NEW ZEALAND'S NATURAL RESOURCES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1741, 16 January 1888, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND'S NATURAL RESOURCES.

The following pleasingly hopeful view of the proipeoti of the development of the natural reaoorces of the colony 1b from the columns of the " Napier Daily Telegraph " and is apropos to the article with which we opened the New Year. Oar contemporary writes : — Nofc the least •atlsfactory evidence of the times is the energy that Is being displayed to develop the natural resources of this colony* Amongst tleoompanies now being floated la London for this purpose ia that of the Xfow Zaaland Antimony Company with a propueed capital of £250,000, the objeot of which is to Require as a going concern the property of the Endeavour lolet AntlBony Company. Endeavour Inlet, as mottmi. our readers are aware, 1b m Queen Charlotte* Sound, and the company that hat been working the antimony there since 2885 requires further capital to make the most of its splendid property. The antimony from this company's mine was exhibited at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition In 1886, and Attracted so much attention that the association now bel&g formed m London ia the practical out come. As a matter of fact, we have only ai yet scratched as it were the surface of the mineral wealth of New Zealand; We can form no idea of the immense value of that whloh hes still to be discovered. Klch as our golcfieks have been ; dazzling as bare been the retorts from such mines at the Thames aa the Caledonian, the Long Drive, and the Golden Grown, much greater wealth is to be found by further reiearob. That wealth may be discovered below the reefs that have already been worked out, or m fresh country •i yet unexplored, but certain it ia that every year teaches us that we are only on the threshold of our mineral resource*. The wildest dreams of the most ardent prospector were far surpassed , by the yields from Gabriel's Gully ; and geologists never believed it possible that either Westland or the Thames would prove such famous goldfields. Greater faith is now being shown m the existence of bidden riches, and a greater spirit of activity is being exhibited to bring. them to light than has been observable siooe the decay of the Thames diggings. The New gaaland Antimony Company la one of the slgqa of the times, and it Is gratifying to know that Guoh men as Sir Walter Boiler, Sir Charles Clifford, Mr Walter Tnrnbull, and other prominent colonists have entered heartily into this enterprise. Another company is being floated In London to buy up the old Caledonian gold mine and other adjoining mining properties, with a view of deep sinking, it being the confident op'nlon of experts that reefs ara below that will yield as rich returns as those which hava been worked nearer the snrfaoe. Then, when we turn to another direction, we Gad that the recent discoveries of copper In the Seventy-mile Bush have opened qp prospects far expecting the anticipations pf tpe most sanguine with regard to the future of tla o ace silent solitudes of that magnifiosnt forest. Mr Mackay, the Government Assistant Goologlstb.ua drawn op a report of hta examination of the land about the Manawatu Gorge. He describes the cuntry as abouodlng m 600p9r over a very large area. He thinks, if mixed, the yield of copper from the ore would be at the rate of from 30 to 40 per cent. This represents, m the opinion of experts,' a perfect treasure for the f utaro oi this part of the colony, As though the natural wealth of the country were opening before us as a flower m spring time, comes the news of the success of the efforts of the South Pacific Petroleum Company. After years of patient labor, In spite of unforeseen difficulties, the Incredulity of scientists, the scoff? of the Ignorant, and the vexations caused by the operations of speculator?, oil has been struck. This fact has stimulated the enterprise of others wh,o waited on the success o^ the pioneers, and the Minerva Company Is now m active work. At Bydney,fwh§re the value of the dlecovery (i better appreciated than parbaps In this colony, a company. is being formed with a capital of £30,000 (6 develop the mineral oil deposit! of the district, and a proopeot of boundless wealth is revealed that In truth will advacoe the prosperity of the But Coast by leaps and bounds. Again, on the West Coast of the other Island, the patienoe of shareholders Is likely soon to be rewarded m good dividends from the Wedtport oosl mines The qnantltyjand the quality of tbe coal are placed beyond question by repeated trials, fudr the time must soon come when New Zealand shall be known throughout the world from Its ooal, gold, copper, antluiony and petroleum as one of the most re. mtrkable mineral countries of the universe. Herein Hei the trie w# ilth of the