THE HIGHLAY DIGGINGS. AA SAXTON'S STATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 157, 17 May 1862, Page 5

THE HIGHLAY DIGGINGS. AA SAXTON'S STATION.

■ 01100 tP -.the reported discovery of new alluvial anil quartz workings on S>ixtou"s station, tli<j following official report has been, placed at our disposal for publication. Wo' may. observe that tlxe; report is singularly clear' aiid: explicit, mid that it bears on its face the impress of truthfulness, there being evidently no attempt at color ing or exaggeration, but plain facts being plainly stated. -• Waikouaiti Station, ■•■ !,.■;•, -, ■ 13th May, 1862. Mounted Constable Stratford reports, for"the information of the Commissioner of Police, having on the Sth instant, proceeded from Waikouaiti to the gold fields, .recently reported to have been discovered by Mr. Bailey, arriving there on Friday evening; distance from .Waikouaiti about 40 miles." On Saturday morning visited the .miners in.Timbrell's G|A|r, 21 in number j two parties only sluicing, viz., O*Brien's party, ot six, and Nelson's party of five; the others were prospecting in different directions, not having the necessary articles required for sluicing. O'Brien's part)- had about three quarters of an ounce in a pannikin of coarse, rough gold, wli ich they stated to be the proceeds of the morning's work. On being questioned, they stated that their- average earnings was about 12s. per day each. - They had set in about ten days; depth, about three to four feet sinking. Then visited Nelson's party of five. They had been at work about a week. Saw what they had in the pannikin, above two ounces of coarse rough gold, the produce of one and a half day's labor; -also; a niiggchnearly an ounce in weight. Timbrell's Gully commences at the foot of Highly Hilly'and is about 5 miles in length, running iv an. easterly direction towards the Taieri River, but in breadih is not move than 50 yards in the widest part. There aro three tents only erected. Afterwards-visited Deep Dale Gully ; found about ten men and three tents; one a party of four at work ; these men admit their average earnings to be from 10s. to 12s per day, but the whole decline to state what amount of gold in their possession. Also visited the quartz reef, on a range running from Highley Hill in an easterly direction. On looking at some of the quartz could perceive with the naked ere, small specks of gold. The reef projected above the surface of the range, about 36 feet in length; also saw several other quartz reefs bearing in the same direction —i.e. E. and W. With reference to the supply and prices of provisions, they can only bo had at the the nearest stations —viz.,. Mr. Saxton's and Hopkinson's —at the following prices : —Flour, Gd. per pound ; smgar. Is. per pound ; tea, 65.; sheep, 40s. each. Tools cannot be had at present on the field, as no stoves of any kind have yet been established. Fuel is difficult to be had, the only wood that can be found is the dried totara. There are in the neighborhood peat bogs, but these cannot prove of any service to the miners during the. present winter, as peat must necessarily be prepared during the summer months. There is, however, at Bukitapu, distant 20 miles, abundance of timber. Coal Oreek is distant about five miles from the diggings in a direct line, but the road is at present .almost impassable. -.: Tjie-road throughout from Waikouaiti to the fields may be fairly termed a good dray irack. There is one* fording place across the Pleasant River, and fonr different crossing places nlor.g the Shag River, all very shallow, and may be easily crossed with drays, and al=o by pedestrians. There are no accommodation houses on the road, but meals can be obtained at [ Massrs. Hamilton and Wain's station, situated about half-way between Waikouaiti and the field. On returning met one dray containing flour and boards for sluicing, and about thirty miners in different parties proceeding thither, some having tools. S. 11. Stratford, ; Mounted Constable. The following extract from n, private letter from Mr. James Jones, Waikouaiti, to his father Mr. John Jones, has also been placed at our disposal.—" Nelson party of live admit making 12s. per day. O'Brien's party of six, half an ounce per man. One nugget weighing three-quarters of an ounce found. All the gold is coarse nuggetty gold. About 50 people are supposed to be on the field. On the return of the constable he met twenty on the road, and about the same number by the steamer this day." ' Tub Maternal Instinct in an Aboriginal.. —A remarkable murder was committed on the 11th inst., by a young rative gin, in Fortitude Valley. She haa been engaged chopping wood, and during the afternoon two women noticed her go away towards the bush; Suspicions being aroused, she was followed, and it appeared that before they got up to her she was delivered of a male rhild, and in the presence of the parties she took it up by the feet, and dashed its head against a tree. On being remonstrated with, she said she had already one child, and did not want to bt troubled with another. Segeaut Dowling was sent for, nnd saw the little blackfellow, but the girl had gone back to the camp. The infant not being quite dead, he endeavored to remove it to the hospital, but the helpless creature expired in "a few minutes afterwards.— Queensland Guardian. - . ■

SIX HENRY BARKLY ON THE NEW ZEALAND WAR. (Tram tho Otaoo Daily Times, April 28). Ir a reward were to he offered to the settlers of the late Maori difficulties, how many claimants would spring up. Let us suppose those difficulties were disposed of now, though we are sorry to think this is far from being the case, and that a committee were appointed to examine into the various claims of those who assumed to be the means of bringing them to a termination, what a very arduous task that committee would have. Sir George Grey would probably put in a claim on the score of his road-making, and of the general policy which in that mysterious recess, his own bosom, he nourished. The Fox ministry would urge.-] the abandonment of dignity with which, in ; their endeavor to propitiate the natives, they had promised everthing. Mr. Richmond perhaps might think that something was owing to measures born of deep thought and as honorably carried out as conceived, and the j members of the peace-at-any-pi'ice party might base their claims on the canting philanthropy they preached without the remotest conception of its practice. But after all their claims ■were put in, the committee would he surprised •with another claimant, whose pretensions would not require even investigation. " Place! place! ye meaner royalties, for Major-General the Honorable Sir Thomas Pratt, the Latter-Day Apostle of Maori deliverance. Sir Henry Barkly declares that Sir Thomas Pratt finally settled all Maori difficulties before he left New Zealand, and that the same has not hitherto been acknowledged he attributes to the jiever ceasing deaire of the colonists to conceal the settlement, in order to " sponge " on the Imperial Government for the prolonged continuance of the troops in New Zealand. We presume there can lie no question that we rave given the correct interpretation of the meaning of the following sentence, which occurred in Sir Henry Barkly's speech at the banquet given by him to celebrate Sir Thomas Pratt's .investiture with the Knight Comlnandership of the Bath. We quote from the Melbourne ■' — It v.'its trap they still heard through the press, and tbroucrh other ehimiiels, of symptoms of the renewal ofhostiiities in this or tlwr. portion of New Zealand; but it happened .singularly unough that these reports wore always raised just piwimis to the despatch of the English mail —(hoar, hear) —and it was impossible to forgi't that there was a liu-jrc class in Now Zealand which was inieiv.sted in the presence of v largo military force in. that country. The completeness of the success which had attended General Pratt's efforts might be measured by the facility with which his Mieeewor hiitl proeeciletl with tlm pr.eUicatioi) of the country—his constriiclioii ofa military road through the "Wiiitnliun.i district, where but a few years since the striking ofa pick hi the jrroiind would have bnen accepted as a challenge. The completeness of the triumph might bo measured by this fact—more than twelvu months had elapsed since the pacification of the Waitahuna, and not a shot hail been fired, not a drop of blood had been shed since General Sir Thomas Pratt hail left New Zealand. Seeing, on one side, the confused notion of the geography of New Zealand, which confounds the " Waitahnna* of the extreme tjouth of New Zealand with the Waikato and AVaitara of the north, we would ar,k on what grounds Sir Henry bases his assumptions ? History, we know, -vindicates at times the unjustly aspersed, but it is something too' much to expect so rapid a result in the short space of twelve months. Sir Henry takes upon himself to reverse the verdict that all who were on the spot, or had any opportunity of judging, thought fit to pass upon Sir Thomas Pratt's conduct of the war. We quite remember the ridiculous reception accorded to Sir Thomas Pratton his return toMelbourne, and of whiclrit was thought that those who participated in it were heartily ashamed. It is nothing to the purpose that, induced by accounts of this reception and wishing to do honor to the zeal of a brave officer, who unquestionably exhibited no reluctance to leave the ease of a comfortably retired life to take part in an irksome and inglorious war, the Government were led to promote him from a simple Companion to a Knight of the second class of the Order .of the Bath. You cannot, put young heads on old shoulders and Sir Thomas Pratt if not able was willing, and no one would grumble ivt his reward, however the}7 might regret that his services were unfortunately brought into requisition. But when decency is outraged with such fulsome praise as the following, the object of it must blame his own friends if it call up remarks that otherwise might have slumbered:—"-The campaign " undertaken by General Pratt in New Zea- " land, with a small and inadequate force, in " a difficult and inaccessible country, against a " wily foe, whom he ultimately,dispossessed " and compelled to sue for peace upon almost " any terms, had now become a matter of " history. " Your victories in New Zealand are too " recent, and too well remembered here, to " render it needful for me to refer to the de- " tailed list of them which I hold. Suffice it " to say that you exposed your troops to no " risk which you did not yourself share; and " if personal prowess were now, as of old, in- " dispensable to the aspirant for knighthood, " no knight of the Bath ever.; more fairly " earned such a token of his Sovereign's " favor." We shall be told that Sir Henry is afected Avith an amiable weakness of family consideration. That Sir Thomas is his father-in-law and that he desired to do him honor. But admitting the clinging and tender nature of the tie, it seems to us, that like the Spaniard ■who when he prayed to Providence to assist him on to the horse, found,he out-leapt himself, and alighted on the other side, that Sir Henry has over-shot the mark, and instead of paying a mark of respect to his venerable parent-in-law, has been " poking fun at," or " chaffing" the old boy in an egregibusly disrespectful manner. If we call up recollections of the past Sir "Thomas must blame his son-in-law for it, who. in casting by implication aspersions around him, renders that course necessary in ■vindication of those who in the past or the future may be affected by the mis-statements Sir Henry has fathered. Sir Thomas Pratt's great-victories a list of which Sir Henry although he held it in his hand, did not enumerate, were one on the sth November at Mahoetahi, in which 800 English troops surrounded a body of 400 Waikatos and cut them to pieces, and one at Matorikoriko in vrhich a strong native Pah was gallantry taken. Against this we have the very best of opportunities lost, which really might have brought about that settlement which Sir Henry now< claims, and we have several galling reverses. On the 29th September, 500 men were returning to the camp when a small body of natives pounced upon them, and although the the troops had field artillery with them, they ■were obliged to run—the bullocks drawing the guns being even forced into a gallop. On the 11th September, Major General.Pratt, and 1500 men were repulsed by 200 natives • Sir Henry seems to think there is only one Biveriu New Zealand running through both Islands. .The Waitahuna is the seat of one of the Otacro Cold Fields. B

at Huirangi. They fell into an r.mbush—the men eager to rush on were ordered to retire they could not even recover one man killed from the hands of natives. Tlii.s caused loud expressions of disgust trom.al—settiers and military. 1 The force on this occasion was 1500 men, 2-24 poundar howitzers, and two other guns—• 120 sailors and 2-68 pounders—threeempty pahs were then taken, one contained about 60 dead sheep. The artillery-men were actually driven from their gnns. The troops were so completely surprised, and the flight so precipitate that one officer dropping his sword could not stop to pick it up. The Neir Z^njnndcr contained the following concerning ttiis affair :■ — On that inglc'riftis dftv, the greatest, force -was rnustevocl that was over bsfore put in .motion in New Zealand, and srpnt werctlio anticipations of its achievnients. The' General in propria pemona -was in the field. During the first part of the day it gallantly attacked nml destroyed several deserted pahs, an.l was boWly making on that of \Vi. Kiugi, the condition of which was doubtful. When within a. short distance of it, a wmpany of the 40th were leading the advance and in approaching ft small, patch of brush, they received a volley of musketry... What do you suppose i was tli(! command issued] i'o rush upon the enemy no ! doubt? The men were taken by surprise, and the commanding officer abstained from any forward move!- --! Mont to avenge the fallen or carry nil'the slain. ' But what did the force do 1, you will ask—Why they took the usual time to. lusiurouvro, which was not short; at length they got up their great guns, rockets, I See., and a heavy tire Was opened on the pah where i tho enemy had been, and, after knocking many limbs oil'the trees, turned round .and marched back to town, the enemy following in their rear, firing volleys in defiance and derision. further the same journal states, — "At present there are tew, but very few natives: in fact, none have remained save Wi Khys'i's, about 120 strong; there is therefore'a splendid chance of subduing'them before they become more numerous ; but the General persists in acting: on the defensive, and to nil remonstrance he replies bluntly, "Oh, it's no use following- them into the bush," an.'! so he sits with his Seas by the fire in the Masonic Hotel quite satisfied. Wo*want a vjimcrnl rather than troops. With the past supinencss, no'amount of troops would bo of any avail; whilst, half might have accomplished all if properly led. Contrasted with our present, our late Commander-in-chief derives considerable lustre." Now then as regards the "well armed and wily foe ultimately dispossessed and compelled to sue for peace upon almost any terms." The suspension of hostilities was no doubt caused by the main position of the enemy—Te Arei being rendered untenable ; but the granting of a truce under the circumstances was severely criticised at the time. The celebrated "sap," with which General Pratt's name will ever be associated ; had at last been carried up to within range of the enemy's position ; and no 'doubt the pah would have been taken, and an immense' blow inflicted ; but just at this time, the natives hoisted a flag of truce, it was respected and while our troops were lost as to what it all meant, the enemy, principally Waikatos, quictljynarched homeunmolested. During Gen. j Prutt's command, with the exception of Mahoetnhi and Matorikoriko, no great advantage j was secured, and he by no means retrieved previous defeats by an inferior force. The country at this time was utterly unprotected, and the | town of Taranaki so beleaguered that it was not safe to go a gunshot's length from the town. In fact so much dissatisfaction existed as to elicit a memorial (from the settler.-!, praying the Governor to come to Taranaki and see for himself. The troops were being constantly surprised and parties being cut off, and many favorable opportunities for a competent General to have brought the war to a termination by force of arms were lost. General Pratt had excusers then,but what did they say? they did not attempt to deny his supjneness, but j the)' contended that he was fettered by instructions from the Governor, although the Attorney General had declared in his place in the House, that such was not the case—that the Governor imposed °no restrictions of any kind upon Sir T. Pratt's actions. ,j And now as to the success of the campaign, which has led to the removal of all difficulties from the successors to General Pratt. Instead of the advantage being on the side of the Europeans, it is a melancholy fact that the gain seems to be rather with the Natives, and what is more they openly claim to have earned the victory. What have the Europeans to show for the million of money expended, and for the lives of the gallant officers and soldiers j who, victims to an inglorious struggle, lie buried 16,000 miles from their native land, after meeting that bitterest end to a soldier— death in a field, unlighted by fame ? "Jis well their sorrowing relations did not grace Sir Henry's banquet; to them it would have seemed that " the funeral baked meats had coldly furnished forth the viceregal table." But we digress. What does Sir Henry show as a tangible result of the prowess which would have been the envy of Paladins of old. Not the slightest redress has been obtained—not a shilling's worth of property recovered, —and not an acre of land, except that occupied by the redoubts, acquired; and the natives still keep possession ot the block of land at Tatarairuaka, which was the cause of quarrel. Again we say let General Pratt blame himself and his son-in-law if we have spoken out unpleasant facts. When Gieneral Cameron was sfnt out on purpose to replace him, and when General Pratt thought it necessary to leave the Camp the same day, not relishing the reception with which he was greeted, it would have been better for him to have returned to Victoria convinced that he had done his best, and that that best would remain unquestioned. The feteing afterwards was only to be excused Ity snppositig it was forced on him, but to allow it to be revived at this interval and when matters are pretty well understood, betokens very bad taste. Even in his speech he allowed his vanity to lead him away. What could be more ridiculous than the implied hint that on the withdrawal of the troops from New Zealand " an officer of my rank" will not be continued out here ? What possible influence has he on an independent command 2,000 miles from him? The censure of, even the merest reference to, a political speech of the Under-Secrctary of State, was in bad taste; even apart from the consideration of Mr. Lowe being a member of the Ministry which sanctioned the distinction which gave rise to the banquet. But Sir Thomas Pratt's offence is nothing compared to Sir Henry's. He has dared to tlirow out the vilest calumny against not only the press, but the whole community of a neighboring colony. In so many words he has implied that for thf mercenary consideration of procuring additional Imperial expenditure, the press and the colonists of New Zealand are endeavoring to procure the recommencement of the war— a civil war, and a war of races. As we can conceive no offence more repugnant to morality than the desire for war on purely mercenary grounds, so we can scarcely do justice to our opinion of him who, in defiance of the slightest cause, has ventured to suggest it. •What if we were to retort, and ask what are Sir Henry's motives in heaping the grossest flattery on his iather-in-law ? One word for the press which Sir Henry has directly attacked. Well may the Argus fear for the liberty of the Press when the Governor of the Colony can publicly utter on a public occasion that "grossest of calumnies against it, that it is. in the habit of making wilful mis-statements for" the sake of contingent advantages to arise from/ them. The Melbourne press that often chronicles the probability of the renewal of the war, should not allow the aspersion to remain unanswered.,

WHAT -VICTORIA. HAS GOME TO. „ (From the Daily Times of April 22.) It v a inel.inehoiy liiim; to.notice ln>v often prosperity carries ruin in its train.. No colony evei- had such "fair chances as die favored laud of Victoria, and no British colony, wo dare to say, is at the present moment in a. more unsound or disastrous stale, or has retrograded so mu'-h- within the lust few years. Public opinion,, even in Victoria, is at length in 6onie degree aroused to the fact, and amidst the party dissensions and class conflicts that eternally agitate it, something approaching to a common feeling ot consternation is manifested at the mansed decrease iv the revenue of the colony, _ without a recognised corresponding decrease in the demand for "'its expenditure. The revenue for the! quarter ending the 31st March. 1802, shows a decrease of LI4S 667, on that of 1801, and the revenue for the year ending the 31st March, 1862, showing a flecreiisa nf £Z79.S'xl oa that of the year ending Miu'ch iSlst, ISO!. ' . . Iv the chief article of produce, gold, tlmt-main instrument to the development, we cannot say, progress of Victoria, a lamentable /tilling off is apparent. The fisrnnss are sufficient to speak for themselves. \Ve give a comparative statement of the weekly gold eworl-s for the first quarter of the three years, ISfiO, 1801, and 18tS2. from which it will be seen that year by year there has been a sensible reduction, and so great'a one in the last year that each week shows a falling off on the corresponding week of the year previous. Return for the weekending 18C0. 1801. 1802. OK. OZ. 07,. January 3 - 40,02(5 45,074 ; 43,913 January' 10 - - 33,001 3-2,387 21,51)1 J nuarv 17 - - 45 703 33,503 35,973 January 24 - - 32,(399 31,852 22,904 January Si - - 34.583 39.005 3-,877 February 7 - - 27>74 32,897 25,327 • February 14 - - 39,242 42,124 3(5,005 ■ Fob" arv 21 - - 35,637 39,979 22,208 February 28 - - 35,721 37,314 32 044 - - 31338 30,009 27,830 Marcli 14 - - 38.149 36,249 32,354 March 21 - - 33;087 27,«00 23.910 March 28 - - 46,797 43,305 &5,048 •; 483,545 477,261 392,789 The Argng^in nu elaborate analysis of the earnings of the miners in 1831, comes to the conclusion that their-gross average individual earnings for that year were JjSO. "But,I'says ourauthority, "even this sum must be in excess of the earnings of each individual, since from the gross product must be deducted the interest on the mining plant employed, the cost of fuel consumed by the steam engines, and of the timber required for slabbing, the iniuutcnan.ee of the horses which are used iv cuuneetion with the whims, pumps, and puddling machines, and a large sum to represent the deterioration of plant and casualties ; probably L7O a year, would .approximate more closely to the average earnings of each miner."' Now let us see what the average lias been for the first quarter of 1802. Valuing the gold at SA an ounce, considerably more than its selling price, but which leaves ample allowance for the small quantity that in Victoria is brought down by private band, wo have L 1,071,156, the value of gold for the first quarter of the year. Estimating the number of miners at 100,000, whish is within the mark, taking into consideration the recent addi•tiona'by returned miners from New Zealand, we have the gross earnings for the quarter at -Llti 14s. 2d. per man, or at the rate per annum of L62 16s. Bd. deducting from this for expenses, one-eighth, as done by the Argus above, and wliioh we may say is very moderate, we have the result of 1j54 19s. 7d. as the rate oftiie average net earnings of the miners during tlie first quarter of the present year, and showing a decrease of Lls oa. Oil., or over 'Jl per cent, on those of the previous year. Pursuing the inquiry further, -we find according to the some authority, that the rate of wages for'laborers during the yeav.lStil was 7s. per day, or, £ LOO 4s. per annum. If we concede that miners .should expect the same rate of remuneration, (and it is to be remembered that their hours of work are much longer), we find, by comparing the relative rates, that every ounce of gold obtained this year in Victoria, cost in labor alone, LG -is. 9d., or, in other words, there is a loss of L 2 4s. Ud. au ounce, at the ruling rate for ordinary labor. Vt'o .shall bo told that it was to be expected that the gold productiveness of the country would fall off, and tho fact of its doing so should not be constructed into an .unfavorable indication. In reply, we would admit the truth of this, could it be shown that other brandies of productiveness had been fostered to supply the plaes of the admittedly uncertain one of gold mining, but -we Had such has "not been the case. There is nothing like a corresponding increase iv agricultural, pastoral, or mineral productiveness. To add to its difficulties, Victoria is very heavily indebted, and it is to be feared the public works, representing the' indebtedness, are not of a commensurate value. We say nothing of the Van Yean water supply, beyond that the immense capital involved in its construction should have been found privately, with a minimnm guarantee of interest from Government, instead of the latter undertaking the work itself and borrowing the money to carry it out. But the Victorian railways arc monuments of profligate and reckless trading- upon credit, such as happily seldom finds a parallel. In plain and simple language, the people of Victoria could not afford the costly railways they have constructed, and they were so far aware of this fact as to have decided on them in anticipation of an increased pi-asperity, rather than upon their requirements at .the time. Those anticipations have not been justified, and now they are saddled with two railways, the expense of working and maintenance of which, will be enormous, besides a debt of seven millions, the interest of which alone amounts to £420,000 annually. It is" much to be feared thai for many years the railways will not pay working expenses and maintainance, without reference to the interest on the Debentures. It is of littio use reviewing the past in the mere spirit of censure, or else it might be said that Victoria, coinmited itself to au .outrageous impnu':.;nce in constructing railways of so expensive a nature when far less costly ones would equally have served its purpose.