GOLDFIELDS BILL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 336, 13 August 1875, Page 3

GOLDFIELDS BILL.

Mr. T. L. Shepherd, in moving the second reading of this Bill, explained that, it was similar in its : -provisions to'a Bill passed by the House last session ■, and which was rejected by the other branch of the Legislature, on the ground that a certain lawsuit affecting riparian rights was pending. He regretted to state that the de ' cision in the case referred to was adverse to the mining t intercst—it being held, in consequence of the Act of 1866 not providing for the fouling of streams in the Province of Otago specially that it was illegal, and that miners so offending were liable to be brought before the Supre-ne Court. In reality, the question h ad now come to this : Is mining- to be, permitted in the colony or is it not! If it were to be permitted, the Bill before the House was an imperative necessity; and if it were to be discontinued, the House could express that opinion by rejecting the Bill, for gold mining could not be .carried on satisfactorily under the present law. Three-fourths of .mining carried on-in.otag6'nccessitf.ted the fouling of streams ; and if the House allowed i.he law to femain- as it.was, so that expensive actions in the Supreme Court, costing £SOO or £6OO, could be brought against miners for using the water of natural streams to carry on their ordinary avocation, that was putting a stop to' the industry wiih a vengeance. Yet that was the present condition of affairs in Otago, and he did not doubt that the same obstruction existed in Nelson and Wesrknd. The Bill, he might point out, did not provide that all rivers might be fouled. It

only provided that the Governor might, if he thought fit, enable miners to foul streams The Government of the day would of course inquire into the faots of each-case brought before them, and decide whether pollution should be permitted or not. He believed that very few riparian rights have been; acquired from the Crown, but the extent : of such rights was gradually increasing,' and it was very much to be desired, in the interest of mining, that the Bill should become law as speedily as possible, so that; persons acquiring' lands adjoining rivers should purchase them subject to the right' of the miners to foul streams. Mr. llichardson said the Government would offer no objection to the second reading. the honorable member had stated, the Bill was almost identical with the one passed last session, and would of course be referred to the Gold Fields Committee. He might mention that the Government did intend taking action in the direction indicated in the second clause, by introducing a Bill of their own to deal with the subject, as'lhey had already seen the necessity of some such power being given to the Governor to enable them to proceed with the ordinary working of some largewaterworks, they -had- in hand. But, independent, of that, the provision-, was necessary to' facilitate the working of a multitude of smaller races which were being "carried out by the miners throughout the country.

Mr. Mervyn said it- gave him great pleasure to support the action taken by the honorable member for the' Dunstan in endeavouring to supply a want experienced by the mining community in that part of the colony which they both represented. He must, however, say that he was somewhat disappointed with remarks just made by the Minister for Public Works, who said that"the Government were not prepared to oppose the Bill. Mr. .Richardson said he made the distinct statement that i,he Government would not oppose the Bill.

Mr. Macandrew said he was glad the Government had given their support to the measure, as it was a step in the right direction. Stilt he feared that it would not effect the object the honorable member had in view. No" doubt it-was a question which entailed great difficulties, and involved the granting of a large amount o compensation. -He might mention that the Provincial Council of dago,'in ils last session, passed a resolution requesting action in., this direction on the part of the House, and to some extent this Bill would give effect to their wishes, but at the same time he was afraid- that the compensation question would not be satisfactorily dealt with by it. However, he should be glad to support the Bill.

Mr. T. L. Shepherd said he was very much obliged to those honorable members who supported the Bill, but the hoiio'rable member for Port Chalmers had added the remark that it did not go far enough. He could only inform the honorable "member "that the Provincial Solicitor of Otago informed him (Mr. Shepherd) the day he left Dunedin that he had strongly recommended the Superintendent,to secure the passing of the Bill of last session if possible. It seemed that the honorable gentleman was not acting up to the advice of his Provincial Solicitor, because this Bill was identical with the Bill of last session, excepting the addition of the word " Gold." The Bill before the House was the one referred to in a minute of the Provinciat.Solicitor of Otago, and he was sorry the honorable member did not bring that minute with him and read it to the House, because it was a strong argument in support of the Bill. .

Mr. Macandrew said he would be happy to produce the minute Mr. Shepherd hoped the honorable member would do so, because he felt sure it would have considerable weight with' the Gold Fields Committee. Bill read a second time.

Merits of Different Beasts.— The ass is an excellent and sober little beast, far too much despised by us. He is not only the most enduring, but one of the quickest walkers among cattle, being usually promoted to the leadership of a caraVan. lie is nearly equal to the camel in enduring thirst, and thrives on the poorest pasture, suffers from few diseases, and is unscathed by African distemper. The long desert-roads and pilgrim-tracts of Xorlli Africa are largely travelled over by means of asses. Gall oi- 1 -Animals, or Ox-gall, to Purift.—-"Take it from the'nevvly-killed animal, let it settle for 12 or 15 hours in a basin; pour the liquid off the sediment into" art eathenware pot, and set the pot into a pan of water kept boiling, until the gall-liquid becomes somewhat thick. Then spread it on a dish, and place it before the fire till nearly dry. In this state it may be kept, without any looking after, for years. When wanted, a piece- the size of a pea should be dissolved in water. Oxgall removes all grease-spots from clothes, &c."

Tracing -paper. The transparent kind can hardly be made by a traveller, unless he use waxed paper ; but he may prick out the leading points of his map or other design, and then—laying it on a sheet ot clean paper—charcoal, &c, can be rubbed through. Waxed paper is made by strewing small pieces of wax on a thin sheet of paper, covered with blotting-paper, and ironing it with a hot flat-iron, or some equivalent, until the wax is thoroughly melted, and has spread .evenly over the papeiv Black tracing-paper is made by rubbing a mixture of soap,.lampblack, and a little water, on the paper; and, when dry, wiping off as much as possible with a cloth.