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than it does to run on with such parts till they actually break. Although the Nelson Creek and No Town Creek dredges have yielded good returns to shareholders, the profit is not entirely due to the richness of the ground. A good deal must be attributed to the management in keeping the dredges working efficiently, and this remark applies equally to some of the other dredges which have given fair profit. Ido not infer that where the dredges have been failures the fault in all cases has been due to mismanagement, but the average yield per yard from dirt treated by successful companies goes to prove that these successes could not have been secured unless the total quantity dealt with had been substantial ; and it is evident from this, that bad management will spoil the success of ground which can be made to yield large profits under efficient control. In 1902, fourteen companies (including the Leviathan Company now in liquidation), paid dividends to shareholders, whereas in 1903 the number was reduced to eleven, but the total amount distributed was increased by £10,000. Guided by precedent, I anticipate that during the forthcoming year, and assuming that about thirty-five dredges are on the active list during the year, one-third will pay good profits to their owners, and the remainder will manage to clear working-cost. Ido not suppose that the actual figures will be so large as in past years, inasmuch as the dredges remaining in active work may be accepted as " the survival of the fittest." The following dredges are in course of construction, and will shortly be engaged in active work : Bignell's No Town, on No Town Creek ; Reeves's Proprietary, No. 2, on Boatman's Creek ; and Sullivan's Lead, on Duffer's Creek : while the dredge in construction for No Town No. 2 Gold-dredging Company will probably be completed about the middle of the year. The Timber Industry. The exports of timber and railway sleepers for the year from the port of Greymouth are as follows : Timber, 21,523,530 ft., valued £86,094 ; sleepers, 2,884,184 ft., value, £24,027 : Total, 24,407,714 ft., value, £110,121. It is confidently expected that the export of timber during the forthcoming year will reach thirty million feet. The Kotuku Oil-springs. I am indebted to the manager of the boring operations at Kotuku for the following information regarding the above-mentioned springs : During the year, six bores were sunk in the locality, varying in depth from 100 ft. to 700 ft. In some cases great difficulty was experienced in piercing the hard ground, but in all the bores veins of oil were met with, one of them yielding a few gallons of oil weekly. In No. 3 bore a peculiar phenomenon was met with. When the rock was pierced, a great inrush of salt water and gas occurred, occasioning the water to eject in the form of a geyser, which still plays to a height of about 100 ft. During the year three boring-machines working entirely different processes were used. One of these is capable of boring to a depth of 2,000 ft. Coal. The output of coal for the year from the different mines was as follows : Blackball Mine, 88,949 tons ; Brunner Mine, 92,280 tons ; Tyneside Mine, 17,212 tons ; Total, 198,441 tons. General. The number of suits disposed of in the Warden's Court at Greymouth, for the year ending the 31st December, 1903, was twenty-seven. The revenue for the year amounted to £4,428 16s. 6d., the particulars of which are as follows : Miners' rights, £116 10s. ; copies of Mining Acts, 10s. ; water-races, £1 10s. ; rents, £1,566 15s. 2d. ; fees and fines, £74 10s. 6d. ; miscellaneous, £2,669 os. 10d. : total, £4,428 16s. 6d. I have, &c, William George Kenrick, Warden. The Under-Secretary, Mines Department.

Mr. Warden Day, Hokitika, to the Under-Secretary, Mines Department, Wellington. Sir,— Warden's Office, Hokitika, 22nd April, 1904. I have the honour to forward for your information the statistics for the year 1903 for that portion of the Westland Mining District under my charge, together with a few remarks upon the mining and timber industries. Alluvial Mining. Alluvial mining has to some extent decreased, but there is not a great difference in the yield of gold. The Wheel of Fortune Claim at Stafford has closed down, and the company is in liquidation, and the Humphrey's Gully Claim has been let on tribute. I am indebted to Mr. E. W. Spencer, manager of the Humphrey's Gully Hydraulic Sluicing Company (Limited) for the following statement of the year's work on their claims : " During the year sluicing has been carried on in a very steady manner with the full quantity of water —viz., forty heads. This quantity has been in constant use on the claim, and was directed against the No. 1 face for seventyfive days, and the No. 2 face for 207 days of twenty-four hours. Needless to say, the head-race has been maintained in a state of good repair throughout its entire distance of approximately seventeen miles. Several small breaks occurred during the year which were promptly and effectually repaired. Two short flumes were entirely dismantled, one of which was rebuilt at a slightly higher level, the other was substituted by a ditch built up in the bed of the creek. Also, on the Mount Brown section, the flumes around Granite Bluff had to be strengthened by placing intermediate sets in position. The dani by-wash has also been raised about 12 in., which considerably increases the capacity of the dam.