MINER AND SETTLER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 280, 25 November 1912, Page 7

MINER AND SETTLER.

A TEST CASE.

WAKAMARINA APPLICATIONS

In the Warden's Court at Blenheim, on Friday afternoon legal argument was conducted before Mr R. S. Florance in respect to two important applications for sluicing claims on the eastern side of the Wakamarina River. The evidence was taken at Havelock earlier in the week. The one application was made by J. McLean for an alluvial claim comprising 8i acres, being part of A. Thompson's holding and the bulk"of the river flat held by him. The other application was entered by the Darkies' Terrace Hydraulic Sluicing Company, in respect to part of Section 18, Block 14, of about 30 acres, and adjoining the company's present claim. Part of the latter ground is held by 8. Gardiner. Mr W. T. Churchward represented the mining inteersts, and Mr C. H. Mills appeared for Mr Thompson and Mr Gardiner, who are objectors. The two cases, being identical as far as the point at issue is concerned, were heard and argued together. They represent a sharp conflict between the mining and the farming interests, ad .are in the nature of test cases, developments in respect to several other areas, it was said, depending upon the result. * Both '. holdings comprise Crown ■land, and were taken up under renewable leases, granted in 1910. Broadly, the question to be determined is whether Crown land thus leased comes under the Mining Act; and, in the evers> of that Act being found to apply, it has to be decided whether preference should be given to the mining requirements as against the interests of settlement. Evidence was called by Mr Churchward to show that the locality in question was gold-bearing. J. McLean said he had tested the ground with three shafts, one 50 feet in. depth, and the prospects were that gold was present in payable quantities. 'Hydraulic, sluicing would give the best results. R./White, F. B. Rush, and R. Mill gave expert evidence. C. Nelson, one of the managers of Darkies' Terrace, said that, prior to the formation of the company, his partner and himself, with only the two of them working, took about £700 worth of gold out of that claim in three years. Up to the present time tile Darkies' Terrace was panning out at the rate of about £3000 per acre. In his opinion the areas now being applied! for were part of the same terrace, and would give similar returas. Mr Mills called several witnesses. A, Thompson said that the 81 acres m question were the best of his 100 acres, and if they, were sluiced away ne would not have access to the rest of the property. He had occupied the land for about six years, and was paying an annual rental of Is ncr acre. v s- Gardiner said that sluicing would destroy his frontage. He owned 500 acres in the Pelorus and 200 acres m the Wakamarina, and paid od! an acre per annum for the elevln dm&> c had a family of W Ahem and C. L. Diamanti, old residents of the district, said that sluicing would have ,a highly detrimental effect on both holdings. They expressed doubt as to the existence of payable gold there. They had never known anyone making a success of mining m the Wakamarina. Legal argument was' eond'io'-od at considerable length at Ble:.!v>i.' Mr Mills contended that the ••* • ■*<•■; ble leases precluded the applicat 'on M' 'he M.nmg Act, and quoted -Parli;nv.«ntary utterances with a view to showing ..that the intention of the Legislature was to give precedence to the interests .of land settlement in such circumstances. If the Warden dexl^r- at the areas did come under the Mining Act, then he had dis-^ cretionary powers, and counsel submitted that the locality could not be ! regarded as primarily a mining area, and the established farming interests [should not be,displaced. , ,^ Mr Churchward argued1 that the Mining Act did apply, and quoted a Ministerial utterance made in Parliament, to support the contention. if urther,. he submitted that there was direct expert evidence going to | show that the areas applied for were highly auriferous, and that the land would give much more profitable returns if mined than if it were farmed. Moreover, sluicing would1 not utterly destroy the land from a farming point of view. The locality was in a recognised mining district, and the applications should be granted on the grounds of public policy. The Warden reserved his decision.