MINING CONFERENCE.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 482, 27 February 1868, Page 3

MINING CONFERENCE.

ELECTION OF A DELEGATE FOR THE WAKATIP.

This event, which came off on Monday,

created some little interest and excitement in

town The supporters of the first three ! gentlemen named in the following table used their best endeavors to get their respective men in. About mid-day, the supporters of Mr Manders, thinking that gentleman had a poor show of being returned, recorded several votes for Mr Johnson, who, considering that he never addressed a public meeting, may feel proud that he stands so high on the poll. Fully 25 more votes would have been recorded for Mr Johnson had there been time to obtain rights and proxies, &c, from miners and business men at the 25-Mile and Head of the Lake. At the Arrow, we hear, some of the

mmers who were supporting Mr M'Whirter did not vote, as they saw he had no chance. It will be seen by the following statement of the polling that Mr Swyer has been elected, with a majority of 16 over Mr Johnson :

Two noteworthy features have been brought out by this election. The fir t is, that many votes were polled under the proxy system which couid not otherwise have been recorded, had miners been obliged to lose a day's work for the sake of doing so, and it is, therefore, to be hoped that the Government will always, wherever practicable, adopt a method which is very desirable among such a straggling community as our Goldfields population. The second feature brought out is, that many miners have uo miners rights at all. When remonstrated with, and told how desirable it is to have Rights for the protection of their claims— * v Well," they say, "if anyone else wants our ground, let them come and take V ; and they will soon be glad to leave it again. We have worked in this neighborhood for many months, and are well acquainted with these workings ; but, do the best we can. we are only able to make little more than tucker out of it." This is a nut to crack for those who have lately opposed any reduction in miners' rights on the ground that men will as readily pay one pound sterling as they would ten shillings. As mining becomes an established calling among our population, the expenditure of every shilling •vill be more and more an object of consideration with them; and the question some of our legislators have to consider is, whether the revenue from miners' rights at 10s each will not, by increase in number issued, nearly equal the present sum derived by Government.

The gossiping contributor to the 'Evening News' furnishes the following items:—" A petition praying for the removal of Mr Simmons from the rectorship of the High School is b. ing carried round for signature; an entracte after the Melbourne pattern is projected in Dunedin; and a Princess-street shopkeeper is entertaining, not an ' angel,' but a bailiff!"

The ' Evening Star' says :—"The General Government employees in the several departments in Auckland recently received a circular announcing to them that they may be prepared for any change either as regards reduction of salary or loss of situation altogether."

The ' Tauranga Record' has the following : " The truth must be told. The fact is now staring us in the face that our crisis has come; that our hour of trial, long predicted, has arrived. The principal part, nearly all, of our military settlers have left us for other fields of employment. Disappointed in the opportunity of occupying their lands, unable to find subsistence during an indefinite period of time, of which no one can predict the termination, when the wished for security of possession can be obtained, they have sold their allotments at, in some instances, fabulously low prices, and retired from the scene in dispair. Every vessel which leaves the harbor carries away many of our best men, and those who cannot leave long to follow. It is well known that there have been instances of sahs of 50 acres of land at £6, and many at £lO, being respectively at the rate of 4s, and not quite 2s 6J per acre. The consequence is that all business is completely prostrate, the stores are without purchasers, some are abandoned, and the beach is deserted." Sir David Monro, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has delivered an address to the Committee of the Nelson Financial Reform • League upon the subject of Centralism and Provincialism, in which he advocated the total abolition of the Provinces. I

c > 3P 1 1 si 1 § c o a "3 05 u CD ' 5 > i O S3 1 £* S3 0) 3 a o 1 -S3 03 o ! H Swyer i 1 35 8 i 56 5 12 18 134 Johnson 1 28 ! 1 14 68 6 I 1 1 118 M antlers 1 1 1 i 16 ! i i 11 i 0 29 M'Whirter 4 0 0 0 0 0 4