THE NEW MINING BILL.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 186, 3 June 1873, Page 5

THE NEW MINING BILL.

The bill prepared by Messrs Mrmat, Shepherd, and Haggitt, at the request of the Colonial Government, and which is to be submitted to the General Assembly at the ensuing session, contains 217 sections, and will be entitled " An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to Gold-fields." In his recent speech at Cromwell, Mr Shepherd mentioned that himself and his coadjutors had been occupied for the space of a month in preparing the bill. Had they spent a day or two additional in arranging the various parts systematically under distinct headings, it would have been comparatively easy to discover what portions of the measure are new, and how much of the Regulations now in force is retained. By a careful comparison (so far as the jumbled nature of the document permits) with the existing Regulations, we are enabled to present to our readers some of the most important changes proposed to be effected. Many of these changes are such as cannot fail to meet with the hearty approval of the mining community throughout the Colony. We trust the various Miners' Associations will carefully scrutinise the provisions of the bill, and lose no time in pointing out any objectionable features they may discover. Our thanks are due to several gentlemen possessing an intimate knowledge of the details of the present system, for directing our attention to several points in the bill which might otherwise have escaped our observation : Sections 3 and 4 provide for the repeal of no less than thirteen existing statutes relating to the Gold-fields : all rights and privileges acquired under those statutes, however, being preserved ; and all liabilities incurred being still enforced. f 0 provides for the constitution of " gold mining districts" ; and § 10 empowers the Governor to cancel or (with the concurrence of the lessee or licensee) suspend iho depasturing lease or license as regards the whole or part of the land comprised within such gold mining district: the runholder to lie compensated out of Provincial revenue, and the amount to be fixed by mutual agreement between himself and the Government, or, failing that, by arbitration. Whether any actual alteration is intended by the introduction of these sections or not, it is difficult to determine. In §§ 13 and 14 provision is made for the issue of " miners' rights" to individuals, and of "consolidated miners' rights" to unregistered companies, for any number of years not exceeding fifteen : at a charge, in the former case, of £1 for every year for which the right is to be in force ; and in the latter on payment of a sum at the same rate, multiplied by the number of rights under which the claim may be tenable. This plan would appear to confer greater security of tenure than the present system of issuing miners' rights annually. § 23 provides (inter alia) that the owners of any two or more adjoining claims may amalgamate the same if so disposed. § 24 reduces the fee for half-yearly business licenses from £3 to £2 10s. § 2(5 provides that the holder of a business license may transfer the same to any other person, for the then unexpired period of the license, on payment of five shillings. As the law stands at present, business licenses cannot be transferred : every fresh owner or tenant is obliged to take out a new license. § 27 allows, in case of neglect, three months' 1 j fjT'V.e (instead of. one as at r&iiuud

of miner's right or business license, but only on payment of ten shillings in addition to the ordinary price of such right or iieeuse. §37 deals with water rights and races. In applying for a wator-lioenae, the applicant is to specify (besides the usual particulars) the situation and dimensions of any reservoir or dam intended to be constructed in connection with the water-race. A copy of the notice of application is to he lodged with the mining registrar of the district, who will note thereon the day and hour of receipt, and keen the same in his office. After the lapse of'fourteen days from receipt of notice, if no objection be lodged, the mining registrar shall issue to the applicant a license "to be in force for any term not exceeding fifteen years ; and there shall be pavablo annually in advance, in respect of such license, the sum of £1 : the first payment to be made on the day on which the license shall be granted, and every subsequent payment to be made on the same day in every subsequent year : and such license shall be renewable at the end of the term for which the same shall have been issued, either for the like or any other term not exceeding fifteen years." No necessity will exist for serving notices upon miners holding adjacent ground, or upon other interested persons, as required by the present Regulations. Whether the quantity of water required be one sluice-head or fifty, the license will be charged at a uniform annual rate of twenty shillings. Any person objecting to the granting of a water-license must serve a notice to that effect upon the mining registrar, who shall withhold the issue of the license pending adjudication by the Warden. The applicant must summon the objector to show cause why such license should not be granted. The Warden is empowered to ascertain by evidence the facts of the case and order accordingly, and to award costs to either party. No mention is made of special applications being requisite for tail-races, and it may therefore be inferred that the right to construct such is conferred by the waterlicense. The person constructing a race will acquire the right to occupy (for the purpose of depositing matter removed from such race) the land immediately adjoining to a distance not exceeding fourteen feet in width, including the width o'f the race, either on one side only or partly on both sides, as may be specified in the license.

Having thus directed public attention to what we regard as the most prominent points of the bill, we will take leave of the subject for the present. Next week we shall have some comments to make regarding certain features wherein we conceive the measure to be defective. There are also a number of other matters embraced in the bill which it is desirable should be fully discussed by the miners before the meeting of Parliament; and those we shall endeavour to present in a condensed form next issue.