SERPENTINE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 645, 9 February 1882, Page 3

SERPENTINE.

(From a correspondent). After having sojourned in this embryo El Dorado for a : fortnight, I feel called upon to give your readers the result of my researches, and, as I flatter myself on being an expert in reefing matters, they may rely upon getting a truthfnl report at any rate. Ihe fact is very patent r - that alluvial fields are on the wane, and ->it is very desirable that increased attention should be given to quartz reefing in New Zealand. If gold is to be retained as : the sfcandat'd of our currency, the yield will have to be kept up throughout fall auriferous countries., and it would be a proud position for this " Britain of-the South," if able to preserve the balance; —only think of that, dear boys ! as V. P. might remark. If the supply of the precious metal shoidd fall below the demand of the world's requirements, it meaus a fall in the price of all things, hu nan labor not excepted, and it will be well if our legislators devote a little more attention and thought to the future of gold mining, and do their best to foster the industry, and prevent it from failing into the sere and yellow leaf, if possible. The gold discovery has done much—" in fact, all, for New Zealand ; if,our present or future Government do not recognize this | fact, and endeavor to preserve and exi.eo.dtbe production, then I say they will he guilty of the most suicidal ingratitude, and upon their heads be it. Moralising in this way I am losing sight of the subject, and that is preeminently the Serpentine reefs. To use, in its fullest sense, the stereotyped phrase—they are only in their infancy, but they give promise of a lasting maturity, and as the progress of a gold field is not fettered by the law of entail, I hope, although my years are many, to be the eto seethe coming of age of this latest scion of the pre-historic times. Ah me ! if we could only lift the veil which shrouds ihe mystery of the gold production, how wise we would at once become, and Professors Olrich, Heel or, et hoe genus onr.ie, might "go hang;" and this reminds me. why do not these genilei'ieu fulfil their destiny, aud visit the " disturbed " bands of country, as the developeineut of such places - is proceeding, and by practical demonstration prove the truths of their geological theories, and shed light upon many ways that are now dark? But I am. again falling into the "forcible feebles " described by. some writer—in fact, quoting too much for a mining correspondent. To., business -. jwa have claims already prospected, all containing fair gold, whose n:\me is legion, but locally denominated the Golden Link, Try Again, Golden Belt, An;,lo-Swiss, Scandinavian, North Cross, &c. A i'ull'er description will follow in a future letiev. Au premier. The Golden link has a .well defined reef, upon which shafts have been simk, a tuuuel of over 200 feet driven, and .several excellent ciushings have been obtained They are at present removing their mill from German Jack Gully, to a site 2£ miles •uesrer home, when 10 heads of stampers •willbe erected. Messrs Kincaid and M'Queen . have the contract, and their men are on the * ground, Tenders are called for the construction of a dam. to conserve storm water, and a "number of men are employed upon the works, which, when completed, would be a great boon to the place, and should place the company upon a footing to certainly realize the most sanguine and auriferous dreams of the plucky, shareholders. The Try A gain, on the same line, have excellent prospecis, also the Golden Link, which, in one place, I observed, is Bft Gin wide. I took the trouble to measure it. Very little work has been done beyond prospecting, if I e::•cept the Golden Link, the reason being want of crushing mills, but this will be partly remedied when the Link machine is completed. But a public crushing mill would bea good" spec in Long Valley, on the western fall of the range. In all cases I have no hesitation in pronouncing the reefs of a paying nature, and well situated in solid country. They are destined "in the future toprpyide Ofcagowith a good deal of the "sinews of war," without the disagreeable necessity of ruminating over the " shent per shent" business, inseparable from Government All gold obtained by the miner lis actually found inouey for the ■country. With this wise'aphorism, permit me to conclude the present letter. As we

-progress so shall your readers>e enlightened, .-and a description will be furnished of th« peculiarities, formation, country, and \U the '"Paml» Jauibo" of » reefing district. In - the meantime, those who come first are best i served. Allow me, therefore, to recommend :. investors to come early. As Arte>ni>s. has jit, "anyone can pay without going in, bnt go in without paving, to see this sair sk&w," and it is well worth seeing.