Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE. WEDNESDAY, APRIL, 30, 1890.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 467, 30 April 1890, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL, 30, 1890.

‘This abo?e all—to thine own self bo trite, And it must follow &j» the night the day Thou court not then be false to any man,' SIUffKSPKARK.

Some attention baa of late heon given to those-clauses of the Mining Act of 1880, which hear upon the management of mines and the qualifications of mine managers. That the subject Ims not been taken up at an earlier period is to be accounted for by the fact that the clauses in question have only recently come into operation, and that their inadaptability is only now being reoognised and felt The mist obuoxiuti* of these olauses is the one which provides that every manager of a mine in which more than I*3 men are employed, shall within three years from the time the Act came into force, pass an examination and obtain a certificate of competency, This, of itself, seems reasonable enough, and no exception coqld he taken to it if the examination were such as any ordinarily intelligent miner could hope to pass after a fair amount of study and preparation, but the degree and the kind of knowledge required is such as to:shut out from a vast majority of our miners all hope of ever attaining to any position of trust in their occupation, and therein lies the grievance, A contemporary referring to this important question says ; *■ There is only one point in regard to which the Government should trouble or concern itself in the working of a miue, and tha'; is to see that duo care shall be taken against accident to life or limb,’' The rest, it argues, tuny he left to the directors of companies whose interest it is to elect the man best fitted to manage the working of their property, That has been the rule heretofore and it has answered very well for it may fairly be said that the ability and intelligence of miue managers has in the past enabled them to perform their duties satisfactorily. But that is not enough for the Government which now insists that the future manager must be a very different individual from him of the past. It is not enough that he should possess a thorough knowledge of practical minim: in its various branches, but he must also have a sufficiency of scientific acquirements tp pass an examination in geometry, trigonometry, geology, assaying, engineering and surveying. It may he that the possession of hII this varied knowledge will introduce a more highly accomplished manager, but as in our public schools ♦ lie tendency is to give to our youths a distaste for tha more lowly occupations, so in all probability will the strict enforcement of all these acquirements by our mine managers lead to the introduction of a class of men who will regard the really useful ami practical part of their duties as of only seoandary importance. In dealing with this phase of the subject the Auckland Herald says “ It is quite well i known that the finding of gold is not a matter of scientific knowledge so much a* of practical sagacity and experience. Science has achieved very little as yet in the way of any direction to the working miner. Many evil effects arise from the action of the law. Mining companies are restricted in their choice. Those who hold certificates make a close corporation, and the companies are made to pay, not entirely for the skill and ability the managers may bring to bear upon their work, hot for their possession of a document certifying to a kind of knowledge of little or no practical service. Companies are forced, in particular oases, to appoint men to manage their mines whom they consider inferior to other men working in a subordinate capacity. Probably it would be easy for any lad, after leaving the common school, to j work up for the examination with the aid of a few lectures at the School of Mines, and by struggling through a few text books. But many a miner, with twenty years of experience, who, by the observation of innumerable indications, has acquired what may almost be called an instinct for following up gold, would be utterly gravelled by a demand upon him to face an examination in seven sciences. More than that, it would be quite impossible Tor him, with perhaps but a small measure of schooling to begin with, to fit himself by any amount of study, to pass in the above subjects.” The Act also deals unjustly with a number of men who already occupy the position of managers. 'Tajke for instance the ease of those in charge of mines at KaoUtuna., How is it possible for themi cut off as they are from Schools of Mines and every other means of acquiring knowledge, to qualify themselves for such an examination as that laid down % Some of them have had a very long experience in mining and are quite fitted; in all necessary respects to perform their duties thoroughly. Are these men, after successfully opening up their mines, and endming for months all the hardships ami discomforts attending the develop-; meat of a new goldfield, to be ousted; froni their positions because circumstances have debarred them from acquiring a cut ip amount of book learning which they had previously been very well able u> dispense, with? There can he no question as to the fact that the reguiut oiis under which these certificates can now puly be obtained are uijfa’r to a;

large body of the miners, and it is to le hoped that for the good of mining as well ns of the miner himself there will shortly k* some modification of them. The subject lias been taken up by the Auckland Chamber of Com-, merce, and if stiong representations are made by similar bodies generally, there can he no doubt the end desired will quickly bo attained,