THE Thames Advertiser. Favour to none; fear of none; justice to all. MONDAY, APRIL 1,1895. THE DEEP LEVELS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVI, Issue 8087, 1 April 1895, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. Favour to none; fear of none; justice to all. MONDAY, APRIL 1,1895. THE DEEP LEVELS.

Ouu readers must bo pretty well tired of seeing the above title reiterated with such monotonous regularity in our leading column. Well they will have to bo patient under the affliction a little longer. This is our great question before which all others "pale their ineffectual fires," and wc shall steadily kcep.it to the front until by some means or other the matter has been settled once for all whether or not our gold follows the fashion of other fields and lives at depths com-j pared to which all present workings have been but surface scratching*. All analogy points in favour of the experiment being successful, but the trial means a mint of money, and the great question now'is, " How is the thing to bo done V Well, it is pretty well settled that i the capital to exploit this great work I must come from afar, and a more favourable time than the present for j attracting foreign capital to the development of our goldficlds has never presented itself before. There are millions of money lying idle in the old countries of the world only await-', ing a reasonable inducement tobcj directed towards the development of any proved goldficld. This is now the fashionable form of investment, and wc must take advantage of the opportunity before the fashion passes away. Well, wc believe this Thames Peninsula is one of the richest fields in the world and only wants the well-directed expenditure of capital to bring it prominently to the front in the financial centres. Wo have lately had one deep level scheme, which seemed to ira a very feasible one, discussed and practically dismissed, at any rate for the present, by the companies who hold [ the key of the situation. Now a rival scheme which has been quietly biding its time has taken up the running, and its promoters are going about the business in a way that augurs well for a successful carrying out of any arrangements they may h«« fit to make. The scheme wo allude to is that known as the French one, which Mr Jules George Wilson is actively promoting "though he wishes us to say that his old friend and partner on tho

Thames, Baron James cle Hirsch, should have the credit for taking the i matter up originally, and he is in such 1 good earnest that if he is met in a 1 proper spirit the result will be the carrying out of the largest mining operation the colony has yet seen. Wc had an interview with Mr ( Wilson yesterday and he says the "situation" at present'is as follows, which we give as nearly as possible in his own words:—'• Well, since we last met I have been working steadily on towards the goal I have in view, and although I have not made much fuss I have been neglecting 110 opportunity of pushing on the object which is so near my heart. "When I saw you last I Avas leaving for Auckland to meet Mr ;Dunn, the expert, sent across from [Melbourne by my syndicate. This gentleman had been hereon other business not long before, and had just returned to Melbourne, Avhen he got a cable to return at once to report on our project. Mr Dunn lost no time as he turned back here again on the very day lie got home, and lie is now in Auckland waiting for the decision of the companies interested as to Avhat help they require, and the form it is to take. We want the companies to place something definite before us in writing, leaving their propositions open for a specified time so that avc may submit them to our principals, and get a reply. Now you have been crying out for years for some one to undertake this deep level business, and here wo arc ready to help you, j subject of course to Mr Dunn's report.' " But Mr Dunn Avill not come near 1 the Thames, nor attempt to formulate any report until the companies say what they want, and place the matter 111 such a definite form that there can be 110 possibility of any mistake as to .heir meaning. Then if Ave think they really mean business, and offer us any reasonable inducement to proceed, Mr Dunn will come down to the Thames and go thoroughly into the scientific aspect of the question. "I may tell you that perhaps Mr Dunn is the most eminent authority living on deep level matters. He Avas for a long time engaged by the Victorian Government in surveying the deep levels atßcndigo and his report is a monument of learning and patience. Since then he was employed by the Rothschilds to report 011 mining properties in South Africa involving investments of several million pounds, and lie lias been employed to report 011 most of the important mining ventures of late years in all parts of the Avorld. His reputation is thus beyond question and any decision he arrives at in this affair Avill be accepted as final and Avill not be subject to any further revision. Mr Dunn never invests a penny in mining properties and that is one good reason why his reports are always looked upon as being impartial and reliable. "I think I have said all that is necessary just now. I will again repeat that my syndicate is capable of carrying out this Avork Avhatever it costs. The Avhole business iioav depends, firstly,; 011 Avhat terms are proposed by the interested companies, and secondly, on the expert's report. Both these factors being favourable, as I have every reason to hope they will be, you .Avill have a Avave of prosperity set in here compared to which the good old times of the Caledonia days Avould be but as a' flash in the pan.' " I have in vicAv the development of other portions of your magnificent goldfields, but I Avill say nothing about these till avc have settled this deep le\ r el business either one way or the other. The matter now rests with your companies to either embrace or repel the most practical and feasible attempt that has ever been made to settle this burning question of the Thames Deep Levels." Wc need not add one Avord to Avhat Mr Wilson has made so clear, nor need Ave enter upon a discussion of a rival local scheme, which avc hope will not stand in the Avay of the companies dealing first with Mr Wilson's syndicate in a fair and straightforward manner. He deserves the most generous treatment from all who can assist him in carrying out to a practical issue the enterprise which up to the present has been but the dream of enthusiasts.