No. 2.—Solution of sulphate of iron, a dark brown looking precipitate of metallic gold.
No. 3.—A very weak solution of tincture of opium, gave a bright yellow transparent fluid.
I
am of opinion from the appearance of the specimen, and from the result
of the chemical examination, that it certainly contained gpld.
W. Et.xkry. Kandy, March 9th, 1854.
P.S.—The
Government Agent returned to Colombo this morning, and says that the
progress of the dam continues slow and is sufficiently doubtful.
The Maha Ova.
The Times Editor,
writing of the river in which the gold is found, states:— " The Maha
Oya is a rocky river throughout its course, and is subject to vast
floods in the rainy season. We have crossed it in many places from
Maturata to Allowe Ferry, and it has borne the same character
throughout." This is the perpetuation of an error which is natural
enough when men go by sounds without consulting maps. The same mistake
was. made by Cassie Chitty in his Gazetteer. There are probably
twenty streams in Ceylon called Maha Oya (the great stream), but the
river in which our brother laved his weary feet in the valley of
Maturata, in ord'r to reach Allowe Ferry would have to perform a feat
unprecedented in the natural history of Hydraulics, viz., to
cross over or under a larger stream, and to ascend and cross one of the
most considerable mountain ranges of Ceylon. The Maha Oya of the
Maturata or Hewahette Valley is a mere tributary of the Mahaweliganga,
into which it discharges its waters after a short course, and they are
thus disembogued on the very opposite side of the island to that on
which is situated the embochure of the golden Maha Oya. This latter
rises in the district of Dolosbage, close to the Sentry Box on Raxawa,
and falls into the sea about 4 miles north of Negombo, or 26 from
Colombo.
The
main branch crosses the Kandy road near Utuvankande and Fort King, and
tributaries cross the road near Kegalle and at Ambepussa. Close to the
main source at Dolosbage is a group of coffee estates, including
Alla-galla, Barnagalla, Paragallahettia, Madulhena, Nartakande, Raxawa,
Windsor Forest, Diahetna, Penylan, Gannetenne, &c.
Important
tributaries to this river rise near Gampola and drain the valley of
Kadugannawa. Amongst the estates which border those tributaries are
Judge Starke's, Mount Prospect, Hunugalla Kande, Kekunagolla,
Wakatenne, Gudadessa, Kottagalla, Guava Hill, Ambalava, &c.
As
the river approaches the sea, we have already shewn that it passes
through a group of coconut estates. It will be curious if this river
should be found to connect by a golden link the two great natural
products of Ceylon :— the coconut which loves the breezes of the ocean
and skirts the coasts, with the coffee shrub which flourishes in the
keener air of the mountain zone.
Anti-Gold Proclamation.
The
following Proclamation is, we believe, not a hoax, although it is a new
proof of the small amount of wisdom with which the world is governed.
In this climate we could fancy every possible inducement being held out
to parties inclined to go prospecting until nuggets or quantities of
gold decidedly remunerative had been found. But Government has done
its little best to impede the discovery, and we greatly question
whether Her Majesty will at all thank those who have resorted to so
curious a mode of asserting her rights:—
Notice.
Whereas
it has been reported to Government that a small quantity of gold has
lately been found near the Maha Oya, on the borders of the Western and
North-Western Provinces, and whereas it is expedient that the rights of
the Crown to any such gold be asserted and protected, subject to such
regulations as may be hereafter made and provided.
