DIAMOND FIELDS IN CANTERBURY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 975, 22 December 1882, Page 4

DIAMOND FIELDS IN CANTERBURY.

It will be within the recollection of some Of our readers (says the Canterbury Telegraph) that two or three years "go Mr. J, M. Jacobsen announced that he had discovered a field in Canterbury where crystals, which he believed to be diamonds, were plentiful. He has now brought the matter before the Industrial Association by urging that body to request the Government to offer a bonus fo the discovery of such a field, The Association, though by no me ms satisfied that the specimens held by Mr. Jacobsen are diamonds, to some extent concur with his proposal. Several of the members have a large experience of the Colony, and think it quite possible that diamonds may be found, if not in Canterbury, in other places; and a committee has been appointed to confer with Mr, Jacobsen on the subject. Mr. Reese stated at the last meeting that a man with whom he was acquainted found a large crystal in a claim on the West Coast some years ago. Whether it was a diamond or not Mr. iiee.'C could not say, but the man who found it prized it so highly that he sent it home and had it cut and mounted in gold. Mr,. Jacobsen has, it appears, been very unfortunate in his endeavours to have those crystals tested. Shortly after he found the field he sent some specimens home to a firm of experts for their opinion, but the only reply that he got was a request that he would send some more. This hardly suited Mr Jacobsen’s idea, and he waited until a friend was going . home, and sent his best and largest specimens with him. Mr Jacobson declares that he will not discover the locale of the field until a bonus is offered by Government. His reason is that part of the field is on private property and part in the hands of the Government, and of course without a special permit he could work neither. Ho showed some of his specimens to Mr Kellar of the Royal Illusionists and that gentleman, who is an old diamond digger, said that they were undoubtedly diamonds, but soft. At ihe Associa ion’s meeting last evening, Mr Sandstein said he had had some thirty-five years experience of jewels, and though he had frequently seen diamonds broken in the setting, he had never heard of such a thing as a soft diamond. As everyone knew, extreme hardness was one of the principal features of the stone. He however would not like to say that these specimens were not diamonds, but if Mr Jacobsen liked he would send them home to his agents in London, or to his brother, and have them thoroughly tested and if not, Mr Jacobsen might smid them either to Dr Hector or Professor Von Haast Probably either of these gentlemen could determine the nature of the crystals.