The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1965, 22 April 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1875.

Sir George Grey is expected to visit the Thames this week, to make himself personally acquainted with the requirements of the goldfields. There is plenty of work in store for him, and* it is not likely that he will have much leisure for a day or two after he arrives, unless he decides to inspect the district and form some opinion as to the existing state of affairs before receiving the numerous deputations preparing to wait upon him. It would be a much wiser course, we believe, for Sir George to make inspection of the district before receiving any deputations, because by so doing he will be able to

acquire a personal knowledge of the I existing condition of matters, which would be of service in dealing with some of the questions which will be} urged upon his consideration. We all know how easy a matter it is to organise "influential deputations" to'advocate any particular views. Individual inter-, ests are consulted, very often to the prejudice of the public weak- No doubt Sir George Grey thoroughly , understands this peculiarity of deputations, and will be on his guard when besieged by the ; army; of interviewers. One of the first deputations will probably be that appointed at the public meeting on Tuesday night, to consider the question of granting leases on new goldfields. That-deputation numbers nine gentlemen, whose ostensible duty it will be to urge upon Sir George Grey, as holder of the delegated powers, the necessity of delaying or refusing to grant licenses on the Tairua portion of the goldfield, if any constitutional means exist which will allow him to do so; and, failing that, Sir George is to be requested to compel the most stringent enforcement of those provisions of the Act relating to the forfeiture of claims held thereunder. No mention is rriade in the resqlutidn as to the licenses to which objection is taken. It may have been intended to mean thirty, acre holdings,- or smaller areas down to. a-hatter's pegging: licenses, without any qualification, are indicated, and the deputation or committee are expected to .urge the. objection as strongly- as possible:>-; -It -is difficult to understand how some of them could undertake such a task, being interested in license areas applied for, as three of the number are said to be. Applications have been lodged for several license areas in terms of the Goldmining Districts Act, and if no valid objections be urged in the meantime, we presume, those applications will be granted by the Warden. The Superintendent will probably ma% full enquiries as to the working of the Act before he commits himself to any expression of opinion regarding licensed holdings either on new ; or old fields. When he has dohe! that he will be better able to deal with the matter to be brought under his notice by the deputation on the license question.