MINING CONFERENCE REPORT, 1874, LAID BEFORE THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 268, 25 April 1874, Page 1 (Supplement)

MINING CONFERENCE REPORT, 1874, LAID BEFORE THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

mg. is, in consequence of the fast-in-crewsing "settlement year by year, rendered imperative. More especially should provision be made for the legal discharge of such- mining debris into and through water - courses and streams. These rights liave been hitherto assumed.

The following report, compiled by order of the Clyde Conference (supplementary to that of 1872), has been forwarded to Wellington : to the honorable the premier and the Honorable Members of the Colonial Executive : The second Conference of Delegates elected by the gold-miners of the Pro-" vince met at Clyde in the month of March, 1874, for the purpose of obtaining the collective experience of practical miners from different gold-mining localities, for the better guidance of those engaged in framing a new Goldfields Bill. Questions of a very serious nature, not apparently hitherto provided for by previous legislation, having arisen during the last year, owing to the progress of settlement on the Otago Goldfields, it is especially necessary that the careful consideration of your Government should be given lo these insufficiencies that, in your wisdom, such measures may become law which • —while effectually protecting and rendering clear the position of the goldminer—<may, at the same time, be beneficial rather than injurious to the land-owners and those engaged in the cultivation of the soil. The Conference, intending this report to be read together with that of 1872, have not thought it necessary to enter anew upon subjects already fully dealt with. That report was submitted, and, after careful consideration, was approved. The Executive of the Otago Central ..Mining Association have the honor to forward, for your information, the following report of the opinions expressed by resolutions, after mature consideration and careful debate, at the Clyde Conference now closed:— Occupation of Crown Lands.

i he Conference, after careful consideration of the danger of monopoly arising through the granting of mining leases; consider such grants—as encouragement to the greater development of mining—should be encouraged by their being obtainable directly through the "Wardens' Courts; their area being considerably increased ; and also by the reduction in the annual rental to £1 per acre. More especially is power to grant extension of area—on bona fide unopposed applications—desirable, in the opinion of the Conference, with regard to mining leases on quartz reefs. The deposit of money by objectors, who may be interested in the areas applied for as leases, appears an invidious and unnecessary exaction.

It is thought reasonable and politic that the cancellation of special claims granted under clause XII. of the Act of 1866, unoccupied and without protection for the space of four months, should, on application, be effected at the discretion of the Warden of the district in which such claims are situate.

With regard to occupation of Crown lands for quartz-reefing purposes, the Conference wish again to enforce the recommendation already laid before you —a recommendation which is based upon the law as existing in other goldmining countries : That, although the area of any quartz-mining lease may be marked or otherwise defined, yet that the right should be given to follow veins, with all their dips, variations, and angles, to any depth, although they may * enter the land adjoining. The Conference would also recommend the reservation of at least one chain in width being made, in all cases, on each side of the banks of rivers and streams running through land to, be submitted for sale. Wateb Eights. Priority of right has been an established rule on Goldfields, and cannot be said to act unfairly. The present water rights entirely depend on prior occupation to define rights, and such a rule we should not wish to- supersede. The main points undc:- fth head which the Conference woaM d. r : eto see remedied are—That a panrrvnent license should be granted, on payment of a nominal sum per ye?r for each sluice-head; and they won Id recommend that Part VI. of " The GoldMining Bill, 1872," with schedule attached, be adopted in preference to existing laws (eliminating all reference to inspection" and deposit on application), and also making the yearly rental a sum—say, 2s. 6d. The great bugbear as to water rights and races has been, as already stated, that of allowing two heads to flow in the natural channel of creeks, if required. The Conference would recommend that priority of right Bhould predominate in this case, as in all others in gold-min-ing—which means that, if the water is required to flow down the natural channel by any party whomsoever, when any application to divert the said water is put forward, that such an objection should held valid; but, if the right be once granted, that it should not be. again cancelled, except the water is required for settlement or public use, and then only on payment of compensation. The right to use and construct dams and reservoirs might be granted on the same principle as water rights, whiles rental, if any be charged, should be merely nominal—the privileges allowed by the Act of 1866, of carrying races through private lands, being still retained. The Conference recommends that fifteen feet on each side of a race be allowed for repairs and other purposes.. The Conference is of opinion that forfeiture of rights held under water licenses should not be resorted to except in cases of aggravated non-com-pliance with the law. Taking into consideration the difficulty that frequently arises in proving every step in the sustainment, by renewal or demise, of a water license of several years' standing—a difficulty which, if irreparable, leads, under the present law, to a forfeiture or heavy fine—the Conference would recommend that a provision should be made .whereby pToof of tille might rest solely upon the latest trans-

The right to occupy Crown lands for gold-mining purposes was necessarilyconsidered the foundation of all Goldfields legislation. The Conference, while engaged in the consideration of the law as at present in force, had still to regret that, in spite of the recommendations of the Conference of 1872 and the Otago Commission of 1871, the defects complained of are still without remedy.

The miner's right, considered as a source of revenue and element of title, often is the cause of great hardship to owners of raiding 7>ropcrfy. Considering tho high charged on gold, and that where" ho duty is charged —as in Victoria—the price of such right is only 55., it appears unreasonable that so high a charge as £1 should be exacted. It is not.Tiowever, only the mere pecuniary burden of being compelled to take out and punctually renew a miner's right which weighs upon the miner, but the fact that neglect to do so involves the loss to him of his property and rights. This is a view of the question which sideration of Parliament, and by section 5 of the " Croldfields Act Amendment Act, 1869," an attempt was made to provide a remedy. The Conference recommends that the matter should be the subject of careful consideration, and that provision should be made for protecting the revenue (should it be . considered necessary henceforth to raise revenue in this way) by the imposition of moderate penalties not involving • such grave forfeitures. They are also of opinion that miners* rights Bhould be made available for the occupation of Crown lands throughout the Colony, without regard to the Province in which they may have been originally issued; that miners' rights -r'sho'uld be issued for terms of years, and consolidated miners' rights for the use of public and private companies. It appears most unreasonable that valuable mining property should be forfeited, owing to some defect in the proof of title through miners' rights and their renewals—a defect which an investor might not easily, at the time of purchase, have been aware of. The hardship of one individual having to submit to the maintenance of as many miners' rights as he may happen to have claims or shares in claims, is also complained of. The necessity of amending the present law, by introducing provisions in a new Gold-Mining Act, making it legal to discharge debris upon, and otherwise to occupy waste Crown in the pursuit of bona Jxde min-

fer or renewal of su<*.h license, provided that the Warden v was satisfied there was no suspicion of fraud. With the object encouraging all industries, the Conference see n > reason why the owners of water races granted specially for gold-mining purposes, should not be allowed to dispose of water so conveyed or diverted for irrigation, for driving machinery, or for employment in general purposes, and recommend that such powers be granted them. Mining Boabd. The Conference earnestly hope that the miners will be granted power to frame their own and ByeLaws, by means of the creation of a Mining Board for the Province of Otago, as provided for in the Act of 1866, clause 56. A petition to that effect will be forwarded to your Government. Administration of-Justice. It is suggested that a 801 l of Assessors, composed of persons, holders of miners' rights, should be kept in the Wardens' Courts; and from such Bolls Assessors should be chosen by ballot to hear and decide mining disputes. The Conference of 1872 clearly perceived the advantage of such a system, but overlooked the difficulty of obtaining suitable assessors in the vicinity of the Court at the time of trial, as such attendants would, in nearly all cases, be interested parties or friends of either side. This recommendation, then, is not a contradiction, but an amendment upon that of the previous Conference. In all cases reasonable expenses should be allowed-such assessors, at the expense of the litigants. Agbicultubal Leases. The Conference also wish to draw, attention to the insufficiency of information afforded by the applicants, which is, in too many cases, an obstacle in the way of reasonable objections being lodged. They wo al d recommend that all applications be heard by the District Land Boards, and that survey should in all cases precede hearing; that definite boundaries and precise localities should be clearly stated in the necessary advertisements; and that, where a suspicion arises during a .first three years' lease that the ground is payably auriferous, a renewal of lease should be only conceded, and the Crown grant be withheld. The Conference wish to endorse the following recommendations of the Conference of 1872, as being especially wise and likely to prove beneficial:— For the better protection of the auriferous lands of the Crown, instead of the right of entry being bound up in the Superintendent and Executive, as the present law enacts, if such lands are required for mining, a clause that would act fairly might be introduced, conferring on the miner a right to enter at any time on such lands by paying a deposit of a fixed sum for each acre he includes in his claim. This deposit could be made large enough to cover any surface damages incurred; and, if successful in getting payable gold, the miner should be entitled to hold the land by paying compensation for improvements only, and nothing in respect to the land—the said, compensation to be settled by arbitration. ... In the event of the miner not finding payable gold, on restoring the soil to its former state, and if no damage to the crops has occurred, he. should be entitled to receive back his deposit. The evil of locking up auriferous land is just beginning to be felt, and encouragement ought not to be given to persons to take up lands*in the 'immediate vicinity of gold workings. . Eevenue and Expenses. Under this heading the Conference, while fully endorsing the protests of former Conferences as to the injustice of subjectingjthe gold-miners to special taxation, and the equity, on the other hand, of liberal concessions and disbursements to mining industry out of Groldfields revenue, wish on this" occasion, simply to' deal with the excessive charges levied on compulsory surveys. Surveys of claims, it is thought, might be reasonably borne by the Government, or, at any rate, that the necessary mileage charges should be abolished, and especially the abuse of a surveyor being able to charge mileage fees on each of several surveys made at one locality at the same time. They would also recommend the reduction of the business license to £1 per year, as it seems unfair to charge what is regarded as the fee simple in towns when no objection is made to a sale as annual rental in .others, wheie, for practical reasons, a sale is indefinitelypostponed. Business men engaged in handicrafts, or in the supply of dairy produce, should, it is thought, be exempted from the business license altogether. , . '•'•'. Cancelation ot Abandoned Rights. Eor the better facility of utilising abandoned mining property the Conference recommend that certificates for

any privilege, not including water races, be liable to cancellation if'not endorsed, by the Warden within one year and sixty days from any, previous similar endorsement; and that all such certificates should be brought to the Warden once in twelve months for such endorsement. Commonage. The _ Conference desire to urge the necessity of preserving to the miners in settled localities a reasonable right of depasturing horses and dairy cattle. Commonages of liberal extent, sufficient to meet such requirements, should, in the opinion of the Conference, be granted, and the pastoral lessee be compensated when land is withdrawn specially for such purposes. Peat Eesebves. It is again recommended that the provisions of section 91 of the Otago Waste Lands Act, L 872, be extended to apply to the issuing of licenses for the raising of peat for fuel. Assay Office. The Conference wish to draw the attention of the Government to the combination of the banks—a combination which tends to lower unconditionally the price of raw gold; and, as a preventative against such arbitrary proceeding in the future, would recommend the establishment of a central Assay Office in the capital towns of tbe goldmining Provinces—the want of such an office being especially felt in the Province of Otago. Legal Manager fob Government Water Eaces. Looking forward to the probable collision of interests between the Government as constructor and manager of. mining races and sludge channels and the holders of private mining property, the Conference is desirous of drawing attention to the necessity—which, indeed, to some extent already exists—of some person being appointed, who could defend the Government in the enjoyment of its rights undisturbed, and also be responsible against injuries unintentionally done to holders of private property. Prevention of Accidents. It being very much to be regretted that accidents in mining so often arise on the Otago Goldfield—which it is thought in many cases are preventive, if ordinary caution were observed—it is recommended that the Warden be given power, on the application of any four persons, to order a survey or inspection of any claim. That the ex-' pense of such inspection be borne by either the claimholder or the applicants, at the Warden's discretion. That any alterations or safeguards reported as necersary for the safety of life be liable to be enforced under penalties. Safety of Public Documents. The Conference desire to point out under the present stringent laws with regard to the proof necessary to be tendered in disputed mining cases of all the links in renewals from time to" time made in mining property, that great care should be taken of all such property in the hands of the Court: the danger of loss through inability to prove title is immensely increased* by the risk of fire duplicate copies transfers and blocks are submitted to in the district Court Houses. This danger might be obviated greatly by the general use in such Court Houses of fireproof safes. The Conference, in conclusion, would draw attention to the great expense borne by the miners in obtaining the information placed at your Government's disposal in 1872 and 1874, and respectfully request your Government's assistance, by grant or subsidy, to the Central Association, whose continued exertions- cannot fail —by moderating and. leading public opinion on the Goldfields—to be high- • ly beneficial to the future legislation of New Zealand. We are, &c, James Healey, • Arrow. Thomas Sims, Clyde and Alexandra! John Ewing, St. Bathans. W. L. Fohster, Moke Creek and Moonlight. John Edgar, Upper Shotover. C. F. Koberts, Mount Ida. Wbagge, Switzers. James Barclay, Maere.wb.enua. W. BUCHAN, Bannockburn and Carrick Ban°-e. C. Colclouge, Cromwell.