TASMANIAN BLACK SAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 242, 29 September 1862, Page 5

TASMANIAN BLACK SAND.

The following correspondence appears in tbe Launc&ston Examiner .— ; Sir,—Early in 1801 I forwarded for analysis to Enaland^ under th* rare of Mr J. A. Youl," a few pounds of black sand, obtained by Mr. Skelfom B. iStnniHt, from tbe neighborhood of tha River Hellver, Circular Head, and in due course reeemil a letter from Mr. Youl, stating that be had Handed thi sand to lbe directors of the Van Dleinen'a Land Company, who bad had it analysed, and the report they liad received from the assnyers was so favorable to the effect that i* contained valuable minerals and precious stones, that I was r^oested to procure and send home a further quantity, which Mr. Etarastt having kindly obtained, at considembfe personal trouble. I forwarded t* London per Dunorlaa. and |»y tbe mail just arrived bare received th-s followiajr mterestiug note from Mr. You! in return : " Waratah Houne, Glapham, London. „„ , July 16, 1 62. n,i&ly. Sir '-7You w»ll be glad to bear, after all the trouble you have taken. Uiat the «saad' you me by CapUin Davidson, collected by Mr. S, B Emiuett from the River Hdlyer, turns out most valuable, as the following document will show:— ' " . Tho sample of sanil ha* been carefully avsayed; and v foand to produce 6oz. and 375ths of fine nM and 3 oz. and 125ths of tfna silver to tbe ton of 20 cwt, of Kand.

u»V tsfcnd> , JotfW anj> Mattoat/' "1 he sand is therefore worth about £m a ton : and if it can be fouud in large quantities, as Mr Emmetts letter would infer, Tasmania has a* last discovered a valuable and paying gold field. I hate kept pmrt of the sand for further observations and to get the opinion oi several eminent geologist* as to whether the silver, which h found not amalgamated with the gold but in separate piecta and pure, doea not indicate thatthere are silver or lead mines In the neighborhood. There are also plenty of smalt sapphires and other precious stones Jn the stnd, and if small ones, why mt large ones? Ido not know If this sand w«« procured from the same locality as that brought home by me in 1801, which the assail em wera so &iudou3 to obtain more of for further researches. I have not vet heard what steps the directors of the Van Dlemen's Land Cornany will tafce to develope by further exploration the value of this discovery, which must tend to advance the vulue of their property. • . .

...u Tuiuvut uicu-wiijn:n>y. » . . , " Yours very truly, 'aw tx , r, "JAMK3 A. YOBX. Win. Jonnstone, Esq.. Launceston." Mr. Emmett, when sending me the sand, informed me, under date 2nd February, 1882, that it wou'd be impossible at present to state how much of the black saoi could be obtained in one day with a labourer having only tried the tin dish, bnt that he conceived there could be hardly any Ji m u to the quantity to be obtained by proper methods of working, as the drift henps or accumulation of gravel in the river contain immense quantities to be operated upon I observe in the \U of exporU from Melbourne some black sand valued aa high a* L7O per ton. containing a Liree Mr-centage of tin. Having been assured bliick saad has been fouud in numerous localities and in considerable quantities in Northern Tasmania. I have dtemed it right to send you the above information, in hopes thatit mny attractattention and induce other parties to forward samples either to England or Melbourne for assay, and thus eventually, perhaps, be the means of developing the r.cli mineral resources of our island, of which we have heard so much, „ but to which so few practical welldirected efforts have yet been devoted. I am, Sir, yours obediently, o . T , , H'ILMAM JonSSTOKE. bt. John-stree^ Launceeton, Sept, 12, 1662.

Thr Parkmouxt Tkagedt The two men already in custody on suspicion of bcinj? implicated in lhii dreadful crime will be brought up to-day for examination an Longford. We are not aware that any additional iridenee against them has been obtainedl so that it is probable they will simply be remanded, How many hands are stained with the blood shed at Parkmount it is impossible to say. Two at, least seem to have been concerned, as Fullerton and the woman appear to have been shot at the same instant, and perhaps a third pursued and shot the old man Sullivan. It sterna that on the evening of the day on which the murders are supposed to have been committed, a man was seen on the Lake River, whose trousers were marked with Wood, and he was very anxious that some meu to whom he spoke f>houhi exchange boots and clothing with him. Looking at bis hands, he is reported to have Raid, " the hands of a murderer can never Ixs washed clean." These are remarkable words for a guilty man to use, and can only be explained by supposing that he wished to lull suspicion by the very boldness of the awful insinuation. It is lurther stated that had the murder at that time been known, the parties spoken to would hare apprehended him. Tha description of this man answers to that of a man who was seen in the neighbourhood on the morning of the murder. The po ice have some clue to him, and the superintendent was on hfe track from Saturday last till Monday, when he tet ft at Tunbridge; but there are reasons for believing that he will be apprehended before lonjr. We sincerely hope that the guilty may soon be detected and brought to punishment, that justice may be satisfied, and Bocieiy relieved of the alarm caused by the presence of undetected murderers in its midst.—Launceston Examiner, 11th Sept.

HoußißiK Acdident.—We were informed yesterday afternoon that a horrible accident had occurred at Bulh. A settler, not very long from Ireland, and who has recently settled on a piece of land selected by himself, wag rolling some fogs down a declivity, when, by some means or other, a very heavy loj? rolled on-hb.wife, who was planting potatoes at the £° H m vfr ~c kik *>r? al"ng »er thighs and crushing her frightfully. The injuries which the poor woman received^are reported to be too severe to permit the faintest hope of her xecovery. We believe one of the poor woman s children was killed and another severely injured^ at the same tfme by tha same log. This melanoholy event has thrown a deep gloom over all who have heard of it. The poor woman was an industrious character, and was within a few weeks of her confinement.— lllawarraExprw, 2nd Septein-

Acctdsot to CniNAMEs.—lt appears that thecar*l?f^?i.left herewme time ago with the Chinese met with rather a sad contretemps on the other side of the Genelg. Htsdrar was upset j one Chinaman was killed j another hnd his back, and a third his lees broken. From letters written by him to his friends hem, be would si-em to be in great fear of the Chinameu ranging the mishap q? their comrades «poo him. He^haJ, he says, been three afehte without sleep qn this account, and thejittitude of the Chinese Sept 5 ': W!'*tamH^.rrJkrm*Wotct,