The mine will make 450,000 dollars net this year, and Colton said last week, "The Amador mine will hold out longer than we will." Three races, to carry in the aggregate fifty heads of water, are being brought on to Wbitechapel Flat, Arrow district. One or two of the parties intend to apply for subsidy from the-Q-eneral Grovernment. A Whitechapel Flat correspondent of the " Arrow Observer " recommends that the Government should grant no subsidy to parties bringing in water races until work has . been done amounting^in value to the advance required. ' * ■ '• A company called- the Otago Gold Sliuing Water Race Comp"any has been formed at St. Bathans to bring in a race thereto. The projected race is to be thirty miles in length, is to carry twelve heads of water, and is to be completed in twelve months. The^nnexed is an interesting comparison, taken from the' Government returns, of the difference between the prices of provisions and the rate of wages paid on two goldfields of the colony, those of the county of Westland and of the Thames :— We*tland. Thames. s. d.o s. d. Flour, per 1001 b. . .27 0 20 0 Butter, per lb. . . -.13 10 Bacoii, per lb. . . '.14 10 Candles, per lb. • . .16 10 Bread, 21b. . .- .10 0 5 Potatoes, perewt.. . '. 32 0 6 0 Miners, per day . , .15 0 7 0 Labourers, per day . . 10 0 6 0 Carpenters, per day ... 20 0 — Female domestics, per week 30 0 — Male domestics, per week . 50 0 — > v The quantity of gold obtained from 164 claims and Companies at the

Thames from May, Ist, 1870, to June 14th, 1871, wjas 271,2290z., to abtain which "101,587 tons of stone . were crushed. At Coromandel, for the same period, 1,797 tons of stone were crushed, which produced 7,65 6oz. of gold. .

The amount of gold exported from the province of Auckland from January 12th, 1870, to June 30th, 1871, was 234,7690z., of the value of d 6848,544. Of silver exported over the same period, there were 63,9310z.. of the value of £19,585. The last washing up of the Cromwell Company, Bendigo Gully, resulted in a cake of 280oz. from 184 tons of stone.

A correspondent of the " Australasian," writing from Brisbane on March 23, says : — " The most important event of the past month has been the discovery of a large ' tin ' field, situated partly in Queensland and partly in New South Wales, forty miles or so from Warwick. Large quantities of ' stream ' tin have been obtained, from some, specimens of which the yield of pure metal has been has high as seventy-seven per cent., with a small percentage of silver. Numerous selections of land have already been secured on both sides of the border, and the Land Office in Brisbane is besieged- every dj,y by applicants in search of mining areas. The special reporter of the " Brisbane Courier," who has"visited the ground, speaks in unmeasured terms of the wealth of the tin district, and states that population is rapidly setting towards the new fields. In Brisbane a company has been projected already to>work a large area ; and we hear that in Sydney the new discoveries have created quite as much excitement as in Brisbane, and generally throughout southern Queensland."