No. VII.—Feb. 4th, 1869.

Leaving the Beaufort, or what is more popularly known as the old Fiery Creek, district, but little settlement under the 42nd clause is met with until Ararat is approached, and even here the settlement which has taken place docs not present these important features which I have had to chronicle with regard to some portions of the country through which I previously passed. There are more reasons than one for this. The Ararat district is one of the furthest removed from the great centres of population, and therefore there is not so much to induce persons to engage in agricultural pursuits. Added to this, although Ararat can no longer boast the glories of the old Canton Lead, where at one time between 60,000 and 70,000 persons were gathered together within a radius of some two or page 27 three miles, and when golden holes were almost the rule and "duffers" the exception, still there is a very fair amount of gold even now being obtained, and I and I was informed that the yield for the quarter ending the 31st December bust showed an increase upon the previous three months of two thousand ounces. As a rule, I found that m the neighbourhood of the gold-fields, wherever the miners where doing tolerably well, less attention was paid to agriculture; and with the exception of small blocks taken up for residence only, less land was taken up under the 42nd clause than in other places not so favourably situated. Thus, although mining at Ararat is far from being brisk, still there is more doing than in many other mining districts, and two or three years ago, when the clause first came into operation, mining affairs were far more lively than even at the present time. There was consequently not so much attention paid to the facilities afforded for settlement, and a great portion of what has been selected has only recently been taken up, so that there has not been much time to effect any great improvements, or to cultivate any extensive area. The advantages offered by the clause are, however, far from being neglected even here. Going south from the township, and following the course of the Hopkins on its western side, a number of comfortable homesteads, surrounded by small portions of well-cultivated land, may be observed. The land taken up here under the clause was originally part of the united Ararat Borough and Gold-fields Common, but it is now put to a far better use. Nearly all the available intervening land between the Hopkins and the foot of the Mount Ararat range has been taken up by selectors, and even the mountain itself has not been held sacred from their invasions. Par up the sides may be noticed small areas of land fenced in, and at no very considerable distance from the summit, there are small but flourishing vineyards, the wine from which is, I believe, highly appreciated in the neighbourhood. Some of the selectors in this locality held small pieces of land in fee simple before the passing of the Amended Land Act, and these, as in other districts, have taken advantage of its provisions to enlarge their holdings. One of the most comfortable of the forty-seconders started here a few years ago with no other capital than a few goats. But milk at that time was at a premium, and the half-dozen or so goats did not prove such a very bad start after all. At any rate, the milk given by them, coupled with the industry and perseverance of their owner, has secured for him one of the most comfortable homesteads in the neighbourhood. Passing round Kangaroo Point, and proceeding through Logan's pre-emptive right, I came to Phillips's-flat, where there are some few sections taken up under the clause, but they presented little worthy of notice. Some of the proprietors appeared to be small dairyman, who seemed to have taken up the land principally as enclosures for their cattle, whilst others had cultivated small patches of the best land they had obtained, and had apparently settled down. Very many of them were, however, evidently in straggling circumstances, but there is little doubt of their ultimate success, although they have plenty of uphill work before them. At Moyston, a small township some five miles from Ararat, there is not so much settlement as might have been anticipated. The soil is not good, but in other districts land far inferior has been taken up with great avidity, and the selectors are doing comparatively well upon it. Most of the holdings at Moyston are being improved, and nearly all these who have taken upland appear to be bonâ fide settlers. In this district the land is generally of a poor description. There are, however, some good bits fronting the Hopkins page 28 and in a few other places, and there is no doubt that before any very long period has elapsed there will be a far greater amount of settlement than at present exists. In but few instances did I here observe small allotments taken up by miners with the view of forming comfortable homes for their families, and as a rule I should say that the diggers here are not so settled as on some of the gold-fields I previously visited. No doubt a considerable portion of the land in this district has been selected for speculative purposes only, and as there has been no inspection with the view of ascertaining to what extent the land has been improved and the conditions carried out, the dummies have had it pretty well all their own way. It would have a very beneficial effect if the Crown land bailiffs were ordered to make periodical examinations of their districts, with the view of reporting for forfeiture all land taken up under the clause, upon which no improvements had been made, and upon which the parties selecting evinced no intention of residing. This would not only render the operations of mere land sharks and loafers far more difficult than at present, but would afford to the real settlers better opportunities of obtaining allotments suitable for their purposes.

In this district my attention was directed to a large tract of land some eleven miles in length, and averaging about four in breadth, which has been reserved from selection because it is believed that the deep leads of Ararat run through it. In fact, from the position of the land and the contour of the surrounding country, there can be but very little doubt of the fact, although the leads have never been traced, and at present there appears but little probability of their speedy development. This land is situated immediately to the south of the township, is bounded for the most part on the north and west by the river Hopkins, and is intersected by Jackson's Creek. It immediately overlies the basaltic rock formation, comprises some of the most eligible land for settlement in the district, and a considerable number of persons are desirous of occupying it under the 42nd clause. The only attempt worth noticing which has been made to trace the deep lead here has been made by the Black Lead Gold-Mining Company. They hold some 4,000 acres under the Ararat bye-laws, have erected powerful machinery, spent thousands of pounds, and have been working for some years past, but, I am sorry to say, without much success. The sinking in the ground referred to will vary from 150 feet to over 300 feet in depth, and in consequence of the large quantity of water which has to be contended with, very powerful and expensive machinery must be employed. It would, of course, be highly improper, and ultimately most disastrous to the district, were any land to be alienated which would hinder the tracing and working of these leads; but, at the same time, there does not appear the slightest necessity to reserve from settlement such an immense area as forty-four square miles. Mr. Couchman, the mining surveyor, was ordered to report on this matter some time since, and he recommended that the land should be eligible for settlement under the 42nd clause, provided that it was marked out in twenty-acre blocks, and a portion five chains wide reserved around every block. This suggestion, if carried out, would in effect prevent settlement altogether. Twenty acres is not enough to give a man a fair chance of success in this district, and there is not the slightest necessity for the reservation of such a large portion as is proposed by Mr. Couchman. If ever the land is worked it will be by large companies, and the shafts will of necessity be sunk at a considerable distance from each other. Were the land to be surveyed in eighty-acre sections, and a strip page 29 five chains wide reserved around each allotment, that, together with the right of re-entry retained by the Government, would answer every purpose; all necessary facilities for tracing the leads would be preserved to the miners at the same time a large portion of land which now lies idle would be brought under cultivation, and a considerable benefit be there by conferred upon the whole community residing in the neighbhourhood. Any absolute sale of the land whilst there is any doubt as to the precise course the leads of gold will take would be most unwise; but the same objection does not exist to occupation under the 42nd clause, especially when the selectors are aware of the risk they run.

In the whole of the Ararat district, which is a very extensive one, including Ararat proper, Stawell, and Pleasant Creek, Landsborough, Eversley, Crowlands, and Lake Boloke, there are 933 selectors, who have taken up altogether 34,070 acres of land, so that there allotments average about thirty-live acres each. Taking the district as a whole, there is perhaps comparatively less land under cultivation than in any other which I had previously inspected. It must, however, be remembered that the greater portion of the selections were made during 1867 and 1868, and there is no doubt but that, at the expiration of another twelvemonths, a very considerable improvement will be observed.