AUCKLAND MINING BOARD: PUBLIC MEETING.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4236, 13 March 1871, Page 3

AUCKLAND MINING BOARD : PUBLIC MEETING.

The public meeting convened by the Chairman of the Auckland Mining Board was held at Grahamstown on Saturday afternoon, —In explaining his motives for calling the meeting, Mr. Mitchell (the Chairman) said that he had done so solely with the view of preserving the Mining Board from absolute extinction. According to the Act, the members of the Board were elected for one year only, and the nomination of another set, or the same again if it so pleased the electors, was fixed for the second Monday in the month of March. He thought it was clearly the duty of the Superintendent through the Returning Officer (the Senior Warden of the district) to give timely notice by advertisement of the nomination. This had not been done, and, if no notice had been taken of the omission, the Mining Board would have died out. To avert such a catastrophe he, aa Chairman of the Mining Board, considered it his duty to convene a meeting to elicit an expression of opinion from the miners, and at the same time to nominate candidates. He had also written to the Superintendent, and had induced that gentleman at the eleventh hour to issue the requisite notice, an official advertisement to that effect having appeared in the local papers yesterday and to-day. He (the Chairman) called upon the meeting to express an opinion on the subject.--Mr. Mcllhone took exception to the proceedings altogether, as being devoid of legality. He called attention to the official advertisement, which named Monday as the day of nomination. He would move that the meeting adjourn until then. (Cries of "No," and confusion.) — When the Chairman put the question to the meeting it was negatived by a large majority. — Mr. Grove then addressed the meeting. He spoke in general terms of the necessity of a Mining Board, and urged upou the miners not to relinquish the small modicum of self-govern-ment that had been secured to them by the establishment of the Board. At the same time he did not see what good could attend the nominating of candiddtes then, when Monday was the day. It would be better to proceed according to the formula prescribed by law. He thought, however, that Mr. C F. Mitchell deserved the thank 3 of the com munity for having acted so promptly. — Mi\ Nolan followed in the same strain, and then the Chairman called for nominations, but, none being forthcoming, he declared thmeeting to bs <*t an end.— {Thames Correspondent. 3