for the year 1864. xci 



which auriferous veins occur. There is already a large 

 collection of rocks and minerals acquired in this way in the 

 office of the Mining Department, all of which will be trans- 

 ferred to the National Museum as soon as there is room to 

 exhibit them. It is gratifying to find that the Minister of 

 Mines, while he requires from the surveyors strict attention 

 to the several duties of their office, has evinced a strong 

 desire to promote the interests of science by encouraging 

 their scientific labours. 



If the recent attempts to open up Northern Gipps Land 

 succeed, the unknown country at the sources of the Delatite 

 and King, on the western side of the Great Range, and the 

 vast area East of the Snowy River, where surveying parties 

 are now employed in clearing tracks,* the resources of an 

 immense hitherto unexplored country will be rapidly 

 developed. 



Some rather unreasonable complaints have been made of 

 the incompleteness of the mining statistics published by the 

 Mining Department ; but having regard to the state of 

 mining in the colony, the extent of territory over which 

 mining operations extend, and the difficulty of travelling in 

 some parts of it, they will probably be found to bear favour- 

 able comparison with those of most other countries. Here 

 there are no large employers of labour from whom returns 

 can be obtained ; but instead we have some thirty thousand 

 miners (among a total of ninety-two thousand^) who are 

 ready for any "rush," and it is not easy to follow their 

 movements or chronicle their proceedings. It is to be 

 remembered, too, that until the year 1858 we had no 

 " Mining Statistics," and that those which have been pub- 

 lished have been obtained from returns furnished by gentle- 



* As suggested .by Mr. Sullivan in a letter to Mr. Grant, which was 

 published about three months ago in The Argus. 

 t The total number of miners at present is 92,368. 



a 



