The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1556, 26 March 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1872.

The absence of any great extent of goldfields alluvium in the territory of Southland has from lime to time given rise to speculation. Situated as we are on a basin, the outer edges of which are proved ( to be a composition of the _ richest i auriferous drifts brought to light in Otago, it seems wholly inexplicable, besides being antagonistic to the law of specific gravitation, that the gold wash should have wholly escaped our plains. I The conviction that gold does exist in the 1 place, under some condition or another, is alike sustained by the dictates of I reason, the general contour of the country, i and the investigations made in pursuance of scientific research. That it does 1 not exist to any very great extent in the j j alluvium is a dictum which may now j |be generally accepted. It is perfectly j I true that during the early days of the ■ goldfields, the question did not receive anything like a fair practical test. Hun dreds of miners proceeded to the "Wakatipu, Nokomai, Cardrona, &c, by way of Southland, but the exciting intelligence that came pouring in from these places made them impatient to hurry over the ground, the result being that few or any thought it worth while setting in to prospect about Southland. Some of them, we do know, were favorably impressed with what is known in digging parlance as the " made" features of the country, and might, under less exciting circumstances, have returned to test these convictions on the ground, but when the grand stampede took place to the West Coast, these early impressions were easily lost sight of. With the lapse of years, however, the place is now so thoroughly well known that we can hardly believe that a goldfield in the original acceptation of the word could have thus far escaped detection. Reverting then to the opinion with which we set out, viz., that gold must exist in Southland under some condition or another, the fact that it is not to be found in the alluvium impels us by a kind uf-iia,tu. ra l sequence to pin our faith to the theory of deep-sinking. The evidence that can be adduced in support of this theory is both numerous and diversified. sne geographical formation of the country, as described a few weeks ago by the Government Assistant- Geologist, tends to show that the entire face of the country has been transformed by one of those slow processes of transition known in ordinary phraseology as silting-up. Those who are acquainted with the configuration of the country, more especially at and about the Kingston plains, will readily admit that this is about the only plausible theory that could be offered in explanation of its singular structure. What is now the valley of the Mataura was, without doubt, at on 6 time an outlet from Lake Wakatipu, either in the form of a chain of lakes, stretching 1 down through Southland, or else a rapid-flow-ing river of large dimensions. By some of those compensating agencies in the operations of Nature, this river, or chain of lakes, has been silted up and dow lies hidden from sight beneath the top accumulations of ages. Those at all acquainted with the pursuit of mining, will readily recognise in this theory the prospect of a rich auriferous gutter. Tf evidence were wanted on the point, we get it in the present outlet from the lake, viz., the Kawarau, running down to the Molyneux, from which some of the richest gold yet found in New Zealand has been taken. It was from a ledge of rocks, near the junction of the first named stream, that Hautley andKEiLLY took the pound-weights of gold which first caused the rush to the Dunstan, and no fact is better authenticated than that dredging the beds of these rivers forms to this day one of the most lucrative branches of the mining pursuit. It is in pursuance of this theory that the deep-sinking projects at the Old Wakatipu and Nokomai Flat have been undertaken. We look upon both as perfectly legitimate schemes, and as such recommend them to the favorable consideration of the district. The Nokomai one, we observe, has been fairly launched, so that nothing now remains but to wish its promoters all the success they deserve. With respect to the Wakatipu, it will be seen by a reference to the subject in another column, that the place has long been considered an eligible spot for deepsinking operations. In the year 1862, a shaft had been put down to a depth of 40 feet, and abandoned, we presume, on account of the heavy accumulation of surface water. It is worth noting that the shaft is reported to have been gold-bearing throughout. Subsequent to that a second shaft was sunk by Mr Shirley (a settler in the district for some years past), who is in communication with the provisional directors of the concern. Mr SfiißLEr reports that he sunk upwards of 60 feet, and although he found no gold intermixed with the stuff, he succeeded in dislodging the metal in some con siderable quantities from beneath the boulders he met with. So far as we can understand the matter, these shafts are situated at some distance apart, still each points to the conclusion that gold exists in the neighborhood. Whatever the result of the undertaking may be, it must be obvious that this is an auriferous district of country that has been long neglected. What is known as the terraces opposite Athol, at the entrance to the Nokomai, have all along been spoken of as likely sluicing ground, and if the labors of the Old Wakatipu company have no higher success than that of attracting attention to the locality, these labors will prove serviceable to the district.