Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1874-08-06

intention Of the Legislature. and be
governed accordingly. This intention Is
to be gathered from the subject matter.
existing circumstances and the reason
and spirit Of tho statute ; It being . To-
gal maxim that where the object or req
SON Of II fails, the law ought also itself
10 cease. At least this IL the rule that
Blackstone, q very respectable legal su.
thority. lays down as governing in these
cases.
OPERATIONS, RioHn, ~YnLScHrsrs, Pnor-
ERrrEs AND PRosPrcn OF THE TUNNEL
ooMPASr.
During the past few years this com.
pany, having through the sale Of most OF
It's capital stock, succeeded in raising
considerable sums Of money. have built
q portion Of their projected tunnel; not
more, however, than one-sixth or one
seventh Of II has been completed. leaving
II probable that eight or ten years will
yet DO required for its contamination,
even should the owners be fortunate
enough TO raise the funds necessary
for carrying 1t forward. We're 1t even
now finished and ready for use, however,
II could DO OF little service to the mining
companies, o. the latter have made other
provisions for accomplishing the several
ends 1t was originally designed to COM
pass.
That the people who are being sole.
tied TO advance additional funds In aid OF
this enterprise, may the better under.
stand the future prospects OF this Tunnel
Company. On well as the manner in which
their affairs have heretofore been man.
aged. I will briefly state what I conceive
to be the main facts tending to illustrate
these two points;
According to the circular OF the Mossrs.
McCAlmont Bros, shares Of this Com
pany have already been disposed Of to
the amount OF $40, 0OO, 900, upon which
some two million dollars in cash have
been realized. Nearly the whole Of this
money has been expended. an Is asserted,
In the acquisition OF franchises andland,
the purchase OF machinery. material.
etc., and In accomplishing the work al
ready done upon the tunnel. II any
good mining engineer were asked how
much these latter items, all told, ought
to have cost, he would not be likely TO
FIX the sum at more than $3.50, 900
while the franchises, whatever these may
be. having been, rs Is supposed, 4 free
grant from the Legislature, ought to
have cost very little. The land, 1910
acres. having been bought Of the Gov
eminent at the rate OF 81 % per acre,
costs. including expense Of patents, say
80, 900. Az TO what has been done with
the rest OF this money, moro than q mil
lion and o half OF dollars, / am not in
formed. II II has been legitimately eI-
pended upon this tunnel. not more than
one-sirth completed, 1t is easy TO COM
pute how much this work will cost by
the time II il finished.
In tho circular alluded to, something
is said about the companies lands,
franchises. town sites, future revenues
and prospects; much stress being laid
on large incomes expected to accrue
from their mines, mills, manufacturing
and smelling works. As has been
shown, not until the main tunnel IL fn-
ished, can they realize any income from
tho Comstook mines; and not until the
lateral branches shall have been consid-
erably advanced, can this income in any
event be large. They can count upon
no receipts from this source inside Of
six or eight years, and upon very little
for some time thereafter, even suppos-
ing the issues pending should be decided
in their favor, Nor with such favorable
decision. is II oil certain that they would
at once be in receipt Of revenue. These
mining companies, numerous, united,
rich and powerful. will proloug this
litigation for years, Withholding from
their opponents, meantime, the antici-
pated royalty, and subjecting them to
great expense.
At the rate these mines are being OPP
Grated, the most Of them will within the
next twenty-five or thirty years have
been worked to the lowest depths prac-
ticable, II the ore bodies. as Ia likely to
be the case with some of them, are not
sooner exhausted. With the Occurrences
Of either Of these events, the receipts Of
the Tunnel Company, II any they have
will come TO an end.
As for mines, mills, water privileges
and manufacturing facilities, the Com
pany possess none Of these; nor should
they seek TO convey q contrary impress
sion to q people abroad. Their only
hope Of getting any mineral deposits Of
value lies in the all but desperate chance
that their tunnel will cut some unclaimed
ore-bearing lode crossing Its path; none
having yet been intersected by tho main
header" or advance drift, now In
over 6000 feet, nearly one-third OF the
distance TO be run The Company own
no springs, bitches, running streams or
other rights whatever. As for manufac-
turing. this would DO about the poorest
place In the world TO undertake anything
In that line, there being here no raw
material nor any natural facilities for tho
purpose. The Company's land. consist.
ing Of an arid. sago-barrcn. waterless
and t~rssless waste, is, In itself, utterly
worthless. The Government owns thou
sands OF square miles In this vicinity
equally as good and every way hs valu-
able, for which Il will never be able to
get q ahilling an acre. In short, ! do
not believe that this Company could
Ave thousand pounds FOR all their
properties and possessions
plant and machinery included