MINISTER OF MINES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1926, Page 9

MINISTER OF MINES.

VISIT TO THAMES.

TWO nCPOBTAWT INDUSTRIES. J FISHING AND MINING. • (B7 Telegraph.—Own Correspondent-) , THAMES, this day. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister of ! Mines and Marine, paid a visit to Thames i yesterday. j Primarily the visit concerned the fishing industry. From 7 till 9.30 p.m. he conferred with the fishermen regarding ■ the new regulations, purse seining and . I trawling in the Hauraki Gulf. ! Accompanying the Minister, were ■Messrs. Godfrey (Under-Secretary) and iHefford (fisheries expert from, England I who has been appointed in Mr. Ayson'3 . place). ' ""*"* ! The views of several fishermen were 1 uiken, but matters at present are only in the investigation stage, therefore, pro- , ceedings were not open to the public. ■ J Later in the evening, the Minister was entertained by local bodies at the ; Royal Hotel, Mr. T. W. Rhodes, M.P., Mayor of Thames, presiding. ■ Mineral Production. •! Replying to the toast of "Our Guest," the Minister said he appreciated the 1 honour done him. He believed that mining would go on in this locality for many years, and he looked forward to '■ a mining revival. Hia colleagues often asked him for the results of the spend- . ing of money he asked them for, and he . sometimes had to confess that every ; venture was not a winner. Waihi had > been run on business lines and its sue- ■ cess was chiefly due to expert advice obtained by the Government. If this had ■ not been obtained it would have closed ■ down ere this. The Department had ' given assistance on the West Coast which ■ had resulted in good prospects for the ■ j future of the industry there. ' Referring to the production of j minerals, the Minister said that in 1925, ;114,6960z of gold were produced, to the j value of £472,364. This was a decrease : compared with 1924 of 18,9350z, of the ! value of f "9,424. 6ilver production had l also fallen, the figures being— 1925, ! 495,2680z, value £60,773; 1924, 578,2170z, l value £71,981, showing a decrease .of 82,9490z, of the value of £11,203. ; He believed they wanted genuine min--1 ing, not stock exchange mining. The . man who stayed in Queen Street, Auck--1 land, and bought and sold shares did not do a great deal for the industry. It wae . those who put their money into develop- .! ment work who helped mining. ;| The Minister quoted instance where : companies had been floated with hall the shares given to the promoters. Often they started their operations heavily in I debt. If the Thames mines did well, | then there was plenty of money to help ; the industry. He endeavoured to aid the genuine miner, and this year he hoped would show the consolidation of • the mining laws. They proposed to give I the law some control over mining prospectuees. This would give the public a i fair deal in what they were investing in. Oil and Coal ! The Minister eaid he thought oil would Ibe obtained in Taranaki, but many bores would have to be put down and much capital would be required, also sound engineering end expert advice. He was glad to announce that the coal industry , ; had improved in production, the figures k«i?f= > D 25. 2,114,382 tone; 1924, 2,083,207 tons, an increase of 31,175 . jtoM. On the other hand, the number ,J of peraons employed had decreased in , J 1926 to 4715 persona from, in 1924, 4869 ; persons, or 154 less, The coal miner was j; an independent person. He wae * law junto himself. Regarding coal mining ■ : strike* in New Zealand, the Minister ,:9ftid jocularly that a strike always seemed to occur when the miners feit !' they wanted a holiday. Our Fisheries. I In the Marine Department, it was mii tended to pass legislation preventing j oil fuel being discharged on the water. , This dirtied the shores and killed fish. ;He had that evening consulted the local • fishermen regarding the new regulations i in that industry. No records of catches '' . have been kept in the past. He was I pleased to say the fishermen were agree- ! able to keep records in the future, They I wanted facts that would help the InI dustry. In Mr. T. W. Ayson'a place, ! they appointed Mr. Hefford, one of the I finest experts in the Empire, to assist. He was giving special attention to fishing in the Mauraki Gulf, more espe- ■ dally seining and trawling and their 1 effects If records had been kept* they ' would have been in a better position Ito make investigations. He hoped c > thereby to conserve and maintain the ; 1 industry for future generations, -| Referring to Mr. Zane Grey's visit fj to New Zealand, the Minister said spe- , cial arrangements had been made to ' supply suitable boats for deep-sea fieh--1 ing, but this could not be done again. '■ Hβ hoped that private enterprise would , supply boats tnat would satisfy the - marine regulations for deep-eea fishing. - They endeavoured to get overseas t! wealthy visitors, and they must have ! proper boats; He* Legislation. The regulations tinder the Harbours Act would also' have to be amended. The Department should decide whether j a district could support a fliarbour. I They had seen the unfortunate case of Opunake, and in future the Department j would investigate and advise on the subject of harbours. • J Future legislation, the Minister went t j on, would advance a scheme of con- . tributing pensions and cover invalidity . pensions. People should not get =omeI thing for nothing. The Shop Hours i J Bill would be altered to cut out several .. anomalies and certain labour law 3 I 1 would also be altered. The world was ■ a different place from what it was 1 1 twenty, or even ten, years ago. If, by J passing proper amending legislation, . J they avoided disputes over wages, etc., .j it would be a great benefit to the : ' country. The law should help the willj ing worker. Dead-level wages did not [ make for incentive. He would encourI asre co-operation and profit-sharing. f The Government had done a great deal , ' to advertise Few Zealand all over the ( ' world. Last year £1500 was spent ' overseas, which had brought back a rel turn many times that amount. He [ urged economy and dwelt particularly . on the big import trade from the U.S.A.. which country refused to take any of our produce in return. He j urged the people to !>e economical in I luxuries. The Minister visited the harbour ? works this morning and left at mid-flay [ for Paeroa to consult about a proposed j private battery at Karangahake.