AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1874. "MEASURES, NOT MEN."

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 363, 10 June 1874, Page 2

AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1874. "MEASURES, NOT MEN."

The suggestion, of his Honor the «fr»uperintendent regarding the sale of auriferous lands has provoked discussion, and re. ceived support by and from that particular class who are, not clear-sighted enough to see that the question has an importance far beyond the interests of those „ who follow the; occupation of mining for gold. The honorable John M'Lean, viewing the matter -with the eyes of an old Scotch shepherd, says that gold diggings aie not ornamental ; that gold mining is in a languishing state , and that to remedy this and other evils connected therewith, the ' auriferous lands ought to be sold ; and Mr. Donald Reid applauded his arguments, while he disagreed with the expediency of his proposals. Other members of the Council talk of mining and miners as a class interest, and seem to think that a great privilege has been, conferred upon that class by allowing them to explore the Crown lands and search for gold. A little consideration should show those persons that they have been looking altogether at the i wrong side of the picture, or rather looking at the negative, wheie the lights and shades are reversed. It is no favor at all to the men engaged in gold mining to leave the Crown lands open for mining. They would be but little affected individually, if all beyond their immediate holdings was at once shut up. They would simply seek other- fields or other occupations .where or by means of which they would; probably succeed as well or better than they do in Otago. It is well-known that the quantity of. gold produced is infruenced greatly, if not entirely regulated, by th,e cost of production ; and the moment that it can be obtained at a diminished cost in any localrty, a rush takes place to the new discovery, - and the older fields are deserted. And not ,on!y is this the case as regards new discoveries of gold, but the same law operates when any other mode of occupation offers greater rewards than gold mining, as can be illustrated by the great drain' of labor from gold mining that has lately been caused by the abundance of employment and high rate of wages caused by the_ prosecution of the public works and, no doubt, if proper information . could be obtained, it could be show^that the rate of wages act very strongly upon the gold production, and diminish or increase it in proportion as they themselves fluctuate. It is also equally, srell known that all alluvial deposits of gold are so irregularly distributed that but for the mod© in. which the Bearch for it has been pursued by men whose means of living depended upon discovery, and who had therefore the deepest interest in the occupation, very few of these 'deposits would ever have been brought to light. The Hon. John M'Lean and his successors might have occupied half a million acres of any of our goldfields for, centuries, aud fur them the. gold w,ould have remained hidden in the earth, aod so far practically useless to the. State. The monppuly given them by the State > of a right of depasturing cattle, was so profitable, as to outweigh the advantages to be derived from searching for goM and yet Mr. McLean says thaj this monopoly should be so extended as to give them in addition the right to all the minerals, to the exclusion of a glass tha& woujd, r^d^er, th,e% a.vaijab>

and profitable to the State. . All experienoe shows that the proposed course would inevitably result in Otago ceasing to be a gold-producing country ; and if that is what is desired, it should be spoken in plain words, so that the danger of the proposed course may be v clearly seen. But the question remains : -What would be the result to the province of a voluntary or compulsory exodus of our gold miners from the colony, or even from this province 1 Have not they and their enterprise, perseverance, and industry given an impetus to those other branches of production which the Hon. J ohn M'Lean contrasts with them 1 How many flourishing townships and agricultural settlements are due to gold mining, and gold mining only t How many valuable colonists has it attracted to the shores of Otago, bringing their capital and families with them ? Wool growing is a profitable industry both to the country aud the persons engaged in it, but what has it effected in the way of colonization in comparison with gold mining ? But it is" useless to pursue the enquiry j other colonies have decided the question ; those who have gold miners by the meut they have given to the industry, not on its own account, but on accouut of its importance in the work of colonisation ; those who have no gold minea or miners by their solicitude for their discovery and presence ; and it ia left to the old Scotch shepherds of Otago to discover that the industry is neither profitable nor ornamental, and that it would benefit the State to have the precious metil for ever hidden in the womb of mother earth.