The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1335.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1616, 21 October 1885, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1335.

It is a somewhat striking commentary upon the oft reiterated complaint of t the " dullness of the tunos " m lleefton that the panorama which h«« just l>een exhibited here should haw drawn two • of the largest audien?< s ever brought ! together iv the Ouilfi'liow's Hall during !iic lit-t three or four yv.-.rs. The H'S-udui.'o on Mo; i day evenii"* was ax iin VtM'y iarije, and as tin- " 'ujky ; ha ••gee " rak^d in tlto flowing dimes at the door, it 'iiust have occurred to him I hat if this was an evidence of depression in Beefton, then indeed must thn | lieefton people in " prosperous Umo.A " : be, in the language of Mr Nubl-ly, "a i wallowin' in wealth.'' The fact is worth mentioning, because, as the enterpris ing proprietor informed the audience, he had whtn leaving the North Island, been strongly advised not to come to the West Coast on account of the " great depression " prevailing lure. Is ! this another instance of the blighting i "Cen ralising policy "of the Welliiigton people, or do they simply wish to kill us with ennui 1

a correspondent in another coin mn loni-hos uc>n a f»ni»ject that is well •worthy of consideration. For fifteen jor sixteen years past alluvial mining [ has been carri'd on fiver a hi "go extent ; of country in the Immgahua. I > many localities the workings have bern very productive, leading, in no? a tV-ty instances to the s;i,ui; ground lii.-ing ] repeatedly reworked * »y Em-opr;: !■.•;. and ! even now to be again rooted oV"i" by Chinese. Tlie operations inve, however, been confined to small itau anrl valleys and to terrace lauds, all shallow and sonseqnently quickly wotked out. With the exhaustion ol' the known area of auriferous surface, however, the. usual consequence is following. Practical men begin to ask themselves whether it is not hk»ly that deep ground and more, enduring deposits underlie the stupor.r.'ial wm 'kings. Several parties of expei-it-m-cd miners ' have indeed already sot, is hour putting their speculations to tlu: toM, The , 'alley of Soldiers Creek being select. -;d i «.s the scene of these operations. The | earlier workings in that locality, con | Misting of shallow creek claims, p-owd enormously rich in t»old, easily '.rot, mid requiring no preparatory outlay. In later years it was found that the gold was not, as was at first surmised, confined to acentral strip up the valley, but fairly spread over the whole flat l:ind,and still later came the discovery of rich gold on the slopes of tlie terraces adjoining. These facts together were considered .strongly confirmatory of the theory of the existence of "deep ground " in the vniuty, nn'd the party in question emba; ked in the ex ■■■• yris". The country being very flat, and wrt, the first stop was to construct a drainage race. This was undertaken and I earned for some distance, when it was t'ound that the fill was insufficient, and the work had therefore to be relinquished. Before dis-outinuing the win k. however, they sank down and f'H 'I six feet of highly payable wash i.ut the quantity of water was ■i, a as to prevent the ground being worked, ex<;e}»t with the aid of a drainage race. To i-onslrncL such a raci- would bn a costly undertaking, and the men have therefore been compelled to coase work and apply for protection of their rights. One drainage race would enable, not only the prospectors ground, but the whole of the flat to be worked, and for a single party unaided to enter upon the <-onstnntion of a work so widely beneficial could not be expected. Under the Amended Counties Act local bodies ha»-e power to apply their revenues in >-nb'-idisii»g wovlts of this kind, and fli» iMiterprist- in question scorns to be one spec.i illy comprehended in the legislation just referred to. It is be ii- ved that fully a hundred mineis can find payable occupation in Soldier's Creek when drained, and the subject is then-fore one of vi al concern to the community and should receive the earliest possible attention. "PiosI>h'loi w . iti s sug^e.sli.i^' th« t'oi in.ttion of a small company to puidias- a •' Tiffin borer " and prospoct for deep ground in other localities. T!ics<.' I niaclinos are simple in ciiNstMicion and working, easily h,tn'l!<-d, au! '),■■ first cost comparatively light, am! i;. view of the wide possibilities which would be opened np by the discovery of deep leads in the Soldier's, Merri jig's, Antonio's, Marnia and Hftmpdcu districts, the proposal is one which ought to firnmaud tin- n ady acceptance of *.'■■■•' IdisiiK-Ks a:. a oth'-r residents of the I i i'a;Hi ». '!'iie. .iiiitlotc dissipation • > tli" inn- 'lein^ •;? all liojjc of ra'l way communication with the East

; Cciat renders it more than ever necessary that the inhabitants should ! combine earnestly in i-sit.- r^iises of; ihis kind. j

The steamer Wallace is expected to be- • come a total wreck at Greymouth. A general average of fifteen per cent, has been struck upon the cargo, at which there is a good da.il <>f grumbling. It has been arranged to give an amateur dramatic performance and concert about the 10th November next, to provide ! funds for the purchase of uniforms for the | Reef ton Cadet Corps. A capital programme is being arranged, particulars of which will be published at an early date. The Globe battery was set going on Monday last, but will not be kept going full time until the stones are opened out a bit, bo as to give sufficient ro:>tn for storage of stone in advance of the trucking. It is satisfactory to know that sill the machinery anil sear works splendidly. The Inangahua Rifles had a full parade under arms last ni'j;ht, sixty odd members being present. They wore put through manual and platoon drill by Captain Puniham, and acquitted themselves* very j creditably. At the conclusion of the ! drill a meeting was held to consider an invitation received from the Greymnnth corps to attend a review, to be held there lon the Orh of November. After discussion it was decided that as tim uniforms , for the company might possibly not : at live in time, not to accept the invita- ; tion. The application of Mr G. Wise, on behalf of ths Paparoa, Gold Mining Company, for a special claim of the ground f umerly held by the L-mgdon's Extended Comoany, Paparoa Range, was heard in ; the Warden's Court, Greymoulh, yesfceri day. The Warden decided to recommend ! the application. News reached here last night of the splendid result obtained from the crushing • just concluded of the'Tyr Ounnell tribuI ters, Lye! I. From about 44 tons of stone | crushed, something over OOOozs. of gold i was obtained, being at the rate nearly of ' 15ozs. of gold per ton. As might be j expected the return has created quite a \ flutter at the Lyell, and more than ever , goes to show that the Lyell has a good time in s*ore. We learn that the Grand Jury in the \ Supreme Court, Hokitika, returned a true ' bill in the case of Regina v. Seaborn. It i was not expected that the criminal business would be concluded last night, and in that case the civil action of Martin v. . Aiken would not come on till to-day. We learn that the well-known Maori Ciiff of the West Coast, Ikailia Tiiimii, committed suicide on Monday last. He wa< to linve given evidence- before the f".)in»rii;«i'>:i now sitting in Uv ymouth re Native Reserves there, but having dealt with a certain le;i3o without communicating with the Native Commissioner, he is supposed to have dreadod facing the Commission, and allowed tlv. matter a comparatively trivial one, to <*o prey upon his ; mind as to induce the fatal act. He was found hanging by the neck in the Maori chapel at Arahura, ! We hare received much pleasure in perusing a small pamphlet entitled " A Guide for Gold-mining Investors," by Mr L. O. Beal, jun., C.E. It gives plain ; and simple directions for checking the : amount and quality of work done in miii.M, and at the same time provides for ; a plan of the mine as developed by the ! workings. To uae this gentleman's own words, the work done ;uid quantities of gold won may be "audited " in the same j manner as a "lelg«r," an 1 tde results compared with periodical advices and re- , ports furnished by the mine managers, >\ ! highly necessary operation when taking into, consideration the vagaries of some of our mining companies. This pamphlet should be the means of helping to raise the hitherto speculative miner*! purchases I into a steady mining business. The Red Queen Company* Mine Manager, Mr Riisniitssni, ivp<>rU : — Since my last rrjtort 24 li.iii.ls have buen enviged working in the mine, 18 of whom j are storing in the north workings, a*id 4 | iit the south. The total quantity of stone sent down to the battery to date is 3L3 tons. I may got about 40 tons more down this crushing. I mil working three stupes in the north end and one stope south, and the prospects are the sani-i as described in my last report. The nature of tho country has not changed." This eoinpany have vow been crushing four weeks, and the battery manager reports that he has partially scraped th^ top plates twice, with the result that he has 570 ounces of amalgam in hand, and about 100 ounces left on the plates. He also sftvs : — "So far as I am able to judge, the boxes are showing better gold in proporti >n to the plates than at the first crushing, and if the show of gold only continues as rich as it has done during the last fortnight the yield will be equal to the first crushing, via , 2 ounces, and should this be the case, the shareholders can stand by to receive dividends." The hardness of the country, and the consequent smallness of the reef, makes the Red Queen claim very expensive to work, but we have no doubt that before long a I change of country will be met with, and j it is a surprising fact that such a rich ree* «honld live in so hard a country* mNE BOX OF CLARKE'S, B 41 FM f ,LS 'a warranted to cure all discharges from thr- Urinary Organs, in either sex (acquired or constitutional), Gravel, and P.-iins in the Back. Guaranteed free from Mercury. Sold in Boxes, 4s. 6d .'■-ich by all Chemists and Patent Medicine Vendors : Sole Proprietors, The Lixooln J and Midland Cmm-riES Dkuo Co., Lincoin, England. Wholesale of all the Wholesale Houses Temperance clergyman, lawyers, ladies, and doctors ÜBe American Co.'s Hop ; Bitters, as they do not intoxicate, but ' restore brain and nerve waste.