THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1872.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 160, 29 March 1872, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1872.

We may that the task of preparing the Goldfields Bill for introduction at the ensuing session has commenced, and we sincerely hope that the important and. expensive labor of gathering material will be rewarded by greater success than at the last sitting of Parliament; for, after watching with some anxiety, the preliminary operatic ab of the past year for the Goldfieldft! Consolidated Act of 1871, the miners were doomed to disappointment, and have had to content themselves with* the patchwork productions of. five sessions to guide them through another twelve, months: This firstly to the disgraceful neglect and ignorance of mining matters of the iramers, and subsequently to the indecent haste of the Government in .closing the session, so ?s to secure their seats tor another recess. . Its otyect gained by casting; aside spnie important. Bills and thus sacrificing, the eonuort and conve-, nience of the people to ics own sordid interestH. But we shal 1 have more to ; say about thi* hpreafterj our present object being to. proffer a few friendlyhint* to'the law-makers, whereby those moßr. interested. may gain advantages j)^.c>¥ng>^'in,the. > G-oldnelds Acts now in force* "We do .not desire to reflect on the Legislature for its pile of amendments upon amendments, in our Goldfield? laws, for the mining industry is | peculiarly a varied one in a new country, and mining laws.in consequence j require constant revision. , Legislation,

vunder such circumstances is complex4n its character, and hence difficult to perfect; when" we consider the rapid political and territorial changes .prevailing where not only, are Crown lands being hemmed in on all sides by purchased grants, hurried into the : market to rescue the various Governments from clamorous creditors,, but even the. Constitution (the foundation ■of permanent rule).is.threatened with:.'a complete revolution. The v proposal of Mr. Macandrew to incorporate the Goldfields Acts with the Waste-.-Lands. Acts was worthy.of grave consideration, but coming, from one whose ambition for power is unbounded, and at a time when it was thought likely the Goldfields would be governed by the General Go-1 vernment, and withdrawn from the | Superintendental reins. Possibly suspicion that private ends actuated his zeal prevented the free ventilation of the .subject, or a warmer espousal of :the. cause ; and as the time is fast approaching for abolition of Provincial institutions, and the Superintendents will probably be the agents of the General Government for the various Provinces, we cannot expect much more assistance from him, as he has no personal end to gain by advocating the cause. It behoves us, therefore, as representatives of mining interests to assist the Legislature in its duties by urging our requirements before its notice, and the first essential to our better government will be a Consolidated Goldfields A«t, made suitable to all the Goldfields of New Zealand by provisions having reference to every description of mining industry. Our suggestions may not be suitable to all the Goldfields, but we maintain that equal consideration may be given to the opinions from all sources, and a balance struck in favor of the most, suitable general laws with such material to act upon.

The system of enlarging Goldfields according to the extension of auriferous ground has been found to work well, and, if maintained fairly and honestly, need not be altered for many years yet. Bat the most difficult subject as yet undealt with is that of tailings and discharges. At the present time there is a. rjclj goldfield, in ; Satheriandshirej Scotland, but mining has ceased because,/ no, place can be found for the discharge of tailings. Rivers, creeks, and streams, valleys and plains, are all in private hands, too valuable to be purchased for spoliation. .And thinly peopled as NewZealand is at present, a feeble cry is even now to be heard of the anticipated conflict that will be waged some day with endless litigation between land proprietors and the Government mining tenants. Water race rights, the most valuable of all Goldfields properties, are by no means indefeasible, and, in fact, we may venture to say. are insecure. By recent decisions we may conclude that some of our judicial officers are carefully avoiding to establish precedence in their ruling, and are shelving most important points in regard to rights to watersheds of the ranges, creeks on course of water raceSj &c, &c; arid only quite recently a decision was given that the Warden's Court had no power to cancel a water race license that Had been obtained by. misrepresentation. This very decision is paving the way for endless disputes as well as sharp tricks from unscrupulous men, who now can, with impunity, hide their applications under & stone and obtain a license that may ruin valuable; interests of longstanding, and-, perhaps obtained at great .coat by prior occupants. The difficulties and surrounding mining rights from iiisufificieritlegislation is keeping capitalists from investing in such precarious spe-* culations, and .vast areas of ground that l would yield returns to the support of i thousands of people on the Goldfields of Otago are lying idle (useless for depasturing or other purposes) for the s&me reason. Mining works subsidised by the Government have been found to be remunerative. . Take, for instance, the. St. Bathans Sludge Channel. The Government, by its contribution- of £BOO, have secured to the Treasury, chest a revenue of cent per. cent, on the capital invested for a period of not leas than fifteen years. ; And. at the present moment it is well known that the Maerewhenua Goldfield would support a population of between one

and two thousand people if the water supply could be conveyed to the auriferous ground. The wafer is to be obtained. It has been proved that it can be brought to the ground at a moderate cost, but private enterprise will be wanting until rights acquired can be held iindisputed. It would have been a safe and highly remunerative, speculation of the Government to have as-sisted-r-one of the Maerewhenua' race proprietors recently, as the completion of hia" race, we are confident, would have brought to. light the value of the ground for sluicing purposes/and given an impetus to mining operations on that field. But ah urgent appeal from INelshn was hot to be resisted, and Messrs. Haughton and true to the-color* of the Government,-fled to where political power sways strongest. Startling though it is, the fact stares us in tjie face that mining, as a rule, is an illegal pursuit, as a single case in the District or Supreme Courts would prove^—for the miners have no further rights than those registered, besides the ordinary claim—and as sluicing is the most profitable mode of mining, so also it is the most illegal. The rivers, creeks and gullies that are how receiving slhdge and tailings are improper channels, and any single steward of the Government can successfully prosecute numberless miners in every district for breach of law, and most important and gigantic' works,could be stopped and ; rendered useless by the arm of the law. We do not suppose that any action will be taken for auch trespass for the present, but the existing fact of a trespass is" a strong reason for lack of investments and a general dread of mining speculations; The "system—or, rather, want of it—of renewing that important and valuable document, the water license, is most absurd—compelling the owner.to keep in his possession a number of useless documentsj increased by multiple each year; and by ifce printed words on the license aitere|ifi# language, and sometimes in by the Mining Begistrars. For example, one John Smith may have obtaihed a license for a water race of eight miles in length in July,. ;18<5(5, to which race them are attached twelve trityujtarar races, i'foreacii of which he liolds (of peeeasity) a license; and at the end of each year he is- obliged to bring his thirteen licenses to be renewed. ,By July, 1872, John-Smith will have seventy-eight licenses to take care of to maintain his rights- This is not an uncommon case, and all of this might be obviated by adding two lines to the ahb-aection of the Act having reference to renewals of licenses— sic : Every-holder of a license shall bring the same to the Mining Registrar once a year; to have it stamped renewed, the fee for which shall be 2s. 6d. The holder theh would have his one license for each Mghti The original record m the "Registrar's office would serve to supply a new one in case of loss of document, and the ihaintenan.ee of the right would be supported by its use, the stamp, and the Registrar's cash-book. And, to ifor documents defaced or covered with writing—such as memoranda of transfers, alterations, extensions, &c.—-another sub-section might be added to-the Act— sic:, Whenever any water right owner shall' desire to obtain a-fiew certificate in place of a defaced one, he may do, so , by delivering up the old certificate or license to be iiitppunded by the Registrar, who shall, on payment oi' 2s. 6di, issue a news license instead, and insertsuch; alterations on the face of such license as appeared oh the back of the old one. The old licenses shall become records. In the case of .lost licenses, the applicants shall first prove their title before the Warden by a declaration and the records of the office, before obtaining a new license, Tnese are only a few of the many alterations required in .the G:oldfields Acts now in force

. Ist another column will be found an article from Macrae* Flat with regard to the making of a tunnel or sludge channel for workiha that Flat. From aU we have ever heard J or ascertained of the ground, we feel convinced that the enterprise, if carried out,will be a great success. When «* u .ch yieldsaa from 4 dwta to an ounce- to the load to a depth of over 40 feet are considered, we cannot think otherwise - "We are credibly informed that there are some hu Q . dreds of acres of ground still unworked; which will yield an average of three to four dwts to the load. Owing <to the want of a work of the

nature now proposed paddocking and the long torn have been .the only means adopted.for the extraction of ; the precious" metal,tattd' the fact that humbers v of " piles *' having .been realised speaks for 1 itself. We ieartilj .Wish, success to, so "important' an undertaking in our .district; ■; ; -,.-.-• In the Warden's Cout, at Ifemilton, on the 19th iris't., before Mr.' Warden*. Jfcfcobinson, the following grants "were made and others,- protection j. T. Mewtoni extended -claim.

In the Resident Magistrate's Court at Hyde, on the2oth, before H. W, .Robinson, Esq., R.M. the case of Dowling v. JBruhns," was. heard. Debt,' £l. No appearance.. Struck out. In the-Warden's Court on the same- dayj before Mr;,,Warden-Robinson, a water race to Palmer •ad others was granted,- -. ; Iwthe Resident Magistrate's Chart, Macraes, dn the'2lst ixfsb., before H. W. Robinson, Esq., R.tf.,'s: J. Vail, for disorderly; Waal fined 10s.— Ei Denny-for breach of the Stamp Duties-Act, was informed against by William M'iiean, for giving and signing- a receipt for money, same not being sufficiently Stamped. The evidence BhoWed that Denny,, having- obtained j udgmeht against M'Bean in the Warden's Court, on 21st Decemher, for the sum of £6, it had beenarranged that the defendant should pay him the .money direct instead of paying it. into Court,. M'Bean did pay him the money the same Denny gave a Id. revenue stamp: Denny admitted these facts, but said he was aware that there had been alteration in the duty upon receipts. The Magistrate said :that. the new Stamp Act had come into operation, on the Ist December, 1871, and he had ho cfip'ce but to inflict the full penalty of £lO ; hut as it was evident that-the informer in this instance had been-actuated rather by ill-will!'than, by any desire to protect the revenue, he would allow no costs'.-;—E. Jenny appeared also.to answer another information of precisely similar character, laid by David Lindsay.' This- case was dealt with.in.. 1 same "manner as preceding.—Rosa v. Brookes., . Debt, i9l9s.\3d...Noappearance. Struck out. —Donaldson v. Sutherland. Damages, £3 155., for injury dcme. by" cattjetrespassing. Tlie defendant that the cattle in question were not his,ana that he had no interest in them ,- but he admitted that he had been in the habit of driving them where the " poor things " could get something to eat. This he alleged he had not done at the request of anybody. Nonsuit.—Donaldson V. G-. Cockerell. This was a claim' for £3 155., damages dono by cattle trespassing - Judgment for £2, and- costs 6a.,' to -be paid within: 14: day a. v At the Warden's Court, iiSacraos, oh the 21st inat., before Mr.'.Warden. Robinson, theapplication' of T f> Laird and others for water race and dam was granted/ V ; - ' . •At the Resident.Magistrate's X?ourt, Naseby, before H-.-.-W. Robinson, Ksq., RvM-v the case :of George Raven v.. William Rt>binaon : for debt of £,7, "was heard. Judgment for amount and iSB.-coa^s.""" ■""° * " *_ Y' '". . ;" £r% notified hv the<rtago Gazette;' of the 20th"'instant,-'tlmt-tMderi will he received at the office of- the ISearetary for Works, until noon/of : Friday for; •''Contract- No. '635, for. formation ..of. road: jiateby to Coai Pit, between Kaseby and Kyetburh;" ' The above advertlsehient; J will be read by the public ior the first -time'tib-day," and as She tender must reach the Seorejary's office on .sFriday only two. days wiU-be.given for : the preparation of.tenders, fro be poßted on the Ist of April. We do not know/wh.ether to attribute indifference to.the Government, or.neglect, those entrusted with the "advertise-: meatsfor the 'Gazette,- but /weutttfuld again repeat-the suggestion that,if -'the Government is sincere-in its professed.desire .to.see the upcountry Toads' aud tracks" made passable, and communication opened between the settlements,, it will publish its advertisements for tenders in the local papers, in the season, when labor can be obtained, at a less cost. Calling for tensiers within ten days of the termination of-the" Provincial financial year can be viewed Only with Suspicions..;. '*"'•. A HTFJ.H. match took plaefe oiVVSaturday last, on the H6)jburn ;l Fdat. .-The prixe.;was a hand.tome, well-finishe,d rifle %.Deaae, also a single-' barrel smooth bore for the same, stock, all in -one'oak case complete. The target waß placed at 200 yards distant. \Dhe ? cbmpeiitois, twelve in number, used the short T£nfield rifle.-Mr. George won-the prize, Messrs. ■ Brookes and J. S. M'lntosh,.scoringnext higheat to the winner. ." ." '

v To-i>AY being Good JFriday, the banks and public offices Will be closed. " Easter Monday, which {aXLi on the Ist proximo; will also beobtervedas a. close holiday. ' •; >' ■'- '■'■ •

~ .The Provincial Govermnent of Qtago deserves, great credit for its prompt and favorable attention to all matters connected with education, schools, &c. The School Committee recently accepted. & tender for the removal and rei-erection of, as well as' an addition to the School House. The Government subsidy of £l5O-has been- remitted to the Treasurer almost as soon as the cohtracter had handed the building to the. Committee.

"Wk almost begin to fear that fche supposed Maori prediction,'that this dolony will be visited by a drought of twelve" months' duration, ftom the Ist of January,' 1872, will be partially fulfilled* and in a measure highly injurious to mining aud-agricultural industries. The cry of scarcity of water prevails...throughput the Colony, and in : this district-has consistently continued during the f rst three months of the year. At the present time : we are. enduring an Indian summer, at a tiiue when, according to the usual seasons, we should be wading through the mud in gum boots.

A pabty of eighteen volunteers, under the leadership of Mr. John Green, were busy ex excavating the bank at the rear of the Hospital yesterday. We have been informed also that

Mr. John-Greighton, with party pf twentyfive, will he working there today. The proverb that it is, an ill wind that blows no good may be applied to the present case. We have been informed that the Arrow ha* been connected by telegraph. A deputation from Mount Ida, introduced by Mr. J; P. Arrastrwig, M.P.C., had an interview with the Superintendent on Monday last. The deputation consisted of Messrs. .Inl- - Thompson,' Alexander j and Collett; and they sought information upon a point set forth in a letter from the Chief -Postmaster, to the effect that the. Postmaster-Gt-eneral was unable to sanction the establishment of an additional mail service to Mount Ida (passing through Hyde and Macraes), the Chief Postmaster agreeing with the Superintendent that the ne L pessary expenditure was not warranted by the circumstances of the case. It being now stated/ •however, that the service ; could be performedfor £175, his Honor promised to give the matter his favorable consideration. Tieference having been made" by the deputation to the Sludge Channel at Naseby,. they were informed that the work will be at once proceeded with. '[ The Cape.mail, announces..authoritatively the safety of Dr. Livingstone. . . We understand that last week our old' townsman," Mr John M'Donald, purchased a share in the Undaunted Water Race and Sluicing Company, Mount Ida, at the figureof £2OO. This speaks, well as to the value and' permanence of mining properly in"this district, more particularly at this season, when the district has suffere.i from, arid is still feeling the effects of, the long-prevailing drought. The purchaser is, we believe, one of the largest and oldest, shareholders in this Company, .