THE Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1872.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3255, 12 July 1872, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1872.

Unjvkksal as is the demand for gold,* and universal as i« it« distribution over? tlio eurtli's surface, yet of all brunches; of mdristry^ihat of gold mining hay bjjen least elevated into the dignity; of a scientific pursuit. The early hw-1 tones ofthemtiml'rov<th\inom to which; the seiirchfor gold,, has contributml arej shadowy and indistinct, yet sufficient is| known of to''leM\'lfo the conclu-f motx that either, njpst countries s owed j their progress in civilisation to the al-;i lurements held otitby the hopes of gold! discoveries, or they have disseminated? civilisation under like inducements. In? many cases they have commenced withf the one and ended with the other. Wei are told that Britain was t first invjwled; because of reported auriferous wealthy within its boundaries.1 'Eastern Africa-j was occupied for a similar jreaspn.j South America, in like manner, owes; to a restless lust for gold the toubstitu-j tion of a now nice of inhabitants. And in our own time we witnessed Cali-, fornia redeemed from a wilderness and' converted into a flourishing powerfulState ; Australia raised from the condition of a'penal Colony to wealth and; importance; while, our, own favoured Colony received an impetus in the march of progress, the extent of whichcan scarcely yet l>e realised. ISTotwith-j standing thoue facts, it is singular to observe that of all favourite pursuits gold mining owes less to experience for its development than any other occupation, ''it \vould almost seem that our race, delighted with the mere jwssessiori of gold, are tumble to appreciate thej difficulty with which it is procured.; Indeed, one might go further*, and say that, as in most cases, the difficulty enhances its value, there is little means of "ascertamirigacj curate' information as to the compaj rative richness of ancient and moderri goldfields ; but - thene is some ■ ground for supposing that the ancient work^ ings—particularly those of Eastern Africa—were more prolific than those of modern times. The ancients, how* ever, were satisfied with simply scratch--ing $h,e surfjj,ce. insejvrch pf r al^uyial r deposits." ''Systematic mining ''was 'unknown to them,- and when the moi4 easily pb,tained deposits were exluiusted^ they * gave themselves'" tip to otper pui-suits, and neglected to chronicle that, iufomiation which might have led to' the' discovery of'othW golden localities, and aided in their devolopment. The history of gold mining during*'the1' prtst twenty years is scarcely less, imj>erfect. No rdcord has lx.en preserved of the topd-gi-aphiail appearance of the gold*bear.ing localities of Qalifoniia ? AuHtraliii, or New Zealand, the whole nice of which has been changed by; the hand of the sturdy digger,. No Recount has been kept of the comparative successes which have attended different branched* of mining, of the indications which le|l to the knowledge of the existence ojf gold, or of the hundred and ono processes ejupjp^ed in extracting it. It is a matter of much regret that the experience of the digger during the past twenty years has not been preserved^ For if, after the lapse of a few yearf, the prtiftfcht gold-1 minors' turn their attention, ri to , oilier, , ; cal}ijrigß,, ! and. (ja lengthened period elapses before another gold field invited deVelopment,!the knowledgeand,experience ,pr the, fi&st few yeai-s will be almost entirely unavaijable, and a fresh1 start- will again have to be mode, necessitating, no doubt, ja vast amount of unprofitable labour. !». the interests of humanity this shoulH not be permitted.; It is the duty of the Governments of the countries which have' tietiefitea* by1 ''the deVel6pinrfeWt pf the golden wealth,;ta hand down to posterity a record of its history, so minutf, faithful, and accurate as to ber<)fHßervice in all future time. yr,\U j

For a time the pursuit of gold ma£r attract less attention than it h^s hitherto .done, but it will only be for p time, for there are still boundle|s tracte of magnificent country awaiting its civilising^influence. The nomadic sheep-owner now roaming over the interior of SoutKA^leHc^/South Africf, and North Australia, will be followed sooner or later by the gold seekei*. That these countries' are auriferous has, been abundantly proved. In the former country thousands of the native population during the dry season Vash outf' from the"'beds of the rivers in their own rude wary sufficient gold to iraintain them dur-ing-'toe" remainder" of ther year. * I)r Hector tolls' us that the j.giveji by GRA2^and<SrEJ^j,qC€^tari Africa, warran^the ...belief .that thdt country will prove rich in gold. Rpcent Australian news shows that already payable gold deposits have been fouifd on -tfcftj'nortaeifn r,sliibr«j' !6f<Jthattaratinent. Then, from India we learn that quartz mining in that land is an estab- | lished industry. In North-east China,

*Tapatt, Borneo, and the island o|y•^Madagascar, indications of gold hav^»^n found, which may one day l^dlto marvellous results. Surely thj^xi*wants but little sagacity Ut u?W|raC the paramount importance of feduci^^ to paper the knowledge acquired duiing Wpa^tew7cam' K-Sucira work would be at once a grand achievement and lasting rebuke to the seifiSlinww should be take^4tt*9&Ssh pillion that every characteristic of auriferous country p'lcmld be given. Every process employed should be minutely described and illustrated. The results of different branches of mining should be recorded. Instances of success and non-success should be adduced, and correct statistical averages should bo worked out. The latter should be so compiled as to give some idea of the profits arising from superficial and deep workings, and alluvial and quartz | mines. The commercial portion of the '' subject should not be overlooked. The effect on the prices of merchandise and the value of property should be recorded. The length of time over which gold mining extended before it reached i its zenith, and then its decline as ite | followers adopted other pursuits ; j in short, every particular thati might be of advantage to pre-| sent gold mining communities, and • those which may succeed them, should \ receive full attention. If a work of] this kind were prepared, gold mining: as an industry would assume a rank j and dignity which it has not. There would be less uncertainty and specula- 1 tion in it, and capital would flow into i it freely, while.a vast amount of un-i necessary labour'would be saved. f Already, the Government of Victoria, | through the agency of its School ofj Mines and Geological Survey Depart-; merit, has done some work in this! direction,| which has largely aided in es-j tablishing gold mining as a permanent] industry in that Colony. Wherefore j should not our Central Govei-mnentj follow the example, at any rate so far as obtaining information is concerned 1i The cost would not be great Twoj qualified surveyoi-s under the direction! and with the assistance of Dr Hixrron, would form an ample staff for the pur-. pose. It is to bo hoped therefore; that the matter will be brought before Parliament during the approaching' session, and that an effort will be made in the direction indicated.