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a time this terrace maintained a considerable mining population. A fair supply of water was brought in to command this ground, and several claims gave very good returns for working. There are still a good many claims which give fair wages for working. The ground varies considerably in depth; but the whole of the parties working in this locality have a splendid fall for their tailings, and by this means are able to run away large quantities of material. it was thought by many of the miners in this locality that, as rich auriferous deposits of washdrift were found on the terrace, there would be better ground found at the foot of the terrace, where the material might be expected to lie in a concentrated form. A shaft was therefore sunk, but the quantity of water was too much to contend with by the appliances that were used to drain the ground. On my recent visit all work was suspended here, and from what could be learnt respecting any work that had been done, there was not sufficient gold in the ground to work by driving it out. At Cape Terrace, on the northern side of the Greenstone Creek and Teremakau Eiver, there are a considerable number of claims, some of which are worked with good results. There is a fair supply of water here, and the ground is being worked in a very satisfactory manner. Judging from the high ridge of reef which is found at the edge of this terrace in Pansey and party's claim, with a great depth of alluvial wash-drift on the inside, the Teremakau Eiver has at one time flowed over in different channels on this terrace. At the time of my recent visit to this place and Westbrooke there were about sixty-eight Europeans and thirty-five Chinese engaged working alluvial claims. Kumaka. This is by far the most compact hydraulic-sluicing field there is in the colony. Although the workings have been carried on for the last eighteen years, only a comparatively small portion of ground has yet been worked ; but there are, notwithstanding, about two hundred men employed at the present time in carrying on hydraulic and sluicing operations on the field, which have been confined to an area of about 600 acres in extent. The ground is not nearly so good as it was when the claims were first opened, as there is not the same facility for sending away so large a quantity of material. The ground is also getting farther back into the flat, and the fall for the tail-races is yearly lessening, which all tells on the profits derived from the working of the ground. When what is known as the No. 1 Sludge-channel was constructed it was thought at first by the miners that it would be incapable of carrying away the material from the claims, on account of having only about sin. of fall to every 12ft. box. Since then, however, their ideas on the subject have changed, and now they are constructing tail-races with as little as 4in. fall to the 12ft. box. The portion of the ground first opened was what is known as the Dunedin Flat; but the workings have now been carried back from this point to Larrikin's Flat, and are getting very near to the foot of the Kapitea Hill. As the different claims became worked out at this portion of the field, fresh ground was taken up nearer the Kumara Township, and it is gradually being worked down in that direction; still none of the ground in this locality can be worked except by the construction of very long and extensive tail-races to carry away the tailings into the valley and bed of the Teremakau Eiver. The first of the tail-races constructed was found not to be of sufficient capacity to allow the whole of the claims to be worked. A second channel was constructed, and this has been working for many years, and is still the means of a number of the claims being occupied, which will yet take a few years before they are worked out. Entirely new ground, lying still lower down the flat, has been taken up and prospected. This ground is close to the Hokitika-Greenstone Eoad, where two tail-races are at the present time being constructed with a view of carrying on hydraulic and sluicing operations on this part of the field. So far as is at present known of the Kumara field, seven distinct runs of gold have been found going down the flat. These widen out in the shape of a fan at the lower end of the present workings, and it is not yet known how far these leads may continue. All the gold from this field has been obtained on a false bottom, which has been gone through near the terrace facing to the Teremakau Eiver, and in a shaft sunk in Larrikin's Flat, also a short distance in the Kapitea Hill. A low-level adit is now being constructed to test the ground on the main bottom, and is now in for a distance of 1,200 ft. This adit has been for a considerable distance constructed partially in the blue reef and partially in gravel. The bottom does not appear to be anything like uniform, and contains a number of crevices and pot-holes, and to all appearance will dip yet, going farther into the flat, which is the original bed of the river, and the deep ground will yet be found nearer the Kapitea Hill. Gold of a payable kind has not so far been struck in this adit; but the character of the gold, which is of a rough shotty nature, shows that there must be some good auriferous deposits in the vicinity. Where this bottom was struck in the shaft near to Kapitea Hill the wash-drift yielded about 2dwt. to the load, and of a similar character of gold to that found amongst the gravel in the low-level adit. Several shafts have been sunk to the west of the Hokitika-Greenstone Eoad, close at the back of the township, and some of these contain layers of wash-drift which would pay for working by hydraulic sluicing if tail-races were brought in so that the tailings could be conveyed to the bed of the Teremakau Eiver. For some time past sluicing operations in this district have not looked so well as in former years, and, seeing that all the ground which the present tail-races commanded was either getting worked out or was held by people in claims, those whose claims had been worked out were getting disheartened, as there was no chance of getting any ground that the present tail-races command. Eecently, however, the Government has granted a subsidy for the construction of what is termed the No. 5 Tail-race, which will be, when completed, about 70 chains in length, and will open up a large area of entirely new ground which has been taken up, and is now held in about thirteen mining claims.