TASMANIA.

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 513, 1 May 1869, Page 4

TASMANIA.

Further Alieobd Gold Discoveries. (From the //. T. Mercury, April 3.) A claim was yesterday registered under the gpl4 fields, regulations, for the reward pffered for the discovery of a payable gold field in Tasmania, in the names of Messrs Thomas George Williams, and Richard James Richardson. The site of tb,e alleged diacoveiy is at Cape Portland, in the Ringarooma country, and the precise locality }3 said to be indicated in the Government phar-ts as (3rown land, lot 828. Communications have reached the Government from two magistrates on the subject of the alleged discovery, s,tatino that sixty men are already encamped oi^ th,e ground, many of whom are getting gold, in quantities ranging from ldwt. to 3o>ts,. to the bucket of stuff,' T-WP, ine,n are stated to havp fqund in one day about Sj^ozs. of gold. Mr i^all, a'surveypr, is, stated to have reached jjaunceston yesterday, bringr ing with him specimens of the gold, sp that wp hope, tp ligar more of the alleged discovery in a day oji two. Thg matter seems tq havo excited ponsiderahle stir in the neighborhood, if the accounts to which we have referred are, true ; and already an application has been made tq the Government for the appointment of a gold commissioner at qnce. No doubt all necessary steps will be tr.ken by the, authorities to secure the interests of those concerned, imt it will be t£ well to await further information qn the subject before taking fiction. There have been many alleged gold discoveries in Tasmania latelyWe extract from the Laynceston ncr the following letter concerning the Ringarooma Gqld Fields :-^ - •fWe are quite in a fevep here, on acpouni; of gold having been f oimd at Water? house, about twenty miles, from Bridport. There is. no douqt about it. Yesterday two men got what appeared to be ifoout 2 ozs. on tne surface. About thirty men haye gone from here within the last three days. I intend to go shortly." Another note from Mr Edwards stated he had determine^ to leave for. the diggings on Friday. Still latex intelligence has been received from Waterhouse, Mr R. Hall, surveyor, paying returned from that place on Friday morning. That gentleman reports that he iff&a on the ground on Tuesday, and that then there were abpnt fifty men at work, and the inhabitants for miles arqund were alnaqst fcpside themselves with excitement. The gold discovered by Mr Williams is limited tp a, small hollow place on a hill, which is traversed by what' appears to be a rich quartz reef. The earth contiguous to this reef i§ very richly charged with gold, fully warranting thp statement of Mr Williams that from one to three pennyweights might be washed from each bucketful of stuff. But as far as our information goes at present, this rich deposit i» limited to ,that small depression we have mentioned, and the whole of which is embracgd in the prospector's claim marked out by the discoverer. Beyond thjs charmed circle, gold is indeed found, but only a few specks here and there ; it cannot be doubted, however, that there are other localities equally favored, which will be developed when diggers get upon the ground. The spot where Mr WilJiama is at work is. about half a mile from the lagoon, and the. stuff has to be oarted that distance for washing, excepting the water that is raised from a well in the vicinity. Mr Hall, who has had considerable experience at the various diggings in the. neighboring colonies, is of ppinion that a large quantity of gold may be obtained, both, from the reef and the surface soil, and he states that at the richest of the Victorian diggings that he has visited, he never saw such promising prospects as occur at Ringarooma. The gold, however, v of the same light color as the specimens first sent to town. Mr Hall brought to town some specimens of quartz, which he left at the Bank of Australasik W« may add that all the men employed > in forming the jisw road, having resolved io go to the new diggings, Mr Andrews, the contractor, went with them, and the wnOle patty arrived on the qrouud on Monday last, l^ut wese prevented from proiipectibg by a heavy rain. Mr Cunmgr ham, supervisor qf works, had in his pos< Session three or four pennyweights of gold, Since the above was written last evening a messenger frpm Ringaroqma lias come 'to town with a parcel of gold found at Waterhpuse. The packet is addressed to Mr. .Director of Bubli^ Works, to whqm it will be forwarded by this day's, coach. The messenger confirms the information before to hand, and will leave again for Waterhouse this day. In addition to ify) parties who are noted above as having left, we may mention that Mr Miller, of the. Swamp, (a brother pf Mr Miller previously referred to), proceeds to-day with a company, and My Anderson, of Anderson and Whitton, proceeds from Bridport, all bound for the new diggings. Considerable excitement nqw prevails, and douqtless several other parties uhJowwn, to us be soon on their way.

GOID, DISCQVSRY AT $QRS CYGNET ( A claim for the reward offered by Government for the discovery of a gold field, -was registered at the Treasury yesterday by Messrs Robert Thorpe and John Stanton, on account of a flifwpvery w-hich they assert they have made somewhere in the Port Cygnet district. The application was accompanied by* a s&niple of about three dwts, of fine nuggetty gold, which, is now in the custody p? the hoii. Colonial Treasury. The two applicants are men who bave^ had experience on the gold fields in Victoria, an^ were struck by the similarity of the country about Port Cygnet to that Pf several of the well-known fields in the sister colony. About two years ago Thorpe, one of the applicants, tried the side of a. likely gully, and obtained " the color," but statea that he has neverbeen able since tp. " make trne" to prosegute the. search. Lately, however, he and Stanton We been prospecting, and have found gold in. two or three holes, bottomed at depths varying from 3 to 9 leei They ftssert that the stuff is of a promising description, and believe that they could make gop,d wages on thegyound. They have npw registered their claims and taken out prospectors'- licenses., and today they return by the mail tp prosecute a further search.

According to reliably statistics recently published jt appears that the average life of certain animals and birds is the fpllpwing : — The bare lives 10 years ; the cat, 10 ; the goat, 8 ; the donkey, 30 ; the sheep, 10 ; the $og, Htp2o j the or 20 ; the sow, 25 ; the pigeon. 8 ; the turtle dove, 25 ; the partridge, 15 ; the raven, 100 ; the eagle, 100 ; goose, 150 years. ' .