The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 39, 24 March 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1863.

British enterprise is proverbial, and in nothing v it more strongly developed than in the exploration of regions previously unknown. Failures may be frequent, but these appear only to strengthen the determination of others to succeed in the required object. If one falls another is certainly ready to take his place, and though the list of martyrs in the cause may be, and often is, painful, there is usually no lack of volunteers. Each in turn gath^s wisdom from the efforts of his p edecessors, and some one is sure, ultimately, to achieve the sought -for triumph. An instance of this is the recent crossing of the Australian continent from sea to sea ; and now, more lately, we have the Middle Island of New Zealand traversed in a like manner. The West Coast, and the terra incognita lying between it and the opposite shore, have been fairly walked over by the party under Dr Hector's guidance. The particulars of their closing travels are now before us, and the story is very far from, being uninteresting. The report is written by a special correspondent of the Deal/ Times; and, though necessarily brief in some respects, there is sufficient to give a good idea of the country. From that report we will give a few extracts, our space at present not admitting of more. The writer's first letter is dated from the left bank of the Matukituki River, and is nearly all occupied with accounts of the difficulties in penetrating a very swampy country. The creeks, he says, In common with many others throughout the Province, deposit a large quantity of ochre, as their currents become sluggish on approaching the river, showing that their waters are strongly impregnated with iron, derived probably from the rocks which compose (lie mountains. The effect of this sediment <m our trousers, while wading the streams, was to import fi temporary rusty r»d dye, and which was not wholly removed by continual washing. *3** * * * On arriving at the boilers of the second hike, our difficult /whs greatly increased by the swamps —fir the space of tour hours we plodded to our waist in the .vater, leading the pack-horses throu-h dcr.se clouds of sandnies and mosquitoes. Towards evening the mire became more deep, and in less ilmn five minutes all the hordes, with the exception of two. had sunk S" effectually into the mire as to preclude any probability of again rising ladr-n. IV o altm-native ••■mained for us but to ease the animals ot their burden, pack the baggage piecemeal on our backs, and seek the driest spot on which to leave it. By the lime we had accomplished this and extracted the horses, night, accompanied by a real mountain shower, compelled us to encamp. Some miles further on dty land was reached — a sandy plain, most luxuriantly covered with vegetation: — The trees are of l-\rgo dimensions ; one close tn mv tent measures 12ft in circumference at tho distance of lft from the ground, and is from 90 to 100 ft in height, This is by no means a giant among pigmies, the greater rmmiw nearly equal it in dimensions, while there are others superior to it in every respect. It is curious to observe almost, the entire absence of tho Pine, but judging from the few young ones scattered here and there among the Birch, there can be no doubt that, at no great distance we shall find them plentifully distributed. As nrght be expected, a grateful feeling is expressed for the agreeal le change ; and great encomiums are passed upon the numerous representatives of the fishy and feathered tribes in the neighborhood. The thread of the story is taken up in the next letter, dated from the left bank of the Waikouaiti, after the return of the expedition. Making the pleasant spot last described their head quarters, the party split; the leader taking with him the writer and another for an exploration to the westward. Each had a pack horse, with provisions calculated to List a month; aad between swampy ground and other difficulties, they made only seven miles the first day : — About ten miles above our main camp, the Matukituki is formed by the confluence of two equal sized branches. The one from the north, although the shortest, may be properly considered the main stream. The other, which sweeps from the west, joins it through a rocky defile., which at first si'-'ht w e anticipated would offer an obstacle to our progress. We were, however, agreeably surprised to find it occupied by an open flat, fringed by noble forests of bpech, which clothe the mountain sides also to the height of about 2,00 feet. Attempts were made in various directions, but the progress was slow and tedious. At length : — Dr. Hector struck off to the river, and succeeded ia finding a more practicable tra^k by which to avoid the labor of hewing, as well as a means of again descending into the immediate valley of the stream. In the gorge, the channel is beset with huge boulders, rendering the river for some distance a series of foaming rapids, as well as preven'ing any track being practicable nlong the edge of its waters. Just abjve the gorge, through a narrow fisfure in the mountains, there is a fine view of the glaciers which clothe the southern flanks of Mount Aspiring, affording a good idea of the enormous quantity of ice which mantles on those Alpine s'.opes. We cannot follow the party in their successful efforts to surmount these slopes and gain the other side. We hope, in an early number, to give lengthy extracts from this portion of the correspondence ; meantime, suffice it to say, that after abandoning the pack horses, each man carrying as little as possible, and encountering all the dangers of alpine travelling, they — Proceeded along the summit of the ridge to the highest point of the mountain, when to our great deii*-ht the ocean shore lay stretched before us at the dis* .nee ot about fifteen miles. From this point t'le whole course of the river by which we had descended was accurately traced, and it was found to sweep through a perfect canon at a distance of two miles above the point at which it de- ! ouches into a river, the valley of which rang*.; f;om i .ree to five mi .s in width, and who. c volume ci' water is at least equal to the Molyneux, when it leaves the Wanaka Lake. From careful bearings, which Dr Hector had taken throughout i:ie route we had followed, we learnt that what wo saw was Jackson's Bay. He therefore named the river which flows into it the Jackson. The sight of the ocean was too great a tcmntatiou for us to be satisfied that we had proceeded far enough, and, although our provisions were almost entirely consumed, only about lib of flour being left, in the hope that we might get eels and obtain a sufficient number of birds in the Jackson Valley to admit of our descent to its mouth, we determined to piubon. Dr Hector's gun had supplied

us witli numbers of ducks (caw-caws) on the easf. of tho height of land, but, in our descent of the Haasfc River, the scarcity of birds is very remarkable. Even' the woodhens, so common at each of our encampments to the east of the Saddle, were represented on this side by only one or two of the species. However, this might be a mere piece of unusual ill-luck we agreed, and trusting to the protection of good fortune, resumed our packs for the descent of the Jackson's Valley. The hope of nature supplying their wants utterly failed, and continued wet weather having set in, the small party, exhausted by exposure and want of nouri lament, had great difficulty in reaching their largest cache, after having been within eight miles of the sea shore. The following will show how far their provisions were reduced : — The following day, March sth, we returned to the i-.mp where we had left the horses, and found our first cache safe. When at-.-viing from this place on the loth, we had anticipated an absence of only 6 days, and took provisions for that period ; after the first two days march, it will be remembered, two-thirds of that quantity were slung in the forks of a tree to li ;hl n our p.:cks. Now as we were just 17 days instead of 0 going an 1 coming, a very fair idea can be formed of the small rations that fell to our share. It if simply this, that for 14 days (the time ehipsed from the first cache to our return to the same pi -.cc) we lived upon 2 days' rations, and the few birr 1 .? that were shot. Altogether the birds shot numbered 5 c iw-caws, 4 pigeons, 3 ducks and 2 wood-hens in this interval. Speaking of the geological formation, the writer states that he is not in a position to give a positive opinion. Gold undoubtedly exists throughout the' whole length travelled, but it is questionable whether it would be found in payable quantities. The writer has Dr Hector's authority for stating — That the rocks are identically the some throughout the whole distance as those in the upper part of tho Mntukituki vuUey, aud southward t > the Wakatip Lake, beinnr the upper memlicrs of the auriferous aerie 3. l.c searched for gold but necei .;rily in an imperfect rtmnnrj, and without sucee.;; bat 1 rge quantities <>f coarse bla^k iron sand, mingled with green sand, weiv observed, so that there is little doubt that gold will occur there al.-o. For cert .tin reasons (•'•nnected with the structure of the country, he believes that its distribution in the river valleys will he extreinelv ir regular, and prospecting will be the work of c -.nee. On elevated gj'lu.j in the high mountains towards the c< st, however, more regular aur' er?us deposits r yI o expected, but even on this point he is by no me ns confident. As the writer says, however, such a trip c.mnot settle these matters, and he points to a leisarel}* examination of the West Const as the best and most effective plan. One tiling the excursion has proved, viz., the existence of suitable spots for settlement close on these hitherto considered iron-bound shore?. This, of itself, is something, independent of the additions to scientific knowledge which have been gained. The party are to be congratulated on the successful issue, of their adventui c, for though they did. not actually bathe in the sea, they were but a mere step from it. The Otago Government, who sent them out, must also receive a due share of praise. Their instructions that, the explorers should keep strictly within the Province 8 .ivours of narrow-mindedness, and caused the latter considerable annoyance ; but even this may be overlooked in the good which the other Provinces must receive by - the results of Dr Hector's exploration.

The 31st day of this month is the last clay for registering claims to vote. Those who j have not sent in their claims should <1> so at onca. It is to be hoped ni one will ncgloct to register, as the future prosperity of the province in a great measure depends on the votes to be recorded at the next election. Our contemporary, the Otajo Daily Times, is so determined to throw cold water on everything connected with this province, that he will not even believe his " own Southland corre^pendent," In his i<sue of the 19th j in«t. he says: — "Our Southland correspon- j dent seem-; to share in the general mania of his Province on the subject of tbe Escort. He explains the smal'ne^s of the quantity by the absence of Southland buyers, and predicts that as the business with Invercargill increases, gold will be sent down in exchange for goods. Can he net see if there wore a hundred Southland bin ers on the field, they would send their gold to Dunedin il to make profit of it Avad ther view. They can send it free of charge to Dunedin, but if it goes to Invercargill it /ins still to come to Duediu for shipment to Melbourne, and there are all the charges in addition for freight and insurence between Invercargill and Dunedin." We are sorry to have to contradict anything emanating from the O'ayo Daily Times, but in this instance we are compelled, as the statement that gold has to goto "Dunedin for shipment to Melbourne," is erroneous, as our contemporary can see by the following extract from our issue of the 20th inst. : — ' The total value of exports from the port of Invercargill from Ist January to 19th March, 1863, 13 £30,974 18s. including 2,498 ozs. 10 dwts. of gold shipped direct to Melbourne." For th-j infotmation of " whom it may concern," we may state that 2,000 ozs. were tshippe ! r tt tils port per Fair Tasmanian, and the remainder by other vessels. By reference to our advertising colums it will be seen that the sale of the Lowther Aicade takes place to-morrow. To those in search of central business premises this sale offers a rare opportunity for investment, as the "Lowther" is situated in the hest position in Invercargill, being close to all the banks and only two minutes' walk from the post-office and government buildings. To give a correct idea of the value of this property, we cannot do better than quote the advertisement: — "This property is in the very centre of the town, facing the Union Bank, the nucleus of business, and will, without doubt, become the entrepot of all the trade of Invercargill." A miner who arrived in Dunedin from the Shotover on the 18th, gives the following account of the prospects of the Lake country to the Otago Daily Times : — " A large number of miners, especially those who had obtained good prospects, were building huts of wood, packed with sods, and thatched with long grass, and laying in sup plies of provisions and firewood for the winter. Many had left, owing to the warning published by Government, but others were arriving daily, determined to remain. In reference to the Molyneux he says it has fallen but little, and is not expected to be very low for six weeks or two months. He thinks that in the meantime any one who chooses to work will be able to make 'tucker.' Both at the upper and lower townships the storekeepers were laying in large supplies, in anticipation of a brisk trade during the winter. 1 ' The building which is intended to be used as the new gaol is dragging its weary way along at a pace to ascertain which a stop

watch would not be required. When some of the desperate characters at present confined in the structure yclept, The Gaol — manage to make their escape, \rore men will be put on and the new building finished. The improvements at present going on in Tay-street are of such a nature that if the 'weather which we at present experience should continue, the street will be utterly impaspassable. The side walk from the Union Bank corner to Calder, Blacklock and Co.'s store is entirely devoid of gravel, and walking on it is entirely out of the question. Howlong is it to continue in this state ? The Weekly Age does not seem to be quite so averse as some other Victorian journals to publishing facts which may tend to place the New Zealand goldfields in a favorable light before the people of that colony. The following is an extract from that journal : — "By the City of Hobarc a number of diggers have returned from New Zealand, amongst them two men with upwards of a hundred weight and a half of gold ; the result of last summer's work in the Lake district. They were of a party of four who have been engaged during the past two years prospecting and digging on the Middle Island. The greater part of their good fortune has been achieved during the seven weeks "prior to their leaving New Zealand., in which time they obtained from a shallow claim on the beach of the Sbotover very nearly 4 cwt. of gold, with their share of which the persons in question have returned to Melbourne. We do not feel at liberty to publish their names, but have undeniable evidence of the authenticity of their statements." Many deaths have iecently occurred in Canterbury from typhus fever. The New Zcalandcr makes the following remarks on this subject, which we would commend to the serious consideration of our " old Town Board." If prompt measures are not taken to carry off some of the stagnant water and decayed vegetable matter which meets the eye in all parts of the town, we shall, we fear, shoitly have to chronicle worse evils than at present beset Canterbury. The New Zeahiiider says: — "It would appear that the most dangerous period in the badly drained cities of New Zealand is not in the hat dry summer weather, when decayed animal and vegetable matter is dried up a hnost into a deodorised and harmless condition, but after this period when the weather breaks and a moderate degree of iain, alternated with a hot and clo-e atmosphere, causes the offal to become saturated, and to give out the pestilential miasmata which induce typhus, and that which, ifc would appear, has been equally prevalent and fatal in Canterbury, low fever of the typhoid typ n . The inhabitants of the towns are, it see' us, determined to trifle no longer with the important question of sewerage and sanitary reform." The following is a list of persons confined in Her Majesty's Gaol, Invercargill, during the weekending 21st March, 18G3 :— Stealing from the person and from dwellings, 4 ; assault. 4 ; obscene language and drunkards, 3 ; disobedience of orders on board ship, 3. Awaiting trial : Attempting to burn an emigrant ship on high seas, 1 ; stealing from the person and dwellings, 2 ; embezzlement, 1. Total, IS.