The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 283, 7 October 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1879.

A Feapiierston resident, writing to a Wellington contemporary under the signature "J. D, 0.," recently called attention to the fact that the authorities have no power to protect prospectors while searching for gold or after they have discovered it. He states that in Victoria, where he resided for twenty-five years, nearly all the time

on one of the wealthiest quartz reeling districts in the colony, viz., Bendigo, a miner's right entitled the holder thereof to prospect and search for gold on all Crown lands within the colony, and, if successful in finding gold, entitled him to mark off a prospecting claim, and hold it against all comers, whethsr the district was proclaimed a mining one or not. It is almost incredible that in a

colony like New Zealand, which for a generation lias been engaged in gold mining, adequate provision has not been made for prospectors. We are glad to see, however, that the Government have taken a necessary preliminary step towards getting , the Wairarapa proclaimed a gold field by sending the Assistant Government Geologist to report on tho Western Lake reef. The great question for the Wairarapa is the existence here of payable quartz, and this point the report of the Geologist will practically determine. Should the report prove favorable the Government

will have to proclaim the district a gold field, and the proclamation itself will attract miners from all parts of the colony, not only to the reef in question but to the numerous other points in the ranges on bath sides of the valley where-gold has been proved to exist. If, on the other hand, the report be unfavorable, it is only right that miners should be deterred by it from coming, at more or less expense, into a district where there is not a sufficient

guarantee to justify such a migration, The course taken by the Government is that which is most likely to benefit the Wairarapa by deciding the great question at issue, In the meanwhile the discoverers of the Western Lake reef are placed at a disadvantage, but the latter point is one of less importance, though by no means unimportant, "We trust that in this particular instance public opinion will be sufficiently strong to secure to the prospectors those advantages which they ought undoubtedly to have by law. It would, however, be a great encouragement to other prospectors to know that their discoveries were protected, and now

that their precarious position in unproclaimed goldfields has been demonstrated, the Legislature ought to lose no time in remedying it.