The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2597, 14 June 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 1871.

During the short time the late Government were in office they made their mark ;in more ways than one upon the history of the Province. They proved practically that settlement was possible under the Hundreds Regulation Acts by throwing into the market - alarge acreage of land, afid they made most - judicious recognition of the importance of the raining interest by summoning a Conference for the purpose of making recommendations in the view of impending amendments in the legislation affecting the Goldfields. As a return they , were hounded out Af : office by the representatives of the settlers and the miners : but their works survive them. The report of the Mining Conference proves the good judgment and thoroughprac-: tical knowledge of its compilers ; and: -cannot fail to be of greht Assistance in the framing of a satisfactory Goldfields Act.' Conceiving the matter to be of-interest to all classes of our readers, wo intend to devote a portion of our space, from trine to time, to the discussion seriatim of the .various propositions set forth in this document ; many of which are startling from their novelty, anti prove to a demonstration that the • '•whole subject has been handled .in a bold, and intelligent manner. Great difficulties and 2 )e! '" plexitips, at present arise from the various conflicting elements which are included ; . in the legislation affecting the goldfields, as expressed in the several Acts now in force. Pastoral tenancy and agricultural settlement, to meet the ; necessities of Otago—mining upon Native lands, to meet the case of Auckland —are all provided for in the same Acts, which create and regulate tile administration of laws purely^Valuing, apd fox the tenure and security of the miners’ property. Incongruities have necessarily arisen, and these have specially resulted from the fact that more than one so-called Goldfields Act has been passed to meet the local cir'cumstances of some particular field—e.ff., we will say the Thames—-its provisions nevertheless extending over the whole Colony. It is impossible in many cases to say what the law really is; while the questions of settlement and title override the important apd in many eases technical subjects 'Which should properly constitute the provisions of a mining statute. The Commissioners recommend, in the fifst instance, that this state of things should be remetlied once and for all; questions affecting pastoral tenancy and agricultural settlement should be dissociated from mining law, and provided for in a separate statute ; and with regard to Native lands, they remark:—

The question of mining on Native lands has been mixed up with mining legislation ; and, though referring to the same industry, it deals with it under circumstances so.entirely different from those existing in other parts of the Colony, that it may be regarded as a different subject. 7«ur Commissioners >anticipate the’greatest djificiilty ja getting a measure .passed - by the. Legislature gencrady adapted for. the mining industry of the Colqny,. while the subject is mixed up with the special contracts and financial arrange,meats of the_Proyjpco of Auckland. Your Commissioners strongly n&ommend that the new mining statute should not be applicable to those parts of the Colony where the Native title has not been extinguished. We roost Pordially agree - -with those recommendations, more especially with the suggestion that miners upon native Jand should be dealt with i» a separate statute; this would tend very much to simplify legislation, and prove a mutual benefit to the goldfields of the North and Middle Islands. Politically, also, it would have our sympathy, as being a step in the right direction of separate • dealing with interests so widely diversant as those of Auckland and Otago—a step which might perhaps in time lead to further legislation in the way of allowing us to spend pur own money, instead of contributing a rather. large proportion to . the. necessities of the The Commissioners next proceed to lay down the principle that, under the existing circumstances of the Colony, to which the development of gold mines is of such high importance, the Legislature will be justified in sanctioning for that purpose an invasion of the stricter rights of private ownership ; and they refer to recent legislatibu in Victoria upon the subject, and “ the imme- “ morial custom of the tin-producing “ portions of England, and other Euro- “ peun countries,” We are aware that notwithstanding the “legislation” referred to, there exists great agitation upon the Victorian Goldfields at the present time, having regard to still further extension of the privilege ; and it would appear from the tone of the Press that the subject is likely to be one of the great questions of the present session of Parliament: a question of the existence of Governments, and the rise and downfall of parties. But then

Victoria has always realisod the value of her goldfields : yearly half bers districts^ ? Aiicf : this- interest ; it| : place at the /Eteacl ■ <jf all others, as;, the very ; tthe 6f the - Colony. New Zealand has taken a different vieav ; the Native question has eclipsed all others, and our Parliament has been too much occupied in the vagaries of Maori • mystery-men to hold out a fostering hand to its most important industry. We speak of the p as k_ w.e, hope, it is past for ever—-and that the new Parliament will take .a very different course, and will brace its energies tq do all in its power to aid the development of our goldfields and the settlement of the miners permanently upon the land. Ths'question of mining upon private property must be taken iu hand, and dealt with intelligently and liberally, and r the sooner this is done the better.