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OUR LAUNCESTON LETTER.
[From our own Correspondent.]
LAUNCESTON, Wednesday Evening.
To those genuinely interested in the progress of
the Island, and the development of its mineral resources,
the sale to day of the plant and machinery
of the Ilfracombe lion Mining Company by the
Sheriff, on behalf of a judgment creditor, must
have been severe disappointment All our son
mining companies, which promised so much at the
outset, have now met the same fate of nature
collapse The Tasmanian Gli real Gompniiv, the
first in the field, inaugurated the commencement of
its operations with a great flourish of trumpets
His Excellency officiated at the baptism of cc o
monies, and with an artistically finished in OH 1
and hammer, delicately fashioned from the ore
procured from the locality, 1 ml the foundation
stone of the furnace, and in a speech, delivered
in his happiest vein, saul, on performing the
ceremony, that he hoped should he again visit
that spot at some future period to find it later idly and
metaphorically doing a roaring business He hoped
that the flame once kindled would not be stilled ed
to be extinguished, until it had I resuscitated the fallen
fortunes of the island " This speech was delivered
by His Excellency on the 5th December, 1837-, and
it, and the concomitant circumstances attending
the inauguration of the iron industry, may be found
chronicled in full by your special report tea in The
Mercury of the 10th December following It is
another painful illustration of the ue instances in
which our sanguine hopes are continued, to find that
but a little over twelve months has elapsed, and the
localities of these valuable discoveries have resumed
their primeval state of serenity And yet it is
utterly beyond the power of Tasmania's worst
detractors to say that those miner of deposits no less
valuable now than they were when the companies
first commenced operations 'The fact that a considerable
capital has been expended, ought indeed
to have materially enhanced then worth The expenditure
has, however, been of the description
inclined by a young spendthrift uninitiated in the
world's uses, and whose extravagance letters only
in debilitating his constitution 'The expenditure
on these companies, and then early stoppage, his,
perhaps, done more to injure the non industry of
Tasmania in England, that if the metalliferous
deposits had been left in then A is in the Far
away from us, capitalists watch our progress in the
development of these important discoveries, and
noting our failures at the outset, without anal j sing
their causes, they at once in use at conclusions
derogatory to the colony. The original promoters
of these companies are not perhaps deserving
of any more severe censure this may be
implied, when we say that impulsiveness and
want of ordinary prudence bus eli nee ceased their
proceedings That they would w willingly van Eck their
own fortunes and those of the poisons associated
With them, is unlikely , but that they have unconsciously
in more than one instance directly contributed
to that result is self evident, and has been
for some time predicted the value of the ore hist
Mpertainpd, the steps which naturally next suggest
themselves to present even Moujd ha to procure the
aid of men experienced in the selection of non otes,
April Wrtil type means for their subsequent reduction
spent utilisation His failure in the case of the two
companies already suspended is singularly coincident
In both cases the furnaces i refused to perform their
office, and when all wet ere July to coal and late
the enterprising promoters on their success, chilling
failure boa supervened I hope I shall not be accused
of after the event wisdom" in alluding to these
failures At the starting of these companies I
took occasion to point out the necessity of a olding
haste in preliminary operations, and endeavouring
to secure the most competent skilled labour which
the world could produce, in order that our son
companies might have every advantage, and commence
operations under the most favourable
auspices Events have proved that this course was
not adopted, but that the usual ill advised haste to
make a show in producing specimens was followed
Beyond producing an exhibition bell, one or two
specimen bars, and a toy hammer, 01 trowel
or two, the result has been nothing, and for
these whistles the shareholders have indeed paul
dearly AN lion the Ilfracombe Company started
they, we were told, were going cautiously to
work, and would avoid the shoals and quick
Bands upon which then predecessors had fallen
Metiius 'the progressive works were conducted
quietly and unostentatiously, and we had occasional
assurances that every precaution had
been taken to render failure impossible It will
not be altogether true to say that the company has
been overtaken by failure, that its promised
Success has been checked admits of no doubt the
plant, machinery and works, upon which, perhaps,
nearly as many thousands have been expended, was
to day put up to satisfy a claim, which, with, expenses,
amounted to £600 That it was purchased
on behalf of the Company by Messrs. Ad) of
Douglas and James White for £803, is a satisfactory
proof that the shareholder have not lost confidence
in the undertaking, and stops will probably be
speedily taken to so organise on a more satisfactory
basis The value of our son dips and their existence
in large quantity has been proved It is to be
hoped that the somewhat extreme lessons in
received by shareholders may have a salutary effect
in guiding their future operations, and that the
temporary check this important industry has so
curved may prove to be but one of the common reverses
which frequently piccolo an era of mi
interrupted prosperity
, MOltfc RICH GOLD RETURNS
Thursday evening
The news from what may now fairly claim to
rank as Tasmania's leading gold field continues of
the most cheering nature Mr W W White and
Mr. Hudson, two of the directors of the Golden
Point and Native Youth Gold Mining Companies,
returned from the Springs to day, the latter bringing
with him a fine cake of about 26oz of ? utor ted gold the
result of a crushing of 3") tons stone from the Native
Youth Company, 01 a yield of some lady. is to the
ton This was principally from will face stone, and
mullock which was all put through 'The Golden
Point Company yesterday commenced putting
through the battery about 100 tons of the stone they
have lately taken out, and which has already shown
gian relief kable indications of a witness This stone
Will, it is poni|doiit|y expected by not over
sanguine persons, give a yield of best) qr 1,000 oz
andY will in all probability (result in the
largest cake of gold ever yet produced in his
Emu It may be) of be instanced as a i emin liable
to, illustrative of the severe blow given to mining
ustry in 1 assumed by the over speculation of
Notre years back, and the punts which succeeded,
causes gold mining speculations to be looked upon
a hopeless m 'Tasmanias, that both the ( Golden Point
find Native Youth claims, which now m\o ju cause
of such wonderful results, wore, when the mining
collapse came, both abandoned by their owners,
skilled miners of large experience, OF worthless. -
From the first of these a splendid reward has already
been reaped by the party of miners who took
up the abandoned claim, in the recent crushing,'
when a yield of 10oz. to the ton was obtained, and
the next crushing promises to prove equally good.
From the Native Youth £1,000 worth of gold has
already been obtained at a cost of about £100.
It will thus be seen how nearly this buried
treasure at the Nine Mile had escaped notice,
through the slipshod and slovenly way in which the
mines in this locality were first worked, and when
the principal object of unprincipled adventurers
was to float bubble companies, run the scrip up to
a fictitious value, sell out and clear out, leaving
their dupes lamenting. For the resuscitation of
gold mining at the Nine Mile, the credit is mainly
due to Mr. W. W. White, of this town, who,
though a heavy loser by previous speculations on
this field of mining enterprise, never lost faith in
its auriferous resources. Mr. White recently purchased
the Excelsior machinery, and in other ways
has displayed a spirit of enterprise and faith in
Tasmania's resources, which is seldom witnessed
among colonists and every one must congratulate
him heartily on the success of his efforts, and the
abundant reward which he is likely to receive. The
Golden Point Company are now down with their
shaft 55 feet, and driving along the course of
the reef, the stone still looking very rich. The i
mining manager has been instructed to sink a permanent
working shaft, 9 x 3. The water in the
shaft has now considerably diminished, partly
owing to the operation of Sandberg and party in
No. 1 South Golden Point, who are down 100 feet,
and driving for the Golden Point Reef. The water
in the Golden Point claim is now easily kept down
by means of the horse whip. Messrs. Bain and
Richards, working a claim situate midway between
the Golden Point and Native Youth claims, are
getting out some very fair stone. They have about
50 tons at grass, and will commence crushing as
soon as the Golden Point Company finish. The
population now on the ground including Chinese,
numbers about one hundred. During this evening
the directors of the Native Youth met and declared
a dividend of one shilling per share, making 2s. 6d.
already paid during the first month of the company's
existence on shares only ds. paid up. It was also
ascertained during the evening that Mr. Nicholas,
the legal manager of the Golden Point Company,
had just received a letter from the mining manager,
stating that in putting in a " winze " further rich
stone had been struck in the claim,
The following progress report has been received
from Mr. Robert Lee, by Mr. Henry Ritchie,
secretary to the Waratah Tin Mining Company,
Mount Bischoff, relative to the prospecting for tin
on that company's ground : " During the past
month I have been prospecting the lode, which is
improving in appearance as we sink. It runs
N.N.W. and S.S.E., and is dipping to the west. I
now forward you samples from the lode, and some
stream tin. Forty pounds of the former, and eleven
pounds of the latter." These samples are not yet
to hand, _
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