In continuing to relate some of the occurrences during Captain Grey's government, I must mention that after he assumed the office of Governor of South Australia an Imperial Act was passed which repealed the two former Acts regulating the government of the colony, and by which it had been constituted as a separate colony and independent of New South Wales, and its boundaries had been fixed. On the 15th July, 1842, this repealing Act was passed, introduced by Lord Stanley, then Colonial Secretary, entitled ''An Act for the better government of South Australia.''

It abolished the London Board of Commissioners, and in the colony the office of Resident Commissioner, and by the same Imperial Act a provision was made for the appointment of a Legislative Council for the colony, to consist of the Governor for the time being and not less than seven other persons to be nominated members by the Queen, or in such a manner as she might direct.

This new Council (of advice, as it was merely) was first established in June 1843, and the selection of its members being left to the Governor, Captain Grey, he appointed Mr. Mundy (Colonial Secretary), Mr. Smillie (Advocate-General), Captain Sturt (Registrar-General), as official members, together with four gentlemen not holding Government appointments. The following gentlemen were first nominated, and from time to time changes took place as these honorable members retired : — Major T. S. O'Halloran, Jno. Morphett, Esq., Jno. Hagen, Esq., Captain Chas. Harvey Bagot.

The repealed Act which had constituted the colony provided that local government should be conceded when its population reached the number of 50,000 souls. The Act "for the better government of the colony" fell far short of this ; and under the depression, caused as it was by no deficiency of intrinsic value of the country itself or through lack of spirit and energy in the pioneers, nevertheless the increase of the population from without was still kept back by the continued want of action and sympathy on the part of the British Government, as the repeated pressing applications of Governor Grey on Lord Stanley were totally disregarded for a resumption of emigration, and a restoration of the amount of £84,697, which had been taken from the Land and Emigration Fund, and otherwise applied without reference to the contributors.

So the unfortunate first settlers having first suffered the loss of the greater part of their capital by Government repudiations, had to struggle on in country pursuits, after patiently waiting for their land, with a deficiency of working hands and with the rates of wages at an unusually high figure.

The first relief obtained came from the adjoining colonies, especially from Sydney. Succeeding the first beams of prosperity which arose from successful agricultural operations, the discovery of mines soon followed, and aided materially in drawing population — people who joined us at their own expense, and at a time when we were denied them from the mother-country, teeming then with populations existing on miserably low wages or as a burden to the State.

The earliest mineral discovery made was the Glen Osmond silver-lead lodes, the first indications of which were found almost immediately after Preliminary Section 295 was taken up by Mr. Osmond Gilles, situated on the slope and foot of the first tier of hills, four miles south-east of Adelaide.

As an incident and experience in my own career, I think I may fairly explain my first connection with this valuable section. Shortly after I arrived in the colony my attention was called to it by Mr. G. S. Kingston (now Sir G. S. Kingston) then acting Surveyor-General. I had visited the original Survey Office, and was examining the second map of District A. Mr. Kingston pointed to the east corner of the surveyed sections, and informed me that the map was a copy of the one from which the preliminary sections had been selected by holders of land orders or their agents, and on which original map their selections had been marked off.

He at my request ordered this original map to be produced for my inspection, and I then saw on that map a section (No. 295) unselected which did not appear on the copy and in the situation he pointed out to me, and I at once rode out and found the western corner pegs, and perceived near the south-western corner of the same an appearance of a surface spring, on which important find I returned at once to my camp on South-terrace, and took two 80-acre land-orders and tendered them for Section 295 and the additional quantity required, and the tender was accepted.

Subsequently, on the same day, when spending an hour with Mr. Osmond Gilles, near whose residence I had encamped, he asked me if I had found any land to suit me. I replied, ''I have this day exercised two land-orders, and I can see the spot from your windows'' ; and on pointing out the locality to him he said, ''What ! those dimples ?''

I said, ''Yes ; if you call the spurs and the indents between them dimples.'' My wife and a lady were present, and enjoyed a laugh ; and as Mr. Gilles seemed a good deal interested by what I told him about the non-recordances of the maps, I proposed the party should take an evening ride and view my selection. Mr. Gilles at once assented, and his gig and two of my saddle-horses were ordered out — one lady in the gig and the other with myself on horseback— and we passed joyously over the open plain, covered with long kangaroo grass and flowery herbage.

On arriving at the ''dimples'' we dismounted under the shade of trees, and I alone climbed the hill to find the back pegs of the section, and found a large part of the same was on the hillside, stony and unsuitable for agriculture, and perceived that the lower part was thickly covered with trees, the view across the plains with the young forest city in the centre and the gulf in the distance, formed a most delightful picture, with which I was sufficiently enraptured.

We returned and spent the evening with Mr. Gilles, and I and my host enjoyed some of his splendid hock, over which we had a long chat. Mr. Gilles regretted his bad luck in drawing for his numerous choices for preliminary sections, by which he had not been able to obtain for himself even one section near enough the city on which to erect a suburban residence, and expressed his annoyance that his attention had not been called earlier to Section 295. He then asked me if I had any particular desire to retain the section, and proposed to me to withdraw my application, as it might be some time before I could obtain the additional quantity of land and in a manner to suit me.

Well, after some consideration, I did not hesitate to comply with his expressed desire, for I had seen that the back and hilly part of the section was not suitable for the plough, and the lower part, as I have said, thick with trees, and would be expensive to clear.

The following day I accompanied the Treasurer to the Land Office and withdrew my land orders, and Mr. Gilles exercised one of his preliminary orders, which he had been under the necessity to reserve, for one of the southern reserved districts ; the Commissioner (Mr. J. H. Fisher) and the Acting Surveyor-General (Mr. G. S. Kingston) threw no difficulty in the way of the transfer, and the section was marked off and registered to Mr. Gilles, and he and I put our initials on the map, which now seldom sees daylight, but which initials I saw not long ago, on the map being produced in the Supreme Court on a trial about boundaries of sections.

Some few weeks after this arrangement was effected I formed one of a small picnic party to the "dimples" as the ladies continued to call the hollows. On the spurs some whitish quartzy-looking stones were picked up which showed small bright specks of lead, not thought much of at the time.

In the following year, 1839, large projecting blocks of what appeared to be limestone, on being broken on the hillside were found to be internally pure galena, and now great excitement was caused. A few men were put on by the proprietor at first under his chief clerk, Mr. Finke. Some of the Adelaide speculators endeavored to come to terms with Mr. Gilles as to purchase, but he met them by saying that he would not part with the property even if £30,000 was offered for it. Ultimately six or seven distinct veins or lodes were discovered, and some 200 tons of good lead ore were soon raised, which parcel on reaching home was represented to give 75 per cent. of lead with 18 ozs. of silver to the ton. The average published value given was £13 a ton of 21 cwt. On this a London Company was formed called the Glen Osmond Union Mining Company, with a paid-up capital of £30,000. At a very high royalty a mining lease was granted to the Company by the proprietor.

A captain with a strong body of good miners was soon despatched under engagements to work a certain time, which engagements were not in all cases fulfilled. Operations were for a few years carried on in a miner like-manner. The spring indications, which I had seen at sur-face, was tapped at a shallow depth, and found to be strong enough for washing such of the ore as required to be dressed. Large quantities of ore were raised and shipped until a smelting establishment was built by the Messrs. Penny on adjoining land, but unfortunately the Adelaide management got into litigation with the proprietor, which together with the heavy expenses of management shortly led to the lease being abandoned by the Company. At the same time ores sufficient had been raised to cover first expenses of sinking two main shafts, driving two principal adits into the hill, and making the necessary buildings, machinery, &c., but the stoppage took place before the adits reached the main lodes, and so a promising mine was knocked, as the miners say.

Subsequent to the opening of the first lead mine an extraordinary bunch of galena was discovered on an adjoining section, known afterwards as the Wheal Watkin's Mine, and many tons of rich lead, rich also for silver, were raised, but the workings were abandoned when at about 40 or 50 fathoms below surface, when the lode became pinched and the ground harder.

On other adjoining sections lead lodes were worked a short time. One, the Wheal Gawler, and a lode near to, and one in Hardy's Quarry.

Well, all these prospects stand over for a future day if ever wages and expense permit the workings to be resumed. The amount realised on the Glen Osmond mine, as I was informed at the time, amounted to over £13,000. No doubt the royalty was much too high, which might have been the primary cause of the stoppage.

In 1842 the Kapunda Copper Mine was discovered. I extract particulars of this from Dutton's work : — ''The first discovery of the ore was by the youngest son of Captain Bagot whilst gathering wild flowers on the plain. Shortly afterwards, not far from the same spot, I ascended the top of a small hill to view the surrounding country. One of our flocks of sheep had been dispersed during a thunderstorm, and I had been out nearly the whole of the day in drenching rain in search of them. At the spot I pulled up on my horse, was beside a protruding mass of clay slate. My first impression was that the rock was covered with a beautiful green moss ; but on dismounting, and on breaking off a piece, it was green carbonate of copper. To my neighbor, Captain Bagot, I confided my discovery ; the place was on his sheep-run. He also produced a similar specimen, which was found by his son, as related. The two spots were in close proximity ; the discoveries were of course, kept secret.

" We applied for a survey of 80 acres in conformity to Regulations, the section was advertised as required in the Gazette for one month, and we became the purchasers of the same at the upset price of £1 an acre. At that time there were a number of 80-acre land orders unexercised, and any one of them might have been tendered, and have gained the section for the owner of it. We quietly waited for the expiration of the month, and then lodged the money, having trusted to the general depression of the times as preventing any competitors, and we were not mistaken.

" Having secured the land, the next step was to ascertain the value of the ore, and we sent samples to England, and from Mr. Percival Johnston obtained a return of an assay of the average of 23 per cent. of copper. We then lost no time in beginning working with a small party of men, and with three miners and a party of friends, ladies included, started in a bullock-dray with a tarpaulin hood, Mr. Menge being in the party. Proceedings were opened by an interesting address on mining in general by him, and the ground was broken by the men. At the time a few Cornish miners were quietly following other pursuits, who gladly resumed mining tools, and commenced to raise ore, on tribute of 3s. 6d. in the pound, to set the interest a-going. They did very well, and raised a quantity of rich ore. The place was a complete wilderness ; the nearest water was half a mile away and brackish; we soon succeeded in finding a good spring, and erected a row of stone cottages for the workmen, and they quickly had their families with them.

" The mine was about 10 miles from Port Adelaide, and at first no track even had been made between the trees. Captain Bagot undertook to select and mark out a line, which he did in a primitive manner by fastening a plough behind the first dray and by that striking a furrow for succeeding drays to follow. On the plough breaking he had a crooked forked branch cut from a hardwood tree, and with that produced a sufficient scratch to be followed, and so the line was made and adopted, and for a long time used, being worn to a hard surface, and remained a good road until road makers were set to work."

It should be here mentioned that Captain Frome, who arrived towards the end of Col. Gawler's time, had pushed on the surveys in advance of wants, and now his work was increased in surveying detached mineral sections as well as the numerous special surveys which had been applied for. He also performed the duties of Engineer-in-Chief, and erected bridges, and commenced to form metalled roads.

I have to record a most popular act of Governor Grey in declaring in July, 1845, all South Australian ports free of port charges to ships of all nations without exception. At this time, from recently opened mines, some considerable quantity of ores had arrived for shipment from Port Adelaide. This free grant was made after the revenue had attained a comparatively flourishing condition, from the successful occupation of country lands by an industrious population lifting the colony from its deep depression to such a state of prosperity as to justify the Governor in establishing such a wise, liberal, and well-timed policy, and which drew freight-seeking ships to our colony. The previous year's revenue, derived from Port dues and charges, had amounted to about £2,000. The loss of that amount of revenue was correctly anticipated to be made up in other branches under increasing prosperity.

Contracts for the first cartage of ores from Kapunda were undertaken and fulfilled at 22s. 6d. a ton of 21 cwt., probably as cheap as it could be carted for the same distance in England. After the richness of the mine became publicly known, applicants came forward for a section of 100 acres of adjoining land, and one section which on being put up for public competition reached the amount of £2,210, which was purchased on joint account by Messrs. Bagot and Dutton. From this additional purchase before the end of the year ores were raised sufficient to repay the first cost and expenses.

In the year 1840 three miners were employed ; in the last month of the year 12 men were at work. The gross produce from sales at Swansea amounted to £6,225. In the year 1845 Mr. Dutton sold his one-fourth interest in the mine, and subsequently Captain Bagot parted with the remainder to an English Company, by which Company the mine has been since carried on. The fame of South Australian mines soon spread through the neighboring settlements, and when once it became known that every one who went there found immediate and profitable employment (Mr. Dutton says) — we began shortly to receive a large accession to our population by voluntary free emigration from New Zealand, New South Wales, Port Phillip, and Van Dieman's Land. Tables for 1844 show increase from arrivals, 973 ; first quarter 1845, 616 ; one month, August same year, 500 arrived at Adelaide.

Amongst early experiences I cannot properly give the subsequent transactions of the Kapunda Mining Company. The Burra Mine is the next important discovery to be mentioned, which so largely aided in placing South Australia in the position she ought never to have lost. This mine was discovered in the year 1845, after the previous mines mentioned had got well at work, by a shepherd of the name of Pickett. A rumor of a discovery of a monster mine in the Far North, as it was then called, had been for some time rife in Adelaide.

Reports were current that this discovery was of such an extent as to eclipse everything which had been seen or heard of, but the locality was wrapped in mystery, and by many was considered to be a hoax. At length it was proved to be a fact. The excitement this discovery caused was unprecedented the richness of the ores and the extent of the outcroppings were soon placed beyond a doubt. The tide having turned in favor of prosperity, arrivals from England were daily expected with a large amount of capital, and if so the prize would be lost to those first interested, so it was made manifest that nothing short of a special survey of 20,000 acres quickly demanded would secure the prize.

The strivings and rivalries and exciting articles and communications in the papers were unexampled for some weeks. At length two Associations were formed. They could not agree to coalesce further than to club their money together to form the necessary fund of £20,000, required to be deposited to secure the claim, to be after survey subdivided. The two parties of gentlemen between them acquired this splendid property of 20,000 acres (on which was subsequently opened one of the richest copper mines ever worked in the world) by paying into the Treasury the said sum of £20,000. Out of the first struggles to form a party with sufficient cash at command, two associations were formed, which by some wag were named ''The Nobs and the Snobs " - not that men of each party were not as colonists equally respectable, but amongst the snobs were a few retail storekeepers and humble people, with whom the nobs would not further combine.

The survey of the special block being quickly made, and in length lying northerly and southernly, it was divided into two equal parts by an east and westerly line. On the northern half the first great surface block of ore existed — afterwards the Burra Mine. On the southern half had been discovered indications of large copper lodes — afterwards named the Princess Royal Mine.

Well, on the fortune of the two great speculating parties being decided by lot, the rich Burra fell to the snobs ; and as it afterwards proved the deceitful Princess Royal to the nobs. In the successful Burra Company were a large number of small contributors. In the Princess Royal party were fewer individuals. And amongst them Captain Bagot, Mr. F. S. Dutton, and other proprietors of the Kapunda mines, together with a few outsiders ; so part of the unsuccessful Association had their own valuable previously acquired mineral property to fall back on and enjoy, and the public generally who had no direct interest were satisfied with the action of Dame Fortune. The Princess Royal property was for a time worked as a mine, but though large copper lodes were found to exist and to carry every usual symptom of permanency, the ores proving what the miners call dradgy, was ultimately abandoned as a mine and the land sold as a sheep run, and fell into the lands of a fortunate sheepfarmer, Mr. A. McCulloch, and is now occupied by him, there he still resides ; and dispenses his annual bounties to the inhabitants of the adjoining mining townships. (To be continued.)