35

a—2

The cash received was £102 6s. less than for the preceding year and the expenditure decreased by £105 lis. 3d. On the 20th November, when the river was in high Hood, a serious break took place in the Taratnakau pipe-line at a point in the river-bed about 180 ft. from the south bank, where the 30 in. castiron pipe is broken, and the lino disconnected. For the past two yeai'Sjthe river has been scouring considerably, from the old No. 3 channel upwards, probably owing to the fact that very little tailings have b3en deposited in the river during that time ; but no indication of scour was visible in the deep water where the pipe broke, and the damage may have been'due to the landslip from the south bank, which occurred on the date of the break, causing a boil or scour and thereby bridging the pipes. Lawrence and party, after going to considerable expense in driving a tail-race and equipping their claim, started sluicing a few days before the break occurred, so three parties comprising twelve men were thrown idle by the accident. Should the Government decide to restore the pipe-line, it is more than probable that five or six parties will be purchasing water from this race before the end of the ensuing year. Erin-go-Bragh Water-race. The cash received for sales of water from this race for the year ended 31st March, 1916, was £347 12s, 2d., and the expenditure on management, gauging, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £304 6s. 6d., showing a credit balance of £43 ss. Bd. on the year's transactions. The average number of miners supplied with water was twelve, an increase of 1-17 on the previous year ; and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by them was 816 oz., having a value of £3,182 Bs., an increase of £1,076 Bs. on the last year. The sales of water amounted to £387 lis. Bd., an increase of £165 3s. Bd. on the previous year. The cash received showed an improvement of £133 ss. 2d., and the expenditure decreased by £67 2s. 6d. as compared with the year previous. The sales of water showed a substantial improvement on the preceding year. Wainihinihi Water-race. There was a good supply of water from this race during the year, and, together with the water from the Kawhaka Creek and the additional supply from the new Waimea Branch Race, the Waimea siphon was running full all the year. No breaks occurred, and the race is now in good order, but about sixteen or eighteen intermediate sets of timber are required in the tunnels above Caretaker Walker's hut to ensure safety. Waimea-Kumara Water-races. The following is a summary of the revenue and expenditure of these races for the year ended 31st March, 1916 : Sales of water, £2,067 3s. sd. ; cash received, £1,919 12s. Id. ; expenditure, £2,096 os. 2d.; approximate value of go.d obtained, £14,991 12s. ; average number of miners employed, 63-51. The sales of water showed a decrease of £305 2s. 6d., and the cash a decrease of £179 Is. 2d., on the previous year, but at least £120 of the debit balances outstanding on the 31st March should be recovered during the ensuing year. In addition to the above sales, authorized free water value of £224 19s. Bd. was supplied to parties opening up new claims. The total expenditure on the combined races was £2,096 os. 2d., as againstJ£2,22B 17s. 7d. for the year, a decrease of £132 17s. sd. Comparing the sales of water with the expenditure, the combined races show a loss of £28 16s. 9d. for the year.

Summary, showing Results of working the Waimea-Kumara Water-races during the Year ended 31st March, 1916.

Mount Ida Water-race, Central Otaco.--Mr. J. C. Buchanan, Manager. The total sales of water from the Mount Ida Water-race during the year amounted to £1,185 15s. 7d., a decrease on that of last year of £208 3s. Bd. The expenditure on maintenance, cleaning, and repairs for the same period] amounted to £1,496 J.9s. 5d., a decrease on that of last year of £55 lis. 4d. The total cash received was £1,185 15s. 7d.

Co] [lateral Advantages. Name of Water-race. Expenditure. Cash received. Outstanding Sales of Water. 1916. •HH O s. a 4H O rr) "-s 9 o o 'S o o Value of Gold obtained. Waimea Kumara Callaghan's Trarts-Taramakau Erin-go-Bragh £ s. d. 701 14 0 475 9 10 428 18 10 185 11 0 304 6 6 £ s. d. 913 18 7 214 14 0 285 3 3 158 4 0 347 12 2 £ ' s. d. 933 16 1 341 7 11 263 9 7 140 18 2 387 II 8 £ s. d. 39 9 6 408 13 8 91 10 7 130 2 2 56 14 6 24-75 13-41 6-94 6-41 12-00 1,557 652 543 276 816 £ s. d. 6,072 6 0 2,542 16 0 2,117 14 0 1,076 8 0 3,182 8 0 Totals and averages 2,096 0 2 1,919 12 1 2,067 3 5 726 10 5 63-51 3,844 14,991 12 0