INANGAHUA MINING LAASES.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1196, 29 May 1872, Page 2

INANGAHUA MINING LAASES.

This -following is a summary,, oflthe jshdrt and superficially.' resultless debate which took place in the Nelson Provincial Council on the policy of the Government in,reducing^and r ref using^applieations-ioiv ( mining leases t at.the Inangahua, which we 'lireviiusly reported very 'shortly : — , jyEr.R°l?NB moy^,.^^That.a. A gplefitiJonicmittee, be . appointed to consider and f report ; upon 'the policy'' adopted' by hist Honor the , Superintendent .pi reducing ( the areas of certain gold-mining lej,s,ij, j some twenty in number, applied for at! the Inangahua, as shown in Gazette No ; 11, dated April, 24, .1872 ; and also with ; respect to the ' ref usal ' by the same ' authority of some seventeen other gold- j mining, leases, similarly applied H for and j refused, as per Gazette of the _same_nunji- j ber and* date";" such Committee to consist of the Speakei^'the'ProVin'cial Secretary, i, Mr Luckie, Mr Reid, Mr Kynnersley, [ Mr Guinness, and the mover/; such Gfommittee to have: power 'to call for persons papers.!'. . Mr Donne (of whose teniperate i and closely argued speech' w'e° can 'give but a synopsis) said he felt a degree of diffidence in i bringing forward'his* motion, because there was no precedent in the proceedings of .-the .Council of the /entertaining of such a question, bearing as this did on the delegated powers of his Excellency the Governor.: > In the : Gfctgetie,referred to, it was notified that it was the intention of the Superintendent, as Governor's delegate^ in two m6nths from the date thereof, to grant certain mining leases according to a schedule .appended, which 'schedule set forth : that certain lands had-4seen -applied -for,- and- only -a smaller quantity,. .about; one-third, had been granted ; ana alsoHnat he had refused certain, other applications , for,, mining lease's; I?tie excitement on the Inangjthjua caused by thispction had; been very great, and was exactly what he had expected would' arise' when he 1 read 'the' Gtisette notices. It was particularly to be deplored that the gold fields were not properly represented on the 'Executive ; had they been 'so, he believed these' notifications would not have been issued. : It might be said that the Executive had nothing to dc with these matters, because the ;Superintendent alone held the Governor's powers, jnit itiwas well' known thati the; Supetigtendent was to take the advice of 1 his Executive in all matters affectuigiaflniinistration and finance. 5 This question affected both. His motion was not hostile to the Government,, but the reverse. He thought a grave mistake had been committed, and he desired to give an opportunity for that mistake being remedied. -He' waa quite aware -that- the -Superintendenfe-wasHfiot bound to act upon their opinion, but he considered that this matter affected the peace, good government, and finance the Province, and therefore s they had© right to inquire into and express *an opinion upon it. The question concerned both policy and law, the law on which that policy professefd to proceed,' and ho policy could be sound which was against the law, as he believed this action of the Government was. Mr Donne then referred to. the feeling of excitement.created at the InangahUa ; that a p&riic' prevailed amongst' the people who had' invested capital in the reefs ; that others refused +.o invest further ; ; and, arguing ofwtlte great difficulties which, had to bo surmounted] and the greast cost incurred in opening the claims and establishing machinery, illustrated his argument by stating that on Mace's claim alone about LII,OOO had been expended under circumstances oigreat difficulty, requiring indomitable perseverance and a large capital : declared that the la'tf ! m ! a ? 'measure :r laid.down a liberal policy in mattprsof this kind. ; and he also showed that in specialises whjr|, in circumstances of extraordinary physical difficulty, and a large amount of capital was (required, -pow;er! was/giyeu to grant special claims of thirty-threeacres on 'appiicatibii. '^ut notwistanding the great difficulties and expenditure which he had , referred to,, thp. Superintendent hajljjot^folbw^ the reverse, having reduced the amount of land applieii' for. n 'Mr l Donne then proceeded to show that in the first ( place the policy of reducing areas of ground applied for, as had be^en in ( twenty cases, was unwise and injurious to the welfare of the Province and the advancement. of , the district more immediately concerned ; and, secondly,, that it was .against, the law and ultra yii-es of the Gold Fields Act of 1866. He quoted from that Act, and from the Gdld'Fieiarßegulat^ view, which briefly was r ib the effect that while the Superintendent, as .Governor's delegate, had power to ref use applications! yet he had no power to reduce : areas'applied for 1 if 1 the applications were made according to law, and the other required conditions fulfilled;' ■ Instead of ' granting the full ground applied for ia theitwenty cases mentioned, the Superintendent had reduced; the. areas of ground very materially, involving a new survey of the ground, -if- it were accepted- by therapplicants, which) .howeyer, it had^not been, also causing great delay, and still greater dissatisfaction. . He dwelt strongly on the wording of the act/ maintaining that Jihe Superintendent was bound either to grant in toto, or refuse in toto. There had been ; a misapplication of the law, and a state of great ; c6nfusidn had r resulted: •" He Jifelti 1 ; an opinion, founded op the experience of Wardens' Courts, in matters of a similar intricate kind, : that the whole thing was illegal, and he believed ■" ihat S the qu estion ever came before,' ' Hhe Attorney-General, as he had no .'dyub't it would do,, his opinion would . be the same. . The confusion he spoke of had arisen because the disthict terms of the act had not beep complied with> .. According to the law and practice, when an application for a lease of grpund.iS; regularly made in the Warden's Court; that, ground is protected against, all comers, until *ne application is either granted or: (refused ; and he read the clause of the &oi, which entitled any such applicant, i^the event of his applied for ground bej»g encroached uponby others, to apply, io the Warden's Court, which would }? bbundt'o give' damages against the, trespassers. Now, . he continued^ 'in >he base 3 referred to,, neither oiie, nor. Che other of the alternatives 'to wliichT the Superintendent : was restricted .bj, the. .l^w had been;cpmplied with; the applications had been neither granted/nor refused. ■< Granting Un part was lip* a refusal 1 , so that the applicaticins had 7iot-been~refused-and- had- not-been grartted. The whole thing * was still in abeyance, and the action of the Superin- : tended waSj he contended, opposed to the letter and meaning of the law, and would be productive of great confusion, and he

believed of \ much and costly litigation, whiles f.he^injury to the prospects of the Provincejand tha reefing works was very ''great^^^ f V "*Mr?X3ijiNNESS seconded the motion, adding a few words to the good reasons Mr Donne had offered for granting the committee. He was atß^eftpxualuJhß timethe notice of reducing the areavwas received, and coiild^estif^ {to'thejjjn^versal dissatisfaction^ which " prevailed. The JSJBej!£.Pi^b.e.Jlis^^ proceedings of the Government. Several rumors prevailed l tb'stKe'eiffect that the restrictions were caused by the report of the Warden of the Jlistribtj This he knew was not the cas&ff "ba|>tj^ was stated by others that tKereal^au^J was that there was some unde'rfiahd wotkJ. and that certain individuals had obtained an influence with.; the Executive, and had/ secured .benefits thereby, while others had suffered by-ito:>J: :•■•::•■■ •:.■■-•<'! J:"" f <; n- !'■"■ il*i.'Of« The Pkovinpial SECEETAKY^aid, without going into the question of the right x>£ the Council to enquire: into/ the'ipoHcy | of the Governor's delegate, be' considered the, enquiry proposed. by. the resolution iiiihecessaryj as the p'olicy'.ofiiAhjb'GpveVnment in dealing with' the" leaslng^uesiion. had been already : made ptibKfe < and/ Md upon the table of the Council. '<cHe'r& ferred to the memorial from the Inangahua, signed by 760 persofis, ,anclth.e reply of the .Goverainent tHeye'tp^'Tfie memorial set forth that great' indij^'aiipij was expressed at the way in' which the district had beejii closed up by applications for'le'ases of; extensive, portipnsof lnan^ g&hua reefs ; that'the granting pfiajpoUcit tions for leases of any p6f£ibiroHiie Iriangahua reefs would be prejudicial to the interests of the mining "community ' generally,., as it would limit- the .dumber of men to be. , employed to one-tenth the number, that would .ot;her.wue. .find occupation in : the locality': tha^ ; i^qul(i.p'e,-an injustice to the mining community' generally to, grant leases excepting wherejand 'was taken, up by miners' righted a'^debncluded l with the ' prayer. thaVall applicar tibW should be' immediately . cancelled or further action i suspended unliil^cajreful, enquiry be 'made,' In reply,^ tb^'mjeflQQoial the Government distinctly' stated.. -what course they would take with reference to the applications. -*T-hey^|tated that each application suj^rjfedibi^the recommendation of the^^u^nyijjguld be considered on its merits ; ."that the Provincial Government would libtuhd^riiifee'waa^ vise the Superintendent to refuse^aU applications for leases uiad<| ; in conformity with law, and 'supported Tby .reepmmendatibn of )%$ J; Wardeja, .. a^|ilj'at jleas^the grounds of such, recommendation had been considered ..j. ; that ..public t interests might in : some r cases be materially sacrificed by such indiscriminate refusal: . iThe Government would, however, generally adviae the refusal of leases in .cases in which : the ; ground' cbilld, according to' the best, information , to be obtained^ be-effefe-tively worked by individual miners taking up ordinary claims, and they would recommend that every facility and ericqtiragetaeni. should be given to peWpn^ combining for : the purpose of obtaining a lease' in. exchange' for. two or more, of sus claims. In leases that may. be other wj^a granted, care would also be taken that the area should not be greater than necessary to secure the effective 1 working 6f the ground, and that, as > a rule* the number of men to be employed upon the ground leased* shbuld '"approach' thk' number 1 wn& could_.liol<l-tlio.a!uriowg»«iad-j»a— ot»- ordinary claim. The r Government would also endeavor to P rev^ n^®Sfl4l lan one hlock being granted cfSectly or indirectly to the ' same person. ; This 1 'reply has ; beem adhered to by the Goverriment'ln 'dealing with these applications' for: leasesl leases ~ have been refused when several;. blocks have been applied for by the same person or party— whe.n purely. of a> speculative character, and . no work /done on the ground, and when the applications were not made in accordance with th^o regulations. Areas, applied for were reduced in some instances where the capital proposed to be expended ' was ;tbo I! sttiall to justify the granting of a large block, but. principally to secure the effective working of the ground.- In all cases of reduced area, half an acretfoiMsgEfcapplicant had g been,_,granted to, be .kidj putjinr such^ A manner as .'to g|ve each haK-acre sixty ™ feet alon'g' the supposed line of reef, the same number ):i! 6f- 'feet they would be entitle! 'toehold ( under : their miners' ;.righljs. as prdinarjitiolaims, and ten feei..more f.,tha,n:/ i the Auckland claims. In all cases when leases have .been refused, •..the-;ground;';is open to be taken up under miners'* rights, and when: prospected arid ; thereef struck;' 'and some I ' proof given that the ground l is likely to be worked in a bom fide manner, , leases .coyld , be/grafted, and no doubt would be. In support of the policy adopted by the. Government,;fhewould/read from a report , on the, Auc^ land Gold Fields, laid upom the table of the House, of Representatives last session, : wjhioh •; showed ,a great falling off of --the' ' revenue and population of the igoldfields*' and general depression, and stated the cause of the depression was_not_farjq s&ek"j it was t6"Be'fouii3"m "the wholesale taking.up of-supposed,auriferousi'obuntry/-in the hope of selling it for large sums of money, and; the formation of companies^ based on value utterly fallacious, -the conn try /being ! unproved \ or raCEei? ■' un- ' prospected. Had the Nelson Goyernment granted all the v applications 1 'merely becausethey were'nradß^Bcord^n^Tiolafwv" a similar state Q§.th\ngs, would be brought about at the Inangaliua. He believed the Giovornment had adopted theright'eodrsej " and time..w,ovild;Shqw that .they-had done so. He denied .that any favor had been shown to any one, : and stated the reason why somjp«ardas had not been reduced was because; of the -large amount of work done on them, and capital invested, such as the. .Prospector's claim, and the )Yic-

toria Company's claim. * .. : < ; ": .. ';J k < • THr REiblhouglii~{HaF^^^nnV"de^ served ,the< !thahks<df the 1 Council *for the temperate, calm, and distinct manner, in which he 'had statect ! his basel: w^s) sorry, however, that his, arguments were : not quite convincing 'to" him. If they were merely called to discuss a question/; of policy, the matter , wpuld be simple, but this case,' according to Mr Donne's showing, included j also a question of lawi Select ' committees" had no power to qi"reJnfojgu^JaQjwJn.TOivinfi[jthe-appK--eation of the law as^regarded the administration of that law'in'afay particular case. He.did./nqt think the committee could come to any other.conclusion. The partSeL cqucerhed ..c0.u.1di,.., by; Mr Donne's sown showing, appeal to the Warden's Court, * and ! from it to a higher court ; and he 1 ; thought it was not for a committee of that Council to take up matters, that belonged

to law courts. However, the committee could meet and consider this point and others of a preliminary kind, and then hand in a formal report. Mr KYirarasßSLEv thought it was a natter between the Governor and his delegate. Mr O'Conor thought it quite futile to appoint such a committee. Mr Luckie would not object to a committee,, but, / while complimenting Mr Donne on his speech, he thought he refined a little too much on the question of refuaal. The matter, as had been said, was really one for the law courts, and the only point raised was Mr Donne's reading of the words grant and refuse ; but, if a person applied for sixteen acres and got only four, to all intents and purposes, according to the common sense meaning of the word, that was a refusal of the application, and the subsequent Qapette, showing the quantity granted, would prove the extent to which the applicant was entitled. Mr Donne had said that the applications had neither been granted nor refused. He (Mr Luckie) thought both provisions I had been fulfilled ; the full amount had been refused, and ,a; part had .been granted. It seemed a too strict reading of the law to affirm that the delegate could refuse the whole, and could not

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refuse a portion, especially when it was showu that by granting a limited portion, the cost of fees for fresh applications was saved. He thou jht the question was one for a law court, but, at the safe time, would have no objection to granting a committee. Mr Kellinq moved that the Committee be appointed by ballet, the motion taking the usual form, that the words c mtainiag the names of the members do " stand part of the question." On a division, there voted, Ayea, 7.— Messrs Guinness, Ooll'ns, Balgent, Kynnersley, Wastney, Gibbs, and Donne. Noes, 9. — Provincial Treasurer, Provincial Solicitor, Provincial Secretary, Messrs O'Conor, Macmahon, Luckie, Tt T.rant, C Kelling, and F. Rolling. The words were then Btruck out, and the motion was amended, by adding that the Committee be appointed by ballot, but, Mr Donne, stating that the motion was no longer his, requested and obtained leave to withdraw ifc.