ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 716, 23 February 1853, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

G O L D. To the Editor of the New-Zealaxder.

Sin. —The yielclof the gold quartz from theWaiau diggings, which has for some time past beau shown to friends and visiting strangers at my office, has now been satisfactorily proven, having this evening been run into pure ingots. As has before been observed, the yield of one specimen or lot of specimens cannot, of course, give any satisfactory information as to the contents of others—but as the lots referred to have been very generally inspected, and as they were run in separate .lots, with a view of affording matter of information to the curious (and not professing to answer any other purpose) I place the following remarks before the public.

9 4 22 5 G 8 or rather more than 5 in 9. Nos, 4 x 5, G, 14 x 15, and 0 producing considerably more—and No. 2 only loss (and that but trilling) than half-pure gold. This has not yet been assayed. A. W. Hansard, Gold Broker. Princes Street, Tuesday night, February, 22nd 1853, To the Editor of the New- Zealander. Sir, —-Will you do me the favor of inserting in the New Zealander of to-morrow the following correspondence in reply to the illnatured and unwarrantable attack upon me in the Southern Cross of-to-day. The animus of the writer of that article is so apparent and is so well understood by the public, that I abstain from commenting upon it.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, James Burtt. Tuesday, February 22, 1853. Saturday, 12th February, 1853. Dear Sir, —1 have been unable to procure any signatures to the Memorial to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor concerning the protection to Foreign Vessels. Objections have been raised to its having been published before presentation—but apart from this, upon re-considering the matter, I am disposed to think that the requirements of the case might perhaps be embodied in a form more calculated to attain the end sought. I am, &c., James Burtt. To Wm. Brown, Esq. Auckland, 14th February, 1853. Dear Sir, I was rather surprised to receive your note ol Saturday returning, unsigned, the Memorial to the Lieutenant-Governor concerninof the protection to horeign Vessels—as it had been placed in your hands as a matter of courtesy due to your position as American Consul; and as such, peculiarly interested, in the accomplishment ot its prayer. "1 ou will recollect that the Memorial was modiiied expressly to meet your views ; —that vou expressed your approbati on of its tenor—and that it was only made public upon the faith of your pledge to sign it yourself and to procure so far as you could the signature of others. The matter °f Polishing, was also discussed at the time (Thursday last), and we came to the conclusion that while it might be more regular to have the Memorial first presented, yet that it was nothing unusual in point of form, that the publication

should precede the presentation ; and this latter course was resolved on, in order that all the American Vessels in harbour should see the efforts which the community here were making before any of the vessels should leave the harbour— two of which being about to sail next day. ' I regret the more the course you have taken, as if you had told me at once your present views, the Memorial would have been placed in the hands of those who would have cordially entered into its spirit; but who now, after the course you have adopted and the delay, may look upon it with different feelings; and I cannot, therefore, but regret that you had not at once declined an office for which, I fear, you had not sufficient sympathy. I remain, Dear Sir, Yours truly, Wm. Brown. To James Burtt, Esq. Auckland, 15th February, 1853. Dear Sir— ln reply to your favor of yesterday, expressing your surprise and regret at the course 1 adopted with regard to the Memorial to the Governor, praying for provision for the better protection of Foreign Vessels; I beg to remind von tiiat the document was handed to me as I was about leaving our office, and that I had only time to give it a very hasty perusal. It then appeared to me that the Memorial was too lengthy. 1 remarked this to the gentleman who handed it to me, and purposed reconsidering it on the following day, when he informed me that you were waiting my opinion upon it. I accordingly hastened to your place of business, where I learnt you were at the office of the Southern Gross. I there saw you, and pointed out a passage which I considered"not only objectionable but absolutely offensive ; this, I presume, is the modification to which you allude as having been made to meet my views. As to its having been made public, upon the faith of my pledge to sign it myself, and to procure, so far jis I could, the signatures of others, I certainly was not aware of any such conditions ; that I did intend signing it I admit, as also my intention of procuring other signatures, —but I certainly did not consider myself bound to do this, particularly when, on offering it for signature, a blunder was discovered in one part, making actual nonsense of a passage, while, in another part, an orthographical error, so glaring that its non-detection, at a glance, was a matter of surprise,—certainly warranted ray withholding my signature from a document which bore the evidence of having been so hastily prepared, and which (it was suggested) might really tend to frustrate the ends it was intended to secure. Then, touching its publication before presentation, if you remember I admitted my ignorance of the custom in such matters, but remarked that to me it appeared quite out of order. Mr. Bum observed that it was a rule very frequently departed from, and, under the present circumstances, could not be found fault with, —or words to that effect; and, as he then held in his hand the proof of the Memorial which was to appear in the Southern Cross of the next day’s issue, it appeared to me to have been already settled that it should appear on the following day, and I therefore said that if it did it should be accompanied by an editorial note explaining why the usual rule was in this instance departed from. This suggestion having been carried out is, I think, additional proof of yourself and Mr. Burn coinciding in my view as to the irregularity of the course. The injustice of the Inference you have drawn from the policy I adopted is so evident that I cannot pass it over. You tell me that the Memorial was placed in my hands as a matter of courtesy due to my position as American Consul, and at the close of your letter you express your regret that I had not at once declined an office (that of procuring signatures, &c.) for which you fear I had not sufficient sympathy. Now, feeling that the Memorial in question was submitted for my approval on those grounds, I thought it right to tell you that I had some days previous addressed the Government officially upon the subject, and I believe .that you had opportunities of knowing that my time has been much occupied in endeavouring to disabuse the Captains of the Foreign Vessels now in harbour of the idea that their interests were uncared for, and I feel sure that those gentlemen would, if necessary, testify that my exertions have been unremitting to give them every assistance which the present law admits of. In conclusion, I am greatly at a loss to conceive how, with a knowledge of the fact that 1 had taken an initiatory part in obtaining a remedy for existing difficulties, you can, with any degree of consistency, accuse me of lack of sympathy in the object of the Memorial. .1 am, dear Sir, Your’s truly, James Burtt. William Brown, 'Esq. Auckland, 16th Feb., 1858. Dear Sir, —I have your reply of yesterday concerning the Memorial for the protection of Foreign. Shipping; but deem it unnecessary to enter into further discussion, as it is but two* obvious that we are not likely to accomplish, any good hy it. I cannot refrain from remarking however, that you take very different objections to the Memorial in your last letter. In your first note, the formality of printing it, before its being presented was dwelt upon ; but your main objectiau was apparently rested upon a half-formed opinion “ that the requirements of the case might perhaps be embodied in a form more calculated to attain the end sought.” In your last letter however, it would seem that your objections to the Memorial were because of “ a blunder discovered in one part, making actual nonsense of a passage, while in another part, an orthographical error, so glaring that its non-detection, at a glance, was a matter of surprise,—certainly warranted my withholding my signature from a document which bore the evidence of having been so hastily prepared.” In reference to the concluding paragraph of my letter to which you take exception, iu so far as I had doubted your hearty sympathy in the pro - curing of signatures to the Memorial, I need only remark that you seem erroneously to suppose that I had doubted your sympathy with the object of that Memorial, and proceed to state what private exertions you had been making to attain the same result. No observation which I did make seemed to me fully warranted by the terms of your first note returning the Memorial without a single signature, after having it in your possession from the Monday night till the Saturday afternoon. Your last letter adds confirmation to the accuracy of the remark so objected to. I need only further notice another error you have fallen into in assuming that it had been determined on to publish the -Memorial on Tuesday last, previously to your calling at the SouthernCross office on the Monday evening. The Memorial was only ordered to be published after you had approved of it, and after what I understood to be your assurance, that you would sign it, and get others ; or at least ask them to do so likewise. I remain, dear Sir, yours, truly, Wm. Brown. James Burtt, Esq. February 17th, 1853. Dear Sir, —Your favor of yesterday acknowledging receipt of my letter of previous day is to hand. I quite agree with you as to the uselessness of entering into any farther discussion upon the for which,, indeed, I have neither time nor inclination. I am, dear Sir, yours truly, James Burtt* Wm. Brown, Esq . die., &c.

No. 2. A piece of dark' 1 1 originally produced stony looking quartz ( weighing similar to several large 1 oz clwt gr oz dwt gr pieces previously sold, ) i 1 1G 14 o 17 .9 No. 4,5. A number of small golden quartz nuggets.. . 3 12 18 2 4 17 No. 6. ditto ditto . 1 7 20 0 15 10 No3. 14, 15. ditto dark % looking obtained in a ( crevice of the bed ( rock J 1 17 18 1 2 8 No. 9. Small nuggets . 0 10 0 0 6 12