THE GOLD FIELDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 111, 25 March 1862, Page 5

THE GOLD FIELDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

A letter from T7"ictoria, Vancouver's Island, gives a flourishing account of 'the mineral wealth of British Columbia :—

'. I have told you before of the almost fabulous richness of the mines of British Columbia. : Recent accounts place this beyond doubt. Many men iu-e making, 1,00.d015. per day, and; not a few have picked up 100 oz. in the same space of time. Numbers who .left Victoria penniless are Jnow worth from 1,000 to 10,000 dollars, the result of one summer's labor. Those who had .not luck "enough: to get good claims of their own obtained plenty of employment at from 10 to 20 [dols. per day. Want is unknown, provisionsare plentiful, and hardships are among the things of the past. According to all accounts, the gold must have been taken out by spadcsfuls. ' Think of 100 dols to the pan—not a fancy, but a reality ! Miners think that richer diggings are yet to be found, and that'the true seat of the pold is not yet. discovered. All the gold is coarse and in small nuggets—say, from ten to twenty dollar pieces.

The largest lump yet found weighs 71b ; and this, strange to say, was found on Thompson's River (o!d and neglected ground.) Miners are now coming down in large numbers, each with his

;le sack of gold : but the majority of those with

" piles" proceed to San Francisco, a loss at present tons unavoidable from the want of a mint and the scarcity of the circulating medium. The Otter within the last fortnight has brought down not less than 500,000 dols., and there is plenty

more to come, Wells, Farga and Co alone will have shipped this year.notless than a million and a half of dollars.

Mr. A. G. Dallas, to whom the letter was ad[ressed, says :—

From my own personal knowledge of the coun-

try, I believe that-British Columbia will surpass both Australia and "California in the richness of its gold-iields. At present the laborers are few, and the gold does not figure in the .exports from Victoria, but goes to swell those of California. :

. Provisions are as plentiful as gold, and cheaper than in. any other country I know. The finest potatoes I ever saw were selling last winter in Victoria at 20 cents, or lOd per 100 lbs. Flour

and other necessaries were equally cheap arid abundant, Groceries, also, were as ch?ap as in England, there being no duties. The only expensive articles are manufactured goods, the produce of labor. For the possessor of the latter, in the shape of a stout heart andstrong arms, both male and female, there is no better country in the world, with its fine climate and every other good gif; ; of Providence, including seas and rivers abounding with fish, forests, rich farming lands at 4s 4d per acre, cornfields, and minerals.

In the event of war, these fine colonies, at all times difficult of access to'the poor man, can only be reached, or even communicated with, either by the circuitous route round Cape Horn or via China. To American steamers from Panama to Victoria we are at present indebted for the transmission of letters or passengers. What is wanted is a line of English steamers from Panama to Victoria. This cannot in the first instance be accomplished without the aid of the mother country. This aid, granted but for a short period, would, I am satisfied, so add to the population, and so develope the resources of Vancouver's Island and

British Columbia, that in a few years they would be able to carry on ; fo.r themselves what they now solicit the mother country to establish.—lllustrated London News, Jan. 4.