THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2802, 6 February 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1878.

DuEina the lust session of the parliament a Sum of ' money was voted as rewards for discovery of now payable goldfields and payments in aid of prospecting. The terms and conditions on which the money will bo paid are now published, and we propose to lay thorn before the public, in order that they may be taken advantage of to the extension of the area within which profitable mining operations are carried on within ■ this district. The " general conditions "

stipulate that the person will bo deemed the discoverer who shall first find gold and notify tho snme in writing to the nearest Warden orEosident Magistrate/in which notification are required to bo set forth as nearly as practicable the exact locality of the find, distance from old workings and number of persons engaged at that date in mining for gold. If two or more persons discover gold in tho same locality simultaneously, or in places immediately adjacent, and each complies with tho conditions, the sum to be awarded shall bo divided between them, Eewards will bo paid ODly for discoveries made known after publication of the regulations. The nearest gold workings shall mean gold workings recognised as such, and on which twelve miners are actually employed in searching for gold; but in any proclaimed goldfield the new discovery must be not less than five miles from the nearest workings; such distance may, however, be varied in any subsequent proclamation. Within eighteen months after the notification of new discovery the claimant has to provo to the satisfaction of the Minister for Lands the number of persons who have been engaged in mining on the new field " with reasonable diligence" for twelve months from the date of the notification. Eewards, not exceeding £5000, for each island will be given on the following scalo :-—

A population of not less than fifty (50) persons (not necessarily the same persons) engaged in bonajide goldmining with reasonable diligence on the new field for twelve months, £50.

A population of not less than one hundred (100) persons (not necessarily the same persons) engaged in bona fide goldmining with reasonable diligence on the new field for twelve months, £SCO.

A population of not less than three hundred (300) persons (not necessarily the same persons) engaged in bonafidc goldmining with reasonable diligence on the new field for twelve months, £1000.

If the gold workings for the discoverj of which rewards are claimed contain auri-1 ferous deposits of a new character, such a 9 quartz lodes in or in the vicinity of alluvial workings, rewards may be granted in the discretion of the Government, subject generally to these conditions but without reference to the condition of distance. Chinese are not to be included in estimate of population as the basis of rewards. The following special conditions are applicable only to the North Island :— No prospecting to be allowed on Native land, without the consent of the Native owners previously obtained, and the approval of the Native Minister. Prospectors going on Native land without cor sent of the owners are liable to the penalties imposed by the Acts relating to j | Gold Fields, and will forfeit all claim to I the reward.

Native owners will be entitled to rewardi provided that, if the discovery be made on their own land, they enter into arrangements with the Government for throwing such laid open for mining purposes to the public.

The conditions following apply to prospecting aids, and deserve attention:—

1. Five thousand (£5000) pounds will bo given to associations or local bodies in aid of prospecting for gold or other precious minerals, or in construction of prospecting tracks cut solely for the purposes of such prospecting, by way of subsidy, cent, per cent, upon a wage considerably below the market value of labor paid per head on the number of men actually employed.

2. No more than two hundred (£200) pounds shall be granted to any one local association or local body for any one prospecting expedition. 3. No sum shall be paid in excess of such sum as may be calculated upon a wage of five shillings per day on the number of men actually engaged in any prospecting party. 4. The association or local body shall be required to prove to the satisfaction of the Minister for Lauds, or his appointee, the time during which, prospecting was carried on, and the number of men from time to time employed. 5. No prospecting to be allowed on Native land, without the consent of the Native owners previously obtained, and the approval of the Native Minister. Prospectors going on Native land without consent of the owners are liable to the penalties imposed by the Acts relating to Gold Fields, and will forfeit all claim to the reward.

The question of equipping and sending oat prospecting parlies has been broached many times during the past few years, but no well-organised effort has been made. Here is substantial encouragment to make the attempt, which could not be done under more favorable auspices than atpresent, when some amount of skilled labor is available owing to a dulness in the mines being worked. It may not be out of place to invite the attention of the County Council to these regulations, as they provide for payments or aid 3to " local bodies " as well as associations of individuals, and the County Council, while not being called upon exactly to undertake prospecting, could very well assist in the matter by "constructing the prospecting tracks," and claim the subsidies provided for in these regulations.

To-day we give some particulars of nn accident at the Piako mine on Monday last, by which a miner narrowly escaped the fate which befel poor Spiers some months ago, and from the same cause. As the accident is likely to be made the subject of an enquiry, we refrain from comment. The matter was kept very quiet, but it has now leaked out: that the particulars should have been suppressed invests the affair with suspicion.