The Hastings Standard Published Daily. MONDAY, SEPT. 7, 1896. THE MINING FLUTTER.

Hastings Standard, Issue 114, 7 September 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

MONDAY, SEPT. 7, 1896. THE MINING FLUTTER.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

Promoters, speculators, fossickers, diggers, and the hundred and one persons interested in mining and mining leases are in a ferment of excitement respecting the Mining Act Amendment Bill introduced by the Government. The feature of the Bill that has caused the excitement is the proposal for the Government to resume possession of land for mining purposes by compensating the owners. The basis of such compensation being the same to all intents and purposes as in the case of land resumed for public works. Those who are against the proposal are those interested in one or two large companies owning immense tracts of quartz-bearing country, and the main argument used against the measure is that it will shake the confidence of the British investor, md stop the inflow of Capital which during the past few months has rolled in copiously. The chief opposition to the Bill from the Auckland District comes from the Kauri Timber Company and the Kauri Freeholds Gold Estates Company, Limited, two powerful

concerns owning large tracts of auriferous country. It is presumed by these companies that having acquired the fee-simple of the land, the mineral wealth goes with the deed of ownership, but such a contention is at variance with custom dating from the earliest times. The royal metals are the property of the Crown, and the Crown is entitled to resume possession of any land for mining purposes by compensating the owner of the feesimple. The need of an Act of Parliament to facilitate the resumption seems to imply that the right of the Crown is assailable. Be that as it may, the principle underlying the Bill now before Parliament is sound and in the interests of the whole community. It will no doubt be detrimental to the landed proprietor, but that is a circumstance that cannot be used as a set-off against the public weal. The large companies we have referred to are rightly straining every effort to defeat the proposals of the Government, but Ministers, who must view the whole question as it affects the public interest, are not likely to suffer defeat more particularly when the course proposed to be adopted is the right one. " The British capitalist will be frightened," say the aggrieved parties. We doubt it. The shareholders of the few companies that own those large areas will be seared, but that is not the fault of the Government. The fault lies with the promoters of these companies, for they must have known of the existence of the danger which now threatens to overtake them. If this fact was made known in the prospectus of any of these companies we doubt whether the shares would have been taken. It must be remembered that the land was not originally taken up for mining purposes ; the idea of goldmining is of recent birth, and is due to the discoveries made by prospectors and others in the neighborhood of these freehold and leasehold properties. Land leased from the Government is secured with an indefeasible title so long as certain conditions are carried out, and it is the essence of exaggeration to say that by seeking to resume lands for mining purposes the faith of the British investor in the indefeasibility of mining titles will be shaken. This question, as we have said, is creating a great deal of interest, and Wellington is just now flooded by people from the mining districts who are lobbying for and against the Bill. It is unnecessary to say that the working miners and prospectors are delighted with the Bill, and as they can show that the measure is in the interests of the whole community we believe the Bill will find its way into the statutebook.