MINING CONFERENCE.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2573, 17 May 1871, Page 2

MINING CONFERENCE.

The Conference met yesterday for the despatch of business; Mr Mount being appointed chairman, and Mr 0. White secretary to the Commission.

Regulations for the order of business were passed, after which the Goldfields Act, 1860, was considered clause by clause, and the general opinion appeared to be that it was desirable that in any consideration of tho goldfields legislation, all matters not immediately connected with and inseparable from gold mining should be dealt with by separate and special Act* of the Legislature. Discussion took place as to the propriety of extending the provisions of the Goldfields Act to all waste lands of the Crown, without the iv ccssity of proclaiming goldfields. The system in f> roe in New Zealand ay as contrasted with the law in force in Victoria, where the Mining Statute is made applicable in the same way, and instead of goldfields being excepted, and set apart specially, the lands reserved from mining were excluded from the operation of the Act. The applicability of the Victorian statute in this respect was considered, and it appeared to ho tho opinion of the delegates that if Native lands were dealt with specially, no difficulty would arise ; and that it was not the duty of the Commission to consider the consequences of these recommendations, but the duty of the Government to adapt tho general legislation so far as possible in that direction. The question of the tenure of mining propel ty, and the desirability of making it more secure by adopting the Victorian system of issuing miners’ rights for terms of years, and of consolidated miner*’ rights, was favorably discussed. Under the question of the tenure of water rights the exception of two

sluice heads of water in favour of the holders of c’aims along the course of creeks will no doubt give rise to serious debate ; but the weight of opinion expressed seemed, however, to be, that this exception should only operate as a restriction on the original grant, not having any effect to deprive holders of water rights, who have expended capital and labor in cons'ru ting races, of any portion of the right originally granted. A very general determination was expressed in favor of limiting the power of the wardens to the powers expressly conferred bylaw, annulling the discretionary power; and it was suggested that it would be desirable to give the administrative power to a local Board, in order to avoid giving to the wardens’the power as well as to make grants as afterwards to .adjudicate upon them.