Te Aroha.

Auckland Star, Volume XI, Issue 3221, 16 November 1880, Page 2

Te Aroha.

(From Ouk Own Correspondent.) ■':

Tb Akoiia, November U. , Upon visiting the Prospectus claim yeßtfir. day morning I saw a really first-class show of gold in the reef, which crosses a trench cut in the face of the spur. Bearing near *,he cap the reef is somewhat broken, and some of the quartz mixed with sandstone, I The gold is dinseminated freely through the stone, and in a sort of small crab hole there was a good deal of loose gold which conld be discerned a couple of yards from the face. The indications in favour of the shot of gold going down are (favourable. ,The warden was expected up by the steamer last evening and the face of the reef was left as it was for him to see. However, the warden did not arrive. Mr McLean, the manager ol the Prospectus claim, is putting in a drive im> derneath where the gold was found, iwhith is expected to cut the shot of gold some 30 feetdeeper than where opened. The distance to be driven is about 35 feet, and the couutry in the face is kindly sandstone. Hone Weratiko, the prospector andprincipal owner of the mine, was somewhat annoyed yesterday morning when he went to the mine to find that some some had been tampering with the face of the reef, either duriug the night or very early yesterday morning. Whilst I was there, a party I came up and aairt that he had broken down the reef early that morning to see if the find of gold was a fact, as he was correspondent for the Thames and Auckland papers and did not wish to send anything that was not true to the Thames," especially after Mr Mitchell's 200ozs to the ton affair. Hone did not say anything, so I suppose that he was satisfied with the explanation given. Hone seems highly delighted, as lie ought to be, at his show of gold, and it seems to afford him immense satisfaction to have a look at the reef and then at some loose gold, which, he has in a tin pannikin. How many shareholders there are, or supposed to be, in the claim which they call the Te Aroha, it would be difficult to Bay, as, after the native fashion all their uncles, ' anl their cousins, and their aunts, consider they have something to do with it—a sort of family affair. Two Maori ladies, Mrs Morgan who has an interest, and another lady, scrambled up the steep side* of the spur, and had a peep at the gold, the sight of which caused them to open their mouths and give vent to a very expressive long drawn "Ah 1" The diggers here think that Hone and his party ought to give Mr Maclean seme interest in the mine for finding the gold for them. There will, to a certainty, be some rough work upon the day the field is opened, for the reason that two or three different parties will endeavour to peg out on each side of the prospectus at the same time—no one having a prior right, leaves it open for one party to have as much right to peg as another. It is certainly not altogether fair that parties being under cover and prospecting the country should have no more chance than a man who, on the opening day, walks ashore from the steamer. But under the circumstances, the above ' may be unavoidable, although it is to be regretted, and is causing a great deal of dissatisfaction. JSo one will put in a drive or cut a trench, for fear of being jumped if ho should find anything. The only chance, if the prospector should drop across anything likely, is to say nothing. There is more than one reef now found which would, l»e opened out on the chance of its turning oht well, but for the fear of being jumped on the opening day. The country around is wild and jagged, covered with dense bush and tangled scrub, and will require much time in prospecting. Gold leaders, will not, it is generally thought, be so readily obtained as they were at Grahatnstown.

The Thames " Advertiser's" special re,porter writes :—" The leader which lias created so much interest during the past few days is the same one from which the test crushing of 951bs was recently taken. The stone in question was broken from the outcrop on the side of the spur, and no gold was visible to the naked eye. The return which the parcel gave; although small, was considered satisfactory, but nothing further was done ou tbe lode until the arrival of Mr Wni. McLean, an experienced miner from Coroniandel, who soon showed the prospectors where the precious nietalffflts situated. I believe the discovery was the result of a wager made in a sort of jocular way. McLean, in conversation with Ilone, said he knew where the gold was. Hone said he did pot think that he (McLean) did, but if he pointed out the locality he (Hone) would give him a few pounds. McLean accepted the offer, and set to work, and in a short space of time succeeded in breaking out some excellent golden stone from a portion of the leader dlfltant about ten feet from where the test crushing was obtained. In order to get at it a trench, about three feet wide and eight feet along the bottom was dug, exposing the cap of the lode. The honeycombed and crystallised portions of (be quartz are found to be thickly impregnated with thu precious metal, but a gentleman who was present at the time, informs me that ho failed to discover a colour of gold in the solid stone, Gold waß, however, freely distributed through the seams of clay on the hanging and foot walla. - A little work was done on tbe leader on Friday, but the quantity of quartz taken out was very small. At the time of my visit a couple of pieces of stone, which had been loosened the previous day, were taken out of the lode and shown me. Gold was freely shown, and the practical miners of the party expressed themselves highly pleased at noticing that the precious metal ran right through the quartz. In the leader small blotches of gold were visible five or six paces off; but, as was the case on the day the discovery was made, it appeared to be thicker about the honeycombed and crystalised portions than in the solid. The show is undoubtedly a good one for that part of the country, but is not rich enough to causes rush to take place; and persons who are in employment at the 1 hames and elsewhere would be doing a foolish thing by throwing up their positions and leaving for Te Aroha beforef urther developments have taken place there.