The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1888. A FORD FORETTIN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1762, 9 February 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1888. A FORD FORETTIN.

The scarcity of ' ti»i," m the slangy coll i qniul sense of the term, re niters it all th«* more desir*fo!o t,l»ftt the nurtul specifically entitled to that denomination, and which is easily traiismutable into an equivalent m gold and silver, should be found at Alford Forest. That locality has already mere than onco raised our hopes of its turning out a vi-ritablo Golconda, and if it baa not diamonds, nor rubies of any magnitndo, it lias certainly garnets, but these are unfortunately of no great commercial value. Whether it has tin, or mayhap silver, remains to bo proved, that is to say bb regards tin it remains to bo proved whether that metal exists m payable quantity. One scientist relies on the a priori argument that granite does not exiet there and therefore tin oannot be found, but per contra Mr Jacobsen *BBert«, »s wo understand, that there- if> granitic rock *t Alfard Forest, and that the argument of oon-posßibility as regards tin fails. Another scientist admits that ho i of opinion that, unless tin got by accident into the samples of •tone experimented upon, or was wilfully pot into it with intent to deceive, there is tin at Alford Forest, bat, g O fap ac the ' samples teetedshew, orijy m jnfipiteeimai quantity. For ourselves, we have beon pboTvn proof tbtt there ii » white wetal

of sorae kind m the Altord Forest stone, and that that inHal was tho natural product of the stone m question, but whether that metal be tin and whether it exists m payable quantity are the points requiring to bo elucidated. And let us here say that m our opinion the more .important point of the two is to determine what the metal is, rather than the quantity m which it exists, for it flee us to us to be highly probable that if m the outcrop it be found m however small proportion to the mass of stono research may develope far better stone, perhaps richly veined with ore. It is unquestionably of first importance that the matter should be eearchin^ly and exhaustively enquired into, and we arenota little disappointed at the dilatoriness or indifference of the Mines Department, which ought ere this to hay* set afoot the necessary investigations. However we are glad to learn that private enterprise proposes to supply tho omisßion, some gentlemen interested having obtained the services of an expert m tinmining who has had many years experience m Cornwall, and being determined to make a full and comploto teßt of the supposed tin- bearing; stone. Ab to their proposed operations, the fallowing information is supplied to our Christchurch evening contemporary, the " Telegraph " :— « lt is intended that three of the prominent members of the syndicate, accompanied by an expert, shall pay a visit to the spot and take thence a couple of tons of stuff for treatment. The expert, it may be noted, has had considerable experience m the Old Country m the treatment of the oxide of tin — that is the deposit which is obtained after the stone has been calcined. The use of a large retort, crucibles, etc., has been obtained, and it is intended that the expert— who by tho way, has no interest m the syndicate — shall take charge of the stuff at Alford Forest, the getting of it having been carried out Under the personal supervision ot the party, ship it per truck to Christchurch, receive it there, and superintend tha subsequent operations, This of course would ensue the bona fides of the trial. In order still further to test the matter and to ascertain definitely whether or not tin does exist at Alford Forest it is proposed to aßk one or two gentlemen, well known m Christchurch, and who •re total y unconnected with the speculation, to accompany the party and see tho experiment curried out. N othing further could be done to ensure that the material actually taken out from tho neighborhood, and that alone, should be subjected to the test, and no doubt both the syndicate and the public would be satitioa with the result — whichever way it turned out — so arrived at " It is added that " the trial will m all pro • bability take place next week," and therefore we shall not have long to wait t» know whether Alford Forest is really going to turn up trumps at last.