0.—3

142

have driven adits from the face of the terrace at the tailings site in the Teremakau Eiver. Some of these parties have been earning fair wages, and one party is doing well. There is a probability of the subsidised work being done by the parties referred to, which would lead to the opening-up of the country further back, and under the Kumara lead, which has hitherto been worked on a false bottom. No. 5 main tail-race is now completed, and four or five of the claims are engaged in opening up this ground. Until the claims are fully opened up, it will be impossible to judge of the payable nature of the ground, but the owners of the claims have every confidence that the ground will pay well. The race to bring water from the Wainihinihi is now nearly completed, all the tunnels being driven, and the principal work remaining to be done is boxing the rock through which the tunnel was driven. This rock, although very hard, is of a very broken character, being full of fissures, and boxing will be necessary to make the race carry water in an efficient manner. This water will largely supplement the present supply, and may enable the miners to work even poorer ground than they are now working, with as good results. Eoss Sub-district. Aside from the excitement over dredging areas, there is little to note in connection with the mining operations that have been carried on for years in this district. The Mont dOr Sluicing Company is a steady producer, and shilling dividends are paid with great regularity. The Prince of Wales Company has been reconstructed, and the new company are about to put on a powerful dredge to work this ground. . * The Eoss United Tributers are still at work, making small wages. This company is now in liquidation, and an effort is being made to float a company to work this valuable property by means of an electric plant, plans, &c, of which were prepared by Mr. T. Perham, G.E. A prospectus has been circulated, showing how the company propose dealing with the ground on the deep levels. This may be said to be the only deep-sinking alluvial claim on the Coast where gold in payable quantities at eight different levels has been found and partially worked, the real bottom not yet having been reached. The present depth reached is 392f ft., but it is thought another 100 ft. may have to be sunk before the bed-rock is .reached. The Government have offered to give £15,000 as a subsidy if the company agree to erect works in accordance with the plans furnished by their engineer. A strong effort is being made to get a company up to undertake this work, and should they succeed in getting the balance of the capital required, and carry out the work as set out by the engineer, I have no doubt that Eoss Flat will provide payable work for hundreds of men, besides leaving a handsome profit to the company. Nothing whatever is doing in quartz-mining. Dredging, however, is very much in favour at present, and the first bucket-dredge in the locality is now fairly at work on the Totara Eiver. The wash in the river being somewhat heavy, there is a good deal of wear-and-tear about the buckets, but the initial difficulties have been overcome, and a fair run is anticipated. The exact amount of gold won has not been made public, but it is said that the returns are satisfactory. The Totara Eiver, Donnelly's Creek, Mikonui Eiver, and the lines of beaches, both north and south, have all been taken up as dredging areas, and plants are being built, or ordered, for the working of some of them. A subsidised drainage-tunnel to drain a portion of Donnelly's Creek is in course of erection; the Borough Council is the controlling power, and in this case the work was let to a party of miners, who put in their labour in lieu of money. A block of ground of about 50 acres is reserved for them to select an acre-claim each out of the 50 acres reserved—the balance, after the tunnel is completed and the selections made, to be open to any one having a miner's right. This work is now at a standstill, owing to a dispute about the rate of payment by the Government. I understand that since the commencement of the-work the price has been raised on two occasions: now the contractors demand a further increase, and the Inspector refuses to recommend it, as he considers the price sufficient. No work has been done for a considerable time, and I presume the Borough Council will shortly take steps to determine the contract, and put other men on the work. A large number of claims (dredging areas) have been taken up on the Mikonui Eiver and neighbourhood. The Kohinoor Claim, at the mouth of Eedman's Creek—that in former days yielded such large returns of gold, and that became unworkable owing to the quantity of water met with—seems to be made use of for giving tone or character to all the claims within miles of it. Experts' reports invariably point to this claim and the large returns of gold as sufficient reason for putting plants on the particular claim they are reporting on. No doubt it is an advantage to be in the neighbourhood of rich ground ; but this should not do away with the need for careful prospecting, on their employers' account, on the property they are supposed to be reporting upon. But I am afraid too much is taken for granted by many of our so-called experts, and disappointments will follow in consequence thereof. Equally misleading is the nomenclature of claims. This should be as carefully looked to by the Eegistrars as trade-marks are in ordinary business. The plans for the Kohinoor dredge are well in hand, and I understand from Mr. Bishop, the engineer for the company, that tenders will shortly be called for for the construction of the plant and pontoons. This, I think, will be the third dredge to get to work on the Coast. The difficulty experienced in getting orders for dredging-inachinery fulfilled has led to the proposed establishment of a large foundry and machine-shop in Hokitika, for the special purpose of dredge-building. Whether the project will assume concrete form will, I suppose, mainly depend on the number of shares that can be disposed of. The prospective rush of business contingent on even a fourth of the claims requiring plants should be sufficient inducement for the undertaking.