GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 129, 15 April 1862, Page 5

GOLDFIELDS.

Tuapeka, April 12th: There is no question so frequently debated here, and I presume considerably more so in Dunedin, as that of whether the goldfields will last or riot. Panicstricken speculators, fearful as tp that last investment in boots, land-jobbers doubtful •as to whether that corner allotment, for which they paid such an extravagant price, will turn up trumps, or become valueless with the collapse of the diggings;; are alike anxious to define the future of Otago. Whether, during the next twelve months, new fields will be discovered, or whether as in the case of the Port Curtis rush, the Government of Victoria will not have to pay the return passage money of some of her truant sons, is a question most business men desire-to hay« answered, and one which on their arrival here, they are xwetty certain to button-hole you upon. Now without pretending to any great degree of foresight, or possession of the prophetic gift. I venture to predict that new discoveries will be made, and that independently of any such result there" is ground already opened that will ■ give remunerative employment for years, for double the present population. I am induced to make these assertions for thff following reasons, whicli. as they lie open to any persons to convince themselves as to their truth or error, they cau at once be contradicted -or confirmed. In the first place as to new discoveries, I may mention that I have ridden over miles and miles of country all of which presents the same auriferous indications as those characterising the Tuapeka goldfield. That wherever a shaft lias been sunk,you find the same character of drift as that in Gabriel's Gully, and learn from the prospectors that they can always get the "color," aud frequently come across ground that would pay 8s: to 10s. a clay. Ground from which oiily 50s. a week can be got is not worked, the free andindependent miner being of opinion that "he ain't going to work for adjective tucker in such an adjective cold country-." Hence whole tracts of country in;-which you may' find holes sunk and abandoned may, after all, pay well, and, considering the erratic way in which the goldis distributed through the drift, make the fortune of many a miner who had never dreamed of possessing a few hundreds. Again, ;the gold-bearing drift has been found on the tops of the highest hills, as well as in the gullies,, and !save, in one or two instances, these remain wholly untried. As confirmation that the en tire, country was comparatively level, and that the deposits wliich crown the summits ofthe ranges or cling to tlieir sides are of the same era, and, as a matter of course, are equally likely to contain the precious metal, I may mention that I have seen lignite taken from a shaft on the top of one of these ranges, aiid at a depth of over 60 feet. The character of the deposits to be passed through are precisely the same as those in the gullies, only occasionally differing in thickness, never in kind. Tliere is one feature, however, which, is somewhat baffling. I have not, as yet, been able to find the source from which these deposits have been derived. Whether they have been churned by the action of wafer from the' bed-rock, which they now cover, or whether they owe tlieir origin to the rocks which form the high ranges surrounding the goldfields, is a matter for conjecture. Certainly the drift could not have been rolled far, for the slate and quartz of which it is composed still retain their angles— whicli would not have been the case had the parent rock been distant. lam thus led -to. conclude that there is a large quantity of ground already prospected tbat will pay wages, and-much more that, with a good rush of miners from Great Britain, is equally likely to turn out well. Again, as to the ground already opened, the whole ofthe drift thrown away by the first workers .wih pay tail- wages, either to sluice or puddle. Asa proof 1 may mention that the puddling machines now .in operation are paying well. Fortunes are not being made, but those engaged tell you that "it will do " As to the quantity of drift, it is unlimited, and although not particularly rich,, it will, by systematic working pay well. For miles down the Tuapeka the ranges which abut on the course of the river would pay to sluice, and there is an unbounded supply of water for the purpose. It is in this direction the diggings are tending, and I am of opinion that the entire country from this to the Molyneux will be worked. As it is, there are already nearly a thousand miners spread over a distance of six miles from the junction of Gabriel's and Wetherstone's. The yield of gold for the week has somewhat improved, and I anticipate that although there is no probability of its being, during the winter, up to former results, still the amount produced will show for the population on the field first-rate wages. : The weather during the week has been very cold but dry.