THE MINING CONFERENCE.

Evening Star, Issue 3444, 6 March 1874, Page 2

THE MINING CONFERENCE.

The ,con|erenpe met on Monday afternoon at Clyde, and the following delegates were present:—Mr Healy, harrow: Sir Sims, Clyde and Alexandra ; Mr Ewing, St. Bathsns; Mr Foster, Moonlight and Moke Creeks ;■ Mr Edgar, Upper Shotover; Mr Roberts, Mount Ida; Mr Wragge, Switzers; Mr fioreland, Marewhgnua; Mr Colclough, Cromwell; and Mr Buchan, Carrick and Bannockburn. Mr Healy was elected pjjairman, and Mr Colclough, secretary. From the report of the Central Executive, which appears in the ‘Southern Mercury,’ we make the following extracts : In resjgning their trust, the Committee regret that a second Conference is made necessary earlier than was expected; but dangers of .thn most formidable kind are threatening the mining interest, and require prompt action. Capit-.ujsts are .combining to crush our calling by curtailing the earnings of the miners ; pas° torai tenants are waging battle against the industry winch has been the foundation of the prosperity of the country we liva fn « our repeated prayers addressed to the House of -Representatives for the abolition of the export duty on gold have fallen upon deaf ears. These subjects, together with the proposal of suggestions fpr a now Gold-mining Bill, will engage your attention during the sitting of the second Conference. .. Puring the past fourteen months, the Executive of the Otago Miners’ Association, although unsupported by the great bulk of the minors, have carefully watched ever the mining interest. lliey forwarded valuable suggestions to] the framers of the new Gold-mining Bill, which were, however, not accepted by the fpaniers. Ihey Protested against the sale of 10,000 acres of land at Maerewhenua, which had the effect of the boundaries being altered so as to exclude most of the auriferous land, and haee made the ypjcp of the miners beard in many other mat-

ters. A large amount of _ correspondence has been despatched ■ and received j m Jact, your office-bearers have been unable, from want of time, tollow up some important matters more energetically. With a tiew to remedy this defect, which is partly owing to the constitution of the Central Committee, we venture to offer the following suggestions That the Secretary of every Miners’ Association be a member of the Central Committee, and that a President and Secretary be oppointed to manage the affairs of the Otago Miners’ Association. At- the Tuapeka Conference it was agreed that the Secretary of the Otago Miners’ Association should receive L2O per annum for his services, and to defray the expenses for stationery, postage, <kc.. out of that amount. As r will appear from the above statement, Lll Os fid 'lias been received, leaving a balance of L 9 9s fid due to the Secretary. It also shows the apathy of the great bulk of the miners. Six associations only out of sixteen contributed towards the expenses. Not only has this apathy in a very great degree damped the ardor of your office-bearers, but it bits also withdrawn from their exertions that weigdt which they wou-d otherwise have had. Notwithstanding ' this drawback, and the fact of the past year being the first of our existence, wo have faithfully, and to the beet of our ability, fulfilled the mission which the miners, through their delegates, have entrusted to our hands; and, in resigning the trust, we have the satisfaction of having kept intact, In spite of many difficulties, an organization which was established for the benefit of the miners, and as a proof of its vitality cite the gratifying fact that a meeting of miners’ delegates can be convened within the short space of one month, A Clyde telegram dated the 4th imt., in the ‘ Mercury,’ says, that bn the discussion of the gold question to-day, it was proposed by Mr Colclough, “That the miners herequested to sell gold to one bank only.” An amen ’ment was moved by Mr Buchan (Garrick), “ That the steps taken by the Government are sufficient for the reduction of the monopoly,” Tho original motion was carried. *