The Future Prosperity of the Colony. 355 



and sluices, who subtra6l a small portion of the daily 

 output as it is made, and dispose of it either to pro- 

 fessional thieves and illicit gold buyers in the bush, or 

 else in rare cases risk the chances of dete6lion, and sell 

 it in Georgetown or at other centres. It would perhaps 

 be a source of annoyance and loss of time to make each 

 parcel of gold pass through the hands of the Government 

 Officer resident in each distrift. He, on account of 

 his local knowledge would have the most reasonable 

 and just grounds to a6l on any suspicions of unlawful 

 dealing, with regard to any parcel of gold, the circum- 

 stances attendant on the winning of which, might not 

 satisfy him, and to seize it ; but in the absence of detec- 

 tives and police, and of skilfully laid traps to secure the 

 dete6lion and punishment of offenders, there does not 

 seem to be any more reasonable and expeditious manner 

 of dealing at once, as things are now, with the matter. 

 Here again improved communications are the key to a 

 large part of the situation, for if people will look after 

 their own affairs they will stand less chance of being 

 robbed. Widely extended supervision will tend to 

 check a great deal of the evil which flourishes owing to 

 bogus placers being located for the real purpose of pass- 

 ing through the registers of the placers, in judiciously 

 distributed portions, the various parcels of gold bought 

 from thieves working on bona fide rich claims in their 

 vicinity. 



A very important point remains to be enumerated 

 and one which though it seems to have been but seldom 

 mentioned, has nevertheless exerted a strongly depressing 

 influence on the Industry, — the point is this — that there 

 has been a widespread opinion in spite of the hard fafls 



