THE AUCKLAND GOLD FIELD.

Wellington Independent, Volume VIII, Issue 772, 5 March 1853, Page 4

THE AUCKLAND GOLD FIELD.

Pursuant to Advertisement, -a'general meeting of the subscribers to the Gold reward Fund was held in the Hall of tho Mechanic's Institute on Wednesday evening.last. Dr. Bennett was called upon to presido. The Chttirmanoptned the busines by reading tiie advertisement convening tho Meoting, and having intimated that only subscribers were privileged to take a part in the proceedings, called upon Mr. T. S. Forsailh as secretary of tho Reward Committee to read the Report. Mr. Forsaith road a circumstantial and ably drawn up narrative of the various steps which had been takeu by the Committee from their appointment up to the present, which it is unnecessary to recapitulate in any delail here, as onr readers generally are already acquainted with most of them. It appeared that three separate claims for the reward had boon lodged by Messrs. King, Messrs, Thierry aud McDowell, and Mr. Francis White] respectively. -The second of those claims was not considered .admissible as (ho locality to which it relatod was regarded ns included iv the tract covered by the previously preferred claim of Messrs. Ring. Tho third (that of Mr. Francis White) had not been substantiated by evidence,—for the production of which he had been allowed a fortnight's timo. Only that of Messrs. Ring remained, and they, as the acknowledged discoverers of the CoromandelGoid Field had called upon the Committee,to hund over to them tho Reward ; but tho Committee, acting without bias 1 to tho subscribers on the one hand and the claimants on the other, decided that they could not conscientiously do so, until there wss fuller evidence that the 'field-was "valuable" according to the terms of the advertized offer. Believing, however, that the settlement of the question as to the value of. the'field was greatly hindered by the continuance of liceuso fees, tho Committee had determined to address the Lioutenant-Goveruor with a view of obtaining at least such an alteration of the Regulations of November 27th as would permit prospecting to;, be carried on free of charge. Mr. Forsaith hero read the ■the resolutions of the Committee, the letter which was presented by the deputation appointed to wait on his Excellency, and the official reply. It-appeared from this reply, as well as from communications made by his Excellency during the interview, that previously to this application, tlie attontiou of the Government had been directed to the subject, aud the whole had issued iv the adoption of tho amended regulations (which wore published in Tuesday's Gazette, and copied iv the New Zealander of Wednesday:) This was the substance of what may properly bo termed the'report; there was added 'to it, however, a suggestion that —as the payment, of the reward must still'bo made contingent upon the production of further proofs of tho value of tho field—a separate subscription should bo openod to • present to the Mossrs.

Ring some recompense -for the exertions they had already made, and the amount of success they had attained by the discovery of gold in the district. After a discussion, in which , several subscribers took part, and which sometimes whs of rather a desultory character, a majority of the meeting determined against tho adoption of the suggestion as to opening a subscription to be presented to Messrs. Ring. Tho sense of the Meeting, however, clearly was that the report, properly so called, should be received and approved of, and that the Committee was entitled to tho thanks of the subscribers and the public. Accordingly the following resolution was passed unanimously:—

" That the thanks of the subscribers to the Gold.Reward Fund are justly due to the Committee -for v the most able and efficient manner in which they have conducted the affairs of the Fund up to the present dute.-and, although not adopting tho suggestion contained in tho concluding paragraph of the report, are highly satisfied -with -the information which it contains, and do tender iheir thanks accordingly."—New Zealander, Feb. 5.