1859

HAVING crossed the Murrumbidgee at Gundagai, and the rich river flats, subject to frequent inundation, and passed Spencer’s new steam-mill, we parted at the entrance of a valley, and will now resume our journey, following the road, which holds its way along the eastern side of that valley.

On the left are the wooded ranges, which, gradually increasing in altitude, extend far to the southward until they mingle with the alpine heights of the Snowy Moun- tains ; on the right, a number of farms stretching across the valley are bounded by a low chain of hills, which separate them from the basin of the river.

These farms, with two exceptions, have been but recently occupied, and but small spaces at long intervals appear to have been cleared or broken up. A few buildings of a superior description are in progress along the line of road, and you now and then obtain a glimpse of a homestead through the openings of the forest.

The soil is a rich trappean loam, and the timber heavy, but sparsely scattered. Ten miles from the punt the Adelong crosses the road through an ugly black swamp, and, after a tor- tuous course of four or five miles, disembogues into the Murrumbidgee.

The crossing here is at all times difficult, and often renders an otherwise good road im- passable for wheeled conveyances. On the opposite bank you arrive at Roache’s Inn, lately purchased by Mr. Williams, a successful quartz reefer and the pro- prietor of a crushing mill. The country now insen- sibly rises as you proceed, the valley opens out, and tho road sometimes follows the margin of the creek, and sometimes crosses the slopes from the range to the westward, which subsides into broad swampy flats.

These present an appearance of having been frequently inundated, and the vegetation, although abundant, appears to be of a useless character. The valley of the lower Adelong has been partially surveyed, and cut up into small farms, extending from the stream to the base of the mountains.

This land is variable in in agricultural capabilities. Some por- tions consist of rich alluvial bottoms and gentle slopes, covered with a deep red brown sandy loam, while others consist of a granitic debris not yet sufficiently decomposed or covered with vegetable mould to pro- duce a soil suitable for cultivation.

Added to these are many broad areas of cold swampy land that would require a vast expenditure of labour to render them productive.

Five miles from the inn you pass Johnston’s station, when the road takes a westerly direction, and, five miles further, it sweeps over a spur which, descending from a towering granitic range to the right, stretches far into the valley, diverting the course of the creek, which here wanders from side to side through a wide reedy swamp.

The valley now contracts. To your right a lofty granite range rises from the road, swelling into dome-like crests, and clothed with vegetation, except where here and there a mass of denuded rock contrasts with the verdure of the slopes.

You are descending to the margin of the swamp, and as you proceed a mountain chain appears swelling from the plain on the left, and trending to the southward; its sides are broken and precipitous, in some places overhanging the watercourse, in others sending down huge rugged spurs to the banks of the creek. And now you are startled by explosions like that of distant artillery. They reverberate from rock to rock, and are heard rumbling tnrough the hills.

As you advance the detonations become louder and more distinct, and follow each other with great ra- pidity ; presently you see a long line of white tents or flys stretching up the side of a rugged mountain, crowning its summit and perched upon rocky pro- jections at a dizzy height, a zigzag road climbs up the face of the precipice, where men, seeming like pigmies, are moving about amidst piles of white and blue rock-you are now opposite the Gibraltar Reef. On a narrow alluvial flat intervening between the base of the hill and the creek there are several neat cottages and a few gardens, and in their neighbour- hood a small crushing mill driven by water power.

The mountains now close in on either side, the bed of the creek, silted up to the depth of thirty feet, is still of considerable width ; and you advance, passing several huts, until you reach a broad flat below Surface Hill ; here the creek narrows, making a detour round a slope on the left bank, where a large quantity of gold was obtained by skimming the surface. It is now ex- hausted, but on the slopes of the opposite bank a few alluvial miners still contrive to earn a subsistence, im- mediately below a wreck of the schistose formation, invested in granite, and but little altered.

You are now passing through a westerly spur from the range to the left, and enter a deep rocky gorge cut by the waters of the upper country through the granitic formations, to the eastward denuded masses of rock are piled almost precipitously for 1000 feet above your head. The older igneous formations are distinctly ex- hibited, upheaved, disjointed, and fractured by the more recent subjacent outbursts. Many of the open- ings and fissures then created have been filled by the molten rock, and their course can be distinctly traced through the more ancient products.

Here stupendous blocks, some hundreds of feet in length, are to be observed on the lower part of the mountain, presenting all the appearance of having when in a state of fusion flowed to the westward, and of the flow having been arrested by a sudden consoli- dation, others seem to have been forced directly up- wards, and in their passage have displaced blocks, already consolidated, weighing hundreds of tons.

This spur or minor cross-range, merging in the great north and south chain on the western side of the creek, appears to have been caused by lateral pressure, enhanced by the superincumbent weight and resist- ance of pre-existing igneous formations. The range here denuded exhibits a section of its formation to its base, and the successive outbursts can be traced with their relative action upon the older igneous products.

As the lapse of geological time between each upheaval, or granitic outburst, will be an important consideration in here- after attempting to describe the auriferous quartz lodes which intersect these spurs, all parallel to each other, trending to the south-west, and all emanating from the highest points of the main range,-the summits of which consist chiefly of altered schistose sandstone, slate, gneiss, and ancient granite,-I have been par- ticular in calling attention to the appearances here exhibited. In the chasm below are vast erratic boulders and fragments of granite, with frequent ledges, forming a series of falls, over which the waters precipitate them- selves with a deafening roar in their passage through the range.

The opposite side is of a similar character, the masses of granite are on the same scale of mag- nitude, but the superstrata of the earlier formations are wanting, and the consequent lower elevation renders the appearance less imposing. Clambering along a rugged path overhanging the turbulent waters, you soon reach the upper fall, and emerge from the range in the neighbourhood of a second crushing machine driven by water-power, in an elevated valley on the range to the left you see Williamstown, with its huts and buildings scattered over the hollow, and stretching up the slope of the succeeding spur. From this point, for about half a , mile upwards, the creek has been exceedingly pro- ductive, and many rich claims along its course have been exhausted.

A few hundred yards fuither you pass a third water-mill, when a broad valley opens out to the right ; undulating slopes gradually ascend the hills to the westward, and you are on the site of the new town of Adelong. To the eastward the range still continues, and half way up its side a line of tents, with heaps of quartz, and its investing rock mark the course of the Victoria Reef.

Again return- ing to the road which you had left at Gibraltar, you pass several clusters of cottages sprinkled over the green slopes, then Murphy’s new hotel, nearly completed ; then the extensive stores of Mandleson and Co., the Bank of New South Wales, the Oriental Bank, and Paul’s hotel ; further up the valley you see the store of Gasse and Co., with a third inn, and a few scattered erections in various stages of progres- sion.

Still further, the creek trends to the westward, for a couple of miles ; the range on the east bank re- cedes, forming a small plain at its base, now under cultivation, when it again sweeps round, stretching, with an increased altitude, to the westward, in a direction parallel to the auriferous spurs, and ap- proaching the succeeding chain of north and south ranges to the westward, thus closing in the valley.

Turning to the left opposite Paul’s, the road con- ducts you over the creek, here crossed by a bridge of the rudest construction, when, passing between two crushing mills driven by steam power, you commence the ascent of the second valley in the range, and soon reach the commissioner’s camp, crowning a beautiful green knoll and overlooking the township, this wide basin or vale partaking somewhat of the character of table land is bounded on one hand by one of those spurs or prolongations already noticed as bursting from be- neath the highest summits of the range, and taking a direction of S.S.W., and on the other by a similar for- mation at a lower altitude, which, after maintaining an irregular elevation for two miles, subsides with an easy declination to the margin of the creek, before you to the left, extending obliquely up the spur, and inter- secting its crown a few feet below the highest point, in a north and south course, lies the celebrated great quartz reef of the Adelong ; its direction indicated by a line of tents erected over the various shafts.

Below these tents enormous heaps of fragments of granite and the invested schists attest the labours of the miner ; and here and there, towards the crown of the hill piles of quartz, carefully built up, are an evidence of the success of those who have been so fortunate as to reach thee lode. And now you have arrived at that busy haunt of human labour, the centre of a permanently-established gold-field : anxious looking men are hurrying to and fro ; here a little crowd of speculators are discussing the the last crushing ; there a woman, surrounded by her neighbours, is telling that her husband and his mates have at last struck the mundic further on, a tradesman on the look out for customers enquires from a passing acquaintance, how his claim shapes ; and higher up the road, at the public-house, is a noisy half-share man who, wearied of waiting upon Provi- dence, has sold out, and is liquifying the proceeds ;

engines are spinning, and whirling, and stamping with ceaseless industry ; drays, laden with quartz, are clattering down the mountain side or rumbling over the muddy road; butchers’ and bakers’ carts are rattling up and down, as if they had a week’s work before them and only a day to get through with it ;

a crowd of half-starved dogs have each their separate grievance, and contribute their yelpings and bark- ings to the general clamour; pigs, grunting and wallowing in every hole and corner, are regardless of either Pound or Police Act, insessant ex- plosions in the shafts rival the thunders of a cannon- ade, and leave you to fancy that the French have landed and found somebody to fight them ;

and amidst all this din and tumult we pursue our way up Camp-street. On our right is the post office and store of Mr. Michaelis ; then come saddlers, doctors ,car- penters, blacksmiths, auctioneers, jewellers, tobacco- nists, bakers, tailors, butchers, refreshment booths, restaurants, livery stables, Crouch’s Inn, billiard- rooms, a bowling saloon, general stores,

boarding- houses, and a host of other indescribable trades and callings, all stringing along for a good mile, and all dependant upon the fortunate digger who at Adelong has relinquished mud-groping and fossicking, and for the first time become a true miner.

To the left, a diminutive water-course divides the valley ; and beyond it huts, stores, and boarding houses are scattered over the slope below the reef. Higher up where the mountains close in, there are several small cottages in the occupation of miners with their families ; and, about half way, a branch road passing between Emanuel’s store on the one hand and Saunders’ hotel on the other, crosses the crown of the reef; here is another important store -a branch of Gasse and Co.’s establishment, two or three boarding houses, and a few huts of various descriptions sur- rounding the claims on the crown of the reef, which have so far proved themselves to be the most valuable.

You now find that the works extend down the north side nearly to the base of the hill; the scattered huts below are numerous, and you see Wil- liam’s Town in the hollow, with a steam crushing-mill, Davis’ hotel, and two stores. On the ascent of the opposite parallel spur is Curry- jung Reef, in a line with the Victoria ; and on the north descent of the same spur, more to the eastward,

and nearly in a line with the great reef, is Donkey Reef, and flanked by two or three others of less note, and that have not as yet proved remunerative.

Many other reefs in the vicinity have been opened ; but with the exception of those enumerated, intersecting the western spurs from the crown ridge, none have been found sufficiently rich to repay the expense of workings, although all are, more or less, auriferous.

The eastern descent from the range is one unbroken line through its entire length, and a broad strath or valley intervenes between it and the great Mingery chain, which, extending from the Murrumbidgee, gradually rises in its progress southward, until it eventually merges in the elevated regions in which the Murray has its source.

There are no schools on the Adelong that I have yet heard of, although there is a large proportion of young children. As the majority of the present inhabitants will be permanently settled in the township, it is a matter of first importance.

There cannot be less than 3000 souls within a circuit of three miles, and there are few instances in the civilized world of so numerous a population being congregated in one spot without either spiritual advisers or secular teachers. The mass of the population is located in the valley of the great reef ; the remainder is divided between the site of the new township, Williamstown, Gibr- alter, and the marginal flats for a short distance up the creek.

Wages for hired hands working about the mills, is £4 a week. The carriage of quartz from the reefs to the mills is about 7s. per ton, and carters driving their own teams, and bushmen, can obtain constant employment. The alluvial diggings in the vicinity are now unimportant, although there are many places in the Creek and on the neighbouring flats that will eventually be worked, and found remunerative.

I have now endeavoured to convey an idea of the general aspect of this gold-field, doubly important from the fact of its being the first place in the colony of New South Wales where quartz crushing has been carried to a successful issue.

That many have la- boured and few have reaped the reward is, perhaps, too true. We have already learned to appreciate the advantage to be derived from co-operation and a division of labour, and as we advance in science and practical experience much of the chance work that has hitherto directed the energies of our miners will be avoided, and there will be less unprofitable ex- penditure and a more equal return. What the reefs are like, how they are worked, and who gets the gold, must be reserved for a succeeding communication.

Having endeavoured in a former communication to give a general description of the Adelong, above ground, we will now ascend the low range to the left of the mountain valley, and, crossing the great reef at an elevation of about 400 feet, continue the ascent about fifty feet higher to the summit of the range, which, expanding to the westward, falls with an irre- gular declivity to the creek at its base.

On that side, at least 1000 feet below the crest, the summit presents the appearance of an undulating patch of table land, broken by masses of gneiss and granite, which intrude amidst a wreck of the silurian deposits, altered, meta- morphosed, or decomposed, in accordance with their constituents, and the varied degrees of hydrous and igneous action to_ which they have been subject ¡ those on the western side being for the most patt arenaceous, while those ontho eastern slopes arc of a more argilla- ceous character, both containing a large proportion of carbonate of lime.

On the western descent the Victoria reef intersects the range longitudinally, and on the eastern slopes the great reef, stretching north and south, pursues a similar direction.

The distance between these two reefs is about half a mile, and in the intervening space numerous small parallel veins or leaders of quartz have been opened and prospected.

The dip of these veins is slightly to the west-they varied from three to nine inches in width ; all were found intersecting ver- tical strata ef the clay slates, more or less decomposed, and modified,-and these in their turn aro inverted by granitic masses, varying in theil character and con- stituents. Some of these veir.s aro within 200 feet of ‘ the great main reef ¡ all were proved to contain gold, but none were found to be sufficiently auriferous to repay the cost of working by the process now in use.

Theso poor lodes will, therefore, continue in abeyance until science and experience, coing hand in hand, have done their work, and substituted mechanical power and chemistry for human labour and ignorance.

In the Adelong range it appears probable that the detritnl and sedimentary formations, resting upon a mass of ancient igneous products, themselves of varied geological ages, have been upheaved, tilted, and in- verted by an intrusion of granite ; which, disrupting, and in some degree’ altering, the older products, has separated the vertical schists at the planes of their stratification, filling up every fissure, and enveloping many of the strata, while others have been forced up- wards and have disappeared.

A close examination of this range will enable you to detect many strata of the schistose formations nearly vertical, and in rcgulur sequence with the granitic masses ; in other spots fragments of the schists will be found surrounding -an ancient boss of distorted rock, which has been thrust upwards through them.

That the range has attained its present elevation by a succession of granitic up- heavals and intrusions, occurring after long periods of quiescence, is well exhibited at the north-eastern ex- tremity of the great reef hill, where three separate actions can bo distinctly traced. Here blocks of granite weighing hundreds of tans are exposed by denudation, resting upon others of a different age and character ; some upheaved at an angle of -15 degrees, with their lower ends imbedded in the supporting moss, appearing as if they had become partially fused by the contact. j

All the schistose rocks present an appearance of intense compression, and are moulded to the surface of the granitic or porphyrytic walls, and altered according to the varied components of the slate ; some are deprived of a great portion of their silica and lime, and so much decomposed, that they will not bear removal, but fall into “fragments at the touch-others are indurated and silicified.

The altered sandstones are seldom found at a greater depth than forty feet, while the lower edge of the argillaceous schists has not been reached by the deepest shafts. AVe will now return to the crown of the reef, where its course may be traced by the line of tents erected over the shafts, extending about half a mile down the northern slope, and something more than a mile in a southerly direction, across the eastern descents ; there aro various undulations in its course as it crosses three or four slight spurs in the hill, caused by unequal accumulations prior to the latest granitic irruption.

The fissure in which the reef is formed, pursuing the line of least resistance, has followed the course of a vertical stratum of argillaceous Bchist, having a slight dip to the westward at the surface, but, chiefly owing to its having passed through a variety of igneous products of an ancient date, it becomes more irregular as it descends. The reef, widest at the crown, gradually contracts as it approaches the base of the hill on either side, until from a breadth of six feet it diminishes to three inches.

The surface reef was not exhibited in the gross for more than about three hundred feet from the crown on the southern slope, with the exception of a few out- crops at long intervals ; on the northern slope, it did not exceed a hundred feet from the crest.

The crown claims were exceedingly pioductive from the surface, yielding in some instances fourteen ounces to the ton of quartz. The miners also obtained from twelve to twenty ounces of gold to the load of fifty buckets from the debris of the reef by washing, and the tail- ing from these washings, nearly given away, after- wards produced eleven ounces to the ton by crushing. At a depth of forty or fifty feet, the colour of the quartz changed from a yellowish cast to a deep blue ; and, passing through the altered sandstones, it entered the true granites.

Large quantities of mundic, with metallic sulphurets and arsenites, now appeared ; and the yield of gold, although still considerable, became less abundant, the lode varying with the character and constituents of the granitic walls. Occasional patches of pure white quartz were sometimes dis- covered on one wall and sometimes on the other, and occasionally extending across the fissure to the depth of several feet ; in these, the mundic and metallic sul- phurets nearly disappeared and the lode became bar- ren, until, the walls altering, the quartz again became a greyish blue, mundic and the sulphurets reappeared, and with them the reef resumed its auriferous cha- racter, varying, however, at every foot with the modi- fication of the slates.

As the shafts went down the yield rather dimi- nished, until at a depth of from 130 to 100 feet the lode in those claims that had been most productive in their yield of gold exhibited a tendency to become white, the metallic sulphurets decreased, and gold ceased to be obtained in payable quantities. The lode may again become lieh or poor, according to the de- scription of granite and slate forming the investing rock, or the walls of the fissure ; but it is probable that it will eventually run into pure white silica, de- void of sulphurets, and, as for as metals are con- cerned, unproductive.

About a quarter of a milo from the crown of the range, on the outside, the surface-rock undergoes a change, and the granites below are of a different de- scription, being either darker and of a finer grain, or coarse flesh-coloured. Here for the next 500 yards, although a little surface quartz was obtained that paid for crushing, it soon ran out, and at a depth, varying from 80 to 175 feet, to which numerous shafts have been sunk, the reef has not been disco- vered. Small veins of auriferous quartz, from two to four inches in width, constantly present themselves, traversing the slate.

It is possible that the miners are not here sinking oa the true reef, but through a neighbouring parallel stratum of slate, separated by a thin block of intrusive granite.

Proceeding downwards for the succeeding 800 yards, the granites again change ; and the reef resumes its character, but at a diminished width. The claims bejond this patchy extend for nearly half a mile further ; and here the formation again alters, and although a Une of shafts have been sunk to depths varying from 180 to 60 feet, a payable reef has not been yet struck.

On the north side of the crown the highest claims have been amongst the most valuable on the reef, but as they descend the hill they become less productive, and the width of the lode rapidly decreases until it approaches the base, where there is a decided change ia the slates and granites. The last fourteen or fifteen claims, although the shafts have reached a depth of from 60 to 130 feet, have not yet bottomed upon a reef. Of about eighty companies working or claiming upon this lode, twenty-one have done well, and many individuals have retired with an independence ; twenty have not cleared their expenditure, exclusive of the loss of their labour, and thirty-nine have obtained nothing.

None of these companies have been at work less than fifteen months, and many have been sinking without cossation since June, 1857. In very many of the shafts and drives the works are carried on night and day ; when the reef was first opened the labour was performed chiefly by the associated proprietors, with the assistance of hired men, the wages being at the rate of £4 per week.

The claimholders subsequently found it to their in- terest to corry on their operations by means of half shares, one-half of the net proceeds being appro- priated to the owners of the claim, and the remaining half equally divided between the men employed, who themselves form working companies.

This system has operated bene- ficially for the working men and the proprietors, but to the prejudice of the storekeepers and other trades- men, who find it necessary in consequence to give an extended credit, and are occasionally subjected to heavy losses. ‘* r-tf-f *y

The produce of the great reef up to the present date at a rough estimate has been calculated at about twelve thousand tons of auriferous quartz, which, at an average of five ounces per ton, gives sixty thousand ounoea of gold, amounting in value at £3 12s. 6d. per ounce to £217,500. Of this a large proportion has reached Sydney by escort and private hands. Much has passed into Victoria, and no inconsiderable amount is still retained in the locality.

Many of tho best claims have changed hands, and £3000 has boon refused for thirty feet on the reef, from which gold to the value of several thousand pounds sterling had been already obtained. I It is remarkable that in quartz yielding Ifrom seven to 8 ounces to the ton, the gold is often barely perceptible, and in much that produces as high as five ounces, it cannot be observed even by the aid of a powerful lens.

We will now proceed to the claims. The first on the crown of the reef is at presentthe property of Baker and Company. The depth of their|double shaft is 180 feet. The upper portion of the lode was from three to four feet in width, and at the bottom of the shaft it has in- creased to five feet. This claim was rich from the surface, and in going down the first thirty feet a large quantity of gold was procured from the decomposed quartz and sulphurets in and near the reef, averaging fourteen ounces to the fifty buckets.

To the depth of fifty feet, the walls were found to consist of a” por phyritic sandstone intersected by joints filled with argillaceous matter. In passing through this forma- tion the quartz had a yellow tinge, with traces of chlorides and sulphur ; it was associated with frag I ments of silicified schist, and the reef was enclosed in a casing of argillacejus slate, varying in thickness from two to eighteen inches, sometimes soft and friable, at others indurated, silicified, and intimately blended with the walls.

In such conditions it con- tained iron pyrites and other metallic combinations, chiefly sulphurets of arsenic and antimony. Evi- dences of lítense compression were also frequent, by which it had been reduced to minute fragments, which were subsequently re-cemented by the silica by which it was invested.

At the depth of sixty feet the altered rocks were found reposing upon a flesh coloured granite, becoming grey and then blue as they descended. The yield of gold became somewhat less abundant, the quartz assumed a bluer shade ap- proaching that of granite, the schists here and there disappeared from the walls and were found shattered in the oody of the lode, occasionally mingled with fragments of granite, and in the interstices of these blended masses were accumulations of metallic sulphurets and gold, which were probably deposited by vapourised metals and minerals which, rising with the gasses, evolved from the depths of the fissure to a , temperature which, although high enough to enable I them to act upon the adjacent granitic masses and fuse a portion of the silica, was sufficiently loose to permit them to form combinations, in accordance with their respective affinities, upon the walls or other sui faces.

It is not uncommon to find the greatest proportion of sulphurets, oxides, and reduced metals in a lode attached to or blended with the casing, and it is pos- sible that the semifused “masses of granite and slates found within a quartz reef have been detached from the walls of the fissure by the exuding silica.

The quartz in the great reef exhibits an appearance of ha vin g been formed by a succession of layers or strata parallel to the walls, and the inner edge of each layer is moro or less distinctly defined by a line of frag- ments of either slate or granite-the latter having been in a state of partial fusion.

At other places this line may be traced by a vein of metallic sulphurets, par- ticles of gold, silicates, and earthy oxides, produced by decomposition. It would appear here that the vapourised minerals and casses^ percolating the granities had set certain chemical agents at liberty, which, uniting with the vapours and sublimations floating ia, the fissure, caused a deposit or precipitate of one class of metallic and mineral combinations, while it repelled others.

These combinations would vary with the components of the various rocks forming the walls. Certain elements will continue in a state of vapour at a temperature in which others will consolidate, and it is probable that silica, by the aid of the solvents by which it is ever surrounded, may be one of these.

From its universal diffusion at the greatest known depths, it will con- tinue to sublimate long after others known to be less abundant have ceased. A series of similar actions would produce like results until the filling of the fissure was complete, and the supply of oxygen neces- sary to produce combustion is cut off or inter- rupted. That the constituents of the walls haye much in- fluence upon the metals and sulphurets to be found in the quartz lodes is evident from the fact of its frequently having been discovered that, while the quartz resting against one is rich in metals, that against the other is pure, and nearly barren. The quartz fillinr| deep fissures will be found to vary with each successive change of the investing rock, and small veins and leaders will often be discovered to be metaliferous when the main reef is unproductive.

This has probably arisen from the varied formation of the rocks through which the minor fissures have been formed, and through which the vapours and gasae3 have percolated.

Gold can be rendered soluble and volatilized by the agency of sulphur, borox and potash, or soda, all volcanic products, and the two latter important con- stituents of granite. It can be again precipitated, and reduced by a proto-sulphate of iron, supplied by ron pyrites, a constant accompaniment of gold in the matrix.

Much of the gold in the quartz procured from the Adelong reef appears in the lorm of a yellow powder, intermixed with sulphurets on the quartz, and in this precise form it would be precipitated from a solution. Cross sections of a few of the quartz lodes or reefs, with their investing rocks, selected from somo of the varied metallifeious districts in New South Wales, carefully described as they descended foot by foot, with an analysis of the formations passed through in the descent, would be of great value to the nuning interest.

There have been many theories and specu- lations propounded, based upon no sufficient data, but such a work has not been yet attempted. If a granite pebble could write its history, what man’s life would suffice to enable him to read-to follow it in its varied migrations during the fapse of a thousand ages through the incandescent fires of the new bom earth, the ocean’s depths, and the wreck of continents ?

AVe will now return to Baker and Company’s claim’ in which we had reached a depth of sixty feet. We had entered the granites and found them sometimes lined with a soft olive coloured slate ; at other times with an indurated black slate, and again reached spots where that formation had disappeared entirely from the walls and was only present in the body^of the reef, and portions of the granite, were found to be soft and partially decomposed. Here the mundic made its appearance in large masses, presenting a very beauti- ful variety of metallic crystals, before it became tar- nished by exposure to the atmosphere.

This mundic is of three varieties-the first, cop perish red, consisting of nickel, iron, copper, lead arsenic, sulphur, and cobalt ; the second of a lighter shade, a compound of nickel, iron, antimony, and sulphuret of lead ¡ and the third a silver white, a combination of nickel, iron, cobalt, and arsenic, the latter constituting three-fourths of the whole ; for 120 feet, through various shades of granite, at one time soft, at another hard, with occasional patches of pure white quartz adhering to one or other of. the walls, the reef continued with varied degrees of rich- ness, until at a depth of 180 feet it exhibits a tendency to become white, contains less metallic sulphurets, and is less productive of gold.

About 600 tons of quartz, the produce of this claim, has been crushed, the average produce being about seven ounces per ton j there are about 250 tons at present, partly at the crushing machine and partly piled at the mouth of the shaft, which are expected to maintain the previous average.

The next claim in succession to the southward is thirty feet on the reef, the property of Mr. T. Shannon^ this has been considered to be the richest and most valuable on the lode -, from the surface to the point where it entered the true granites it has proved very productive, yielding in some instances thirteen ounces to the ton, and gold was obtained from the debris to the extent of twenty ounces to the load ; the slates have been discovered to be removed to a considerable extent from the walls of this part of the reef, and as it descended the fissure became gradually wider, until it has now attained the width of about seven feet, and the quartz extends from wall to wall.

The general character of the lode here is the same as pre- viously described, and at a depth of 185 feet the sul- phurets have partially disappeared, and the quartz has changed, becoming white and less auriferous.

About COO tons of quartz from this claim have been already crushed, producing an average of eight ounces to the ton, and it is said that gold to the value of £18,000 has been already secured. There is now be- tween 650 and 700 tons of auriferous quartz piled up on the claim, estimated to yield seven ounces to the ton.

This claim is amongst the best worked on the reef, and a horse whim transfers much of the Jabour from the biped to the quadruped. ‘ * !

We now. proceed, to the next thirty feet on rt,T ^ worked and claimed by Mr. Wil__n wmE he reef> claim resembles its neighbour bothTnVh^-T! *”. the lode and the large quantity ft foLI£h?8* * debris. About 70*5 Us _avfi_,ÏSÎrf Ä« average produce of which waa about sev^T’ the The slates are here more abundant the^T* 120 feet the white quartz is makins it« ,»7T °* ? and reducing the %«*.* of the ÄrietoÄS’ contrives to tf minish still further* by roS t quartz and sublimating his gold; this genS” valleyT* a CrU 8 m Ue iU the »eiÄ? ‘ We_~e-t »each the claim of Messrs pi» and Bunn who, to their original ¿Ä eighteen feet on the reef L i, ,of added ten feet, at a colt of S) ^

chased from Mr. Bullock, who retains his U^ inSOtons of quartz at the mouth of theshaft^ anticipated that this lot of quartz will produce aboul five ounces per ton; the united claims have 22 yielded about 600 tons of auriferous stone, the .Ä of which has been about six ounces per ton tT slates are still present; the character of the lodeis the same, and at the depth of 130 fest it tnólL . width of nearly three feetP The hilt__«SR^ sharp descent of a few feet, and we reach the Äf Messrs Cowan and Co.. 53 feet, purchased Si from Messrs. Vicq and Co., for tie sum o/S

The new proprietors have about fifty tons of aS raised, expected to yield seven ounces per toÄ former owners crushed about 600 tons, average sever! ïïnT; T-u° ree-f h?re .contrncts’ but atTdeS 140 feet still maintains its colour-mundic in abun dance-and is auriferous character. The nuutz raised from this claim displays a mo.c decided anne« ance of consecutive vertical deposits, or consoïd»” lions, than that higher on the r’eef ; the munlSd iSwockl bltCd m 4lternate Iayfirs’ tlu°3 The following claim is that of Mr. Hood “0 feet who not long since purchased 10 feet on the reef aTS.

ÔLln.te pMíncr’9 lnterpst in «le claim, for £G00* About 230 tons of quartz have been raised fromtthis fr ° ft’1* °r ^hVch Was ahout 5¿ ounces P* ton! Although the reef is here comparatively narrow ata depth of 13 feet it is stül productive. ‘

We aro now at the claim of Messrs. Iredale «nd Company, 20 feet, by purch «, fern ¿tad and party, at the cost of £1000. There arc about thirty tons of quartz aUhe mouth of the shaft and prior to the sale the late proprietors raised 157 tons of quartz which, on crushing, produced 830 ounces of gold. Satisfied with their gain, these men-Nor. wegians-have gone to Melbourne, with the intention of returning to their native land. In this claim, at a depth of 135 feet, the reef, although narcow still presents a promising aspect. ‘

As there are fifty claims still lower down, some of which require a particular notice, I will conclude bv correcting an omission in my lost, describing Adelong on the surface. I omitted to state that the Reverend Mr. Fox, a clergyman belonging to the Church of England, and the Reverend iAIr. Fitzgerald, of the Scotch Church, both stationed at the Tumut, fie. quently perform divine service at the Adelong. A Roman Catholic clergyman has also visited the locality twice within the last six months, so that there is not that spiritual destitution in the district that I was led to believe. I have to repeat, however,. that there are no schools.

IN our progress down the slopes following the course of the great quartz reef of Adelong, we had, in my last, reached the claim of Iredale and Company, late Lind and Company.

The next in succession is the claim of Mitchell de Souza and Company, thirty feet ; here the lode ap- proaches the colour of a dark grey granite, the metallic veins appear more stratified, the width is from twelve to twenty inches, and the mundic and sulphurets change some what in their character.

There are about fifty tons of quartz raised here, estimited to yield about five ounces per ton. The next on the reef are Arigan and Fallon, twenty feet ; these parties have about ten tons of quartz raised, expected to produce between four and five ounces per ton, and have reached a depth of 130 feet.

We now come to Skinner and party, forty feet, who have just crushed thirty tons, which produced 120 ounces ; their depth is 115 feet, and the lode here becomes irregular in width, varying from six to ten inches. Then comes Ken- nedy and Company, forty-five feet .

This party has crushed twelve tons of quartz, which produced forty-eight ounces of gold and at a depth of 130 feet ; the width of the vein ranges from four to eight inches.

Here masses of granite intrude between fragments of slate, and fill up the fissure. We now reach Douglass and party, thirty feet ; the pro- duce of this claim, have been crushed, five of which yielded twenty ounces, and nine produced eighteen ounces of gold.

At a depth of 115 feet the vein varies from four to nine inches in width, and the slates become metalliferous and silicious. The following claim is that of Luke Tyrrell, twenty feet ; here the veins were irregular. sometimes expanding to a width of ten or twelve inches, at others, contracting to a mere streak of casing. T

he filling of the fissure is here granitic, becoming a dyke or elvon, differing in its constituents from the walls and inverting blocks of indurated silicified schist rich in metallic sulphurets. Particles of gold have been ob- served in both the schists and granite in this locality, and at a depth of 112 feet the vein is five or six inches in width.

Ten tons of quartz have been crushed from this claim, yielding about twenty-six ounces, and about eight tons are now at the mouth of the shaft, expected to ave- rage four or five ounces to the ton. The next claim is the property of William Williams, twenty feet. At a depth of 112 feet he has struck a small leader, which has produced about two tons of auriferous quartz, estimated to yield two ounces per ton. Then comes Brierley and Haigrraves, forty feet .

This party have raised fifteen tons of auriferous quartz, which produced thirty ounces of gold. At a depth of 140 feet a vein, from four to six inches in width, is invested by indurated black slate, alternating with granite. These are succeeded by M’Cormick and party, thirty feet, they have crushed twenty tons of quartz, the yield of which varied from five to two ounces per ton, becoming poorer after the mundic made its appearance.

At a depth of 115 feet they are on a vein four inches wide ; the character of the dyke corresponds with that in the claims immediately preceeding it. The two following claims, at a depth of sixty feet, have struck small veins which traverse the dyke, and from which they have raised a few tons of quartz, but at a depth of upwards of 100 feet they have not yet fallen in with the reef.

Neizeman and party are next in succession, forty feet, and at a depth of 104 feet are on a vein partially decomposed, about four inches in width, and from which they have obtained about twenty tons of rich quartz. On the succeeding claims, for about 200 feet, the miners have recently opened narrow veins of mundic quartz, at depths varying from 110 to 130 feet, that will yield from three to five ounces to the ton, and are expected to increase in width as they descend.

The hill, which had been gradually becoming more pre- cipitous, here presents a varied formation ; the surface rocks assume a basaltic and doleritic character, apparently the wreck of an ancient volcanic outburst, exhibiting a distorted stratification. They descend to a greater depth than the surface formations higher up the range, and are found reposing upon ancient granites by which they are broken and disjointed.

These igneons products of a former period have been pierced by recent outbursts, but, offering more resistance to the upheaving forces than the arena- ceous rocks formerly noticed, have been less disturbed. The fissure which had followed the schistose stratum from the crown of the range, and been gradually becoming con- tracted as it approached the more compact formations, here finally disappears or will only be discovered at a much greater depth.

The intrusive granite, repressed by the pre-existing igneous rocks on either hand, has burst through the weaker schistose stratum, investing each shattered fragment and filling every cavity, thus forming a dyke, occasionally traversed by minute quartz veins, few of which are metalliferous.

For upwards of a quarter of a mile, at intervals of twenty feet, shafts have been, and are still being, sunk through this dyke on the line of the reef, varying from eighty to 150 feet in depth, and as yet no lode has been discovered, although some of the shafts have reached water. Here and there a narrow vein appears to cheer the miner in his labours, and tempt him downward, but it soon runs out.

A series of shafts have been opened about thirty feet to the westward, but after reach- ing a depth of from forty to eighty feet they were aban- doned for the present line.

It is possible that the reef splits somewhere below the crown, and that the miners are at present on either the east or west branch ; the only way to prove this would be by cross drives, but, however anxious some might be to follow such a course the immense ex- pense attending sinking or driving through solid rock deters them from making the experiment.

It is in such case as this that the operative miner feels himself crippled by the absence of capital, without which all his energies are unavailing ; the exhaustion of his resources but too frequently compels him to relinquish undertakings which he knows perseverance would ultimately crown with suc- cess.

While companies, established with no other end in view than to find billets for the promoters, or to entrap the unwary, under the auspices of our Montillie Tigge», would probably wind up with loss to the shareholders, the forma- tion of copartners between operative miners and capitalists might reasonably be expected to promote tho interests of all concerned, and would certainly direct a gi eater amount of energy and mining experience to the development of our mineral resources

So well ib this now understood bj the working miners and claimholders on the Adelong that all labourers on the reef aro remunerated by shares This system has uuperseded regular w ages, und gives satisfaction to both the employer and employed In quartz mining there is little possibility of robbery or trand, as the gold can only be obttnie I by a tedious process, after passing through the hands of the crusher, who has no connection with the claim holders, and is usually instructed to pvv the gold produced from a lot of quartz into on» of the banks to the credit ot the piopnetors as a company.

In a coputneiship eonsist HijTOl (sa) twelve BhareSjSix of which were held by asmany operatives, and six represented bv eipltal, the liöter might irestneasonably assured that the operations of the copart- nership would bo cn ried on with the utmost economy, and vi itli all the ability of the working pai tners I am at tills moment in sight of a leef fioin w Inch the finest specimens proem ed in the district were obtained, and which, although opened foi nearly a mile in length, has been aban- doned -not because it held out no promise, but because the claim holders were needy men, and unable to cany on for 12 or l8 months, before which they could not, under the most 1 ivomable circumstances, expect a return for their labour

Upwards of a quarter of a mile bilow the point, wheie the lode, after gradually weiring itself out finally disap- peared, au extensive outcrop of qnaitz again made its ap peurance in the line of the hsstire On follow ing it dow n ward it was found to piss into the granitic dy ke on the noi th side within avery few feet ol the outcio» To the southward it alBO disappeared for 400 yards, when it again showed on the suiface lor about 200 feet, and sank to use no moie in the vicinity

Tho filling of the fissure caused by tile disruption ot the schistose stiatum at the southern extremity of the reef, is sometimes composed of granite, at others of quart?, und occasionally of both intermixed Ñotw ithstiiiding the many abstruse theories propounded relative to the origin ol qu irt? reefs, it is pos- sible that they may yet be traced to the simple chemical action of heat und water upon the various bodies throu.rh winch the fissuies pus, and that the fissures themselves will be lound to result from the «nine iction

Returning to the reef where the quirt? makes its second appeiuanco on the suilace, we lind that it was three ftet wide and varied in its charactei lrom that higher on the range, was less auriferous, and moro honeycombed the sulpliuiets were partially decompose I by the combined action of the atmosphere und the neighbouring springs, and the cavities in the lo le were filled with hydrous oxides and eirths forming the wash dut that has proved so productive of the precious metal At a depth of lrom lorty to fittv feet the decomposition c ased, and muudie appeared in a pi oportion equal to one-fom th of the lode, containing less non then els where and more arsenic Gold became lesb ubundint also, at the depth of 115 feet the sulphurets gradually disappeared, and were succeeded by pure white quartz-nearly bairen, but at 145 feet the mundic again shows on the hanging wall and pioi uses at a gi cater depth to cut out the w bite block We will now ramble ovei a few of the claims, on the lower si ebon of the reef

The first, seventy-five feet, is worked by Iredale and Company lu this claim the granitic dyke passes into quartz, north half of the “round, no îeet , south halt, suiface lor forty feet down was payable but not rich, sulphurets decomposed, replaced by eaithy oxides, at sixty feet reached the mundic, wheie the decomposing agents ceased to net Mundie m large qn unities, lode less aurife- rous as it descends, until at 115 feet the ban en vi hite quartz appears

Tins party have about -TO tons ot auriferous stone raised, estininred to produce from two to five ounces per ton. Tim next is Wells and Wiloon, seventy -five feet

Th ¡> clnim is similar to that preceding it The surface reef for fifty leet in depth produced u largo quantity of quirt?, tho average produce was three ounces per ton, some em ill lots reached as lugh as bi ounces

At sixty feet tile decomposition ceas-d, and the mundic appeared , tie yield was no» about four and n-half ounces per ton, be- coming less productive as it descended, until at 115 feet the white birren reef intervened At 147 fee1 it is impioving, but ‘”slowly Six hundred tons ot quart, have been raised from this claim , the present width of the lode is about three feet

Then comes Griffiths and Company 72 feet, Snriuee reef here irregular, varying in width, from four inches to two feet, yield from I three to six onncos per ton. At sixty feet the decompo- sition of tho salphurets ce.vaed Pale tin, white and light copper mundio appeared Reef from two to five feet wide, slate hard, black, and siliclfled. The yield from the mandle quartz, from sixty to eighty feet, averaged four and a half ounces, 120 feet it had decreased to two ounces, with the white reef close at hand.

Then Lemon and Woodman’s, fifty feet, surface reef to fifty feet in depth, yielded two ounces por ton At the point whero the decomposition ceasod the mundic stone produced for a few feet an average of nino ounces, and the last, consisting of forty tons, yielded fivo ounces per ton.

The width at a depth of 110 feet is eighteen inches, was wide nearer the surface, but vvos only rich and payable whon tiro lode became narrow The next in rotation is Dent and Company, thirty feet,recently crushed a few tons of quartz, avcrairing four ounces per ton, are at a doptli of 120 feet, and have twentv tons of quartz raised, width of loef twelve inches.

The following claim belong* to Richardson and Company forty-five feet at a depth of 130 feet, a narrow vein runs into a broad wlnto roof, tboy have ctushod afow tons averaging fifty ounces, and have about ten tons at tho Bhaft month

Then comes tho Cum- berland partv, who claim 120 feet The Biirfnco reef waB of little value, but ut sixty feet decomposition ceased, and the lode became rich from that point downwards, varying in width from two to four feet, the widest part loast pro- ductive, 120 tons haye been crushed averaging fivo ounces, and thero aro 150 tons of quart? raised on tho claim, at a depth of 120 feet the lode contrtcts to from twelve to eighteen niche-, in width, this is one of the moat valuablo c1 urns on the lower part of the reef

The w»xt two claims of 90 and 120 feet, are again on the grimtic dvke, a bluish granite and masses of indurated black schist, much altero! by their contact with tho invest- ing rock, hore usurp the place of tho lode, at tho depth of ?dxty feet The minors opened a narrow vom from vi Inch a few tons of quarta lune been obtained, which avoraged about four ounces, and at n depth of 112 ft-ot sinking through tlie same hard rock they are still in search of tho reef. Lower down is tho claim j of -, lîyzant, and Company, sixty feet ; the iisiuil small veins were found near the surface, which, although rieh, qnickly ran out.

At a depth of 120 feet a blast put ¡Rto the hanging wall exposed a rich mundic reef, two foot, in width, the yield of which is estimated at be- tween five and six onnces to the ton. On examination, the miners discovered that thoy had been sinking alongside of it for the last sixty feet; their want of success had re- duced them to the last extremity, and, during months of weary and anxious labour tho object of their search had boon daily within a few inches of their heads.

This inci- dent proves the exnodiency of cross drives. For a distance extending many hundred yards lower down, claims have been taken up” and worked by about twenty-two companies, and thoir numerous shafts in the granite e’van, which here again displaces tho quartz, vary in depth from 50 to 150 foot ; the average depth may bo said to bo one hundred feet.

Although masy small veins have been found traversing the indurated Bohistese frag- ments and tho granite in the vertical bed of the tilted itraUm, there is, so far, no appearance of a reef. I have described it in this way to draw attention to the fact ! that the cavity caused by tho partial removal of a perish- able stratum of schist invested by moro durable rocks might be mistaken for a fissnro caused by contraction or disruption.

Tivo foot, a week is accounted good work for thr:o men. and .tho sinking of the last twenty shafts through solid rock would not be undertaken by contracts at a lower rato .than ¡C5 per foot’. ,’Tho labour and material oxpendêd upon them, therefore, mav be valued at £10’,000. ‘ I^must be a; , matter of surprisoto many how men without capital could ‘pr«sccnto so expon8Îvo an undertaking. ‘In a’few’of tlio companies persons’ possessed of spare’ capital-aro ‘share-’ holders, but the majority are entirely composed of working miners.

In such cases it is not unusual for one-half of the company to hire themselv-s out to obtain the means neces- sary to enable the remainiug half to carry on their opera- tions. It will be observed that what is called the surface reef at the Adolo.ig usually ex’ends to the depth of from forty to sixty feet. This is perhaps the lowest point to which the rainwaters have penetrated, conveyed along the joints of tho rocks, and by filtration throueh the superstrata, con- verting the snlphurets and arsenites of some metals into oxides, romoving more by uecomposition, and perhaps reducing others bythe aid of the solutions which they become charged with in their passage.

If the reef as it now exists was covered to the depth of sixty feet by a solid roek im- pervious to water or atmospheric influences, what is now called the mundic reef would extend to the present surface; but if, on the contrary, the reef was denuded to the level where the mundic is now first met with in ft state of perfect crystallization, in process of time it would assume the con- dition of the present surface reef.

Many of tho auriferous reefs that have been discovered in New South Wales aro wh it are known as surface reefs, that is, their auriferous character decreases as they descend, and become quite lost at a depth seldom exceeding tlurtv five feet, but more frequently twenty-live

It may also be remarked that where these resfs follow the undulations of the surface, even descending the sides of mountains, where an erormous denudation has taken place, they retain this feature It is wortry of consideration whether the oxy- genated surface waters charged with the solutions tliey collect in their pas «ago through the upper strata, have any effect in reducing tho gold hold in combination with sulphiirehs or chlorides of other metals and minerals, and whether as the surface wears away, and the upper por- tion of the reef becomes destroyed by disintegration, par- ticles of pure metal may not continue to be reduced or formed to as gre it a depth as the waters can penetrate, prov ided that thenecessarv agents aro present in tne me- chanical or igneons rocks forming the Burfaco

These re- marks are suggested by the fact that in a verv largo pro- portion of the quartz raisod from the Adelong reef, yielding as Ililli as seven or eight ounces, a paiticle of gold is. not visible to the naked eye. To recapitulate in a few lines, I may say with reference to the great reef at Adelong, tint a stratum of schist of undetermined lenath and breadth, resting upon more ancient igneous products, has beea tilted and invested by gianite – that either the contraction of the cooling nias«, or the wastine and decomposition of the schist by the infiltration of sur- face w aters has caused a longitudinal fissure through its whole extent, widest and deepest where the granitic mass lind usen to the greatest height

That this fissure has been subsequently filled, partly by molten granite and partly by metaliferons quart?, by the agency of heat, the presence of eithei dependant upon tim constituents of the investing rocks The long dissertations written upon the dipping and nsme of quartz reefs, according to some geometnciilrulo, will, Ifear, prove to be uko the philosopher’s stone ol tlio middle ages. Nature is a simplo chemist, and varies her productions according to the materials upon which she operates.

We will now return to the crown of the great reef, and take a concise review of the operations carried on upon the northern slopes of the hill.

The descents are steep, and the reef, true to its northerly course, makes directly for the valley. The first claim we notice on the crest of the range is that of Thomas Jenkins and Co., sixty feet, purchased from Don Francisca Carreas for £1800.

The character of the lode continues the same as that already described in the claim of Baker and Company. The surface reef was rich, but after the decomposition ceased it became less productive, and, at a depth of 112 feet, they are working through a vein of barren white quartz, the depth of which is at present undetermined.

This claim has already produced over £4000 worth of gold, and the proprietors have about 150 tons of quartz raised, a part of which, it is expected, will yield five ounces per ton, and the remainder something less.

The width of the reef continues to range from three to four feet, and it is probable that it will become narrower but more valuable a few feet lower down.

The succeeding claim is that of Edwards, Brothers, about twenty-five feet, exchanged for a half interest in the Victoria Crushing Mill ; the reef contracts in this claim and narrows to from seven to ten inches ; it was payable at the surface, but as it descended it be- came less rich ; the yield was at the rate of three and a half ounces, and they have about forty tons ready for the mills, which are expected to turn out four ounces per ton.

Ainsworth and Co., thirty feet, are next on the reef, which continues narrow and irregular in its descent, varying in width from twelve to six inches ; the surface quartz was very productive, decreasing downwards, and the claim is still yielding payable quartz.

We now arrive at the third claim of Mr. William Williams, who has had the honour of giving a name both to the hill and the neighbouring valley. He owns fifty feet on the reef at this spot.

The lode now expands to from two to three feet in width ; like the preceding claims, the surface was rich in gold, ob- tained both from the decomposed mundic by washing and from the quartz by crushing ; as it descended, the yield became less, and at 100 feet the dreaded white reef is making its appearance, holding out a gloomy prospect of much work and little pay.

Two men realised over £300 beyond their expenditure – in this claim by two months’ labour. About 150 tons have been crushed and roasted. The next three claims something less than 100 feet, have been purchased by Thomas Jenkins, and Company, at a cost of £2800, after quartz to the value of several thousand pounds had been raised by the former owners.

The width of the reef was irregular, rang- ing from three feet to nine inches, and the yield de- creased from nine or ten ounces under the gross, to three ounces, when it entered the modern granites, at the respective depths of 110 and 130 feet. They are, like their neighbours, working through the barren reef, with symptoms of an improvement coming in on the western wall, and strong in their hopes of the future.

We now have arrived at the original inspecting claim first granted to the discoverers of the reef, Thomas Williams and his mates, who were conducted to the source by the rich sur- facing on the slopes, and enticed to break up the reef in their pursuit of the gold found in cavities of the quartz mingled with the earths and oxides.

They washed out a part of the gold and sold the claim, with the quartz they had raised, for £1200, to Messrs. Coneras and Ryan. This quartz alone subsequently yielded £5000 worth of gold when crushing mills became established.

The upper por- tion of this extensive claim has been subdivided, and has passed through several hands, but Don F. Coneras, or Mr. Don, as he is called by his old mates, still retains his property in the lower sixty feet ; the yield has been very rich, but, like all the rest, most valu- able at the surface; the auriferous character of the lode decreasing with the descent, while in places the reef expanded to the width of four or five feet.

At a depth of seventy-five feet the miners fell in with the hate- ful white reef, and now at 105 feet they have hopes of being nearly through it, the vein con- tracting from three feet to ten or twelve inches. Blue quartz appears on the western wall-a bare streak at first, but gradually swelling into the lode, the sul- phurets and arsenates become more abundant, streak- ing the quartz like the fat and lean in Wiltshire bacon ; and as the mundic reef cuts out the white block, the prospects of the miners brighten.

A recent crushing has averaged three ounces. We now pass to the claim of Rutter and Company, sixty feet, who, at a depth of 145 feet, have passed through fourteen feet of the white reef, and are now again on payable quartz. A mass of black schist here splits the vein, and the walls become irregular ; in some spots nearly closing the fissure.

The quartz from this claim has produced about five ounces of gold per ton ; and a large pile at the shaft mouth awaits the operations of the crusher. The last we will notice is the claim of Robertson and Co., sixty feet; the surface reef here was replaced by the granite elvan, but at sixty-five feet a vein was opened which has produced about, thirty tons of quartz, not yet sent to the mill, which are estimated to contain from three to four ounces to the ton.

For 1500 feet lower down the slope claims have been taken up. and a line of shafts have been sunk to depths varying from 90 to 130 feet, with no success.

A chronicle of the labours of the miners further on the line of the reef would be but a story of delusive veins which only appeared to run out, of unrequited labour, of privations, of hope deferred, until many a poor fellow, after eighteen months of persevering toil, finds himself pennyless, physically exhausted, and nearly heartbroken. If the general body of miners on the reef had the power to assess the claimholders to the extent necessary to make such examinations as would conduce to the general advan- tage of all those interested in the reef, how much labour that has proved unprofitable would have been saved. Per one heart that rejoices on a gold-field, there are a hundred crushed and broken. “ The smiling there, like light on graves, Has rank cold hearts beneath it.”

Here closes the details relative to the great reef of the Adelong, and those who have had the patience to wade through them will be able to form some estimate of the enormous expenditure of labour and material by which the gold already obtained has been procured, allowing that 750 men have been employed on and in connection with the reef since June, 1857, and that 60,000 ounces of gold are the result of their labours.

This valued at £8 10s. an ounce would give £210,000. From that has to be deducted £14,500 for crushing, machinery, and quicksilver, &c. ; and £20,000 for powder, tools, and cartage, which would leave just two pounds a-week for each man for the entire period.

But then comes the distribution. Fortune has been I unequal in her favours, and the number of blanks bear no proportion to the prizes-they are fearful to con- template. This fact is suggestive of the most gloomy reflections ; it becomes a serious question, how far a new country is really advanced by such an expenditure of its chief resource, its labour, of which we have yet no surplus.

A few individuals have im- proved their position, but they bear no proportion to the number who this day find themselves in a much worse condition than when they came into the district two long years since. The wilderness is unbroken ; no lands have been cleared ; no happv, smiling, home- steads have risen in the forest, and the country has derived no permanent advantage from the labours of these men, as they have eaten and drank the value of all that they have produced.

A few publicans have been enriched, and, through through them the public revenues have been benefited, but better that the one should continue to eat the bread of honest labour, and that the other should be in a less prosperous condition, than that we should waste the real wealth of our people in the vain pur- suit of a shadow. Follow these reflections out, and then turn to the gold-producing regions of the earth -learn from history what they have been, and see what they are.