THE DIAMOND MANIA

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1284, 15 August 1883, Page 2

THE DIAMOND MANIA

(From the Christchurch Press.) ! In consequence of the very keen interest manifested in the supposed v diamond fields, I made a journey to the, hills on Friday, and though there • was- a- total absence of anything ap-. proaching excitement I found that since my previous visit the interest of the settlers had risen from a semistate of ridicule and incredulity to that ' of decided hope, if not belief, in the actual existence of diamonds in their midst Several parties were out on the ground they had just taken up on , license, and several strangers came hi- .! to the township during the day. The latter, however, left again in the evening, one party being particularly anxious to take away in his buggy a huge boulder that had been pointed out to him as likely to contain the precious ''gems." The news received from Christchurch was being eagerly devoured and discussed in all its phases, and the question of diamonds or no diamonds was the principal if , not the sole topic of conversation. Specimens of the supposed diamonds are very plentiful, and it is somewhat amusing to note the familiar way ih which the possessors handle them. One party will dive into his pocket to bring forth a good sized bottle containing several hundred stones. These will be. emptied into the palm of his . hand j for general inspection, and probably not more than one-half will go back to the original owner. Another will produce a match-box containing a lot of the "gems," while another will have them loose in his waistcoat pocket, and will readily bring the stones forth for inspection. Several small parcels of the stones have already changed hands in the district for cash. The sum of £3,

however, is the highest amount that has yet been paid, and in the few instances where the stones have been sold ; the purchasers have procured them more out of curiosity, I fancy, tbaii as far as they could judge, for the .intrinsic value of the supposed diamonds. The land all the way from , the north branch of the Ashburton river* to Taylor's stream, for several miles back into the ranges has already _been taken up on prospecting licenses. The prospectors will not be able' to (do much work for a week or so as there is a large quantity of snow on $he bills and in the gullies. This will take some tune to clear, and it would be folly for anyone to think of camping in the district just yet. There was a heavy fall on Friday night, and on Saturday morning the level ground about the township was covered to a depth, of about six inches. This naturally put a stop to what prospecting would have been done. Still, ngtan'y supposed diamonds were found ; notwithstanding. L spent the whole off'tthe-' daygoing from house to house iust to hear what the settlers thought 'of ihdftjp>fjSse6ts7and in nearly every : ip islapGfi , jftgyj 4 we re, decidedly jubilant. kl .fttrads*i»any of the families busy at 'Wofrfe indport sorting .the wash dirt 'and picking out Ibeiltue '• diamonds," or '] perhaps ,'it is safer to say the supposed .diamonds. One settler and his family had a-fire ' outside to dry the sand, ' after whicirit was spread on the j tarjlei aiid ' some 1 half-dozen children qet^ifo/wprk te, v pick out the stones. i/Bawiome thousand of the supposed diamonds during the day. Notwithstanding the unpleasant nature of the roads, ! a large party came into the township on Sunday from Methven and Mount :Somers. districts. They made their way up the streams, and returned laden with washdirt in sacks, which they took away with them at night. Some of the party had some .specimens of stone, and one individual purchased a few from one of the settlers. Owing ! to the severe frosts experienced at „ night, the snow will take some time to melt off the bills, and until they are clear very little prospecting can be don^. In addition to the supposed dianionds, several specimens of quartz corjiiaining gold, said to have been .picked up in the district, were shown tome. A /company called the Alford Diamond (Company was formed by Mr Webber on Saturday, and was literally . besieged by would-be shareholders. The' Extent of the land covers an area of 283 acres, and is in close proximity to the Pioneer and Koh-i-noor claims. . : t,_ite diamond share market was quieter on Saturday than usual, and in Pioneer and Koh-i-noor share business was doiie. For tbe former sellers ask JGQO, but £52 was the highest price at which any changed hands. Koh-i-noor's were quoted at £26. and at that figure Sotne exchanges have been made. T^'ei'e' was.'a large number of applicants for interim scrip in the Proposed Alford Forest ' Diamond Company, the value being-^L '■■=■ A ntimerously attended meeting was . Jbejq* on 'Saturday afternoon at Mr G. Pay ling's office, Lichfield street, when it was prosposed to form a company, to consist of 2000 shares £5, half to be reserved by the promoters and the other . half tP be placed on the market A large -and influential Board of provisional directors was appointed. ■ "" Mr Neil Black reports business in Caledonian diamond shares on Saturday as opening at £5, latest parcel sold at £7 per share. About eighty fresh ' applications were made on Monday for prospecting areas. The projectors of the Canterbury Diamond Company met last Monday night, and the various matters in con- - 'h'ection therewith were all settled satis factorily.. ;)>,_'• • : ; . Mr Moritz Bowron, milling agent, reports a moderate jam ount of business Monday in diamond shares ; ;fjß>ver „ transactions. ' reported in the , higherrpricexL shares, while more activity appears iii low-pri,ced scrip. Salesof Caledonians have been effected < at £7, few sellers, however, at' that figure. ! ; The prospectuses of the Regent, with -a J capital'of;i>_2so;the Jacobsen Ex'teWded Pioneer, with a capital of £ 18, 75.0; the Golconda Company, with 2000 jsliares of £1 each, appeared in Tuesday morning's papers. A meeting of the Golconda Daimond Company was held on Monday morning, • -when- a large number of shareholders were present. The rosulutions passed at the meeting on Saturday were considered, and it was finally agreed that the company consist of 200 shares, one half of which should belong to the j rpmoters and the other half to be placed on the market at once. The excitement which was so great at the Land Board office on Saturday and Monday diminished considerably during Tuesday. The applications for prospecting license have not been so" numerous, nor tbe amount of land contained therein so large. Mr R. Thompson exhibited in the window of his music warehouse on Tuesday afternoon, two specimens of Cape diamonds which were brought here by Mr Stanley and presented^ him to the Christchurch Mutual Imps. It is stated that a proportion of Mr Tisch's land in the vicinity of the supposed diamond fields is to form the subject of a. Company.