ignorance
we described it, but a sort of wooden box with a perforated iron bottom
at the lower end. Besides this "Tom," tin pans are used to bale and
fill with. We are told further that " the diggers are making a dam
across the river and a hose So yards long, and when they have thus obtained a consonant and regular supply of water, which we [Ed. Ex.] expect
will be by Thursday next—about 12 times the quantity of earth can be
worked. Among the soil were found several small rubies, and we took out
a piece of Ceylonite.
"We
may mention that a native headman a short time ago found some nuggels,
one of which he sold to Mr. Jayetilleke Mudaliyar of Kurunegalle (who
told us the story), which was so soft as to require 9 worth of silver
to be added to enable the jeweller to work it. He has been sent for.
The place where he found it, is stated to be about 5 or 6 miles from
that of the present operations.
"
P. S.—'The best and shortest road is from Colombo to Ambepusse
rest-house, 36 miles of admirable road; from thence to " Bradley's
diggings " there is a good bridle path
miles; at Ambepusse resthouse, every needful supply can be obtained."
The above is the sum of the personal observations of our Examiner friend.
We must be thankful for whnt we can get; but really we should have
wished something more definite as to the nature of the formation in
which the gold is found, the percentage yielded by a certain quantity
of earth, the time occupied in digging and washing, &c.
All this we hope to have in good time.
The Gold Intelligence of the " Times."
Our friend of the Times has
articles on the Gold Diggings embodying information supplied,
evidently, by the Superintendent of Police and the gentleman who
accompanied him from Colombo. These accounts agree with all that we
have reported—Gold there undoubtedly is and close to the surface, but
weather in sufficient quantities to render digging remunerative remains
to be proved. That is the practical and commonsense view of the case,
but the Times Editor finishes off in his own peculiar style and in a mariner anything but flattering to his informants. His " P. S." is,
" We have since heard that the diggings are likely to be a failure—or, in other words, all bosh ! "
It
is quite possible that a failure, economically viewed, may be ihc
result, but until prospecting up towards the mountain sources, and deep
diggings and thorough washings have been tried, no one can confidently
so decide. It is the part of wisdom, doubtless, not to be over-sanguine
or over-fearful (as the case may be) of a large and valuable discovery
of gold; but it is surely also prudent to reserve Anaf opinions until
they can be founded on~ repeated experiments and full information. Our
own course will be to collect for our readers all possible information
wherever we can find it. The result of personal observation is
embodied elsewhere—we have afforded the infinitesimal intelligence
contained in the Examiner Extra, and we now proceed to glean what we find of interest in the Times. We
quote from our contemporary as follows :— "The following are, we
believe, the results of the observations of parties who have proceeded
to the spot.
"You
go as far as Ambepusse at the 37th milestone on the Kandy road, and
then strike off to the spot round the back of a high well-known hill
close to the resthouse, and follow a bridle path through a jungle for
about 3 1/2 miles, which brings you to the bank of the Maha Oya, at a
place called Girioeila or Girrawella, at which place Bradley (the gold
discoverer) and his two friends are living in a bough hut, constructed
of the jungle bushes of the place, where they were found busily engaged
in making a " Tom," a machine about the length of a common couch
constructed of planks with several compartments of spaces, one next to
the other, but each space a little lower than the other similar to a stair-case. At tbe bottom is a flat iron plate pierced
