SHAG VALLEY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 295, 25 September 1873, Page 5

SHAG V ALLEY.

, (From our Mining Corresfo'ndent.) » , * [ September 17th. better late 'than never will no doubt be yoJir verdict on receipt of fc"his, although the news'lrbtn". this ' place 'is scant. The trttfcn'-^'-I'&nx' >iat my' wits' end tp^ "ftiid- -some .passable: redson.? at««Uiu£or' '. writing!. thi^ month* :, But idea ; of yoqr thinking, me neglectful your in.terest ,{>rpved,tp9 att;ong fprresisj,ance, therefor^ m ;the -wpr'dsj of "the clown,, "'here we are again-"' ' ; ' > " !. ' « ' - All thejiomi^nig^heje^areat ptesehti-at avstandstyij.itibeing; utteriy^imnosaible to obtain' crtal, for 'crushihg 'pilrpb'se'&y owing to^ the- impassittle state i>f fhe'rrtad'tio'itlie' ■pit 'at Sh"a<4 Points •» Tlie several companies, ih Operation. Iwve'. have; np doubt selves to blaruafor such "a state of :a%irs. (viz.; stoppage of .work-in not haV;ng,^lie.

forethought of laying in a stock of coals during the summer months, and thus been in a position to have continued Crushing when wiUer'was plentiful. I understand . that Mf.' ■ Itellr '^W- manager 'bf'm: S ! Kag ( Valley Freehbld 06.;'contemjilates making Snothfer stdrir shortly— that is as soon 'p.s, he is ' able 1 to get a supply of coal: , 'It is a great pity" to see such a splendid, plant as this Company possess.' with plenty of payablo stone to keep it continually employed, lying so idle. I cannot find out' the intention of the Perseverance .Co., but' 'hear they do not ' intend making another start at present. The Shamrock' Co.' are waiting for the weather to ( take up,' and the Shag Valley Co, 'to be in a position to crush a trial lot of stone for them. . Cooper and Co. have scot' into difficulties, all through mismanagement ; no competent person to take charge or responsibility," and therefore 1 no interest in the affair, soon told its tale— everything Went to the dogs, summonses were taken out against the Company by ( the workmen and storekeepers. The plant was seized to pay their demands, and So exit the firm of Cooper and Co. I hear that Mr. Goullar, of Dunedin, the owner of the plant and reef, is endeavoring to form a party to work it on the tribute system, and I do hope he succeed, for there is ho question of its being payable, if .property managed. Soma of the alluvial mines in the out gullies aro doing remarkably well ; but those at work en the Shag' River and along its banks are'at present idle, owirig to the latenoo'ds: . ' ' "' ' Coal, and not "quartz, fevkr here, just now is epidemic. " Nearly every landdwner you meet' has. his 'pockets stuffed with samples 'of lignite, and the talk is nothing but coal, lignite. royalty, indications, &c." All this has arisen from the fact thai' 'a company is likely 'to be organised for the purpose of prospecting for coal in fheTvalley of the Shag River. I feel confident' it "would prove <a paying speculation, for coal is -known to exist in large quantities up and down thes valley. The ranges on the eastern , side being composed of spar,, limestone, with.foasil sjiells, - ttc. i large seams of lignite, apparently \i 'ino3t extensive d6pdsit, are to be found ixi : the Creeks' leading from the range, biit tha qualityjis sulphurous, with a strong smell.' But it is the opinion of practical and expert coal miners that the Shag Point black coal will be struck by sinking; combination and. a small amount; 6f capital 1 only/being fe^triredyo develops its' readnrcesl ' Onle' very gi'tJat' ' -advantage the company will derive will be* the iclo3e proximity'to a- -market, it being within a short dißtance l of 'Palmerston, with a^ood road both summer and winter ; and should they succeed getting coaj any thing like that obtained at Shag ,Poi|it, wotild, when thq railway is completed, command the Dunedin, Oamarn, and a large portion of "the up-country trAdel • I believe one very great drawback to the' formation of the company, is the exorbitant demands made by some of the owners, of land (it is all' freehold) for prospecting and. working the coat on th^ir land.' .They seem to' fancy, sincfr the' late survey'of the rail-'way'line-to:; Pjilmfevst6n and the 1 prtaent Idgh prices of grain, &c, that their fortunes- are made, and they are therefore pretty caref.ul iv not asking too little for the privilege, &c. It must be patent to everyone here they are pursuing a regular cnt-throat policy, for they,, like, the rest of the community, would be- greatly benefited j by "having a' coal-pit approachable at any time '(instead of, as at present, only during thei su tiwi&r /seasqn,;). • and again competition, I. fancy, would do no.harm. But should coal be found, I imagine it will materially increase the value of their properties. Therefore, I think, they should carefully* consider the pros, and 'cotih'.. and act ' liberally with m'eu that are prepared- to" go -to the expense (and it is a great expense) of prospectmg for.coal, and , who' would .thereby ultimately assist to . enhance thp value of their land. I trust in my .next to be .able to .inform you 4 of the starting of the company, for should they be successful in obtaining gqod coal, '{'look upon it- not only as an invaluable -benefit to the" district, but to the province generally," ' '^^ '*' ■ ' . ; -We were -justs beginning t©> congratulate ', ourselves tiiat- the) winter was over, the last month hftying.been #so fine - hard, drying ..winds, ,bejng the order of the day, .whicji gijeatly improved" the roadsv , But aforttiigh^ ago we experienced the 1 heaviest rainfall' &ver''kribwri'' here by the oldest ■inhabitants'." Ift fastedsorfie- fi^fr' ; or six fi.aua-3 ; ! ' the iateeks! and t river's rose in a jsaort\time;"to an, alarmins: pxtent, »n<J ■after. the rainstopped. as .quickly subsided. It was: providential, that it abated vvhen it did, or the cohsequei^ces must have been serious. 'As r it was', I near 1 that sbme'farmers have, sustained greal damage through the creek overflowing and 'washing away, large quantities oP cultivated •soil, grain and all ; and in spme places it is washed bare to the clay^ Since- then we have had , constant showers, and high .winds until Wednesday last, when we were'favorßa 'with a cbiitinual . succession of 'squalls, ' ' ac'cbmpanie'd-'-wlth storms- of Thail ahd ! sn6Tii J c6vering!thb ground' to 1 a considerable videpth- (by. fan. the heaviest fall of snow we have had. )' Tt fell heavily .along the greater part of the range. towards the valley, the wintry covering lying to "the 'deptji of 1 a foot or more, while if was considerably -greater 1 fnrther u^-country. On Thursday ib rained incessantly all day, causing the snow to melt,'and culminated in a greater-flood than the previous one. .'Thp* , rivers I've greatly /swollen, and in many places have pve/flowed their banks, and inundated la,rge". tracts of country-. .It is to be feared mucji clama?9 ha.st_beeu done to early sown crops in this district, " especially'^hose nearest the coast. ' T'eiirs were at one" time entertained for the dams 'belonging "to the 1 Shag Vatiey and Perse- . verance Ca.sj but, I any happy to say, they withstood .the test, although the water was flowing over the embankments, the by-washe3 not being capable of carrying the large volume of water. We have had frequent showers ever' since, which, . ' With' Hihe" sn'dw'm'eltin'g'u'p-country-," has 'keps tli6 jivers "very 'hif^i:. i: *'Tt!e D'ttheftin boaclv mail,; 1 passengers,* <fccJ,- weia i«ot able to. crosrir. on Friday-;- aiid, yesterday , thecoaph !( <Jatpe;as.far asj^e.ry-alley^biit returned tpj^own—^dpDevin^ not, considering it ,pFudenf to attempt crossing, •as" the fordr&h ' oxtfr" sdp<s' (i*'w r crossed three times) is 'very ' 'dangerous.' •' Tlie 1 'pai&untfeis' i fti£ l tnus''pnt' to a great ex . /^enie/kaiiiing^tiPdimeraton until able to^ . !«W)ss, j T^iimail is ;also; AQl^Y^t !//It"i is • JSL. > b P h°i>e4o% . -1 T»»ppkft l Ti R ieB l », for ' _feu^TC-o^n^^Jbrj^ts f^ ;i n^yQrw.^

this way, or else you may be prepared for any amount of grumbling from your subscribers. Would it not be policy on the part of -the - ruling powers if they v>ok steps to tnake the road -passable and the river bridged ove"r, considering the hundreds of passengers and thousands of tons of goods that pass over it annually? It is just reported that the Oamaru coach was capsised on- Friday in attempting to cros3, but happily no serious consequences followed. The railway question attracts considerable attention. The branch route via Waihemo or Shag Valley gains ground daily, although strongly opposed by the folk, who are afraid that some of the crumbs will naturally fall to other tables than their own. Mr. J. L. Gillies may thank the Palmerston electors for giving him the majority at the late election for a member for Waikouaiti in the Assembly, he being an opponent of the above line. The lambing season commenced in this district last month ; but since the late severe weather it is painfnlly apparent that the number of early lambs have sadly decreased — large numbers being seen lying dead on the ranges. The late weather has also retarded the farmers, who were busy getting in their seed, potatoes, &c. Although the early sown crops, wheat, grass, &c, are looking very well, and proolaim the advent of spring, still sharp frosts have prevailed several nights, and the weather at present looks very unpropitious.