THE GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 83, 20 February 1862, Page 2

THE GOLDFIELDS.

(2J™^LSi™l, t ; Waitahuna, February 18, 1862. At tJ , v accidents were rath umerous it was humorously suggested in ai .(. oon o f the London Punch that in order i.ovnni-tl.nm twn nf thn tVuwtnrs «hnnlfl ho rvir trainer etuaHv 011 S tiavei perpetually on .11c omicrs 01 cue en me 0W) though personally I have not the most r o te desire that his Honor the Superintendent r the Chief Secretary should come to grief, yet annot help thinking that, on public grounds, ould be most desirable were either of them com olled to make a few iourneys in wet weathe rom Tokomairiro to Wetherstone's. If the , , « 0r1 .5 r ._.,i „„ m ,, o ii tha "imtto,. fI ?=f^SS.~g?~ lieve that the hair-breadth escapes" throug. inch they would haye to pass would be ampl 1 I tlcl? nt t0 produce the desirea effect, viz., tha having the roads made at once. It is not ab necessary that the entire length ot roa '°" ld be , instructed but those dangerou dhngs or abrupt rises should be rendered pass le before the winter sets in. If this is not don «r columns will be filled with report ice of food, the whole induced by the notori c!ay on the part of the Government to falfil it om i ses . •• Of what use is it"—say many that vre have had a live Superintendent ongst us ! True it is that we laid before hi r grievances, yet, in what better condition ar c now ? Has one single promise been re emed ? Has an hospital been erected, or ar ere any signs of its being done? Are th ads in any better condition than they wer en we had the pleasure of wishing him " bo yage ? What about the committee who so nerously undertook the management of the nd for prospecting for gold, and examining th dof lignite on the flat ? Have they receive rpose did the Superintendent and Chief Sec visit the goldflelds ? If they want th ans or lack the desire to carry it into pracal efTect, to what end was this elaborate dia ay of zeal on behalf of the people on the goldlds ? Really, Messieurs, there must be less of omise and more of performance, else difficulties l beset you from which you will be unable to

extricate yourselves." I tun led to make these iv n remarks by the absence of anything like life on, a ^^^ tST^^ JZ E!b ul£t £ Lininunidtion as it is no«-. Allow the roads to remain in their present almost imepassible state, and you may count on high prices ,1 for every articla of consumption, und a consequent ~- . exodus front ths diggings. Look to it ye mer- a d chants of Dunedin, lor, believe ma, itis from your l f!ranks must come the victims of this ne^leut. i l I'iie diggers will leave; your stores will be choked i d with goods; and if, in the absence of consumers, , s you are compelled to sacrifice your stock, well, < - blame yourselves for the remedy is nou-in your -auc*• Bnng o bear J n and lcavo no Btonc unturned ln the en 3 eilTOur to c bring the two places into close contact. The late d wet weather has rendered travelling somewhat t dangerous, and I was therefore not surprised to c mid on reaching Hill and Smither's, that the coach n bad been unable to cross the "Waitahuna. Tha d river was considerably flooded, and many of the c claims on its edge entirely swamped. The new st rush of winch I made menfon promises to be , somewhat permanent. About 000 or 700 persons t are on the ground, and numerous places ot business i so have bean created by persons who seem to have some c belief iv its permanence. The gold found is not c nearly so watervorn as that from Gabriel's or a Wetherstoue's ;it still retains its angles, as y though it had not been rolled far from its source of The ground .is very patchy one party may get d an ounce off the bottom, while the next claim can - do little more than raise the color. -It is this • - absence ofanythmg like a lead that causes many . - a piece of favorable looking ground to be aban- - - doned without a trial. Several parties-have done - very well, and the majority seem able to make - wages. Indeed 1 o,m informed, that most of the • - gullies in the neighbourhood, and lying between - the flat and Wethorslone's on the short track, are c more or less payable. Certain it is, tnat you p find many a tent perched in an out of the way of «v ly, which has the appearance of being caret tully worked. Save the above rush there have ' s- been no new discoveries at Waitahuna. s lhe amount of gold offering has been . small, and this week's escort will scarcely be up to the average. I was sorry to hear from Captain Baldwin that the discoverers ofthe.auriferous quartz rcct found 111 this neighborhood had ceased to work it, alleging, I.believe, as their reason, . want of funds. This is to be regretted, a", it is of the utmost importance for the permanent pros- ■ ***» °' 4* 7° *»? ™ff° <i" ttrte T fS" J ma >' ™ent'ol. that undaunted by former losses, an attcnipt is still being made to .• turn the Waitahuna nver. Already a large poroi the new 1)e<1 has boen du -S °ut- "'d it is anticipatcd that when complete it will enable the party to work nearly a mile oftheoldbcd. Iv . cutting the race several very fair prospects have . been found in tho upper drift-the real bottom has not as vefc beell inched. Business is at present very dull i P