THE Grey Riber Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1208, 12 June 1872, Page 2

THE Grey Riber Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 1872.

Thai the General Government are inclined favorably to the gold fields, and recognise, though late in the day, the importance of the mining industry, has been manifested by the prompt action they have taken on receipt of the Reefton petition, to which we recently referred, and which had for its object the removal of the delegated powers, under jthe Gold Fields Act, from the Superintendent of the Nelson Province. It has been abundantly proved that some such step is necessary, and the experiences of the miners both in ! the County of Weatland and the Province of Nelson have been anything bntsatisfactoryastotheraannerin which the powers have been hither' o exercised. The regulations that have been made from time to ' time have been by no means fully calculated to meet the wants of the gold fields, and in some instances portions of them have been simply ludicrous. At the present time protably their corapihton is a great improvement on the past, but at the same time by no means incapable of considerable amendment. There have been, it is true, spasmodic mining conferences and elaborate recommendations have been drawn up thereat, but in many cases the suggestions have been altogether shelved, and ia others the delegates have not been able to be sufficiently unanimous to come to any agreement at all. As long as the present de- ' sultory and irregular manner of framing regulations is persisted in, there can be little hope of their being so constituted as to meet all requirements, and, till sjme elective body that is recognised by the Government takes the matter in hand a change for the better can hardly be expected. On many occasions we have advocated the establishment of Mining Boards in various districts, or at least of one Board, with representatives from all parts, whose duty should be merely legislative, and who should make or amend any rules by which I mining should be carried on, and who ' should meet monthly, quarterly, halfyearly, or otherwise, aa the exigencies of the district demand. By this means the miners would, through such representatives, actually frame their own regulations, and all interests, whether those of the alluvial miner, the quartz reefer, or others, would be dealt with then by men of experience and practical knowledge of what was suitable and necessary. In all cases any byelaws or regulations would have to be approved of by the Government or the Governor's delegate, whoever he might be, before they had the force of law, and, at the same time, bythe|Warden of the district being ex qfficio chairman of the Board, any lache or ill considered legislation would be effectually provided against. It may be supposed by some that Boards so constituted would prove obstructive in framing regulations sufficiently liberal to protect capital in the

development more especially of the quartz reefs of the Coast. The recent meetings at Reef-on, the very numerously signed petition from there, in which the very| contrary policy and the most liberal treatment of capital ; sts investing in the development of the mines was not only advocated but insisted on, should be a sufficient answer to any such fear. Amongst the miners of the Coast can be fouud some of the most intelligent as well as enterprising men that the Colony contains, and they leaven those not equally gifced by intellect or polished by education. The relations of capital and labor, and the obligations of both to each other, are fully known and recojnised, and there would not be the slightest fear of demagogic "individual miner" agitators influencing either elections of members, or Boards as a whole. The good sense of the majority of miners may be safely relied on to return men fitted for the peculiar duties that Mining Boards would have to undertake, and progress, so far from being checked, would be accelerated by their institution. Without again entering at length into tho subject- we would point out to the mining community, both of Westland and the Grey Valley, that now is a most auspicious time for mooting the subject by petition or otherwise, and also that the present Ministry are apparently inclined to listen most favorably to any suggestions having for their object the allaying of existing discontent, and the better governance of the gold fields on the Coast. Without doubt some very material alterations will be made in the administration of Coastal affairs during the ensuing session. What the changes will be at present remains to be seen, but as now foreshadowed they promise at least to be as radical as reasonable, and at the same time imperative. The establishment of Mining Boards, having such jurisdiction as we have pointed out, will be one great boon, and it only needs a little energy and exertion on the part of the various mining centres to obtain it. r If the opportunity is neglected a considerable period must elapse before the opportunity will again be offered, and it is to be hoped that the present one will not be let slip. All that is necessary is the preparation of a few memorials, signed as numerously as possible for presentation to the House on its meeting, through the members of the various districts, praying for the constitution of Boards of the kind, which could be easily and simply effected by the addition of a few clauses to, or rather the amendment of the Gold Fields Act at present in force. Surely this small trouble will be undertaken by the most public-spirited of our miners in order to obtain so great a boon. If memorials, or petitions, or whatever they may be termed, of the kind are forwarded, their prayer will be listened to and probably granted. It is for those chiefly interested to consider whether or not the gain to be got is worth the trifling exertion required. We need hardly add that in our opinion it is worth a thousand times as much.