The Gold Diggers

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 November 1949, Page 3

The Gold Diggers

Sir.—Many gold diggers are pleased with the Blackwater digger’s letter taking the Government to task for filching their rights. Up to recent times any holdei’ of a miner’s right had the privilege of holding 100 square feet of the auriferous country set apart for mining under the Mining Act. Today miners are warned as trespassers to move off because the Minister of Forestry, Mr C. F. Skinner, has gazetted a right for his Forestry Department over the same auriferous area to grow trees. Now the price of gold has made digging more attractive. Apart from this it was always likely to boom up again. The Minister left himself open to be criticised. It is looked upon as a thoughtless and contemptible act to lock up many portions of the Minister’s own district. Even if he did grow trees to make it a more foggy old town for the next 70 years, this is not a bright outlook for the next one or two generations. Reefton, a gold mining town, has already suffered much because of the low price of gold. Now with the increased price of gold it has a change of rising again. In any case, the Minister for a Jong time has been under much criticism. Nothing in the district can be claimed to his credit. The housing and hostel were the programme of the Minister of Mines. The nursing home and hospital plans were on the move before the present Government came to power. It is hoped that who ever is returned to Parliament, more consideration will be given to every item that will help the distirct, and to removing all the tags .possible to advance the gold mining workers.—Yours etc. WAKE UP Reef ton, November 25.