KUMARA SLUDGE-CHANNEL.

Kumara Times, Issue 1787, 23 June 1882, Page 2

KUMARA SLUDGE-CHANNEL.

In the House of Representatives on the Ist inst., Hansard reports—

Mr Seddon asked the Minister of Mines the cause of the delay in not having the terms and conditions agreed upon on the sth day of April for miners to nse the Knmara Sludge-Channel given effect to, op to the present time ; and whether such delay has been caused by the action of (he Secretary or UnderSecretary for Gold Fields, or by the Warden of the Kumara District, or the Manager of the Witimea Water-race. He had had an interview with the Minister about this matter a few days previously, when he was informed that these terras and conditions were in forct*. He had since received a telegram which said that applications re the sludge-channel were to be determined on the 7th June. He knew as a positive fact that these terms and conditions were sent down some two or three days after the interview which he and the honorable member for Elokitika had had with the Minister in the beginning of April. It was now the beginning of June, and nothing had been done. A large number of miners hnd been compelled to attend the Court on four or five different occasions, only to be told that no instruction had Wen received. This caused a great hardship to the men and loss to the colony, and the House ought to know where the blame rested. An attempt had even been made to put these conditions on Mie certificates outside the department. He knew as a fact that the terms and conditions were to come into force on the 7th June, although three or fonr days ago the Minister informed him that they were in force.

Mr Rolleston thought the honorable member had gone a little too far in assuming that there was blame to be attached to some one in this matter. The facts, eo far as he had been able to investigate them, did not show that any serious amount of blame was attributable to any one, and the matter was really only a small one. On the 11th April a draft of the revised regulations was made. It then had to be gone through by the department in Wellington, and forwarded to the West Coast for final report and adoption. So far as the miners were concerned there had been no delay in giving effect to the main provisions of the regulation?, and they had been able to use the sludgechannel upon conditions, With tegard to the particular question upon which the revision of the regulations turned—namely, the payment for the water—that was practically in forcer when the general revision of the conditions was nmde. If the honorable gentleman would make further inquiry, he would find there was no considerable cause for blaming any one.

Mr Seddon said the Minister in funned him that the conditions were first drafted in April, and then sent to the coast. But it was now the Ist June, and tire miners had not been allowed to go to the nlmlge-eh»nnel yet. Mr Rolleston had not said that tin* conditions were forwarded on the- 11th April. Th*y were not sent from headcjiwrters for a considerable time after that—not till May. Regulations of that kind required n preat deal of thought and consideration before gettin" them into proper form. In the mean" time, all those materially affecting the mineiß and- the working of tin race were piactically in force. Mr Seddon would like some explanation as to the posponement to the 7th June, and the indorsement of the terms up n the miners' cortiiicates. Would the honorable gentleman make some inquiry into these matters? lie did not want t<> blame any one in particular. Mr Ro|lt«>ton snid, if any one vv:is to blame in the na«tt&i% l« w*s..