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Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 241, 13 October 1886, Page 3

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Another Discouraging Report,

A.GKNTMiMAN, who formerly carried on businos. ae a store keeper in Auckland, forwards tho following discouraging report from Kimberley :—"As promised, I now writo you a few lines on tho Kimborloy goldfielde. I may say at onco it ia con-' eidered a Government swindle. No gold has been got to pay for the capital laid out to come hero. I know scores of cases where men, having spent from £100 to £150, and after being at tho field, say two, three, and four months even, have not brought a third of the outlay back ; in moat instances just a few pennyweights, as loz or 2ozs. The New Zealand stores, McKeuzie's store and my own, havo not received ono bit of gold in paymont for good*, although we have bcoti hero about a month, so this will give you an idea of tho scarcity of gold. Thoro are fully a dozen stores here, and about half-a-dozon hotols. McKonzia'a store alono ia co large that it could supply and keep a town three times tho size of thia going ; tho duties aro hoavy : no bank ; mist of the ready money has bceu paid to the Customs, and thoy (tbe Cuatoms) have sent it to Porth—what for is a mystery. Tho conscquenco is that tho Resident Magistrate ia now giving cheques to workmon for labour done, and theso aro being paid to storekeepers, who aro so full up of this papor thoy.have run out already of ready cash, and so thoy pay by cheques at tho bank in Port Darwin. Whether those cheques will bo mot remains to be seen. The post-office has no monoy to pay the cheques issued by the Magistrate, and it is only tho frosh arrivals coming in that bring somo monoy that keeps ua going at all. Two steamers have just arrived with 500 passengers, and 250 horeee,—all good monoy thrown away, their homes broken up, separated from their famitiea, thrown on a stony wild country thousands of miles away, to get what ?—perhaps 2 dtvts , or ono or two ounces altogether, and many not oven that. Last week 400 left hero broken spirited, diegueted and impoverished. It ia a disgrace to any Government to allow tho reports to be circu lated, aa thoy must be doing. Many hundreds are doing nothing-no monoy, and to keep thorn from starving tho Magi.-trato has given £1 a week, and to find their own food out of that. Those men are making roads. Wo are ex pecting fix or seven moro vessel-* ; numbers of stores, hotels, and buildings of alt sorts are continually coming in, ami more aro oxpocted. Produce ia doing very badly. Potatoes, £9 to £10 por ton ; bacon has been sold bore at 5d to 91 ; flour, los per lOOlba, and ao on. McKcnztoa cannot realise cost prices for their produce, and it won't keep. Thoy aro no w shipping a quantity to Perth, rather than pay duty on it. Tho bonded stores are crowded with goods. Unless gold is found soon in payablo quantities, this place must bo broken up, and no end of failures and riots will occur. There is no back country to support it. In my small way I have done fairly well, compared with larger firms ; at any rate, I shall not lose."