THE THAMES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 715, 6 September 1869, Page 3

THE THAMES.

SPECIMENS FROM THE LONG DRIVE, (Thames Advertiser, August 27.)

Lately there has been a certain amount of some what unusual quietness with re--1 gard to the Long Dave claim because there have not been so many specimen cruahirgs as usual, and without taking the trouble to find out the cause many persons jumped to the conclusion that there were no more to be had. i'lie fallacy of this opinion was exemplified yesterday morning, when some of the riehest and certainly the most extraordinary specimens yet obtained from this leader, or indeed any other here, turned out One of these, of extraordinary size and value, was deposited yesterday morning in the Bank of New Zealand, where it attracted great attention, and in fact caused a perfect rush of men, woman, and children to the spot, all anxious to catch a glimpse of the great specimen, and for this purpose the bank officials with a praiseworthy desire to satisfy this laudable curiosity had the stone exposed to view opposite the open window of the melting house, labelled, with the weight of the stone and the amount of gold it contained. The stone weighed forty three pounds, and ou beiag tested by Mr Smith, bank assayer, was found to contain 117 ounces 10 pennyweights of gold, or at the rate of two ounces fourteen pennyweights to the pound. The stone itself —a large block—.displays very little gold except in patches on the surface, but on breaking oil' a small piece the richness of the specimen was at once discerible, for the gold is so evenly and so richly distributed through it til.it it is difficult to perceive the quartz , uf which the stone is composed. The gold is of a very coarse heavy looking character. , At the same time that this specimen was , obtained, a number of others of very ex traorditiary richness were obtained ; in fact tin's one, rich as it really is, is more remarkable for its great size than for its richness, for many of 1 lie other others bear proportionately a larger amount of the , precious metal. Several gentlemen who , inspected the great specimen yesterday expressed an opinion that it would be a pity | to have the stone broken or crushed, but ' recommended that it should be forwarded , to Australia for exhibition. If sent there , it will doubtless astonish some of those j smart Ballarat brokers who try to throw ( cold water on this gold-field, for the oldest | among them will fail to recollect the time when such stones as this were produced in the Australian colonies, and certainly ( not among the Bal'arat reefs. But the great leatiu-e of this claim is the produc don of stones as rich or richer than this , one, which is not by any means of an exceptional character, but from the frequency , of the occurrence they have become so common that they almost fail to interest any but those personally concerned.