The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1869.

Dunstan Times, Issue 399, 10 December 1869, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1869.

Beneath the Rule of Men entirely just the ten is mightier than thcswoiiD

I hat many important alterations or amendments to tlie Goldfields’ regulations will suggest themselves to the. Conference of Wardens, which sits at Clyde on Monday next, we have little reason to doubt, at the same time we must he cautions of too much tinkering with the regulations as they now stand, for although there may be plenty of room for improvement, it is desirable that before making any material change the matter should have mature consideration. The Wardens should he the best judges of the practical working of the Goldfields’ regulations. and as each will have the personal . experiences of the other to guide him in his deliberations, some practical result beneficial to the interests of the mining comnmni.y cannot fail to follow. The Regulations relative to quartz mining, will doubtless be first considered, especially now that this branch of industry is so rapidly developing its proportions, that it promises ere long to bo the principal source from which our future supplies of gold will be derived. It is therefore imperatively necessary that the regulations effecting it should be distinctly and easiy understood, nothing being left to conjecture or to the caprice of individuals administering the law. The discretionary power permitted to the Wardens may at first sight seem a wise provision, hut in practice it is not so, more especiIv where valuable interests are at stake, and it would be much better to have everything laid ■down ,by law,, and .so avoid any inteiference that ■may bo considered -as affecting' tiro

rights of property, mining property loses half its value whoa undetinifely held, a'd like real estate, its value in the money market depends very much upon the tide to it. The discretion* ary power of the Wardi m* has always been productive of a world of trouble, it satisfies no one, and the sooner it is expunged from the regulations tire better.; better for the Wardens them* selves, and for those over whom they take effect. We require a wiitton code of laws applicable to all matters affecting gold mining, and when we come to consider that it is now so thoroughly understood, and people have deVoted years of attention to it, the law should he made to deal as definitely and effectually with mining as it would with ordinary 'commercial transactions. Ground held for purposes of quartz mining should where--1 ver practible, be held Under lease and not by a miner’s right; holders of leases thoioughly understand ihcconditions upon «hich they hold them, the number of men to be employed is distinctly stated and as quarter y retunis of money expended require to be furnished to the Warden, no owe need ' e deceived as to what is doing in a claim held under lease, and where lessees fail or refuse to comply with the conditions of their lease, it can be declared forfeited upon proper representation being made to the Warden of the District in which it has been iSMied. The system of extended claims in alluvial ground is also capable of much improvement, the indiscriminate proclamation of large tracts of country as available for occupation by holders of miners rights in blocks of one acre each is objectionable, in Mint it fosters monopoly, by the want of sufficient. publicity being given to the proclamation, and much valuable ground passes into a few hands which would have afforded employment to a considerable number. In a scattered community like this, it is very dilllcnlt for one neighbour to know what his next is about, and ground may be pegged, off, tlio required notices pos'ed on the claim and at the Warden’s office, and vet no one know of the transaction except those immediately concerned. Each separate application for an extended claim should he duly advertised m the nearest local paper, llrs principle is found to. work very effectively in the Lakes district, the expense of the advertisement compared with the value of the property | to be acquired is but small, and the same beneficial result would be the case here. The regulations, relative to Water Races, Tail Races and Drainage Channels, are capable of being more clearly defined, and if a volume of water could be computed by the discharge of S'> many gallons withiu ix "i\eu T imo, it would lie fir preferable to ihe present clumsy method of gouging it by inches; skeleton plans of districts, with tlie sources and discharge of the principal water races marked thereon, should be kept in the Wardens offices a d open to the inspection of the public, and a deal of valuable time would be saved to persons desirous of constructing new vac. s. There exishs the necessity that some stringent measures should he adopted to prevent a monopoly of laud under agricultural leases, and the regulation restricting the quantity held by each person to two hundred acres should he strictly enforced. This is much abused by a system of dummy applicants, or rather applications are made by persons for land with the sole objtct of defeating the law by transfering it to others, and we would recommend for the future, that no recommendation fer a lease should he made, unless the applicant makes oath, that he desires the land for bona tide occupation in his own person, or he might he required ro enter into a bond, that he will not knowingly and willingly defeat the Agricultural Lease Regulations. We might enlarge upon the subject herein re ferred to far beyond the extent permitted by our columns, but in dismissing them for the present, we fee assured they will not escape the notice of the Conference.

The Golden Crown Company, on Ihe Solway line of reef (Logan's), intend to proceed with the erection of their machine)y at once. JUr. George, District Surveyor, is now encaged in surveying a site. The prospects of this company are excellent. Gold has been traced-from the surface down to a depth of sixty feet. The crops in the CrOmwell district (weave infoimed) are unusually' light, and in some place, unless there occurs a heavy fall of rain, wLI be scarcely worth the-gal'hnfjng;' •*

The Postmaster info ms ns that I the Mail for Great Britain will close 1 on Sunday, the 19th instant, at 9 o'clock p.m.

The Alexandra IJaces which are to bo held on the 27th and 2bth inst., promise to be a great success. The programme is an excellently arranged one, and covers in a lound sum 2007 Afresh course has been marked •out, superior in eve y respect to the ohlone, and the .Stewards ar“ bestiring themselves to provide every accommodation for the convenienceot visitors and owners of horses.

The usual forfuigh ly meeting of the Clyde Town Council was held in the Council Chambers on Wednesday evening last. Present: Messrs. Hustle (in the chair), Hueston, Naylor, Patterson, and Johnson. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the outward correspondence, consisting of a letter to Mr Westwood (touching the using of water from the town race) and to Mr '. Moore, was read and approved On the motion of ConncTor Johnson, seconded by Councillor N’a\ lor, the assessment of town prop rty, as sub.mitted hy Messrs. Cambridge and Grindley, was adopted, and the Town Clark was ins meted to advertise the usual notice respecting appeals against the assessment.

The reef on Hie top of the range between the Serpentine and ong Yailey, taken up by, .M unford, Hastie, and party, is looking first rate. We aVe inf allied by one of the shareholders that the shafts have been drained of the surface water and that a trial ■■rushing ‘i stone will be taken out front as low a 1-vel as posable ami taken to the Ida Valley Crushing nidi to test its quality. The shareholders are sanguine that the leef is payable and by the specimens we have seen, and reported to ns as being taken from ditf. rent parts of the reef, we endorse their opinion.

P>y an advertisement It will be seen that anew Lino of coaches is to run between this place and Dunedin. Air. H. Sinnanuu', the enterprising proprietor infm ms os that the route will be; starling from Clyde, passing through Alexandra, Ida Valley, Serpentine, and Upper Taeri, in fact, the short road to '.‘imedin ; he states that the entire distance is ouiy one hundred miles, ami that the journey will be accomplished in two short days. As the fare is considerably beloW that charged by the other coach proprietor on the long road, we have no doubt, the new line will be patronised. In small communities such as ours, the retiring of a familiar lace is at ail times a loss, more (‘specially when the individual we lose was a good citizen and a faithful servant. We allude to the loss of Police Constable, Nelson, who for the past live yeirs has occupied the position of gaoler, and who we regret to say through serious indisposition has been compelled to retire from <lie service. Alt. Nelson was a most zealous officer, and deservedly respected by one and all "ho came in contact with him. whether in ins official capacity or in piivato life, and lie will doubtless carry away with him to his new home the goodwill of those he leaves behind.

John Judge was tried at the Supreme Court, Dunedin, on the 2nd. instant for stealing various articles of property from the Junction Hotel, Clyde, and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment ; and ftobert Henderson, charged with having-com milled wilful and corrupt perjury in a cise heard in the Warden’s Cour 1 -, Clyde, was acquitted. It was resolved at the last meeting <>f the Waste Land Board, that the Coimnis ioner 'oolcinto the reserves in the towns of Hyde,Hamilton,Naseby, -Roxburgh East and Wakefield and that no sales be effected until fresh surveys have been made.

A t the annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of New Zealand (S.C.), held at the Masonic Hail, Dunedin, ihe RW.P.G.M. Brother \ inccnt Pyke presiding, the election of office beavers for the ensuing year took place. A petition was sifterwards presented for a n.W Lodge to be established at Cromwell, and a dispensation granted.

u e are requeued by Mr. George Fache to call particular attention to the sole by auction of the valuable and important property known as the Clyde Hotel, as also to the very desirable sec-ions of laud, household furniture, stock in trad ■, .fee., the property of Mr Thom's Hawthorne, who is retiring fiom the hotel business. The sale, will commence ou the 17th instant. See advertisement.

Mr II J. AI) 1, a ccntleman once conmcted willi this journal and well known in this district, has received the appointment of 1 < 'lerk of the District Court sit Lawrence, in the room of Mr. J.BorU >n, resigned. From a contemporary we learn that a great lire had taken place at Westport on the night of the 4th imt., by which a great many of the business places were totally destroyed. The block consumed extended from Messrs. Ileming and Murray’s to Messrs, Southern’s. The origin of the ffre was tlie bursting of a kerosene lamp on the premises of Mr. Onslow,draper, and the value of the property destroyed is estimated at 15,000 i, iione ot which was covered by insurances

The works at the Shotover Bridge are progressing at a very satisfactory rate. Temporary piles for the travelling stage which supports the large monkey have lieeu driven right across the river, and for the accommodation of foot passengers, the contractor, Mr. Aldrich, has laid planks fiom the finished portion of the bridge to ihe opposite shore. Our i formant says that he talked over the plunking on Saturday afternoon last. °

A new line of reef was discovered at Bendigo Gu ly on Monday last by Wilson and party. It is near the south side of the lower workings of the Rise and Shine Company, and about one mile east of the Ita Reef The vein of stone is from six io eight inches in width, and gold can be distinct seen throughout. Prospects of rubble quartz, tried in a tin dish) gave veVy promising ‘reSUlts.