THE MINING CONFERENCE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 117, 26 May 1871, Page 3

THE MINING CONFERENCE.

The following recommendations have been adopted. There are many others yet to be considered : -" That the pro* visions of the Coldfields Act, so far as they relate exclusively to gold mining, should extend to all .Crown lands in the Oolony, in the same way and to the same extent as the Yict.,nan Mining Statute of 1805 extends and applies to the Colony of Victoria; and, that Native lands should be dealt with by •special Act. That the words 'within the Province,' in the 12th line of clause £ of the Goldfields Act, 1866, be Struck out. That auriferous lands ■•■ should be reserved for mining purposes, which shall be exempt from sale and from leasing under the Agricultural Leasing Regulations, and that no such reserve shall he cancelled unless three •months' notice shall have been iriven in the ' Provincial Gazette ' and local newspapers; and if there shall be no i such paper, then.in the chief Dunedin j _ paper. And no such cancellation shall take place without the consent of the Superintendent and Executive. That a Bill should be introduced and passed an the General Assembly to permit mining for on private property. That the words following provided always that in,' in the 4th line of clause 7, be struck out, and that the words 'no case shall the amount of such lien ■exceed six'months' wages,' shall* be • substituted therefor. That clause 21 ■should apply to Crown lands as well as to private property. That section 10 *of clause 2 L be struck out. That the recommendation to strike out section 10 of clause 2T of the Goldfields Act ■should in no way affect, or be assumed to affect, any existing rights. That in all cases where objections shall have been made against any application for any mining right under the Goldfields Acts or Regulations the applic-jmts shall summon the objector to the-War-den's Court, and the objections shall be heard in the usual manner of complaint and summons. That section 7 <of clause 21 be struck out. That all jthe words following 'unless' in the 4th. line of section 6, clause 21, be struck out, and the following words substituted, 'in the case of circumstances wholly beyond the control of such owner ;' and further, that . the word ' two' be substituted for the word ' one ' in the 3rd Jine of the said, section. That after the words * in writing,' in the 4th line of section I, clause 21, the words 'to the Warden >of the district from which the water is to be' Bhall be substituted for ' to t* e Warden of the Goldfields district in which such wa'er race is intended to be;' and further, that after ' two inches square,' in the fourteenth line of the said section, the words ' and not less than six inches out of the ground' be added; and further, that after ' stones marked' (with thd broad arrow) the words ' or cairns of sods and trenches ' be added. That the words ' twenty shillings.' in the sth line of clause 6 be struck out, and that the words 'ten shillings ' be inserted in place thereof. That the words ' one calendar month ' in the 2nd line of section 5, lause 21, be struck out* and the following words be inserted in place thereof: 'Two calendar months from the issue of the r license authorising the same and the holder of such license shall continue cutting and forming the same until the work is completed, or be liable to a cancellation of such license.' To amend clause 24, by providing that no land shall be sold seven feet on either aide of the centre of any ditch or race now constructed, or hereafter to be constructed, and that all agricultural leases shall contain such reservations. That clause 115 be struck out," OTHER BUSINESS. It was resolved to recommend that the Victorian Mining Statutes be carefully considered, and the provisions contained in the same (when suitable to the circumstances of the Goldfields of this Colony) be includedin the new consolidated Net. T 'at the Goldfields Wardens of this Province will give their decisions within the Goldfields Acts and mining bye-laws, so that the discretionary power at present vested in the Warden may be done away with. That the gold duty should be reduced • .at the rate of 6d per ounce per annum, until abolished, That the clause in the

Hundreds Act, 1870, authorising the pa-toral tenants to select a block of land of 640 acres on runs within the Goldfields, should be repealed. Tnat water rights may be granted when required for supplying a township or for domestic purposes, and also for the working of machinery.

The following additional recommendations have b. en a ? -eed to: —" That the annual rent p; jab e under mining leases be reduced u, 2)s. per acre per annum. That all assignments of mining leases should operate from the day of execution, subject to the condition that the assignee shall prove to the satisfaction of the Warden that all rent has been paid up to the day of such That bush reserves should be proclaimed within Goldfields, and that the same should be exempt from sale or leas-ng. That the sum to be deposited by an applicant for a gold mining lease shall not exceed £lO. That clause 56 of the Goldfields Act, 1866, should be amended by providing for the compulsory establishment of a Mining Board for'the Province. That Goldfi. Ids, proclaimed towns, and other centres of population within Goldfields, shall have set aside commonages for the use of the people for pastoral purposes. That the Legislature favorably consider the desirability of the Government causing to be laid on the table of the General Assembly an annual statistical report, similar to that laid before the Victorian Legislature by the Minister of Mines for the Colony of Victoria, and that the said report should be circulated as widely as possihle, not only in the Colonies, but >n Europe; and that his Excellency the Governor be requ >sted to forward a! copy of such report to her Majesty's Secretary of State tor the Colonies That section 68 of the Goldfields Act, 1866, be struck out. That the word 'may,' in the 2lst line of section 1. clause 21, of the Goldfields Act, 1866, be struck out, and the word 'shall' inserted in place thereof. That the Government should grant bonuses to the discoverer-* of new quartz reefs and Other valuable discoveries."

The following report from a subc unmittee of the Commission has been adopted : " Tour Committee having eare.fullv perused sections 2 to 23 of the Victo'rian Miir'ng Statute, 1865, are of opinion that they should br embodied in and form part of the Consolidated Goldfields Act, subject to such alterations may make thorn consistent with the various resolutions passed by your Commission. *' Tour Committee are of opinion that provisions should also be embodied in them giving to the holders of miners' rights permission to use unoccupied Crown land for the purpose of depositing tnlings.

" They urther recommend that provision should be made tor relieving gold miners from any consequences they may at present be liable to through the necessary fouling of rivers and streams in carrying .»n "old minin*."