PUBLIC MEETING AT THE BLUE SPUR.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 232, 11 July 1872, Page 8

PUBLIC MEETING AT THE BLUE SPUR.

Pursuant to advertisement, a public meeting to discuss the gold duty aboli- . tion and leasing questions, was held in the Schoolhouse, Blue Spur, on the evening of Friday, the sth instants Despite the exceedingly unpropitions weather, there was a large attendance. Mr. Robert Grieve, on the motion of Mr. J. Cormack, was voted to the chair. The Chairman, having stated the objects for which the meeting had been | culled, said that of late the gold duty ] question had almost dropped out of j notice on the Blue Spur. He had, j however, seen by the press that in various parts of the colony associations had been formed for the purpose of procuriug. first a reduction, and finally abolition, of the gold export duty. He read a commmeation from Mr. Brown, Secretary of the Ivanieri (West Coast) Miners' Association, which had been placed in his hands by the editor of the Tuapeka Times, asking the co-operation of the mining population of the Tuapeka district in efforts to procure the reduction of the gold duty. Individually he knew they were all in favour of doing away with that obnoxious tax. The, best way to obtain their object would be to organise miners' associations, as a number of such organisations throughout the colony working together would be sure to exercise a powerful influence on the Legislature. With regird to the agricultural leasing question, he wished to correct a prevalent fallacious opiuion. The miners did not want to prevent settlement, but, on the contra it, to pneourage it as much as What they wanted was an 'amendment in the law so that agricultural settlement couM progress without interfering with the extension of mining operations. The question of mining leases also required ventilation. The present system was eminently unsatisfactoiy. It gave rise to shepherding, and prevented the development of the auriferous resources of the colony. At the . suggestion of Mr. W. D. Morrison, the meeting decided to discuss the questions separately— the gold duty first. Mr. W. D. tVlomson said that it was unnecessary to discuss the justice of the £old export duty, as it was admitted by all that it was unjust. The only thing to consider was how nest to compass a remission and final abolition of the duty. Everyone could see that this tax ou labour wax injurious not only to the miners but to the whole population of the colony. The duty paid by the miners of Otago on the gold they extracted amounted to £21,000 a year. It was certain that if this sum were retained by the miners it would be employed in developing the resources of the province, thereby giving employment to a large number of men. Besides, there was a large quantity of ground scarcely rich enough to pay, but which, were there no gold duty, would yield fair wages. He believed that last year the Ofcago members were in favour of a reduction in the duty, but the Auckland and Westland members opposed the proposition, as the existence of that province and county depended upon the continuance of the tax. He might mention that he had noticed in the Tuapeka Times some time since that the special taxes paid by the minei-s of Otago amounted to £-10,000 per annum, and as that statement had- not been contradicted, he must consider it correct. This was an exceedingly large sum for one class to be burdened with. In gold duty alone the Blue Spur contributed £1000 a year. In his own claim, since it started, £1000 had been paid in this way — not out of the gross proceeds or the dividends, but entirely upon the gold which had gone to pay the wages. Other claims, he was sure, had been mulcted in much larger sums. The gold duty was not a tax on profits at all ; whether a claim was -paying or not, the gold duty had to be found. Three petitions had been sent to the General Assembly asking that the duty be taken oft", and splendid promise's had been made by their representatives, but still the tax continued. He considered the miners had- never been" properly represented. He did not wish to speak against any of the gentlemen who had been elected for goldfields' constituencies ; but he felt constrained to say that no goldfields member except " Mr. Haughton ever commanded respect in the House of Representatives. It -was -time the residents of the goldfields looked to this matter, for there was no doubt until they were properly represented they never would get their rights. He recommended the formation of n Miners' Association. Similar organisations existed in various parts of the rolony, and if they all worked together they could wield an influence powerful for good to the interests of the mining population. He moved " That a eom3Y»ttee be appointed to urge upon tlie General Assembly the necessity for reducing the gold export duty." Mr. Cormack sa^d the matter had been so frequently discussed that it was. almost impossible to say anything new . upon it. Mr. Morrison had drawn attention to the large amount of special taxation the Blue Spur had ronrrihuted, but forgot to state the benefits that it had derived from being so taxed. , He need only instance tho splendid road between the Spur

1 and Lawrence, to show the liberality J with which they were treatod by the Government, and he felt surprised that they did not voluntarily subscribe another £1000 per annum in. j recognition of such generosity. A j famous engineer was once waited upon by some persons who had charge of a canal. They reported that the canal was leaking, aud wished the engineer j to tell them how to prevent the leak- ! age. " Puddle," said he. They did so, j but without effect ; and came back ; again asking what other steps they should take. " The best thing that you can do is to puddle again," said the cnj gineer. Again they followed his adj vice with similarly unsatisfactory re- . suits, and again camo back to the en- ! gineer. " Puddle," said he, " puddle and puddle again, and keep puddling until it stops leaking." He thought that the engineer's advice was peculiarity applicable to the movement for the abolition of the gold duty. They should petition, petition again, and keep on petitioning till what they asked was granted by the Legislature. He agreed with the remarks made by Mr. Morrison, relative to the value of Mining Associations. Mr. Livingstone seconded Mr. Morrison's proposition. Mr. T. F. Morris was of opinion that the miners should continue agitating until the gold duty was abolished. He noticed that the Government were making a great ahow of encouraging native industries — were offering large bonuses to induce people to manufacture cloth from wool and paper from flax. He considered that the mining industry deserved as much encouragement as any other — it was quite as important to the colouy as cloth or paper mills. He did not think the goldfields were well represented in ] the Legislature, and t'mt militated i against their success in this matter, j He would be glad to help to get the | gold duty reduced gradually , but j he though it was only right, that a shilling per ounce should be knocked off at once. - The Chairman suggested that it would bo advisable to ' organise an Association to look after the interests of the miners generally. One of tho duties of the Association would be to secure men of ability to represent j goldfields constituencies. As long as j they were represented by the present | class of members, he felt certain the J interests of the mining community would continue to suffer. Such an Association would co-operate with other similar bodies throughout the colony, in matters affecting the general welfare of the mining community. Mr. Morrison would accept the Chairman's suggestion and substitute it for his proposition. He wished to impress those present with the necessity of "constantly and persistently working for the attainment of the object they had in view. It took 25 j years arduous labor and struggling to compel the House of Commons to pass the Reform Bill, and before the Legislature of New Zealand would consent to abolish the gold duty, a I lengthened period would probably elapse. Mr. Gilbert Ralston moved that a permanent Mining Association be formed, to act in conjunction with similar bodies thro lghout the colony, to procure the abolition of the export duty on gold, and to exercise a general supervision over the interests of the miners. He stated that the miners of Victoria agitated for five or six years before the Parliament reduced the export duty on gold 6fl. pe* ounce. If j the miners of New Zealand showed that they were in earnest, and persisted in agitating, he felt convinced the House of Representatives would accede to their demands. Mr. T. Cousins seconded Mr. Ralsron's motion. Mr. Morrison withdrew his proposition, and Mr. Ralston's motion was put, and carried unanimously. The Chairman considered that it would be advisable to discuss the leasing question before electing a Committee, as something might be elicited which wuuld be a guide to the Committee. He remarked that it was notorious that many agricultural leases had been granted in close proximity to actual mining operations. He did not wish to interfere with settlement — far from it. He would like to see a law passed allowing men to settle anywhere, without having to pay rent, but allowing the miner the right of working auriferous deposits. Mr. W. D. Morrison said the agricultural lease question was a difficult one. Leases of land for agricultural purposes had been granted indiscriminately in the Tuapeka district, and it was time to put a stop to that course. He felt confident that many rich auriferous deposits and many quartz. reefs were thus locked up from the miner for <*vpr, to the great detriment of the colony. He was not against agricultural settlement; on the contrary, ho would like to see evevy hill crowned wit' farms and studded with homesteads. He did not wish the country t> he a desert after the miners had finis'ied working in it. He wished to see it made attractive — to settle the people on the land, and thereby form society and make the country worth living in. But tabooing auriferous co iul.ry to the operations of the miner, by locking it up in the hand of agricu'fcural leaseholders, was not the way to -secure that desirable result. In Wetland, he believed, the miners

could work upon- freehold land on paying compensation for the actual damage done, or leaving the land in the same state as they found it. Here, however, the case was different ; and the army of officials — wardens, clerks, &c. — employed to look after the miners still further complicated matters The only way to secure the passing of a proper law on this matter was to prevent the occupation of any land until such a law was passed. The applications for land on the spurs between Gabriels and Wetherstones were not for bona fide agricultural settlement, but for speculative purposes. The Clark's paddock arbitration case -was an instance of the unsatisfactory state of the present law. Mr. Clark will probably consider himself an illused man if he does not get £1000 ; while the inconvenience and loss of time suffered by the miners was sufficient to deter most men from undertaking such an enterprise. If it had not been for the action of the Blue- Spur miners, the whole of the hill on which the Gabriels reef had been discovered would in all likelihood have been freehold. Had such been the case, the reef would probably never have been found. He did not think it necessary to make a proposition, as the Committee of the Association would attend to the matter. Mr. Smith concurred with the remarks that had been made by Mr. Morrison. He was of opinion that the miners ought to have the right to go and prospect for gold anywhere, without having to pay compensation. Mr. Morris said that the present system of agricultural leasing greatly interfered with mining enterprise. In the case of Clark's paddock, Mr. Clark would consider himself robbed if he did not get several hundred pounds ; and the miners, if they had to pay a •large sum, would think they were swindled. One of the duties of the ! Committee of the- Association would I be to prevent any leases being granted I until the law was altered. i Mr. John Cormack agreed with ! what had been said. It was necessary | that the miner should have free access jto <il I auriferous ground. It was also necessary that when a man took up a } piece of grouud and spent money in improving it, that miners should be prevented from comi ig iv and destroying those improvements without paying adequate compensation. They wanted equal justice done to the miners and the landholders, aud they wanted \ nothing more. The' Chairman said he thought the law relating to mining leases ought to be amended. On Gabriels reef a large number of mining leases had been taken up, but with the exception of in the prospecting claim, no operations whatever were being proceeded with. If a system similar to that in vogue in Otago had prevailed in Victoria in olden times, he felt sure that not onethird of the reefs that have yielded magnificent returns would ever have been developed. On Gabriels reefs no work would be done on the leases until the prospectors had driven GOO or 700 feet along the reef, and probably a century would elapse before the reef would be properly opened up. In California he believed a man bad to prove the existence of a lode in his claim before he had any title to the claim, and he considered such a law would be advantageous in New Zealand. Mr. W. D. Morrison said that the mining leasing regulations appeared to be framed for rich men only — to encourage the introduction of foreign capital. That was their object but not their result. The regulations say that the ground leased is exempt from occupation until the lease is executed, aud that as soon as the lease is executed the lessee must commence operations. The leaseholders on Gabriels . reef were not responsible for their ground remaining unworked, neither was the law. It was fault of the Government officials, who, apparently, are too well paid to do their work. He might mention that about a month ago he got a lease that had been granted in 1867. Mr. J. Cormack suggested that the proposed association should embrace Wetherstones, Evans Flat, Lawrence, and Tuapeka Creek. He thought a large committee, comprising members from those localities, might be appointed. Mr. W. D. Morrison said the only difficulty in the way was that they would appoint members without their knowledge. The suggestion was a good one, and insetings might be held alternately at Lawrence, Wetherstones, Evans Flat, and Blue Spur. - It was finally decided in the meantime to elect a committee, with power to add to their number, and that steps should be taken so that the places mentioned might be represented. The following gentlemen wereelected members of the commitee: — Messrs. E. Grieve, W. D. Morrison, S. White. W. Livingstone, W. Best, J. Corraack, F. Nicoll, James Campbell,. A. M'Nab, H. Clayton, S. Hales, T. Hinde, T. F. Morris, T. Cousins, F. Trayes, and Ponsonby. Messrs. J. C. Brown, M.H.R., and Horace Bastings, M.P,C., were also elected members of the committee. A vote of thanks to the chair brought the proceedings to a close.

An Irishman, just landed, was asked what party he belonged to. "Party is it," said he ; 1 suppose you've got a Government?"-" Yes"—" Thin I'm agin it," . • -