The Palmer Rush.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 236, 19 May 1874, Page 7

The Palmer Rush.

oi >.,;. , /('Puptyown Ihrald, April, 1.) ( It is with feelings of. deep regret we. have to chronicle the continued arrivals in large numbers of miners from the south, all bound to that El Dorado, which, if the telegrjims L that!appear in the southern papers are to be believed, will make every man on the Palmer a modern. Crobsus. .But we emphatically .assert that the great rush which has set in is unwarranted, and unless Bpeedily checked will be the means 'of I causing an immense ! amount'of misery and privation, aye and r death, if the warnings, which ,the press thun-' ' ders forth aire not attended to. Every nay brings fresh arrivals, and during the .last few ' days no less than 500 people have been added to our population. These in addition to those on;ti)ie greund, are, by ,fyr too a number for the 1 present gold-field. It is true ,that many have been lupky and made their piles, but the ground which has : yielded tlf em their wealth is" either wholly or partially worked out,' and thoiso now making their way tothe Palmer must find Afresh fields juid pastures new ;'*, and if unsuccessful in dejing ',§«!, musi'Mii; True, there . considerable extent of .auriferous , .ground yet untouched, which on, trial. ni*y ;I prpve payable, but whUethe cprn grows the steed 1 starves, and,the enterprising, digger, although with every 1 desire,to prospect the ground, cannot, like the chameleon, live! on the air, for until a proper dray road is opened a regular supply of food cannot be depended «u. There are plenty of men on the Palmer to thoroughly test the ground, and in a few months will have given the country a complete overhaul, so that reliable data can then be obtained as to its value. One of the chief causes of this great influx of people to our port arises from the publication of false telegrams in the. southern papers, emanating from mendacious correspondents, who give meretricious appearances to all they hear, one of which telegrams appears in the columns of jthe flydmy Morning Herald of the 18th, sent stating that Capt, Phillips, of the Florence Irving, repoitedon.hraiarrival in Brisbane, the day previous to his departure from ; ;Cooktown, that s from'' 1000 to •2000 ojm:had arrived from the Palmer* Now (this statement is evidently a purely imagina,; tive one, for we ;have made every every inquiry as to the fact, and cannot trace the slightest foundation for any such report. We cannot too strongly deprecate such unfounded reports, and feel confident they only arise In the mind of the Brisbane correspondent, whose telegrams act injuriously to us and'the ' field. The fainter may turn out a good field, And it may not, but we reiterate that there are plenty of people on the ground, and more* than sufficient to prove its extent and value, and we earnestly call upon our elder breth ten of the southern Press to do all iu their power to stop the tide of immigration which lias set in to our shores. We know full well what a difficult matter it is to check the digger from rushing to any part of the colonies at the sound of gold, but we would point out a few facts that are indisputable eoncern--1 ing the returns of gold from the field, which, if pondered over, would convince any sensible man that it is sheer folly to rush to the Pal-, roer at present. For the last four months there has been an average working population of 1660, and the quantity of gold purchased by the Banks here since their opening is tinder 14,000 ounces. A considerable quantity of gold has gone by private hands and via Etheridge, which we will place at a veiy handsome amount, say SOOOoz, which gives a total yield of 17,0000z. Now this divided amougst a thousand men is but lon. per week. Now, we ask any miner is this a fair Teturn for.the privation and misery which has to be endured in obtaining it, when rations are at. famine price, and difficult to be got at that. We unhesitatingly assert it is ijiot, but is sufficient to deter any, man from rushing to the field. It is our duty as 'journalists to be plain and speak out in order to warn men from rushing into the lion's mouth, and we trust our remarks will have the desired effect of stopping that which, if not nipped in the bud, will end in a dire disaster. A reaction will assuredly set in, as we are confident that one-half will return Unsuccessful penniless men, and give the field a bad name. Then will be the time that we shall feel the disaster recoil on us in a sensible way,, and it,is,therefore the duty of every one who, has the interest of Cooktown at heart to do all in their power to assuage the coming storm, by staying immigration for some time to come. «■■•-■ •