THE WEEK.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1973, 1 May 1875, Page 2

THE WEEK.

The. week has been pregnant with events, and the excitement concomitant upon those events. Fancy dreams of fortunes made have not been few, I warraut. We are, to judge from all appearances, on the very boundary line of a new era of prosperity, which is calculated to bo more brilliant than any prosperous times which have gone before. The prospectors at Ohinemuri have proved their stone to be payable, and so the hopes of many doubting ones are revived, in respect of that district. Accounts from Tairua,, the new seat of attraction, have been of a very cheering character ; fresh discoveries have been made daily, and all of such a nature as to warrant the belief that the field is remarkably rich. . The prospectors are displaying an energy which cannot be too much commended, in 8 tar ting operations on their ground and in erecting machinery thereon. And all would certainly " go as merrily as a marriage bell," but that the miners look upon the leasing system With extreme dissatisfaction, from the late discoveries made in the country surrounding us, there seems ample scope for speculation as to what may be; and, indeed, it is more than probable that the whole of th's peninsula will. be found to be one vast sgohlfield,?,which will afford room for thousands'upon thousands of people. There is also reason to assume that the time is not far distant when other large tracts will be opened xpp to the miners, attracted from every part of the world to the village offshoots patronised on occasions-with such,magnificence by the time-woin city of Auckland. Begarding the Waiomo discovery—which, by the way, was made through .the instru-^ -rnAQ.lalitjr T of'-nn- aclvonitrrotKr CUW-^HtKhy look upon it as being exceedingly dubious. It must be admitted that the prospects v are not inviting, when the attractions elsewhere are so much greater. Besides, it has long been known to all, who koow anything of what is passing around, that 1 gold was to be got in the Waiomo district, but not to an extent which would- induce partiesto spend their time and money in prospecting. In this find, however, there is further proof of the auriferous nature of the entire country. I may mention another circumstance to prove, this. For some considerable time, two men and a boy have bean obtaining a very comfortable living by .working a small leader between Tararu and-Tapu; crushing the stuff with the most primitive of tnree stamper batteries, and conveying it to Grahamstown. • *. • During the week Thames mining has progressed considerably. In the Crown -Princess the reefs have been found to improve very much since stripped 70 feet lower down in their course; the "Cure crushing took every one by surprise^ and the City of London is still keeping up a steady and plentiful output of stuff, which does not decrease in quality ; from the Hape Creek also, in the South Devon, a really magnificent "return hai 5" been obtained. Eleven tons of general'crushing stong.and a few pounds of specimens yielded 13dwts. of melted gold. It would puzzle even Tairua' to outshine that,'*at present. The change in the weather has proved a great ,l>oon, and many batteries before stationary for want of water, have been enabled to resume. The Old Whan. is one. In all respects then, we may with confidence say that the prospects of the entire district are looking brighter. Tairua; shares are in the market, and a number of shares' in Ohinemuri are changing hands. Most, of the Thames community are very'much in tfie position of Micawbei*. They have been virtuously waiting for something to 1 turn vp —some, because waiting is morecongenial to their tastes than active employment, others because they are compelled to wait. '. They now .have a prospect of seeing patience rewarded