The
diggers were absolutely penniless, and but for assistance received from
private parties they must have starved. The rainy season was at its
height and torrents fell night and day with little intermission. Still
these poor fellows worked early and late, wet and dry, ever sanguine of
success, and they at length petitioned the Government to give them the
means of subsistence for a few months—'subsistence' for two men, and
the assistance of a few coolies. This was refused, and the reply stated
that the Government intended to leave the search for gold ' to private
Enterprise.' No reward was offered for its discovery as in other
colonies, but the Governor would leave it to ' private enterprise.' A
promising enterprise truly, when every landholder in Ceylon, on
referring to his title-deeds, observes the reservation of all precious metals to the crown. This
is a fair sample of the narrow-minded, selfish policy of a Government
which in endeavouring to save a little, loses all; a miserable
tampering with the public, in attempting to make a cat's paw of private
enterprise.
How
has this ended? The diggers left the island in disgust. If the gold is
there in quantity, there it remains to the present time, unsought for.
The subject of gold is so generally interesting, and in this case of
such importance to the colony, that, believing as I do that it does
exist in large quantities, I must claim the reader's patience in going
into this subject rather fully.
Let us take the matter as it stands.
I
mentioned at an early part of these pages, that gold was first
discovered in Ceylon by the diggers in the bed of a stream near Kandy;
that they subsequently came to Nuwara Eliya, and there discovered gold
likewise.
It
must be remembered that the main features of the country at Nuwara
Eliya and the vicinity are broad flats or swampy plains, surrounded by
hills and mountains; the former covered with rank grass and intersected
by small streams, the latter covered with dense forest. The soil
abounds with rocks of gneiss and quartz; some of the latter rose
colour, some pure white. The gold has hitherto b?en found in the plains
only. These plains extend over some thirty miles of country, divided
into numerous patches by intervening jungles.
The
surface soil is of a peaty nature, perfectly black, soapy when wet, and
as light as soot when dry, worthless of cultivation. This top soil is
about eighteen inches thick and appears to have been the remains of
vegetable matter washed down from the surrounding hills and forests.
This swampy black soil rests upon a thin stratum of brownish clay, not
more than a few inches thick, which forming a second layer, rests in
its turn upon a snow-white rounded quartz gravel intermixed with white
pipeclay. This contains gold, every shovelful of earth producing, when
washed, one or more specks of the precious metal. The stratum of
rounded quartz is about two feet thick, and is succeeded by pipeclay,
intermixed with quartz gravel, to a depth of eighteen feet. Here
another stratum of quartz gravel is met with perfectly water-worn, and
rounded to the size of a twelve-pound shot. In this stratum the gold
was of increased size, and some pieces were discovered as large as
small grains of rice; but no greater depth was attained, viz., eighteen
feet from the surface. No other holes were sunk below ten feet, on
account of the influx of water, but similar shafts were made in various
places, and all with equal success. From the commenceÂment of the first
stratum of quartz throughout to the greatest depth attained gold was
present.
Upon
washing away the clay and gravel, a great number of gems of small value
remained (chiefly sapphire, ruby, jacinth, and green tourmaline). These
being picked out, there remained a jst black fine sand, resembling
gunpowder. This was of great specific gravity, and when carefully
washed, discovered gold, some in grains, some in mere specks, and some
like fine golden flour.
At
this interesting stage the search has been given up; although the
cheering sight of gold can be obtained in nearly every pan of earth, at
such trifling depths, and literally in every direction, the prospect is
abandoned.
The Government leave it to private enterprise; but the enterprising public have no faith in the Government.
