Mining.

A.—sb

" Mining privilege " means any license, right, title, or privilege relating to mining lawfully granted or acquired under this Act or any former Mining Act, and includes the specific parcel of land in respect whereof such license, right, title, or 5 privilege is so granted or acquired ; it also includes a timbercutting right, a water-right not relating to mining, and also a business license, or a business, residence, or special site, but not an agricultural lease nor an occupation license : " Mining Registrar " or " Registrar " means a Mining Registrar 10 appointed under this Act: " Minister " means the Minister of Mines, and includes any member of the Executive Council (being a responsible Minister of the Crown) acting for or, if the office is vacant, in the place of such Minister, and also his successors in such office : 16, " Native " means an aboriginal native of New Zealand, and includes half-castes and their descendants : " Native ceded land " means Native land over which his Majesty, or the Governor or the Minister on his behalf, by cession, agreement, or otherwise, possesses the right to authorise the 20 carrying-on of mining operations : " Native land " means land owned by Natives and acquired otherwise than by purchase from the Crown or from any person (other than a Native) deriving title from the Crown, whether the title to such Native land has or has not been ascertained 25 by the Native Land Court or other duly constituted authority : " Native reserves " includes all lands set aside for the use, support, or education of Natives, whether out of Crown lands or on or in connection with the sale by Natives of lands to the 30 Crown: " Occupier " of land includes every person in actual occupation of land under any lawful title granted by or derived from the owner of the fee-simple thereof: " Owner," for the purposes of Part V. of this Act, relating to the 35 working, regulation, and inspection of mines, means the immediate proprietor, or lessee, or licensee, or occupier of any mine or any part thereof; and, in the case of an incorporated or registered company, includes the mine-manager of such company, and in any other case includes the mine-manager 40 of any mine ; but " owner " does not include a person who merely receives a royalty, rent, tribute, or fine from a mine, or is merely the proprietor of a mine which is being worked by another person pursuant to any lease, grant, or license for the working thereof: Any contractor or tributer for the 45 working of any mine or any part thereof, or for doing any specific work therein, shall be subject to this Act in like manner as if he were an owner, but so nevertheless as not to exempt the owner from any liability : " Person " includes mining partnerships, local authorities, and 50 incorporated or registered companies : '• Prescribed " means prescribed by this Act or by any regulations made thereunder:

2—A. sb.

9