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WATBEHOUSE.
EXTRAOBDEJARY JUMPING CASE.
DECIBIOK OF IHE COMHIU8IO2TBB.
(From a Correspondent.)
Watebhouse, 13th Sept., 1869.
Mining matters hare been dull during
the past week, and little has been done
on this field. There has been another
limping case^on Mr Steele's ground, two
claims having been taken possession of
being part of claim No. 3 North.
As in the last case Mr Steele entered
his protest againit the jumpers and the
case was heard before Mr Commissioner
Hurst on Friday last. In this case the
Commissioner decided to try tbe case him
self without tbe aid of assessors, because
Mr Steele found fault with tbe decision
arrived at in the last case in which
assessors were employed. After the
complainant bad been sworn a singular
colloquy took place. Mr Steele said,
' Now, Mr Hurst, you arc one of m^
witnesses, and I want you to be sworn.'
The Commissioner—' But I cannot swear
myself or hear myself give evidence.'
Mr Steele— 'But you are one of my
witnesses and you must be sworn.' The
Commissioner : ' But who is to swear
me?' Mr Steele: 'I understand what
an oath is, and I can tender the oath. '
The Commissioner : ' Bat I cannot give
evidence myself and then adjudicate upon
my own evidence, I must decline doing
so.' Mr Steele : ' Well, all I can say is,
that if you do not take the oath, I cannot
proceed with my case.' The Commis
sioner : ' But I must decline, I never
heard of anything so monstrous.' After
a good deal of further argument the Com
missioner proceeded to examine Mr Steele
as to the time he had been on the gold
fields ; when he left for Launceston ; now
long lie was away from the diggings ;
whether he had applied for protection :
whether he had worked his ground in a
bonaf.de manner according to the regula
tions 1 &c.
Mr Steele's evidence on these points
having been recorded he called a man
named Flevoy, who deposed that he had
been at work on the claim for Mr Steele
ever since he had finished working for
Mr Hurst.
Mr Green examined by the Commis
sioner said— I am working one of the
shareholder's claims. The one I am work
ing now is the same. The shareholder I
am working for is Mr Hawthorne. I have
no interest in the claim.
The moment the witness gave this evi
dence, a rush was made by two of the
men present to get pegs, and having pro
cured them, they proceeded to peg out the
only remaining claim on Mr Steele's
around, and to take Dossession of it.
Mr Steele observing what was going on
appealed to the Commissioner to put a
stop to such unseemly proceedings, and to
prevent the men from jumping the last
claim.
The Commissioner. — I cannot stop
them from jumping any claim. You may
as well ezpect me to shepherd a flock of
sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves as
to shepherd all the claims on the dig
gings.
The chief cause of the jumping of this
claim was owing to the fact that a notice
was posted upon it representing it as the
individual claim of the man Harvey.
Mr Steele having made a statement of
his case, the Commissioner retired to a
tree to consult his notes, and on his
return he read the following—
JUDGMENT.
£ have carefully considered the evi
dence in this case, and the regulations
bearing upon the subject. By your own
statement I find that you have held the
claim for nearly a month in disputed
possession without doing any work upon
it, and that from your own remissness in
not taking out a consolidated miner's
right for it, you have held it
during that time illegally. Tou have
stood in a position that but few and
perhaps none others enjoyed in having in
your possession a copy of the regulations.
But 1 will set aside the question touching
the document entitled a consolidated
miners right, and deal with the question
of bona fide working.
Never having worked the ground you
can set up no ciaim to it oa the ground
that you carelessly loft it during my
operations on the prospect claim, not
knowing bow soon the protection allowed
in respect of {those operations might
cease, and without having obtained pro
tection for your absence in respect of
your own individual claim. Had you
written to me from Launceston on the
third clear day of your arrival there, to
have excused your delay on the plea of
sickness, your letter would have reached
me three clear days before the claim was
jumped. Much as I reeret the Iobb of a
valuable claim, to tbe party you repre
sent, there is no other course open to me
than to decide the case against you and
in favor of the jumpers.
Several new reefs are at present being
tested, and as they run. nearly parallel
with tbe Pioneer reef, I will give you the
names of them as they occur. The first
reef on the most easterly side is named
the ' Bugle call.' This is in tho hands
of Messrs Bell, Drake, Thomas, and
party, who are now down about twenty
feet and find gold in tbe wall, Rnd dirt en
cloBing a leader, or small reef aboht two
feet thick. A number of claims have been
marked out north and south, and some
of the ground has already been leased.
The next claimB are those on the Pioneer
reef which have been sold to the Mel
bourne company, twhich will commence
operations shortly. I am told that
another company has also been formed,
who have| already arranged with Mr
Fulton to put machinery on the ground.
The ' Eailvray Eeef ' is tho next
in rotation and was discovered by
Mr Bartley, who, I am informed, has
amalgamated with the adjoining claim
holder for the purpose of working the
ground. The fourth reef is called the
New Zealand, and is at present only being
prospected, and not much is known of it
yet.
There are many other gold-bearing reefs
known to exist in the surrounding hills
but these have not been sufficiently tested
to enable me to say much about them.
There is abundance of room for the opera
tions of prospecting parties, if well pro
vided with cash and rations, and should
they Bucceed in turning up a prize, it may
turn out a pile, and a pretty tall one too.
? ♦ ?
AlitUe girl wanted to say that she had a
fan but had rforgotten what it was called ; so
she desoxibca it as a 'thing to brash all the
warm off you with.'
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