The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. FRIDAY, SEPT. 13, 1895. OUR GOLD FIELDS.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 65, 13 September 1895, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. FRIDAY, SEPT. 13, 1895. OUR GOLD FIELDS.

The mines statement made by Mr ! Cadman shows that the development , or the goldtields of the colony is now being pushed on at a very' satisfactory rate. There are decreases of population on some of the fields of the Soutli I Island, with a proportionate augmentation in the province of Auckland. The large demand for properties by English capitalists who are anxious to invest their money in mining, and who are now providing funds for opening up some of the older mines in which operations have been suspended for a considerable time past, has given an impetus to the industry which reminds one of the early days of the Thames and Reefton fields. Recognising the advantage of assisting while protecting the English investors, it is proposed to introduce legislation which will enable them to hold extended areas for their operations. The lower levels of the Thames are to be prospected, and j an English Company has undertaken to sink a shaft there to a depth of 2000 feet, and to erect a pumping j plant capable of lifting 2000 gallons ot water a minute. Improvements are also being made every year in hydraulic and elevating appliances, so that ground can be successfully worked which a few years ago was considered valueless, thus affording profitable employment for a considerable number of men. Although every encouragement will be given to those who »*ish to invest their capital in mining ventures to carry out their operations in a i>on#J}de way, yet safeguards will be provided t^ preypnt large areas of mineral land being held for purely speculative purposes. Tfoi*

will be a deadly blow at the " shoddy shepherds" who have done so much harm in the past by taking up ground they never intended to work themselves, but to vend the moment gold was struck in the circumjacent claims. The total number of miners in the colony last year was 11,412, and their average earnings £77 18s lid. We may mention in parenthesis that the average earnings of miners in the palmiest days of the Victorian diggings was £75. The miners in Auckland earned £127 Is; and Marlborough, !£3O 2s 10 ; Nelson £30 2s lOd ; West Coast, £72 Is Id ; Otago, £69 5s 2d. In some places the miners do not depend on gold-mining alone for their living, as they hold land under the occupation system, or have small homesteads of freehold land, and employ portions of their time in cultivation. It is interesting to know that 52 per cent, of the total value of gold and bullion obtained in the North Island was extracted by the cyanide process, which, by the way, continues to be improved in efficacy. In concluding his statement, Mr Cadman said the more he saw of New Zealand, and the more conversant he became with the extensive mining operations carried on in the colony, the more lie was impressed with the large asset the colony has in its mineral! wealth and the necessity of granting some assistance towards its development. Altogether the statement is remarkably encouraging, and should be received with satisfaction by everyone.