OTAGO.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 470, 6 May 1857, Page 6

OTAGO.

; .We haye Otago -papers_■ via Wellington, to ; April:lßth. The chief item, of news is the dis- : covery of Gold. <t We find the followinng paragraphs concerning the discovery in the papers. \ : Goiii) on the MiTAT7EA.~We understand from Mr. Strode and X^r. , Menzies, who have recently: come from th|e souths that the. existence of gold on the.Kaiaura is beyond question. A small quantity has been brought .up which, on being: shown to several parties here who have ; been at the Australian diggings, has^ been pronounced as sufficient to : shew that the working of it "will be remunerative- An old miner, who ■ has previously prospected in that, '-direction; has' proceeded thither with a cradle and other apparatus, andw:e iaay shortly expect some more positive infornjation.-^- Colonist, March 13» '; FUKTSEE. "iNiFOEMATION FBOM THE" MATAtfba 3>lGGilfGS.~We have been favoured with the sight of; of a ; wedding ring manufactured from the Mataura gold by ..Mr. JEeid, watch- , maker. : We are also informed by that gentleman that the personfronr whom he purchased an ounce of gold, from part oi which the ring referred to was made, had between six and seven ounces in his posession, and that the ounce Mr. Eeid purchased was weighed put from amongst that quantity,', It is very difficult to obtain reliable, jaifbrmationr ,"pn, this subject, as many persons appear to. keep the success, of, their j operations .secret. ; We; however, give the information as we obtainedit. — Witness, March ■28. ' 7,.,-v, ,„;•,■ . ," ; •■-..• .- j „,-i ; G OID «....■.■• ■ ;■;;::;,;. ;■{.?■.: ' The discovery of r gold in the # Province has produced less excitement than might have been expected;' and there' appears to be ho probability of a " rush."; The event is looked upon in different lights—by sonieit is assumed to be rather I injurious than beneficial to the interests of the Province: others, l again, think it": will be the making of the place. This [ conflict. of: opinion naturally gives i a different complexion to the various reports which have been.in circulation during the week. - One report which has reached us is, that a gentleman holding a run to the southward has found a nugget on his run, one rumour says; of an ounce weight, another, that it weighs a pound; but we have been unable to find any person who has seen; the prize. We,-however, learn from good; authority that specimens are plentiful amongst the people at the Bluff and Jnvercargill, and it is an undoubted fact that most persons who have lately come from the South : have brought small quantities with'them,which!!they .haye themselves obtained. We have seen these specimens in the hands X)t five different persons. -'\ j>x. Eichardson, arrived in town pn Wednesday, politely exhibited, to: us his specimen, which is of coarser grains but not so bright in colour, and apparently not ' so pure in'quality, as those we have previously seen, -a He, states that the metal was obtained by-his phildren" from: a ditch which had been ; dug ais a, fence around his land; clay from which had been used in the construction of a. house. The gold was fouiidon the 'surface of the clay i at the bottom of: the ditbh without further digging, It is said gpld has also been found at the S mouth' of the Tokbmairiro riyer, but of truth of this: report we have no evidence, 'jsut ithajiV the, precious metal has- been found ! in the 3Sprth-ejist Valley,>ithin three nnlesot : Dunedin, there is not'the slightest doubt. i"-r-

Gebbie brought in a small piece, which he had found riear:hig own; door. This; specimen was tested in town, and having been severed with a knife, was afterwards run together with the assistance of a blow-pipe, and formed a 'piece about the3size ;Of : a No. 3 shot. We have' seen this specimen, and it seems to be remarkably fine and pure, being of a pale bright colour. Some parties have since accompanied Mr. Gebbie to the' Valley; and they assure us that there,; is no doubt of gold being.there. ..We have also seen, two small nuggets of gpld^ the larger of which weighed half a. penny-weight, which we were assured by the gentleman in whose posses-; sion they we're, were found in the province; but he declined to inform us in what part of the province they were found. Weiiave fur? the'r been informed that amongst some of the gold found at the South; oxide of tin is obtained. This latter, mineral, as many of pur. leaders may rememberj Mr. Walter Manteil discovered at Moeraki, about two years since: at that time! the'specimens were supposed to be rubies, and were sent to Great Britain to be bested, when > the ■:' mistake was pointed but.' Since that time no notice has been taken of the matter, but in -all probability, as the search for gold is likely to be prosecuted with vigour, it will be found, that two minerals are to be obtained, at the North. this be the case, it will be a most singular circumstance that gold should have been spread beneath our feet over such an extent of country, comprising the greater portion of the Otago province, and that we should for nine years have been unconcious of its existence, notwithstanding the fact that for the last four or five years our attention has been called .to gold digging. What the value of the discovery niay be has yet to be tested, but surely this problem will not long remain unsolved, when , the proximity of the North-east valley to Dunedin renders the solution an ea6y task.— lbid, April 4. :

Some interesting news from the Bluff and South country, we are obliged to defer for the present. ; ■■-.