THE MAEREWHENUA QUESTION.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 259, 20 February 1874, Page 3

THE MAEREWHENUA QUESTION.

The ? -North; Otago.Times\ referring to the : Maerewhehua river - dispute," writes thus:— - . " •'

~ ".The ' glorious uncertainty of the law' ' is proverbial, and hence, as we lay claim , to no special legal lore, it would be presumption on our 'part to attempt to predicate what the'decision'of the judges may be ; but, it certainly appears to us that a very strong case can be ; made out for. the miners, if the''spirit and the intention of English statute" law,'" which lies at the foundation of" the question of riparian rights,..! form ..the basis of that decision. Our Mount Ida contemporary, in a series of able articles which recently appeared in that journal, and two of which have been reprinted in. our columns, goes pretty ex haustively into- this part of the subject, and gives authorities on the side of the miner which it would appear* very hard to upset. . We.think, indeed, that our contemporary deserves the thanks of the miners for the ■ pains he has taken with his brief,, and the arguments deduced'from'the ■ authorities cited in the article on riparian rights, certainly seem to the lay mind unanswerable '■ Whether professional jurists can succeed in establishing an opposite position," remains to be seen, and the result" of the pending suit will be watched with great interest by the mining community and the pastoral tenants throughout the Colony. For ourselves, we think that there can be no doubt that the Government is to blame for the awkward juncture which has arisen. There can be no doubt that, rights have been concededfor value received (or what was accepted as value received), in .coin to both miners ' and'pastoral tenants—rights which clash the one with the other—in fact that Gov ■ eminent has sold the water privilege twice over. It matters not—it is entirely beside the' 1 question—whether either miner or pastoral tenant paid a fair equivalent, or what might now be deemed a fair equivalent for the privileges conceded, the fact remains that they were conceded, and the Government is bound in all honesty either to maintain to each party those rights, or to bear the.br.untof recouping the loss'sustained by their withdrawal from one or other. ' Whatever may be the> upshot of the present proceedings, it will be. a question for the careful consideration of parliament.at its next session as to how the recurrence of similar difficulties may be avoided in the future, and someiegislative provision must be made, .without delay for, protecting the interest 6f one of the most important industries in the' country —that of goldmining. If need be, compensation must be made to the runholders, for it is clear that under no circumstances can the Colony afford to have a serious check placed upon its goldmining industry. In ' the meantime, however, the miners at

Maerewhenua should not be left' to bear the whole brunt of the cost of trying- the issue," but may fairly claim the assistance ef the whole mining population throughout the Colony. The cost divided among so many would be but small, and will be money well expended. We think, too, that, seeing that Oamaru has so direct an interest in the development of the Maerewhenua goldfield that our merchants arid tradesmen might fairly be called upon by the miners to contribute their quota.