The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1897. MINING ON KAURI TIMBER COMPANY LANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 206, 3 September 1897, Page 2

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1897. MINING ON KAURI TIMBER COMPANY LANDS.

?or ths cause timt laoite awistaaoe, Per tho wrong that asafls resistancs, 3?or the ftttaro in tiis distance, And tha-sooA that T7O caa do.

The " slump " in mining has taken the keen edge off the important statement which we make in another column today with regard to the conclusion of an arrangement under which many thousands of-acres of land believed to be auriferous-will shortly be opened up under the raining regulations. A year ago the demand for the throwing open of the leaseholds held by the Kauri Timber Company was loud and insistent ; it was,'indeed, the burning topic on our goldfields. But difficulties of a very complex character barred the way. Apart from the rights of the Company, a network of claims, overlapping each other in every direction and involving every kind of legal complication, gave an assurance of a golden harvest for the legal profession, although gold to anyone else from the occupation of these lands was a more than doubtful quantity. Mr Cadman, Minister of Mines, has perseveringly and, we surmise, oftan very wearily, toiled over the unravelment oi this very tangled skein. Numerous conferences have been held between the Minister and representatives of the Company ; special surveys were made shewing the position and extent of the standing forests that required protection in the interests of the timber industry, which is no less important to Auckland than mining ; almost every title required separate consideration and treatment'; and an adjustment fair to the Company and to the Government was not easily arrived at. We think it will be generally agreed that the final arrangement made between the Government and the Knuri Timber Company, as described in another cokimn, for the immediate surrender of their interests in the cleared portions of their leaseholds as required by the Government manifests a spirit of great moderation, and both they and Mr Cadman may be heartily congratulated upon the manner in which these difficult negotiations hasve been conducted to so satisfactory a termination. But the conclusion of the agreement between the Government and the Company by no means disposed of all the complications arising out of this question. The Warden had still a good deal to do before it would have been safe or wise to throw open these lands under the mining law. At Tairua prospectors had long been at work, and some of them had acquired certain rights involving legal problems which might have occupied the Courts of the i colony for twelve months; owing to the varied nature of the titles, the determination of one case would not necessarily have governed another. Then the claims of original prospectors and discoverers had to be considered. The sorting out of this mixed-up business came within the sphere of the Warden's duties, and very patiently and judiciously Mr Bush, aided by Mr Burgess, has done the work. First of all, the crucial question of the original discoverers of the Tairua and Puketui blocks had to be settled ; then the straightening up of overlapping boundaries and the determination of ownership in nearly sixty claims called for no little tact and skill. The final stage in the proceedings was reached yesterday, when the Warden I formally settled the titles of ail existing claims, and prepared the : way for a clear start when the lands are thrown open. We sincerely hope that a closer investigation of the auriferous resources of these lands will bear out the glowing statements that have been made from time to time regarding them, and that they will soon become large contributors to the returns of the precious metal from the Auckland goldfields.

The " slump " in mining has taken the keen edge off the important statement which we make in another column today with regard to the conclusion of an arrangement under which many thousands of-acres of land believed to be auriferous-will shortly be opened up under the raining regulations. A year ago the demand for the throwing open of the leaseholds held by the Kauri Timber Company was loud and insistent ; it was,' indeed, the burning topic on our goldfields. But difficulties of a very complex character barred the way. Apart from the rights of the Company, a network of claims, overlapping each other in every direction and involving every kind of legal complication, gave an assurance of a goldea harvest tot the legal profession, although gold to anyone else from the occupation of these lands was a more than doubtful quantity. Mr Cadman, Minister of Mines, has perseveringly and, we surmise, oftan very wearily, toiled over the unravelment of this very tangled skein. Numerous conferences have been held between the Miaister and representatives of the Company ; special surveys were made shewing the position and extent of the standing forests that required protection in the interests ot the timber industry, which is no less important to Auckland than mining ; almost every title required separate consideration and treatment'; and an adjustment fair to the Comipany and to the Government was not easily arrived at. We think it will be generally agreed that the final arrangement made between the Government and the Knuri Timber Company, as described in another column, for the immediate surrender of their interests in the cleared portions of their leaseholds as required by the Government manifests a spirit of great moderation, and both they and Mr Cadman may be heartily congratulated upon the manner in which these difficult negotiations hasve been conducted to so satisfactory a termination.