H.—s.

40

mountain side; a great deal of work has been done and difficulties surmounted. The company has now a complete ten-stamper battery, worked by water-power (one shot-wheel) supplied from a water-race they have brought in. The mill is in a good position to crush the stone with the least waste of time and labour by handling it too often; at its present site the stone can be placed in the hopper with little expense for some years of working. The result of their first crushing—32s oz. of gold from 1,350 tons of stuff—does not seem to be very encouraging; but it is, and should be, for the quantity of stone returned is owing to the nature of the lode in their upper workings : it is only an upheaval of the reef which they hope, on good grounds, to discover at a lower depth properly defined. I have no doubt they will; but at present they have no idea of its direction or the way it is laying. A great many prospecting drives and cross-cuts, in all of which they met with broken and disjointed portions of the reef, have been driven ; but only here and there could they make out the walls. I believe in the lower levels projected they are likely to be successful. Settlement. —In all parts of the district the agricultural leases are fast changing into freeholds, and generally remain in the hands of the original applicants and improvers. Owing to the limited supply of agricultural land in the Wakatipu District there are not so many taken up now, and in most of these instances the applications are strenuously opposed on the ground of their being auriferous. Ido not think, in most instances, these objections are made on good authority. The objectors in some parts of the district are holders of three or more sluice-heads of water, and they grudge the occupation of any land that can be commanded by their water by any person whatever, and for any purpose. Ido not think the State is more benefited by sluicing away of acres of land for a few ounces of gold than by the occupation of the same by the agricultural leaseholder, who is bound to improve it. The sluicer, with very little labour, can destroy in a few weeks a large quantity of land and render it utterly useless for any purpose whatever for centuries, until it is again covered with alluvial debris and soil. It may be that some of the land which has become freehold under the agricultural leasing system is auriferous, as it is often stated ; but I think they have been more usefully occupied, and Ido not know of any instance where their auriferous nature has been more than a belief; indeed, in cases such as the Waikerikeri, where the leaseholders'" holdings were cancelled and themselves compensated, the result has been that only a very few miners cared to occupy the ground, and the vast auriferous deposits have yet to be found. I have had some difficulty in obtaining the yield of gold from the banks, and, as I could not obtain it as a complete return, I have not sent any; but I have reason to believe it will not fall short of last year. I have, &c, Jackson Keddell, The Under-Secretary for Gold Fields, Wellington. Warden.

No. 14. Mr. Warden Hickson to the Under-Secretary for Gold Fields. Sir, — Warden's Office, Naseby, 9th April, 1883. I have the honour, in accordance with instructions, to forward my annual report on the district under my charge for the past year. Having only been in charge of the district since November last, I have not yet become thoroughly acquainted with it, and trust that this my first report may not be considered meagre. The past year has not brought forth any fresh discoveries of importance; it has been a fairly good one for the miners; the winter, lam informed, was exceptionally mild, there being little interruption to mining operations from frost. Water has been in good supply, more rain than usual having fallen throughout the district. Although not a new discovery, I am glad to say that several parties have taken up claims on the eastern slope of the Rough Ridge, about twenty-five miles from Naseby, at a place called Garibaldi, with every prospect of doing well. They have brought a water-race upon the ground several miles in length. They are at present cutting tail-races, and until they are complete cannot work the ground. There are several other new claims opened out near the Gimmerburn, about four miles from Garibaldi, which appear to be yielding profitably. In the Hyde Division there is little doing at present, as also at Macrae's and Strath-Taieri. At Hamilton and Sowburn the miners appear to be doing well, in some cases remarkably so, and all appear to have comfortable homes, more so than in any other part of the district. The Serpentine appears to be principally occupied by quartz miners. On my visit there last month I granted three new applications for quartz-mining leases, the applicants being all sanguine of success. At St. Bathans the favourite mining centres are Vinegar Hill and the Two-Mile, although in St. Bathans itself there are still persons who believe in the value of some ground rejected by the miners years ago, and, who are about to work it systematically and on a large scale. An Association called "The Mount Ida Deep Lead Prospecting Association" was formed in the early part of the past year for the purpose of prospecting for the true bottom of the Hogburn Greek. This Association included farmers, storekeepers, miners, and others, their object being, not so much personal gain as to secure, if possible, some permanent public good to Naseby and the district generally. The subscriptions raised by the Association were subsidized by the