The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1872.

Dunstan Times, Issue 547, 11 October 1872, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1872.

Beneath tkeUuloof MenETrIREI.Y jusrn the ten is mightier than the sword.

Mr. Nutt all, the representative of the New Zealand Sub-marine Goldmining Company, appears to have been very successful in his tour through the gold districts. At Mount Ida and the Lakes the matter has been warmly taken up, and a considerable number of shares have been sold At Queenstown the people were -pute enthusiastic and speculated liberally. Sub marine mining must particularly interest the residents of -Clyde, Alexandra, Cromwell, and Queenstown. In each case the riches laying buried up in the sands of the rivers in these localities is something extraordinary. The Shotover, Kawarau, and Molyneftx have been actual ground sluices forages past. Nature itself has carried on all the necessary operations of gold washing in the most perfect manner, and the precious metal having, as it were, been gathered together, it only remains Tor ingenious man to secure the treasure. That such is possible there is nothing to doubt. What has been already done (though in the most imperfect manner) should be sufficient to convince the most sceptical of the correctness of these conclusions. Nothing is wanting but the actual

attempt; and, judging from what we have learned, this will very shortly he made. Mr. Malcolm M‘'.email’s pr cess, by pneumatic cylinders will

quicky be put to the test. TlukGompany is already fenmed mid all the fib-ares subscribed fur, and we are told that th<* necessary apparatus is already in a state of transitu. As we stated in our last issue, it is impossible for us to pass any opinion upon the actual merits ot either process. Both promise to he equally effective, and of course each has its admirers; but, until the actual trial is made, the moat unlikely may prove the most effective. In either case, we shouhl not be doing our duty to ourselves or the public unless.we gave every encouragement to this novel enterprise, which promises to prove of so much universal benefit. Thu quantity of gold contained in our rivers is enormous—much beyond that which is generally expected. Perhaps in some of the devices it might exist in such abundance that a single day’s work, with proper appliances, would he sufficient to cover all the first cost. Among such a number of people, the experiment will not be very much, and is we'l worth trying, Mr. Nuttall’s Company is the only one now open to the public, and we hope to see the share list quickly closed. Two thousand pounds is the sum required to place the whole apparatus on the river ready for work, and with such probabilities of success all monetary difficulties should vanish. The several cases of fire which have lately occurred in Clyde, should put citizens on the alert to devise means to prevent the spread of the devouring element should it so unfortunately happen, and which -is extremely probable, that the.flames become master of the-situation and defied our puny efforts to extinguish them, Happily, up to the present time, we have been spared from any very severe consequences by fire ; still, that is no reasonfwhy we should not be on the alert to contend against this temorseless and unwelcome intruder, who may possibly overtake us when totally unprepared. There are plenty of examples where gold-fields towns in Victoria have been more than halt destroyed by one conflagration, and what lias occurred elsewhere might occur here. We have an ample watersupply at command, yet we take no pi ecaut-ons to use it properly and effectively, and, neyond the few free buckets kept at the Town Hal], there

is no public means to extinguish a conflagration The water race may have water in it, or not, it cannot be depended upon, and now that the hot weather is before us, our water supply may be cut off at the moment when most required. There is no means for dippinii water readily with the buckets, we have to fill them trom a running and shallow race, an uncertain and difficult operation. Wells or cisterns should be provided at convenient distances along the pathways, and kept filled in case of emergency ; this is highly necessary, not only for the sake of convenience, but in the ebent of the race being dry. A fire engine with an efficient brigade, would be most correct, but until our Councillors show sufficient energy and capacity to organise one, we have little to expect from that quarter. In the matter ot fire we have been most apathetic, both publicly and privately, having now been warned several times, it is to be hoped that something will be done without any more forcible reminder.