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Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1591, 10 September 1873, Page 2

The enjoyment of the euphonious title of Minister of Mines by any one of the members of the House of Representatives is a luxury which is likely to be long anticipated and never realised until Provincialism leaves as its posterity a form of Government very different from that which now exists. Last session it was the somewhat contradictory recommendation of the Groidtields Oommittjee, that ■'■' it is desirable that the mining industry should jba represented iff the Government by the appointment of a Minister of Mines, such an appointment not to supersede the local administration of mining affairs/ Upon the faith of this faint resolution of the Committee, Mr. O'Neill this session, put a question to the Premier on the subject, and there have been surmises that the Wakatip election, terminating in the return of Mr. Vincent Pyke, would prove the prelude to the creation of such an office. The surmise and the question have been alike answered by the reply given by the Premier. Mr Yogel said that he was not able to say that the Government would take any action in the matter this session. He was rather of opinion that it was scarcely vachin the functions of the Goldtields Committee to deal with so important a

constitutional question as the constitution of the Government of the country. This question involved very difficult considerations — whether the Government wouid not be broaght into collision with those persons who had the delegated charge of the goldfields. They had gone, he thought, as far as it seemed at present safe to go without coming into collision with those who had charge of the delegations. He was quite prepared to say that the Government were not prepared to take charge of the management of the goldfields, and to relieve the various Superintendents from the functions they had exercised during past years ; and any action which the Government had taken was with the view of aiding and not opposing them. They had hi the department officers whose duties were more or less connected with the goldfields, and there was sometimes a difficulty in sheering off from a collision. There had been instances in which letters had been addressed directly to the Warden without being addressed to the Superintendent, and of complaints in consequence. In short, the Government did not see their way at present to comply with the recommendation of the committee.