MINING ITEMS.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 994, 9 August 1872, Page 3

MINING ITEMS.

The 'Tuapeka Times' strongly advocates the abolitiou of wardens. It says -.—" I u California and other gold mining States of America, Wardens have never existed, yet the want of «uch officials has never'been felt. In this country the office of Warden has

I existed too long, anil every day of its continuance shows more plainly that there is no necessity for it—that its abolition would be a benefit to the mining public. Nothing can be done on the goldfields without the interference of the Warden. Does a man want to take up an extended claim, cut a race, build a dam, take up a residence area, or an agricultural lease, he must wait upon and receive the permission of the Warden before doing so. Were such an official stationed in every gully, the necessity of obtaining his sanction would create no great inconvenience ; but as each Warden has an extensive district to look after, miners residing at a distance from where he if stationed have often to undertake lengthy journeys, involving considerable lot's of time, trouble, and expense, in order to procure permission to pursue their vocations. The delay caused by this means is frequently great and vexatious. If any other class of our community had their avocations hampered and their time wasted in a similar manner, such a howl would be rait el as would startle our legislators into finding very speedily an effectual remedy for the evils complained of. The remedy for this grievance of the miners is very simple. Define their rights by statute, aad allow them to 8( cure them without the interference of the Warden or any similar official, [f the miner exceeds his rights, or fails to c mply with the requirements of tl e statute, let it be entirely at his own risk. A vast amount of red

t;peism would thus be done away with. There would be no necessity for the numerous certificates now issued by the Warden, which are, by the way, of very little valu-—being at their best only evidence of legal possession. Their use could be dispensed with without difficulty. Mining disputes can be as easily settled in the Resident Magistrate's Court as in a Warden's Court. Like all others, they resolve themselves into matters of contracts and torts. No alteration in the existing law is Tequired for this, as the Resident Magistrate's Court has already all necessary powers for determining disputes and affording remedyies to miners as well as to other persons.

The Git sen Harp Case.—The 'New Zealand Herald,' of the llth instant siiys : —" There was an immense crowd at the Police Court yesterday morning, in consequence of the preliminary hearing of the Grreen Harp case. The men—Thos. Howe, Eugene O'Beilly. Wm Walsh, Thomas Sheehan, James Cummins, and James GJ-leeson were brought up, charged on the information of W. J. Hunt, sharebroker, with conspiring, by false representations concerning tl e Grreen Harp mine, to defraud the public." The prisoners were admitted to bail, each on his own bond of £2OO, and five securities of £IOO. The cake of metal, supposed to be retorted gold, left at the Bank of New Zealand yesterday for amalgamation has been assayed by Mr Rapson, with the following result: — Base metals ... ... 610 Silver 9.4 Gold 28.7 The base metals consists of copper, with a trace of iron, and a little lead. The legal manager of the Grreen Harp Compunj has sent for tho remainder of the mi tal, which has been deposited at the branch bank at Coromandel, and it is intended to have the whole tested in a similar manner. In connection with the above we may mentiou that the usual loss from Thames gold during the smelting process is about four per cent.

The 'Otago Daily Times' in a recent article on the industrial statistics of the Colonies says :—" If New Zealand is not so far before Victoria as a gold-producing colony as she is in the production of wool, she nevertheless has the lead-. In proportion to her population, this colony stands before all others in the return she obtains for her goldfields. From Victoria were exported in 1870 about loz 17dwts of gold per head of population, whilst from New Zealand in the same year, 2oz 3dwts per head were exported. Or, to make the comparison in the same terms as those we have already indulged in, the export of gold from Victoria was 1,222,798 ounces, whilst to have been in proportion to that of New Zealand it ought to have been 1,539,286 ounces. The values of gold shipped from the two colonies are more nearly in proportion, because a great deal of the gold obtained in the North Island is of low standard, being alloyed with silver. In looking at these figures, let it be remembered that is to the year 1870 that they refer, during only one half of which was the yield of the Thames Goldfields at all large. We have finished our comparisons, and have no further comment to make. These figures speak for themselves. If they were better known in Great Britain than they aTe, or than any one is trying to make thom, it would be all the better for the colony.