THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1867.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 156, 12 January 1867, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 18 67.

The sale pf land on \\iq West Const has been determined on by the Gpvcmment A large sum has been placed on the estimates for the necessary surveys, and five hundred pounds for the expenses of a Waste Land Board. The Government expect tp sell fifteen thousand acres of land afc two pounds per acre within the coining six months, or at the rate' of thirty thousand acres per annum. The great question is to. find land for the purpose without interfering with the mining industiy of the district. The Government profess to. be desirous pf i'( serving from sale all auriferous land or land presenting auriferous indications,, but at tho same time do not tell us how the selection is tq be made and by whom. In point of fact the selection will depend upon the surveyor's reports excepting in cases where the character of a particular locality has otherwise been made known. It is not to be expected, seeing that the land sale is for the mere purpose of augmenting the revenue, and not for that of establishing agriculture — that exti aordinaxy pains will be taken to guard against the sale of auriferous land. We are indeed strongly inclined to think, seeing that the sale of land has. been decided on, it would be as well to regard it as more than' a possibility that auriferous land will bp sold, and to provide for the , qontingpney of mining qn private property. Wo are glad to see that the K Lytt,elton Times" has taken up the subject, and our contctnporary.'s suggestions are worthy of consideration. We trust that the Provincial Council will not separate without dealing with this important question, and we quite apprqye of tho principle pf fixing tljp. rate which sljqu.li] be charged for mining on private property. There is qnly ope and we feay fatal objection — -viz., that we question its legality. The Government might as well pass a law fixing the price the squatter should goll his wool for, tho grazier his cattlp, or the merchant his goods, as to enact that a freeholder should be compelled to .allow miners to take possession of his ground by paying so much for (Iping so. And in spite of any such euactmeut the owner of the laud could defy cither the miners or the Government to trespass on his land if he had sufficient force to prevent it. The " Lyttelton Times" draws a comparison between the glazing of unoccupied lajids on the East Coast and mining oil snnilar. laud in Westland, but we do not pxactly see its application. The question is one of difficulty, and one which, we confess our inability to solve. A leasing system wquld have gp.t rid\)f tl}e difficulty, but as the determination is to sell, it is not of much use to discuss the matter further. We quote- the following rcruai'ks of p.ur Christgluirch/'contem-: porary:— . " !fs o one for a mqinent dreams of circumscribing the field pf the miners' operatipns, All are fully persuaded that the niQve extensive and the more permanent these become- the better it ■\vijl be for the Province as a, wholp,

The indications that have been given that the process of quartz crushing may soon commence have been everywhere hailed' ■•yvith satisfaction. One proviso it might possibly be requisite to make in the case of any lands purchased on the West Coast. "Wherever a purpliase has been made, bnt occupation has not followed, the land ought to remain to the digger as free to labpr on as on the East Coast it dpes to the grazier fqr his cattle to. feed on. The parallel might even be carried further, and the terms lixed as tp the price required flf the miner by tlie. proprietor of the land, precisely as the price demanded pf rvjnholtlers is fixed, "No purchaser o.f land cpn|d ppjnplain of 'swell terms. If he buys land and settles on it he is not lively tp be disturbed by miners. If lie dpes not occupy the land would be absurd fpr him to think that he could prevent men from proving it and working it. £To amount of police would be sufheienfc for such a service. The only result would be that purchased land would become no man's land, and the rcsprt of the most lawless pf a roving population. But if a certain charge be macb, it does not seem to us that a nourOpcupying landlord would liaye any right to proclaim. The cliargp made, the labpr of digging, and the lo:<s of time, are, and will always be, quite sufficient tp hinder men frpm experiinpn.tiyig heedlessly on any grpuml. Probably a chai-ge madp iippn the breadtji taken up and the length pf time during winch thp land is p.ppupied would bo tlie n}pst simple and t!IP most easily levied. But |t may be pnough for usjthat we haye raised the gpneral quesijin and suggesting the paints requiring to be discussed. AYe sjiall look •with interest to thp views expressed by tlie members for the West Coast, and by their constituents.