OCCURRENCE OF PRECIOUS STONES IN N.S.W. 240 
to basalt being the true parent rock of the sapphire, and he had 
much pleasure in moving a hearty vote of thanks to the Rev. 
J. Milne Curran for his Prize Essay, and for the trouble he had 
taken not only in reading and explaining it to the members, but 
also in illustrating it by means of specimens and an excellent 
series of photographs. 
Rey. J. M. Curran in reply, said:—Mr. Smith’s remarks are 
such that a more satisfactory reply could be given if his views 
were put in writing: these, with the reply could then be printed 
with the paper. 
With regard to Professor David’s remarks, I think there can 
be no doubt that the Bingara diamonds are harder than Cape 
Stones. Cutters are aware of the fact that diamonds from different 
localities differ in hardness. We have Mr. Streeter’s estimate in 
the paper, of the extra time required to polish Bingara diamonds. 
A well known diamond cutter, Mr. L. Claremount, writing in the 
S. M. Herald, of December 5th, 1896, gives it as his opinion based 
on a working knowledge, that Australian diamonds are harder 
than any others. The refractive index of our diamonds has not 
been determined so far as I am aware. As to the sapphire, 
several specimens have been found at various times. I had two 
examples, and saw a fine specimen with Mr. Brierton Senr., 
Armidale. There was no evidence to point to the likelihood of 
the basalt having picked up the sapphire from the gravels over 
which it fowed. Had this been the case, other stones should also 
have been picked up and found embedded in the basalt, The 
basalt showing the sapphire is neither ropy, vesicular, or glassy, 
as if it were in contact with underlying rocks. On the contrary, 
it is of the usual compact crystalline type, at the same time it is 
“peculiar ” enough to do no violence to accepted views in making 
it a matrix for sapphire. ‘The phenocrysts of magnetite’ and 
Pleonaste make the rock distinctive without departing from the 
common type of New England basalts. 
1 Dana notes that the fine sapphires found in the beds of rivers are 
a by grains of magnetite.—Descript. Mineralogy, 6th edit., 
