THE EXPEDITION TO NEW GUINEA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1114, 22 February 1872, Page 2

THE EXPEDITION TO NEW GUINEA.

Three weeks ago the Maria left Borfc Jackson having^ >ori- board »' the' A avant? couriers and pioneers of a projected colon'y^atl^ew Quinea. Groat and gfineraj interest throughout the colonies musi attach to the progress rif this expedition, for, if the reports that have been brought ,bapk from these mysterious shores areriqt extreme exaggerations^ there is that in New Guinea which will produce no inconsiderable excitement in the colonies. That the peculiar physical features of the island indicate the probable presence of

gold in large quantities can hardly be questioned, a belief that is confiioied not only by the traditional tales of iu.vellers, but even recent assertions from those who have come in contaotwith the Papuan natives. It is known that the great upheaval of the earth that has exposed gold, and made a line of "diggings" from Mount Macedon, in Victor a, to the Gilbert range, in the York Peninsula, reaches its highest altitude in New Guinea, where the mountains, under a tropical sun, ascend far away beyond the limits of perpeturl snow, with table -lands, and mountain spurs, and wild ravines extending throughout the length and breadth of the island. But it is not for its golden prospects alone that this large island of the tropics is mvested with interest. By its side the Fijis and Navigators, and Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific Ocean of which we hear so much, are scarcely to be mentioned for extent of surface and probable variety and value of productions. Its low-lying coast lands and rich alluvial plains, known to exist in the neighborhood of fine navigable rivers, cannot fail to rival the spice islands of the Netherlands India, and the cotton fields of Fiji ; while the elevated plateaux that flank its lofty mountain ranges must afford a climate similar to that for which Quito and the celebrated valleys of the Andes are so favored. A tropical climate tempered by extreme elevation is known to constitute the most delicious of the climates of the world, and this luxury is almost of a certainty to be had on the. lofty table-lands of Central New Guinea ; while as the physical contour of the country is so peculiar, we may fairly anticipate that the island is capable of yielding productions of a variety perhaps unequalled by any country in the world,