The Feilding Star, Oboua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published. Daily. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1896. AURI SACRA FAMES.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 174, 27 January 1896, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oboua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published. Daily. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1896. AURI SACRA FAMES.

.» Wb hold it as an article of faith tfaat every young man who has enterprise supported by health and physical strength should, if so inclined, try his fortunes on tbe goldfields. We know " tfcgjt a vast majority of them are cer- ! tain to fee ynsuccessfu), but if they do not make tbei*? fortunes'they will gain an experience which in «r.dinary cases will always be a pleasant Gac &? look - back upon in after life. There are ejeeep,tional cases, however, and that of Western Australia appear to be one of them. The recent hot and dry » weather has proved a terrible obstacle . in the way of prospecting, or in farfc of doing any kind of work whatever. j Naturally an exbdus has set in, and thouiiiuft&s pf men are now leaving for $ix 9 sijsplft jreagpn. ( tjhat (heir resources

are exhausted and they have no means j of replenishing them. The town of j Perth is said to be crowded with men who are returning to their old homes, and others who have " accepted the position " and declined to adventure further into the interior. AHhough it may appear a harsh regulation under which, at Coolgardie. men who ask for food may be arrested, yet on the whole it must be considered a wise one, because the consequence of encouraging, in the slightest degree, a pauper populsrfcion on a goldfield would be disastrous, especially in the case of the field named, where food and water are at famine prices. We feel assured that this apparently harsh measure has only been the outcome of stern necessity, for thefe exists no class of men who are more charitably disposed than miners, and their good heartedness must have been tried to the utmost before it became a local law. Whether the Government are assisting or not we do not know, but doubtless the authorities will not neglect their duty in giving help where it is most needed. From some of the fields the way is marked by the shallow graves of tliose unfortunates who have perished from hunger, thirst, or fatigue or all combined in attempting to pass over the scorched desert of sand and rock, on their way back to the seaport. Of course the percentage of deaths is much greater among the unlucky ones who are returning because they are naturally enough low spirited, weak and therefore easy victims for " the reaper whose name is death." Those on the up trip are not so prone to give in because they are generally well provisioned and have the hopeof fortuneto keep up their hearts, which the others necessarily lack. It may be said that niany of these men went up at the wrong season, and that is quite true ; but we can have no other feeling than deep pity for them in their dire distress. Their experience will not however deter others, and it would be a great pity if it did, for the adventurous spirits who have gone forth in their search for gold have done more to open up new lands and assist in the progress of civilisation in savage countries than any other in the world.