The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1869.

Dunstan Times, Issue 378, 16 July 1869, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1869.

Beneath the Rule of Men entirely j ust the pen is 5) • CD tier than the s won o

The question of increasing, by arti ficial means, the supply of water to the goldfields, now engaging the attention of the General Assembly, is a matter in which we are very much interested, as, unless something is done to add to the quantity already available, we cannot hope for any very great extension of our mining industry. We are even almost inclined to believe that an increase to our pi’esent water supply is absolutely necessary to maintain the mining population in its existing numbers. It is an unmistakable fact that all improvements in hydraulic mining tend to dispense with manual labor, for we find that the scientific application of water renders it possible to work ground with less than one half of the hands that otherwise would be neces_ sary, and, as we have by no means reached the climax to improvements in mining appliances, there is every reason to suppose that a still further reduction in the amount of manual labor employed will necessarily result. We are always glad to herald any invention or improvement whereby the yield of gold may be increased • but, at the same time, it would be far more gratifying to us to chronicle that the use of these improved appliances was being proportionately extended by the construction of more water races or aqueducts. Were this the case, everybody would be benefited. The increased yield of gold, instead of only adding to the gains of present

holders of claims, would extend the number of workings, and more money would get into circulation. The business of the trading community would bo considerably increased, population added to, while even those ever so remotely intested in the success of the goldfields would reap some advantage.

How to construct water-races at the expense of the country, especially when its finances are in such a de pressed state that we shall be compelled to borrow to protect the hearths and homes of a number of our fellowcolonisls from the aggressive warfare of the savage aboriginal, is a question not easily answered. We see no hope of any direct outlay of money to assist the development of the goldfields, therefore any works which we may construct must be done with borrowed capital, on the guarantee of a certain rate of interest to persons who may be inclined to find the necessarv funds. This latter course seems to us extremely feasible. There is a very large sum of money in the hands of the industrious classes upon the goldfields, who would be glad to invest it could they find the means of doing so profitably and safely, and, as the class to which we refer so thoroughly understand the value of increasing the water supply for mining pusposes, they would readily embark in any enterprise were they only assured that the undertaking would be efficiently managed and dividends reasonably secure. In each of the gold-producing provinces where it could be shown that any scheme for the increase of water for mining purposes, to be brought from sources of supply beyond the means of private enterprise, was feasible and promised to be remunerative, a guaranteed rate of interest for a specified number of years might be made upon the outlay by the province itself, the said guarantee to be endorsed by the Colonial Government.

Another idea strikes us. The difficulty might be met by the issue of land vouchers to the extent, say, of one-half or one-third the amount of capital expended, the vouchers to be accepted at any time in payment for land, to such companies or combinations of persons who might upon their own account undertake the construction of any of these expensive works which in the first place shall have been approved of by the Government. Under these circumstances, a miner with but a small amount of capital eoukl embark in one of these undertakings. During the progress of the works he would only require just sufficient cash to provide himself with food and raiment, and, in lieu of money payment for his labor, he would be acquiring a valuable and easily convertible property, upon which, in case of emergency, he might procure an advance, or he might even sell to advantage. The construction of a, water-race certainly represents the expenditure of a large amount of capital, which is nearly all paid away in exchange for labor, the outlay for material being only a very small portion of the cost of the work. Now of labor we have plenty at our disposal, which, under proper management, maybe made largely to supply the place of capital, and yet ensure the construction of those works so necessary to the further development of our mining resources. This we have shown is practicable, and the waters of the great rivers and lakes brought to bear upon the thousands ot acres of auriferous terraces comprised within the valleys of the Dunstan and Manuherikia, and which, although containing inexhaustible wealth, are, for want of the necessary water supply, totally beyond our reach.