REPORTED GOLD DISCOVERY AT ALEXANDRA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2020, 18 June 1885, Page 3

REPORTED GOLD DISCOVERY AT ALEXANDRA.

It i> reported tli.it "old has bojn <b-co\cied at AlfN.uirli .1 on Mi Helps' jnopui tv. A K'n.ill poition of the qua it/. w.a- --cut to Mi l\md to be tinted, .nid lie lepoits tint ho found both gold and silvei in it, th<* foiinoi at the l.itn of .111 ounce to the ton. A sin ill boy of specimen- was sent to him on Tue-day for further tests, and the le-ult will be looked foi with interest bj some. R -p >ited gold di-co\eiie* are, hovvevei, v> common, iind turn out so unieliabk 1 , tli.it few ])e<i|>lc tike much mteiest in them. That gold e\isU in the native country is confidently believed by ;i pood ni.ui> people. Some >eais ngo, in thcciih divs of settlement, when ;i cutting 1 was' being m.ide to the steamer landing at Ale\andi.i, a small flake of hue gold, almost the si/c of a shilling, and .some -<m iller specks weie found. The-e weie found m the .illuml d"p >sit on the Waip.i b ink, and it indicates that gold must exist soinewhoie in the conntiy through which the ihei flow-, Thi--, however, must remain a. nnttei of conjectuie until the countiy is systematically p:ospected, an e\ent which is to all app '.nances rather distant, as the (iovemm ntaie decidedly opposed to any pros, pecting being carried on without the full consent of the natives. The lattei ha\e always been stiongly opposed to allowing anyone to look for gold, as they reason that if there weio .111 influx of miners, it would only be the prelude to the occupation of the whole of their countiy bv the pakehas. That (to them) undeniable event must happen oventn.vlly. It is only a question of time, for as soon as their lands aie pis*ed through the couit borne of the ownem will nuke their property a source of levenue to them. Prospecting will then go on without opposition, and the question of the existence of gold will be decided. The discovery of a payable goldfield would be of incalculable benefit to the whole of the district, for a population of diggers, the whole of whom of course are noii-prodnceiH, would afford a ready market for .1 gie.it deal of our surplua produce, and would also materially increase the revenue. The natives would also largely benefit by it, astheir of the money accruing from ininei's lights would bring them a handsome income. The argument against ftros. pecting is that the title to the land lmx not I wen ascertained, and that it cannot be allowed until this inattev \ Uli been decided, but the existence of a goldfield cannot surely affect the title of the rightful claimante, and the existence of gold would not bring forward any moie counter-claimants than for oidinary blocks. There are continual complaints of the dullness of trade generally ; the farming IndHstry i* languishing ; there U tuo muoh production for the demand. Dm ing tho agitation 111 England for tho repoal of the duty on corn, some one boldly asserted that supply regulated demand. That theory at all events does not apply to New Zealand, for we ha\o so much beef and mutton and corn that wo find it difr|c;jH to find a profitable market for uur pioduco, but if the lepoijted existence of gold and other mmeiaL iv the native territory prove true, wo have tho market at our doors, and the soonoi it is tested the better. Should the lopoited discoveiy at Alexandra provo a fact, and a number of digger come, up, all theeffoits of the natives to stop prospecting m their ummtiy will be iv vain, for if the diggeis have any reason to believe theie is gold there they will to acertainly prospect it, and if successful the Maoris will have to bow to the inevitable, for they might ns well try to stop the course of the W.u pa as a rush of diggers,. The moral of all this, in that the sooner the existence or ■on-oxistence of gold is placed beyond doybt the better, and tno Government should try and tn.ake arrangements wlwreljy \t qau m brought about.