15

D.—la.

Tawa is essentially a North Island tree. It only appears in the Middle Island in tho Pelorus district. It is a small tree, furnishing soft, even-grained timber, suitable for joiner- and cooperwork. MINBEALS. There is no district in New Zealand that contains anything like so much mineral wealth as the one traversed by the proposed East and West Coast and Nelson Bailway. The land has some value, present and prospective, even to those who think least of it; and the forests are admitted on all sides to be exceedingly valuable: but the minerals are of far greater importance than land and forest together. From Nelson all down the West Coast to Otago there is scarcely twenty miles in which minerals of some economic value have not been discovered. In many cases the discoveries are little more than indications; but it is fair to assume therefrom that workable deposits are likely to be met with sooner or later. The great drawback in following up these discoveries is the difficulty of prospecting the mineral country, which is generally very rough and covered with dense wet bush. On the other hand, what are now hindrances will ultimately become aids to mining. The rough country covered with bush and teeming with water furnishes two of the greatest desiderata —timber and water-power. Up till now the only minerals known to exist in workable quantities are gold, coal, iron, copper, and antimony. Gold. Location and Extent of Mining. —The very existence of the West Coast as a field for settlement of any kind is due entirely to the presence of gold. The accompanying Map No. 4 shows that auriferous ground is widely dispersed all over the country affected by the proposed railways, and, as already stated, gold-digging and -mining is equally well diffused. It must not, however, be assumed that payable gold-fields on a large scale exist wherever the yellow colour appears on the map. It is impossible to classify the auriferous country ; and, although gold is still found in all the places shown, the richer ground in many of the larger diggings has long since been worked out. With the exception of the larger sluicing claims at Boss, Humphrey's, and Kumara, nearly all the alluvial digging is carried on by private parties of miners working their own claims. Eegarded as a basis of speculation at which fortunes are made in a day quartz-reefing on the West Coast has seen better days, but viewed as a steady industry it is now on a more satisfactory footing than ever it was. Eeckless speculation has ceased, and a large number of men are engaged in legitimate mining, getting fair returns. There are at present seven dividend-paying claims at Eeefton, Boatman's, Lyell, and Mokihinui. The machinery at some of the larger mines, both alluvial and quartz, is of the most improved description, and the works are carried on in a scientific and business-like manner ; but in many cases the appliances are imperfect, so the best results are not obtained. The best way of showing the location and extent of gold-mining in the districts affected by the proposed railways is to give the returns of miners and mining machinery. The following are the figures as regards the West Coast for the year just ended : —

Number of Miners employed during the Year ending 31st March, 1886.

Alluvial Miners. Quartz-miners. Totals. Locality. Grand Totals. European. Chinese. European. Chinese. European. Chinese. jiangahua Ujaura Charleston iVestporfc Lyell tfurchison iVaimea and Stafford Potara .. rlokitika and Kanieri iumara .. Jreymouth Arnold greenstone ikarito 116 350 220 157 50 120 375 329 476 400 322 450 100 65 240 233 300 416 350 220 202 180 140 375 335 476 400 322 450 100 65 2-10 2 j 656 583 220 207 210 148 580 416 600 425 590 545 150 65 5 30 8 205 81 124 25 268 95 50 45 130 20 "6 5 30 8 205 81 124 25 268 95 50 Totals 3,530 1,304 501 4,031 1,364 5,395