WARDEN'S COURT.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1521, 13 March 1885, Page 2

WARDEN'S COURT.

(Before Mr Warden Bird.)

Friday, March (ith, 1885,

David Archeraxdothkrs v. the Homeward Bound Gold MiNisa Company, (Limited.)

( Evidence concluded).

William Keenan : I am a miner and reside up Murray Creek at present, have been 12 or 13 years in the district ; I know the Homeward Bound lease, Boatman's; there is a tunnel on the ground ; it is better thau 5 years since it was driven ; it is between 200 and 300 f t; had been in the tunnel ; since it was put in the rails were lifted by the men who put in the tunnel and took them to another por tion of the claim where they started another piece of tnnnel about 25 or 80ft in length ; knew of no other work done on the lease except a little trenching on the surface ; just fossicking work that could be done in a few days ; there is a hut on the lease : would construct a tunnel such as is on the lea3e from 11/ to 13/- per foot.

George Poole . lam a miner living at Boatman's and have known the Homeward Bound lease for thirteen years ; helped Mr Woolley, district surveyor, to survey it and put in the pegs; I live convenient to the leas« and have been through it several times since it was surveyed by Woolley ; seven or eight years ago I had a con tract at the Specimen Hill and there were two men working on the Homeward Bound driving a tunnel ; they might have gone in about a couple of hundred feet ; they did not put in another tunnel, but they did a lot of prospecting on the surface on the north side of the reef ; don't know how long they were doing it ; it is such a long time ago that I don't know anything about the size, and dinieusions of the work they did do; I am speaking of about eight years ago ; havo bean on the ground off and on since ; have never seen any other work done on tho

ground since.

By Mr Lynch : I b«ve a rough idee of the strike ol the Welcome reef; from the position of the Homeward .Bound it was useless to do surface work on the lease ; they might do any amount it' they liked, l>ut there is uo prospect of working the ground to advantage until the Boatman's LowLevel is extended to their boundary ; the Low Level Tunnel is now being constructed to pass through the Home ward Bound lease ; as far as my opinion goes they have done all the prospecting they could on the surface ; th« Low Level Tunnel is being iriveu j by rock-boring machinery ; we are

Examination continued : What is known as the Welcome line of reef is supposed to run throncfh the Homeward Bound and Specimen Hill ground ; on the ground now held by the Specimen Hill Company about £20.000 has l*3n expended on surface workings, and the. result was unprofitable ; the ground was shaky — not solid ; there was more than one reef got in those workings but were very irregular, consisting of blocks interspersed with pug and generally lying flat ; there was a good deal of water in the workings which made them very unoomfitable and expensive ; to cut the line of reef in solid country and obtain drainage would be the best method of working the country ; the low level tunnel answers this purpose, and is in my opinion the proper course ; the amount expended upon tho Law Level Tunnel is £5416 19s 4d since, it was first stated, and on works in connection with it ; the Company is also further liable for £350 ; the wachinery and appliances cost L 1523 on thereabouts; th« machinery consists of an air compressor and rockborer ; have heard it said that the machinery is perfect of its kind, and no hitch has occurred since they started to work it ; the first agreement was between four companies aud subsequently four others joined in the undertaking and they came in on the tame terms; the tunnel is looked upon as one of the few things in the district which is likely to be attended with good results ; the Homeward Bound shareholders look upon it as a certainty that th«y will get the Welcome line of

driving a contract at 21/- per foot and r have made it pay ; the price of the ] driving would be 30/- or 32/6 by hand < labor; we can drive about 12ft to 1 15ft. per week more with the machinery f than we could by hand labor ; the i Homeward Hound is contributing to I thtt cost of this tunnel ; we are driving frein 100 to 120 ft. per month in the 1 tunnel ; wh have six men employed in < the tunnel and we cannot with ad- i vantage employ more ; I got a cli**que 1 for £50 from the Homeward Bound I Company for word done in driving the i tunnel. ' By tho Bench : We work three < shifts, two men being on each shift ; ] there is no room for more than two to ; work. By Mr Guinness : The Low Level will cut the Homeward Bound before it gets to the Specimen Hill. Thomas Lee : I am legal manager of both companies; the Homeward Bound Company has been wound up by resolution and its right have been transferred to the new company ; the resolution was passed on the 30th June 1883, at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders and the resolution was confirmed at the same time ; I have been the manager of the company since July 1879 ; could not say whether any other work than th« tunnels mentioned has been done on the lease ; the company have expended £840 in wages and mining goods since formation in January 1878; don't think any work has been done on the lease I during the last three years ; the Low i Level Tunnel Company commenced three years ago, and that is the only way to get into the ground. By Mr Lynch : The Homeward Bound Extended contributes to the Little Boatman's Low Level ; the latter is being driven to enable the Homeward Bound and other companies to reach their leases ; there ißa probability of its cutting the Welcome reef in the Homeward Bound lease ; in November 1881 the Homeward Bound proposed to the Welcome Company to extend their No. 5 level to the Homeward Bound boundary conjointly ; the Welcome refused and we were then obliged to fall back upon the Low Level Tunnel scheme, and the first contract was let three years ago ; the rent on the lease has been paid by the new company ; the last payment was in February. This closed the evidence for the applicants. Mt Lynch having briefly opened the case for the defence, called the following evidence : — Patrick Brennan : I am a sharebroker and legal manager of several companies in the Boatman's district ; I am aware that there is a low level tunnel being driven at B-.mtniairs ; it is being driven jointly by the following companies : — Occidental, Specimen Hill, No. 2 Welcome, and Homeward Bound ; these are the parties who undertook the construction of the tunnel in 1881 ; under the agreement each Company was to contribute a share of the cost of the construction of the tunnel; a portion of the tunnel is through Crown lands and I hold the certificate ; the course of the tunnel runs through the No. 2 Welcome, Occidental, Homeward Bonnd and Specimen Hill in the order named ; the idea of starting the tunnel was to cut the line of reef at a low level in solid country ; heard reatons alleged why this course was necessary ; from my knowledge of the ground and the high elevation of the surface of the Homeward Bound lease it would be unprofitable to work from thesnrface; the Homeward Bonnd lease is hummed in by surrounding leases ; the tunnel was started for one reason and that was owing to the way ir« which the reef in the Hopeful and afterwards in the Welcome had dipped to the north ; j the further the Welcome reef goes north the deeper it runs towards the centre of the earth ; the Welcome reef if found in the Homeward Bound would be at a very low level ; there was a large amount of surface workings on the ground of the Specimen Hill Company adjoining. Mr Guinness submitted that this evidence was quite irrelevant. Mr Lynch said it went to show the necessity for a low level tunnel and for not doing surface work.

reef in their lease ; the Homeward Bound have contributed L 673 to the iriving of the tunnel ; the wo.k has been carried on principally by contract ; about 1,300 ft has been driven ; the work has been carried on as quickly as possible under the. circumstances. By Mr (ininness: The other Companies contributing are the North Cleopatra, Comst >ck, West Welcome, and Great Eastern ; the Low Level tunnel is coming up about 10ft lower than the So 6 levvl of the Welcome mine ; I don't say it is impossible to work the Homeward Bound ground otherwise than the tunnel in question ; perhaps it could have been worked out of the Eureka tunnel, provided the Eureka consented ; don't think the Welcome would avail themsehes of the Boatman's tunnel ; the Little Boatman's Creek Co. is not a register^ undertak ing ; the last payment by the Homeward Bound to the Boatman's Low Level Company, was made within the past week, the amount being £50 ; the interest of the Homeward Bound Company of 1881 has not been transferred to the new Company. By Mr Lynch : the West Welcome did not sign the last agreement to contribute; the No 2 Welcome has fallen out, the tunnel having passed through their ground ; the Great East crn did not sign the agreement ; I thiuk it likely that the cost of the tunnel will ultimately fall upon five companies ; I think we are to get some money from the Government for the driving of the tunnel ; the machinery in the tunnel is the joint property of the contributing companies ; each company ceases to contribute as the tunnel reaches its I eastern boundary, and all rights to the use of the tunnel are held conjointly. By the Warden : The other companieß ate hoitu>^ ».ii«-»r ground by this tuunel ; tin- Specimen Hill have done a deal of work, but the others could not possibly have worked to advantage otherwise. lam a shareholder in the Homeward Bouud Company. William Gardner : I am a Mining Surveyor and Engineer living iv Reefton ; I have been engaged and connected with mining for 28 years, aud 13 years in the Boatman's District ; I know the Homeward Bound and adjoining leases; h*ve made complete surveys of the whole of them ; I am pretty well acquainted with the Welcome line of reef ; there is very little I don't know ; the present Welcome reef is now about 1000 ft below the SaddlH under which it lies ; the Welcome reef is pitching north at an angle of 37° and is falling; surfacf workings in that locality are utterly j valueless ; all experience gained show; I that the reef is at a considerable depth below the surface ; I know well tht position and configuration of tht Homeward Bound ground ; the country is very irregular aud rises something like 1200 ft in half a mile ; from my knowledge of mining I should say it would b« impracticable to work the Homeward Bouud ground by a shaft from the surface ; a shaft in the ground would have to go 1500 ft or i 1800 ft and involve a large outlay ; it would be utter foolishness to put a shaft down when you could get a level ; 1 am the engineer of the Boatman's low level company ; I79t"t will have to be driven by the tunnel before reaching the Welcome line of reef in the Homeward Bound ground ; the tunnel will not strike the reef in the Homeward Bound ground, but only the line, and the reef will be over 800 ft below that ; it will take six weeks for thetunntl to reach the Homeward Bound boundary, and four months to reach the line of reef ; expensive machinery will have to be employed in the Homeward Bound to work the ground as they would have to sink 360 ft the same as the Welcome have done; the reason the tunnel was not taken in at a lower level is that the distance would have been so much greater that the (light of " backs " gained would not warrant it and it was considered most convenient to sink from the tunnel after reaching the lint 1 of reef. By Mr Guinness : I am not a shareholder in the Homeward Bound or in any of the contributing companies ;

Timothy M'Laugliliu : I am a speculator and a miner of fifteen years experience ; have been thirteen years in the district ; I know the general run of the m>fs at Boatman's, and hare been a shareholder in Boatman's mines for 11 years ; the surface workings in the Welcome have iif-ver been profitable ; I am a shareholder in the Homeward Bound, and know the mode of operations adopted for opening the mine : my interest in the company cost me £1,400 ; I have not sold a share in the company during the past three years ; it has been an imm ease saving of money to the company to adopt the Low Level tnnnel ; it wonld simply he a waste of money to expend more money ; you can't get more than two men on a shift ; the only other method of developing the mine woold >>c by a shaft and if that were done I would throw op my shareH ; it wonld lw ruinous to do it ; in about four months from now we will be able to employ about six men sinking a shaft and machinery that would cost about £6,000. By Mr Guinness : lam a shareholder in the Welcome ; I am a director of the Homeward Bound Company ; cannot say what distance it is from the Welcome main shaft to the north winze, or what distance it is from th» winze to the north Itoondary of th« Welcome ; there is no idea of selling the Homeward Bound to the Welcome ; £20,000 was expended on surface works in the Specimen HilL John B. Beeche: The reef in the Homewaid Bound stands in the same relation as in the Welcome ; I made a i survey of the lease, and the calculations arrived at showed that the reef will not probably be met with in the Homeward Bound until a depth of 1325 ft; one drive was put in on the . lease from the S.W. boundary, 252 ft, t and at the time 1 made the survey > there was also 138 ft. driven on the . eastern boundary; on the N.W. boundary some heavy trenching has (men carried on until it became too , deep and was then made into a drive ' for abonl 80ft. ; the surface ban been . trenched ail over the lease in search I of an outcrop ; having thus proved tlu» [ surface we decided to put in a low . level tunnel ; which we have done ; , this Idet'iu the only practicable way of , reachiug the stone we know to exist, . ; striking from the Welcome lease ; w* , ! considered a shaft, but thought it 3 1 impracticable ; the sinking of a main 3 ; shaft over the reef would cos. not less . than £4,500; the shaft would have to t be 1,500 ft, aud could not be sank f. under £3 per foot ; I think the sink j ing is very questionable as all tli* 3 water we have is surface water and , follows down aud we would I** t ; swamped : besides there wonld be the j expense of hauliug timber up the hill. f and heavy machinery would be mrr quired to haul 1,500 ft; I have navec \ , seen the color of gold on th« surface ; 5 ' the only certain prospect tho Home- > ' ward Bound bas got is meeting with - the Welcome run of stona . By Mr Guinness : could not say how • long the Low Level tunnel was idles ■ before Pool and party started ; it t ' might have been six mouths or so ; it I : was tive years ago since I made the ' | survey and the treuching has been , done since ; it would be almost five . years since the tunnels were put in on the surface of the lease. Thomas Lee recalled : There were [ | 16,000 shares at £1 each in the •rigi j nal company and 19 calls were made . j representing £1450 16s lOd ; in the , j new Company six calls have been | made amounting to £800, the total [ being £2250 16s 10; £1439 19s 9d , has been expended and by the new I company £851 6s Bd, the arrangment , from the old company to the new waa , made over 12 mouths ago. By Mr Guinness : Out of tb* total , expended by the two companies .£ll3l has been expended in wages and iv contributions to the Low Level tunneL This closed the case. Mr Menteath then summoned up j upon the evidence and Mr Guinness having replied for the applicants, the Warden then adjourned the case to the next sitting. ! The Conrt then adjourned.

the Eureka tunnel is going in to catch the underlie of the Welcome reef; the Homeward Bound coon ry is similar to that at Specimen Hill, except that there is a considerable rise ; the Fiery Cross level would he of no service to the Homeward Bound, as it is not deep euough ; the distance would he as long as the Boatman's Low tunnel ; the Homeward Bound ground could be reached from the Eureka incline tunnel, but the power of the machinery would have to be increased. Thomas Bruce : lam a director in the Eureka Co ; I have been 12 or IS years in the distinct and have experience in mining ; I know the Homeward Bound lease ; if I had been a director in the company I should have adopted the Low Level tunnel or a similar method of working to develope the mine ; surface workings in the Homeward Bound and Eureka Companies would have been improfitable ; the only thing worth going for is the Welcome line of reef in solid country ; to work the Homeward Bound grouud from the surface by a shaft would be almost impracticable and a waste of money ; the Eureka tunnel was started about six months after the Low Level tunnel ; the plan adopted by the Homeward Bound Company is the quickest I know of for developing their ground. By Mr Guinness : the Eureka is a broadsider, going in for the underlie of the Welcome reef; the Homeward Bound is marked out on the line of reef , that is to a certain depth ; as far as proved the surface stone does not exist in the Homeward Bound ground ; there was some surface stove in the Hopeful but not in the Welcome ; I have no interest in any of the contributing

companies