91

C.—3

In Coalpit Gully there are two parties at work, both of which use iron-piping, and one of them —S. Hewitt and party of three men —have about 700 ft. of 7in. pipes, and use six sluice-heads of water when it is available ; the other party of two men has about 250 ft of pipes, the ground here in places being 40ft., and varying to only Bft. in depth. In Home Gully there are six parties of Chinese at work, the ground being from 4ft. to Bft. in depth. Four of these parties use 1,200 ft. of wrought-iron pipes, 7in. in diameter, and the other two use canvas-hose in connection with the working of their claims. A good deal of gold has been obtained from this gully since the extension of the water-race, but the upper of it is now pretty well worked out. There is some private or leasehold property in the lower portion of the gully and its watershed, and in some instances arrangements have to be made with the owners to work a portion of the ground. Two parties of miners are working in Wet Gully, and also there are two or three claims being worked in Robertson's Gully, where the ground averages from 4ft. to 7ft. in depth. In Spec Gully there is a considerable area of auriferous ground to work. Indeed there is very little done in this gully yet, it being at the extreme end of the water-race. There is very little water to be had at this point. There are only about four claims being worked. The ground here in places is a considerable depth, requiring a good head of water to sluice it away. All the claims that are being worked in this gully is said to give payable returns. There is also a large extent of auriferous gravel-drifts on the terraces and sides of the gullies between Spec Gully and the Kyeburn, and a few parties are working in this locality, but the difficulty to contend with everywhere here is the limited supply of water. The following is a list of the principal claims being worked in the vicinity of Naseby : —

Kyeburn. At Kyeburn some of the miners are doing very well; the claims of Moses Brown and that of Thomas Forgie are said to give very good returns for working; these parties have water-races of their own, and get a fairly constant supply. The Kyeburn diggings may be said to be a good field for a few miners; although there is plenty of auriferous ground in the locality which will pay fair wages for working with a constant supply of water, only a limited number of miners can be employed owing to a large supply not being available. Mining operations and the number of miners employed may be said to be entirely limited to the available supply of water on the field. The days have gone by when ground can be made to pay for working by using a cradle, and only washing a foot or a few inches, as the ease may be, of the wash-drift lying directly on the rockbottom. There is a little gold in all the ground, but a large quantity has to be operated on to enable the miners to earn a fair wage. Bannockbum. There are still a good few claims being worked in this locality, the principal ones being on the side of Pipeclay Gully, and between Pipeclay and the Kawarau River, all of which pay fair

Name of Party or Company. Depth of Ground. Length of Iron Pipes used. Diameter of Pipes. Number of Men employed. Sluiceheads of Water used. Locality. Guffie and Inder Extended Company Newman and party S. Hewett and party White and Hinds M. Young and party Burrett and Pullen C. Bumble and party GuLi Ah Cuek A. Buchanan ... J. Wheeler A. Brown B. Moon Si Yung Ah Ping Ah Lick Sue Ming Sae Hun Ah Toy Len Mon Ah Yott Hang Toy Sheiles Brothers G. Walker ... Lon Lip W. Hundrickson Bysord and Eeed Feet. 8 to 10 8 to 10 40 40 8 8 6 25 25 25 6 Feet. 2,000 1,000 1,500 700 250 Inches. 9 Q3 31 Eoche's Gully. Main Gully. Enterprise Gully. Goal-pit Gully. 5 to 6 10 to 12 6 4 4 6 4 3 8 6 6 7 1,000 7 to 9 7 7 7 "9 2 3 4 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 6*' 3* 3 3 3 3 3 25* 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 Main Gully. Enterprise Gully. tf » j? n Wet Gully. '360 300 7 7 j> Home Gully. 270 300 300 7 7 7 Eobertson's Gully. 10 to 12 8 6 6 8 j> Spec Gully. j> 270 300 "7 7 i 2 >> j> Enterprise Gully. * Hogbu: heads.