Mr Ashcroft's Lecture.

Otago Witness, Issue 953, 25 April 1889, Page 12

Mr Ashcroft's Lecture.

Editob Witness, — Sir : While I am u> debted to Mr John A. Miller for his appreciative remarks on my lecture, I have to take exception to his putting words into my mouth which I never used, to the effect that

"a return of the grand old times of 1863-65 may yet be in store for us." Those were the days of surface digging, when large quantities of gold were obtained for comparatively little labour, and my lecture clearly points out that those days are over. I need only make the following quotation to show this (pp. 7-8): — '* Now, it is the experience on all alluvial goldfields that after the precious metal lying on or close to the surface has for some time been picked up in large quantities, a reaction takes place as soon as such easy methods of getting rich are exhausted. Ido not, say, for Ido not believe, that no such surface deposits still. exist.

It is as likely as not that other Gabriel's Gullies are somewhere concealed among our mountain ranges; but such finds are only hit upon by accident, and we may dismiss them from our calculations as uncertain quantities. But that there is far more gold ' over onr heads ' (as Mr Pyke will put it) and also under our feet than we have yet got, I am very confident. The period of ' rushes' is, I hope, over, for these are always attended by severe reactions. We are entering on the scientific age of gold mining, and that will last."

As to the experience of other gold-producing countries, the gist of any lecture is to show how vastly our gold deposits have been .affected by the extensive glaciation to which New Zealand has been subjected, lam not aware of any other country which shows evidences to anything like the same extent of the disintegration of gold-bearing rocks by glacial action. Hence my belief that the scientific treatment of these deposits offers a field for systematic mining oa a large scale, which is not offered to the same extent in other countries where the chief .source of supply is from the rock in situ. Nature has already done part of the work for as, and widely distributed gold-bearing rock in a partial state of disintegration and thus opened up a field for

hydraulic' titiningy such, as I believe, to be almost unrivalled in ant of the gold-producing centm to which Mr Miller altades. But even in those centres appliances are now being brought to bear which justify my remark, that, we are entering on the scientific age of gold mining, and this will no doubt tell on the future production in all gold-producing' countries,'not alona in New Zealand.—l am, &c,' ' April 16. Jambs Ashcboit.