Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Tuesday 16 July 1867, page 3


ROCKHAMPTON.

OUR latest dates from Rockhampton are to the 11th instant. We make the following ex-

tracts from the Bulletin :—

We are informed that Lieutenant Murray, of the Native Police force, has arrived in town to hold an inquiry on the late massacre at the Morinish diggings. We see no reason why this inquiry should be held with closed doors. Where four human beings have been deprived of life it cannot serve the interests of justice that the public should be shut out from hearing the evidonce to justify this shedding of blood.

Our correspondent at Crocodile Creek, writing on July 2, reports :—" The rush to Raglan Station, forty-five-miles from here, and on the Port Curtis Road, has caused quite a commo-tion among the European diggers located here. The accounts from the rush are very conflicting. Some talk of 1 oz. to the dish being obtained ; and, again, others say that, with the exception of the prospectors and a few othors close to thom, payable gold cannot be had, and that the prospectors' is but 1 dwt. to the dish. But a few days more, and I shall be in possession of full particulars. The Chinese keep steadily to work here, both in the deep lead, Slaughter Yard Creek, Poverty Gully, and Church Hill. A 9-oz. nugget was obtained last week on Church Hill by Europeans. There are some very good claims on Church Hill : 1 and 1½ oz. to the load very

common. The last flood washed in the drive of the Germans on Commissioner's Flat, but they are hard at work again. Neal's party, above the Germans are sinking a paddock and are timbering it all the way down. Great hopes are entertained that it will pay well when the bottom is reached, and from the prospects out of the shaft they sunk, not ill founded. There is no doubt but that the Poverty Gully run of gold goes through their claim. The Hector reefers, at the Half-way House, struck upon stone, running north and south, about five feet thick, with gold plainly visible but whether a blow up on the cap of a reef they have not yet ascertained. By-the bye, I paid a visit to Morinish, and was not a little disappointed. By the glowing accounts, I expected to see some-thing of a first-rate gold-field, and what was my surprise to see but a few gullies with the run of gold not more than one claim wide. For the best gold-field the Crocodile will bear the palm. The made hills at Morinish have not had a pick put into them because a little hard cement has to be got through. From the little experience I have of gold-fields I should imagine the best deposits of gold are in them. The large flat at the new township has scarcely been tried although gullies that are in working wash into it. The flat extends from the new township up to the Alliance Reef, and cannnot be less than two miles long. I paid a visit to the Alliance Reef, and consider they make a very good show for an engine, but I would like to see it take a perpendicular course for it to become perma-nent, as at present it lies nearly horizontal, and is merely a slip of the hill. In the prospector's

claim the drive at the end of the stone had

every appearance of laying more upright but of a more rubbly nature. Shares were quoted pretty high, £150 being asked for one-twelfth

share.

The Joint Stock Bank purchased 164 ounces of gold yesterday from Antony Solomons, from Morinish. In the parcel were five nuggets, one weighing thirteen ounces three pennyweights, one weighing three ounces, and the other three about two ounces each. They were bought for £84. The whole of the nuggets were found on the surface within a space of six feet square on the Rosewood rush by Solomons, who has been working with his party there. The nuggets, like most of those found at Morinish, appear bright and rounded by the action of water. The large one has several deep indents in which quartz was imbedded. The nuggets formed Solomons' share of a fortnight's work.

The adjourned meeting on the matter of supplying machinery to work the Alliance Reef was held yesterday afternoon, at Mr. Shaw's offices, Quay-street. There were present—Mr. Livermore in the chair—Messrs Morgan, Head-rick, Feez, Hunter, Brodnitz, Gardner, Robin-son, Bell, and Schmidt. Messrs. Harris and Brignell attended on behalf of the owners of the reef, and submitted two proposals the first, that the minors be furnished with machinery on payment of £500 bonus, and £1 10s. per ton for crushing until all outlay was covered, the crushing then to be performed at the rate of 15s. per ton. The second proposal was the establishment of a joint stock company. The miners value the reef at £3000, and agreed to the formation of a company on receiving for their claims paid-up shares to that amount. The meeting accepted the second offer, and un-

dertook to use its efforts in disposing of shares. A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs. Liver-

more, Hunter, Feez, Brodnitz, and Gardner, was appointed to draw up a prospectus of the new

company.