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APPENDIX TO REPORT ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND. WARDENS' REPORTS.

AUCKLAND. No. 1. His Honor the Superintendent of Auckland to the Hon. the Colonial Secbetaey. Sie, — Superintendent's Office, Auckland, lGth April, 1873. Herewith I have the honor to transmit to you, for presentation to the General Assemhly, Eeports, with accompanying Eeturns, for the year ended 31st March ultimo, furnished by Wardens IVaser and Keddell, in respect of the Southern and Northern Divisions, respectively of the Hauraki Gold Mining District, within this Province. I take occasion to request that in the event of these Eeports being printed for the House, you will be good enough to direct a supply of fifty copies to be forwarded to me, for the use of the Provincial Government. I have, &c, T. B. Gillies, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Superintendent. Enclosure 1 in No. 1. Eepoet of Mr. Warden Keddell upon the Nobth Haueaki Gold Fields. General Report on the Northern portion of the Hauraki Gold Mining District, Province of Auckland, for the Tear ending 3lst March, 1873. This portion of the Hauraki Gold Mining District, which began the twelve months elapsed since my last Eeport under such good auspices, has suffered under the reaction consequent on indiscriminate speculation, which, as the history of all gold and more especially all quartz fields will testify, invariably follows sudden rises in mining interests. These periods of depression are common to all gold fields on which property requiring large outlay of money necessitates the co-operation of capitalists, and is more conveniently managed through the medium of limited companies. All claims —good, bad, and indifferent—have been affected. The depression was attributable mainly to injudicious and reckless over-speculation on the part of the too sanguine, and the high-coloured, dishonest representations of mining adventurers, who seized their opportunity, when the public mind was naturally excited by the fortunate issue of genuine discoveries, to float companies ostensibly to work new mines, but really for the most part to take up ground wholly untried, and in many instances unknown to the promoters, except so far as they could be ascertained from carefully prepared plans. While the fever lasted, and indeed until the pioneer claim on the Coromandel Creek (the Green Harp Gold Mining Company) obtained an unenviable notoriety through its sudden collapse, and the exposure of the fraudulent behaviour of some of those who conducted its affairs, large sums of money passed hands in Auckland and elsewhere for Coromandel stocks, but a very small portion found its way to the field, and a still smaller proportion was expended in bond fide mining. Tet the whole of the odium of the disastrous reaction, which set in at once, was cast on the district, and all Coromandel stock was at a discount, and the result was an utter want of confidence in gold mining as an industry, and legitimate speculation in mining. A very large area of land was taken up under mining licenses during the time of public favour, and no doubt many of these would have followed up the discoveries which in many cases I believe originated them, and were genuine, had not the Green Harp catastrophe suddenly caused an utter withdrawal of faith in anything at Coromandel, save in those fully developed claims whose reputations had been long established, and even these suffered in exchange quotations. I may here properly refer to the Green Harp Gold Mining Company's Claim, for the decease of this enterprise was the turning point of Coromandel's prosperity, of which I reported so confidently last year. This claim was taken up by a party of miners in the latter part of the year 1870, who worked with great perseverance for many months. After testing many places, they discovered alluvial gold in a blind creek opening on the Coromandel Harbour, and this lead they with great success traced to its parent reef, and they believed it to be the one sought for by Mr. Kevin, an old pioneer of the district, who, through the help of a company, prosecuted a great deal of work on this portion of the field without any good result; Kevin, however, had found enough gold to make it a matter of certainty that a reef did exist in that neighbourhood, and, as from its proximity to the wharf and township, the expenses of working the mine would be much less than on the ranges where the then known workings were, these miners had a great incentive to use their utmost endeavours. After discovering this reef, and driving on it for some time, they excavated a quantity of quartz, 10 tons of which they had crushed at the New Zealand Company's Battery, and it yielded upwards of 100 oz., being at the rate of about 10 oz. to the ton. Soon afterwards they formed themselves into a company, and applied for and obtained a