THE PAIUHI AND FOX'S DIGGINGS.

West Coast Times, Issue 388, 20 December 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE PAIUHI AND FOX'S DIGGINGS.

(JEOM OUE OWN COBEE3IVNDENT) December 11. Having only arrived two or three day^ the account I have to send must necessarily be brief. The Paldhi diggings, have almost been deserted ; the glowing accounts from Fox's having allured the great majovity of miners to the latter place. Brighton, as the new township of Fox's is now called, presents all the appearance of a thriving mining community. Business sites are eagerly sought after, and jumping the same has heen the order of the day for the last week or two, to the great disgust of the free and independent holders of miners' rights — who, according to the existing rules, have no right to hold sites not being possessed of business licenses, the place being a surveyed township. This has created great dissatisfaction amongst the miners, who also complain of another grievance that certainly demands the immediate notice of the Government. It is that miners have to take out "rights" for Otago, Canterbury, and Nelson, iustead of as it should be, one "right "being sufficient for the colony. Surely such a monstrous injustice to the miners will no longer he tolerated. Do they not already produce hy their hard labor an immense revenue to the Government, and why should they be crushed down in such an unfair manner. I sincerely trust the mem- J bers for Westland will try and have such an injustice 'abolished. I have visited the workings in the x vicinity of Fox's, and I really was aston- ■ ished at theiv magnitude. The diggings . already discovered form a rich and extensive goldfield, and, as far as I could see, , Was employing 500 or 600 men profitably. ■ Many are tunnelling into the terraces, and i many more sinking shafts above them. : The sinking varies from forty to 100 feet, \ and in nearly every shaft bottomed payaI ble gold has been struck ; nevertheless, a / few duffers have been sunk. I conversed ' with many old friends and old mates, and : all told me they were perfectly satisfied "with their claims. Some on whose ■word I could rely, told me they could I make from LlO to L2O per week per man, , and had a years' work before them. Indeed, 1 most of the claims will give from six j months' to one years' work, as the black i sand varies from three to nine feet in ' thickness. Of course there are some thousands here doing nothing, and new arrivals arecoming at the rate of 100 a-day ; but those parties are gradually scattering i and prospecting in the bush, and I expect 1 every day to be able to send you an \ account of a new rush.- It is the opinion \ of many that we are on the eve of most / important gold discoveries, and I share / that opinion myself, as the country is certainly very " likely looking," much more so than clown south. At the same time I ■/. advise no miners to come, as there are j some thousands here doing nothing, so any I that do come cannot blame me if they are % disappointed. I merely send facts, not fancies. Before I can offer any decided opinion as to the value of this goldfield three weeks or a month must elapse,- as the late arrivals are only now beginning to- prospect. There are more than enough miners here at present to take up as large a goldfield as has ever been discovered on the West Coast, or indeed in New Zealand. The gold is being obtained at present only on the terraces, none having been procured on the flat at the bottom of the errace. This flat is very extensive, and it the opinion ef many that go 1 - a will be struck on it. The sinking is ah' ifc twenty feet, and the water very heavy, so that many have been deterred from sinking. However, during the last day or fwo fresh parties have set in to work with a will, and are making pumps, &c, with the determination to, if possible, bottom. It is to be hoped their efforts will be crowned with success, as the flat is so extensive that it would give employment to some 1500 miners. The Bank of New South Wales is represented by Mr Yates, who has his office at present at Kelly's Hotel, pending the erection of a suitable building. Provisions are plentiful, and moderate in price. The following are the retail prices: — Bread, 2s the 4lb. loaf ; Mutton, Is 2d and Is 4d per lb. ; sugar, lid and^ls per lb. ; butter, 3s 6d and 4s per lb. ; flour, 16s and 22s 6d per oOlbs. ; bacoD, 2s 6d per lb. The p.s. Bruce arrived on Monday night and landed 150 passengers, a large number of whom were females. She discharged her cargo during the night, and left for the Buller next morning. Amongst the passengers was Mr Warden Kyunersley, who has a busy time of it, the office being besieged by applicants for business licenses and miners' rights. Small craft can easily enter Fox's River, ■where they are secure. Five small coasters are at present lying in the river. The Volunteer when entering grounded on the bar, but escaped without injury. When the tide went out she discharged cargo, and floated off at next tide. A large quantity of goods are landed by the surf boats at Woodpecker Bay, about half a mile south of Fox's Eiver, where there is a good landing-place when the sea is calm. I have heard late this evening that several duffers have been bottomed this day in the neighborhood of the present workings. I perceive by last week's "Leader" that you were informed good terrace-workings have been found four miles south of Fox's, and also up Fox's Eiver. Your informant must have been laboring under a delusion, as nobody . here knows anything about them, although I have made careful enquiries.