IMPORTANT COAL DISCOVERY AT RAGLAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2105, 5 January 1886, Page 3

IMPORTANT COAL DISCOVERY AT RAGLAN.

Messrs Fkrgcsson and McDonald, who ha\o been out prospecting, have succeeded in discovering a good coking coal. The locality is at present not divulged, as money and labour wll bo required to still further prospect. Mr Fergus>son and some of the inhabitants of the Raglan district, who subset ibed liberally in developing the existence of a good goldfield, have particular cause tmeraeraner the adroit way in which two Auckland gentlemen who shall at present be nameless, succeeded in gratuitously obtaining plans and other information by which they obtained the sole right to pros pect on an are.i of 600 acres each, which right, it is needless to t-ay, has never been utilised. In fact, one of the gentlemen had the effrontery, after so securing his right, to continue the search. The latter mildly suggested that in order to do so he should want some of the " sinews of war" but at the request for money the party, with charactari-tic meanness buttoned up his pockets, and did not have sufficient manners to reply. Moral, there is no wonder the colony is in suoh a state when such persons hold prominent positions in it, and dub themselves gentlemen. With such examples before them, the prospectors mean to act so that the entire district may becuro the advantages derivable from such a valuable ooncern aa a good mine of coking coal. A public meeting ot the inhabitants will shortly be called to take steps for prosecuting a further search, in order that tlio extent of the field may be ascertained. There are large deposits of manganese, hematite, iron ore, and lime* stone ad lib., while gold has also been found in this Rifrlun district, so th»C sooner or later, from tfio mineral wealth alone, it must become a flourishing place. At present the inhabitants are paying 7s 6d per ton more on their goods from Auckland than the folks at Waitara (who are about twice the distance) sind are besides badly served, as setters never know when the fteamev may he in, though the trade w protfcy considerable, as during the Jast twi\ months 900 sacks of Inns, several tons of flax, wool, etc., besides numbers of pigs^ h*ve beau cent to Aucklftad—Qiw fro<4<i

t ink quite sufficient to w.irmnt the Northern Stcim Shipping Company (whose btoanmrs pas-s ]>rutty often) sending one of them in now and again. An erroneous impression seems to prevail in some localities that the Raglan district is a poor agricultural one, but many who arc under Mich hupretsion, if shown the ciop-» grown in vatinus paits of it, would be astonihhed at their luxuriance. The fact is people here liavo had so much filched from them by auctioneers and middlemen, they have ceased producing except for home consumption, and, sad to relate, the Farmers' Co-opeiative Association, which it was fondly hoped by many would improve matters, has, under present management, proved a total failure, so that producers will not send it any more consignments the returns being ttn slow and much lower than are obtainable elsewhere. —(A Correspondent).