THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1871.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 35, 16 November 1871, Page 2

THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. THURSDAY , NOVEMBER 16, 1871.

Fon the last two or three years, if not for a longer period, wc have been told over and over again that the Ohinemuri country was about to be opened up, and now we are told so again, probably on about as sound a foundation for the report as before. We should be glad to see this district thrown open to the miner, indeed there ought to he no part of the country closed to him, for he is one of the most useful class in the whole world, and if not generaly a permanent colonist, is one of the greatest pioneers of colonisation and settlement. Wherever he goes,the permanent settler, as cultivator or tradesman, will be there to supply his wants, and the wealth

wliicli lie develops goes far towards making townships and settled homes, though he himself is often but a sojourner in the land. If he “ makes his pile,” he goe£ mostly to another place to enjoy* K, and if he do A not succeed, he seldom remains to seek another calling in the country whore his hopes have been disappointed. There are, of course, exceptions to this, as to every other rule, but for the most part the proposition ire hare laid down will be found to be correct —that the digger usually a bird of passage, hut at the same time that wherever ho alights he tends to establish permanent settlements, and to convert the uncultivated bush into fertile cultivations and prosperous villages, filled as a rule with a happy and prosperous population. In a quartz district the habits of the miner are less migratory than on an alluvial field, and they not unfrcqucntly make their home amongst us. Their value, however, whether as the pioneers ot settlement or as settlers themseh os, cannot be over-rated, and for these reasons, as we have said, we should be flad to sec not only the Ohincmuri district, but every other part of the colony open to them. If, howevei, owing to “ native difficulties, European intriguing, or any othe rcause whosoever, the natives continue averse to throwing open this terra incognita we cannot help thinking there is, nevertheless, a mrge area ,of country in this Province, immediately at hand, which has nci er yet been thoroughly and properly, prospected. The whole of the peninsula, from Te Aroha to Cape Colville, is known to be auriferous; yet isften between Tarai'U and Coromandel there are hundreds of acres which have scarcely ever been touched by the foot of a white man, Much of this land is believed be strong presumptive evidence, to d gold-bearing, and in the neighbourhoo of Tapu and Manaia there is ocular testimony to the fact. The Kennedy Bay district and that of Paul’s Creek and Wangapoa have also never been properly tested, and at Tapu there can be but very little doubt that the expenditure of adequate capital would produce commensurate returns. This is saying nothing whatever of the Thames proper, which certainly cannot be said to have been properly tested. There is room here for a great many hundred more miners, and for many more thousands of pounds which might be profitably invested. It will be a long time before the legitimate miner is so crowded out that lie must seek Ohinemuri, or give up his occupation altogether. Nevertheless the fact of a known auriferous district, near at hand, easily accessible by land or water, and in many respects a most desirable place for settlement, being shut up by the obstinacy of a few natives, or the mistakes of the Pakehas, —it is hard to tell which, —«is irritating, and if by any means an alteration could be brought about, it would be highly desirable. The next session of the Provincial Council is now close at hand. Whether his Honor the Superintendent, his Executive, the Goldfields representatives, or any other member of the House, can bring us at all nearer to the promised land at the foot of Te Aroha, we don’t know. Indeed, so shorn and crippled of its powers and resources is Provincialism left, that wc hardly know what legislative functions arc left to it, and it never had much, if any, authority in native matters. If, however, Ohincmuri is to remain locked up, we have said enough to show that there is plenty of room for the digger on the Hauraki peninsula if lie never goes a mile southward of his present limits. The steady yields in many of the claims at the Thames, and the increasing importance of Coromandel ought to stimulate prospeting throughout the field, The approaching summer and fineness of the weather arc great inducements to prospecting at all times, and wc believe will be especially so at the present season, when the permanent resources of these goldfields are matter ,‘of fact, and not, as in former times, of mere speculation, although based on reliable data. The day cannot be very far distant when the “native difficulty,” as regards Ohinemuri, and the Upper Thames country, will be overcome; many believe if the matter were left quiet for a while, the natives themselves would soon come forward, and offer to open' up the country. The obstacles to the carrying the telegraph through the forbidden country are all but disposed of, and those which at present prevent(tlie free access of the digger and settler must soon follow; and if there should be a somewhat longer delay in the matter than some people have anticipated, we do not know that it is a subject upon which much complaint should be laid until it has been shewn that the large area of country at present open to mining enterprise has been thoroughly investigated and explored.