THE AUCKLAND GOLDFIELDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 465, 7 January 1869, Page 3

THE AUCKLAND GOLDFIELDS.

The following has been communicated } to the Wellington Independent, under the title of "A month at tho Auckland gold fields":— Having lately returned from visiting the Province of Auckland and its gold fields, a short account of the impression made on an impartial observer as to the future prospects of the Thames gold fields may be interesting to you, and possibly to your readers also, During the early part of my stay in the North, the weather was of such a character as to entirely prevent any personal inspection of the various claims at the Thames; and the contradictory opinions and reports given expression to by persons "well up" to the plaoe are such that no idea can possibly be formed as to the best way of investing your money, where to go to see the most interesting and best worked claims, or whether it is possible at all to meet a man there whose opinion and word can be relied on in this respect. You hear on all sides reports of the enormous quantity of quartz ready for crushing, but on enquiring personally at the various claims as to when the said quartz is to be disposed of, the working men say that they do not know ; that at present most of the claims in the neighborhood have a great quantity on hand, but that they are expecting to strike a rich leader shortly, and will then have a crushing. In proof of this, you are shown two or three specimens about the size of small nuts, which are undoubtedly very rich ; but the suspicious part of the business is, that the exhibitor of the specimens has, as a rule, a part of a share to dispose of. Having visited many of the claims which are at present considered as second class, and which, have not yet been formed into companies, I cannot fail to be struck with the lazy appearance of the miners, who, with very few exceptions, had their mouth adorned with the indispensable pipe ; and where the claim is worked by a shaft, the result of a day's labor is very small, a small bucket made out of a nail-can being hoisted to the surface about every halfhour, those below waiting for the said nail-can during its ascent and descent. The men who present this appearance are generally wages men, who work for the real owner of the claim at a rate varying from 30s to 40s per week. The claims worked by the owners themselves, or those worked by joint stock companies, present a different appearance, and the miners are seen more diligently engaged in their labor. There is, without doubt, a great deal of swindling going ou ; claims are * salted, * and specimens are exhibited, in order to entrap the unwary speculator; yet there are at the same time a great many claims which are honestly worked, and which promise a rapid fortune to their lucky owners. The majority of claimholders have not been paying wages for many months, and for the outlay that has been expended on them, no return need be expected ; consequently, I think there soon must be a " smash " among many of the too sanguine Auckland speculators. Numbers of small traders who happen to have a few pounds on hand, buy part of a share, without calculating what the continual drain of paying wages will amount to ; and this is the class of people who, owing to their small means, will be the keenest sufferers. It cannot be denied, and must be apparent to every person not wilfully blind, that the gold field has been over-rushed ; but, at the same time, I believe there is a more promising future in store for it, and that, with a fair amount of capital and plenty of honest labor, a man may safely calculate on making a good living, and probably a fortune, at the Thames. The population on the ground at present is estimated at sixteen thousand persons, and for the last six months it has been about the same. When the Customs return of gold shipped during the months of June, July, and August is consulted, it will be seen that the amount is inadequate to give anything like fair wag»s to such a population. The returns for those months I have quoted are, as near as my memory serves me, 2000, 10,000, and 3,000 ounces respectively, being in value about L 45,000, or about LI per month per man, Ido not vouch for the correctness of the figures, but they are sufficiently correct to prove that the Thames Gold Field must nave been, to a great extent, working on imported capital during the time specified. The Ohinemuri correspondent of the Shortland Advertiser says: — "There is nothing fresh to report. Mr Mackay is still here, patiently waiting the return of the natives from Matauroa. About fifty of the Ngatipoas arrived yesterday, and others are expected to-morrow, but it is scarcely expected the meeting will take place before Tuesday. Mr Mackay spoke to the miners encamped near the settlement yesterday, on the advisability of their remaining at Thorpe's place until after the meeting of the natives. He explained that any appearance of a rush or over-anxiety on their part, would only tend to retard the opening of the land, and, therefore, the wish he had to enforce was for their express benefit. The miners, of course, complied willingly, and are now encamped in considerable numbers round Mr Thorpe's farm, fourteen miles below Ropata's settlement, One unpleasant incident has transpired since Mr Mackay arrived. The natives informed him that a European, encamped near Mr H. S. Andrew's store, had circulated a report to the effect that the New Zealand Government had lost control of native affairs, and the Imperial Government were about to send 10,000 men to take their lands. Mr Mackay was taken to the person who had made these mischievous statements, and ordered him to be taken in charge of two policemen to Mr Thorpe's place, with instructions that he was not to return beyond that, or he would be committed under the Vagrant Act, The miners expressed their concurrence in Mr Mackay's conduct, and their disgust at the conduct of the European,

The ex-Queen of Naples is taking steps to obtain a divorce from Francis 11. , for which there is alleged to be a ground recognised by the Roman Catholic Church. The escape of Captain O'Brien from Mallow gaol is exciting some attention, as it is suspected that there was a screw loose somewhere. It is averred that extraordinary precautions were resorted to to keep the Captain in "durance vile." It turns out that this extraordinary precautionary measure consisted in the wife of the gaoler accompanying that functionary while locking up the cells for the night!