G—No,

12

REPORT ON THE GOLD FIELDS

No. 7. Mr. Warden lowthee Beoad to Undee-Seceetaet for Gold Fields. Warden's Office, SlB,— ■ Nelson, 17th May, 1872. I have the honor, in compliance with your directions, to submit the following Eeport of the state of my district up to 31st March, 1872. The alluvia] workings at the Matakitaki and Upper Buller have continued to yield payable returns to the miners; who, spite of the attractions of the neighboring quartz reefs at Inangahua, have not, I think, decreased in number. The demand for agricultural land in these localities has continued steadily, and I beg to refer you to the statistics annexed to this report for detailed information. The Upper Buller has, by a new arrangement, been taken out of my district and added to that of the Warden at Eeefton. A tracing annexed hereto shews the boundaries of that part of the gold field now under my charge, and which is, in fact, all that part of the field on the eastern water shed of the province. I regret to have to report that the efforts to develop payable quartz reefs at Wargapeka have hitherto proved abortive, none of the claims tested having anything like a payable return. A prospecting party is, however, now being formed for the purpose of still further exploring the district for reefs. The alluvial workings (marked yellow on the tracing sent herewith) you will observe are far apart, and extend with intervals from one end of the district to the other. The population is not more than 200, but all, I believe, are earning the highest rate of wages. Attached hereto, are detailed returns of the amount received during the twelve months ending 31st March, 1872, for Miners' Eights, Business Licenses, Eegistrations, Eents, Publicans' Licenses, and the number of Mining and Agricultural Leases applied for. _ I desire to place on record my firm conviction that there is no longer any necessity for the delegation of the powers under the Gold Fields Act to Superintendents. With the easy means of communication now in existence, with the whole local machinery of the gold fields in perfect working order under Wardens of considerable experience, there is nothing that a Superintendent is called upon to do which could not be done quite as easily from Wellington. And the advantages of this would be auniform system for the whole Colony, and a Minister responsible to Parliament "for the genera administration of the gold fields as a whole. I feel sure this general system would be far more acceptable to the miners and others on the gold fields than the present one, provided some simplel means be found by which the granting of mining and agricultural leases can be dealt with without delay. I would suggest that a Warden in each province should be called Chief Warden, and have the power to grant these leases. I should have hesitated to place my opinion on this subject on record were it not for the fact that during eleven years residence on the New Zealand gold fields I have never heard any one say a good word for the present system. Tho opinion of the residents on the gold fields, I firmly believe, has always been that the present divided responsibility was most vexatious and inconvenient, and that the powers ought to be vested solely either in the province or in the colony. I have, &c, The Under-Secretary for Gold Fields. Lowtheb Beoad, Warden.

Mr. Warden Turnell to Undee-Seceetart Gold Fields. General Report and Statistical Tables of the Golden Bay Gold Fields, Collingwood. Sin — March 31st, 1872. Present _ Condition.—-The present condition of this portion of the Nelson Gold Fields is that of a settled district without any marked appearance of progress, for whilst a considerable number of recent mining enterprises have failed, most of the earlier and now permanent works maintain a steady aspect, with every prospect of continuing remunerative. These workings are mostly alluvial claims, held under lease, and worked by hydraulic hose and ground sluices. Advancement or Otherwise. —There has been little or no appearance of advancement during the past year, during which several companies have either suspended or ceased operations. The failure of the dredging machines on tho Aorere River was a groat disappointment to all interested in the advancement of the district; the suspension of operations at the Coal and Copper Mines, as well as the stopping of the battery at the Perseverance Companies Mine, are matters of regret; a considerable number of miners have been driven out of the rivers in consequence of the wet season having set in, but fortunately most of them have found employment in other parts of the field, many no doubt will return to their river claims when the dry season begins. Probable Prospect.— The alluvial mining having long assumed the character of a settled industry, the disoovery of auriferous quartz leaders in several localities, the existence of coal, copper, lead, plumbago, and iron stone in abundance, the future prospects of the district may be looked upon as encouraging. Population—A reference to the table attached (which has been carefully compiled) will show that at the present time there are 377 persons engaged in alluvial and thirty-five in quartz mining, making a total of 412 being distributed over an area of 600 square miles. Quartz Mining.— On the discovery of rich stone in the Bedstead Mine in 1869, some leases for quartz mining were taken up, and a large sum of money has been expended in prospecting the several claims, but at the present time only two companies are carrying on mining operations, the Perseverance and the Decimal Co.'s, the former have suspended the crushing^operations for some months past, having