The Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1868.

Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 211, 16 October 1868, Page 2

The Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1868.

Recent accounts from the Thames gold fields are not of 'nd florid a- kind as those to which the Auckland journals treated us a few months ago. That an immense area of ' auriferous country exists, cannot be questioned. , The yields ,from many iof,, the reefs have been unprecedentedly rich. A large population' of 'miners and otherß has been brought together. , The problem which now has to be solved is^ how to keep them there. In the midst of the columns of mining intelligence in the Auckland Herald and the Southern Cross, a practised eye can detect the incipient signs of misgiving. A collapseis feared both by the public and the press of the province. This is not^the first time that words of warning have been uttered in these columns. It must be remembered that the Thames goldfield is not what is called a "poor man's diggings y it is not alluvial, but quartz. To develope such a field capital must go hand in hand with labor, or the result will be disastrous. Mere manual labor will nob develope a quartz reef. Miners might literally lie down and starve upon the richest lodes. It appears, moreover, that the mining regulations on the Thames are of the most unsatisfactory kind. That security of tenure which long experience has provided in Victoria by means of Mining Boards, -. compuaed of practical men .chosen by the miners themselves, with a right of appeal from the Warden's Court to a Chief Courb of. Mines, is unobtainable on the Thames, Immediate and vigorous steps should be taken to rectify this great evil, Unless capitalists can be assured of a permanent title to their quartz claims, they will certainly not invest. Tb.e Auckland Herald openly declares that '_¦ the. want pf< security to property is ruining as fine- a gold' field as was ever opened ; and names" two persons, acting as agents for 'others, one w wjjfrn) iß^n-opa-rod to invest

£20,005, another £8,000 in the Thames claims. 'Both are well satisfied with the , liohhess, of the claims, bub positively declare that, tempting as the returns might be, they '^lare^not risk the money on so insecure a tenure. These are two instances out of many in which those anxious to invest capital at the Thames are cautiously advised not to do so, as long as the present regulations continue in force. No man can with safety purchase into a claim. He does not know how soon some frivolous technical objection to his title may be raised, and the property which has' cost .him hundreds or thousands of pounds be staked on the die of a decision given in the Warden's Court. " The system of "jumping" claims is as rife on wthe- Thames as ever it was at Ballarat, "Beiidigb, or Castlemaine. This' fact is deeply to be deplored. When we consider how many old Victorian and Otago miners there must be on the gold field, we are at a loss to understand why they should allow so grave an evil to exist without any apparent attempt at its abatement. "There is," as the •Herald observes, : "agreat difference between half a dozen men shepherding almost as many claims, and working none, and a company of men who, having purchased valuable property, choosingtheir own time, indeed often such time as they must choose, for erecting, machinery, and otherwise working the claims. In the latter case, something more than ordinary tenure should bn given. Any company, Avhether four, six, or eight original shareholders in a claim, or a company of capitalists buying these men out, ought, on commencing work, to receive from the Government a lease, which could not be disputed on vexatious aud frivolous pretexts." If a disastrous collapse be experienced on the Thames Gold Field, the whole colony, and especially the City and Province of Auckland, will suffer. If the co-operation of caj>italists is not obtained, it will be in consequence of gross mis-management, and a want of such Rules and Regulations as any duly constituted Mining Board could frame in a week. The agents of Wellington, Dunedin, and Melbourne capitalists only require to be assured of security of tenure to invest in claims and machinery. The latter is much needed. Working miners will consult their own best interests by insisting on a new order of things. Labor and capital, united under just laws, cannot fail to develope the riches of the Upper and Lower Thames. Without that union we predict a collapse.

arched roof, and lit by a skylight. The walls are plastered, and, altogether, the room is decidedly the most convenient ai)d th« handsomest we have yet seen attached to any shop in Wellington. It will be used almost exclusively as a show rooni for pianos and other ,musical"instruments. We have been favored with a view of the plans, sections, &c. , of the proposed site of the graving clock at Evans' Bay, most beautifully drawn by Mr. C. Moore Igjjlesden, C.E., and they bear out the character of that gentleman for artistic talent, and the high rank he holds in his profession. Mr. Igglesden executed the survey of the site to the entire satisfaction ,of the secretary of the company, Mr. R. J. Duncan, aud of the Superintending Engineer, Mr. Balfour. We regret to hear that we are soon to lose the services of this eminent artist, who is about departing for the North. The s.s. Rangatira arrived in harbour last night from the -North. The following ingenious application of native industry, is amusingly described by the Lyttelton Times. It informs its readers that a considerable quantity of flax has been grown on the Mount Grey Downs, and that a hul'er made from it has been presented to the Editor and found exceedinglj serviceable. The Melbourne Evening Star is responsible for the following :—lt: — It is rumoured that the husband of Madame Carandini, the well- " known singer, will return to Europe by the Great Britain, %o resume his title and estates in Italy, the edict of outlawry against him for the part he took in the political troubles of that country having been evoked. The fourth session of the General Synod of New Zealand was opened at Auckland on the Oth inst., when there were present the Bishops of New Zealand, Wellington, Christchurch, Waiapu, Nelson, and Melanesia, and a large number of clergy and laity. The Bishop of Lichtield, in his opening address, sud ;—"; — " My approaching resignation of the Bishopric of New Zealand requires you to make provision for the appointment of a Primate. This title has already come into use, as being more suited to the circumstances of the Church in New Zealand than the title of Metropolitan. It has not been thought expedient that the Bishop residing at the civil metropolis or Seat of Government should be Primate, ex officio." He concluded with the following remarks :—: — ' ' To maintain that intimate union between the mother Church and her colonial branches will be one of the chief objects of my future life. It may be the will of God to bring upon us a season of trial and perplexity. ,The attempt has been already made to cut off our sister Church "of Ireland from her connection with the" State. Many think that this is but the beginning of further changes. We look without fear upon these approaching struggles, because we have learned bylong experience that the Church of England lives and prospers, not by endowments or by connection with the State, but by the purity of her doctrine, and by the Scriptural simplicity of her Liturgy. In the presence of 'another who has worked in this portion of the vineyard two-and-forty years, and with the memory brought fresh upon my mind of another faithful servant who has lately entered into hi 3 rest, after fifty years of service, I cannot speak of the six-and-twenty years of my tenure of oHiee in this country. But the thoughb of the missionary Church which had existed here a quarter of a century 1 before I came into the land, reminds me to bequeath to you as a precious legacy our native pastors and the remnants -of -their flocks," The New Zealand Herald notices a cleverly executed cartoon {which, has been photographed in Auckland) in which this overtaxed and badly -governed colony is depicted under the guise of an animal which has furnished many a text, from the days of Issachar downwards. The New Zealand donkey, however, less fortunate than his Hebrew prototype, has not the consolation of feeling that he simply " crouches between two burdens," — in his case it is full a score. Piled tier on tier, are seen bundles labelled "red tape," "Defence department," "officialism," "pensions," "Provincial Councils," "useless expenditure," &c. , &c, while the whole is surmounted by a large package bearing the ominous words "Consolidated Loan, £7.000,000," on which Jack Maori is reclining puffing a weed, and from that "bad pre-eminence" Biniling sereenly and benignautly upon the wretched ass which is dragging him along; the "noble savage" appears in "full dress," that ia to say, his wardrobe is if anything more scant than that of the traditional Cingalese lady — a pair of garters and a hair-pin. < The following testimonial has been received by T. Bishop, Esq. , of the ship Wild Duck:— "3oth June, 1808. — Dear sir, — Having completed a pleasant and ju'osperous voyage from New Zealand to Kngland, we ' desire before departing from you to express our thanks for your kind and gentlemanly conduct towards us on board your ship, whereby our voyage has been rendered one of unusual comfort and pleasure. We beg to express, also, our admiration of your abilities aa commander, and to thank, through you, your officers and crew for the willing co-operation they have rendered you iti the important trust you have had itnder y ray charge, Tn conclusion, we wish to oxpreos our respectful esteojn for tyrn^

Bishop, aud our thanks for her tict and ladylike manner to all on board. Wishing you and your family lxmny hnj py unA prosperous days, we remain, yiaiv:-, respectfully, James Alexander, Arthu_* 11. Jiiuwue, E. Alexander, W. AT-jon-ler. Alec. A'cxander. E. S. Ile.lwAi-d." — X. 'L. I'Xtiu inur. The .Southern Cross, is i'.n >ul^al, '"that the warlike dream said to hay-; been dreami by King Tawhiao, and which 1 ad udded apparently to the panic at Wanganui, was not the Maori King's, but William King's of Taranaki, or some Kiugi in Vito Kowaru's hapu. While on the matter of dreams — which, although it may appear somewhat ridiculous, is a most serioius one to the Maoris, and to us too, a3 it m'-y involve the question of a general war — we may state that we have it on good authority that a I prophet at Tokangamatu dreamt, or said that he had dreamt, that Tito Kowaru would be three times victorious, but that on the fourth time in which he came 'n contact with the Europeans, he would ">e thoroughly beaten." A defendant in a case in tl-e City Police Court, Melbourne, the other day, endeavored to get out of his difficulties in a very novel manner. He had been bo md over (his brother becoming surety for his appearance in the sum of £150) to appear to answer- a charge of shooting with intent, which had been preferred against him. On the appointed day, no defendant vsas forthcoming, but the following note, which it was alleged had been found by his daughter when she got up in the morning was 'produced :—: — ' ' Dear Annie — My body is in the Yarra. .Lock the bedroom door before you go to see mother. Get the letters out of the poekeb of the trousers I have on. I kii-sed you before I left." The Magistrates •¦. ere of opinion that the letter was an attempc to hoax the Bench, in order to save the brother from forfeiture of his bail, and ordered the bail to be ¦ estreated.