Page:Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute - Volume 1 (2nd ed.).djvu/514

478 by water from the Long Drive, although both batteries were treated in precisely the same manner. Alterations were made, but the yield was still the same, when the waters were crossed, and the right-hand battery worked by the water which had previously been used for the left-hand one. The consequence was that the right-hand battery then produced more than the left-hand one. Experiments were again made, and the effect was always the same: whenever the water from the Long Drive was used from one-third to half the gold was lost. This was stated to him by the manager of the claim, who put down the whole result to the water coming from the Long Drive. If they stopped the water from the creek, and used that coming from the Long Drive only, the result was still the same: they lost from a third to half the gold. In consequence of this statement of the manager, he (the speaker) had brought up two bottles of water from the Long Drive for the purpose of having it analyzed. It was a matter of the greatest importance that it should be ascertained what the contents consisted of. The other water, by which the battery produced the most gold, came from the Moanataiari hill, which was the richest hill as yet found on the gold field. The people who had given him the information on this subject might possibly be mistaken, but he was quite sure they were not deceiving him. The water which he had brought up he intended to forward to Dr. Hector for analysis.

It was a most important question, involving immense monetary considerations. If the statement made to him were correct, and he had no reason to doubt it, that this water from the Long Drive lost, say, even a third of the gold, which could only be obtained by using the other water, then the loss must have been already very large.

Dr. Purchas asked if the water used from the hill referred to, as saying the most gold, was clean.

Mr. Whitaker replied that it was pretty clean; it was used at one machine before coming down to the Kurunui, but it was filtered, and tolerably pure when used by that Company.

Captain Hutton said that, taking the general question of water, there are more hot springs in Auckland, in proportion to its size, than in any other part of the world. A great many had already been discovered, and there were, doubtless, many more lying undiscovered away in the far north—probably a vast number. No doubt some day these springs would prove as attractive as those of Switzerland and Germany did in the present day. He had drunk the water from the springs at Whangarei, and it was quite equal to any Seltzer water he had ever tasted in his life.

With regard to the question of analysis, he thought it useless to send less than six gallons of water if a thorough analysis were required, as a large quantity had to be evaporated to leave an appreciable residue. Respecting