THAMES NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6150, 3 August 1881, Page 6

THAMES NEWS.

[FKOH OUR OWK CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Tuesday. THE GOLDFIELDS ACT. :

At the risk of repetition I must again refer to the necessity there is for :in alteration of the Goldfields Act. As I previously mentioned, as at present constituted there appears to be but little security for mining property at all. What has again attracted attention to this matter is the case of the Waitekauri tributers, who obtained the rich return last -week. The lode from -which the return iras obtained, it appears, ran close up to the boundary of the Waitekauri mine in their tribute block, and, {desirous of securing a further area on the run, the party pegged off a considerable piece of ground in their own name, and gave the necessaiy notices, &c, as per gold-mming regulations. This ground, it appears, was originally a portion of the Bank of Ireland licensed holding, but was forfeited for non-working some years ago, and as the party had no knowledge of any work having been done on it since, they naturally believed their title was good, especially as they received no warning to the contrary at the Warden's office when giving notice of pegging. So certain were they that their claim was secure that lately they extended their workings from the tribute section into this ground, and traced the run of gold for seme distance. Another party (Hollis), however, who hp.d been watching Butler and party's movements, now discovered that this very piece of ground had been pegged off about two years ago by a man named Scanlan, and registered in his name, and although he had done little or no work on it, his claim to the ground had not been forfeited. Hollis at once entered . a plaint against Scanlan for non-working, and claimed to be placed in possession of the ground. The case haebeen before the Warden, but he had no alternative other than to award the ground to Hollis, and now only awaits the production of a witness, who will prove Scanlan's pegging, to give Hollis possession. Thus Butler and party are deprived of a piece of gronnd which is rightly theirs, and which their exertions have proved to be valuable. And not only so, but it appears likely they will have to surrender a quantity of good grade quartz which they have won, and possibly some of the gold they lodged last week. Butler's case is only one of many that have occurred here lately, and there are now men who are working ground which they are daily in dread of losing, simply because they know it has been pegged off previously, and cannot find out who pegged it. Uncertainty of this kind strikes at the very root of the gold-mining industry, and unless Eomethimg is done at once to remedy the evil it is difficult to say what tbe results will be. That Mr. Kenrick is correct in his reading of the Act there can now be little do-ibt, for several well-known legal man have been consulted upon the. subject, and they have all expressed the same opinion.

THE BEER DUTY. The charges against Mr. Ehrenfried for alleged breaches'of the Beer Duty Act come on for hearing on Monday next. There are half-a-dozen indictments, two of which are for alleged use of cancelled stamps—viz., stamps that hare been previously need. Messrs. Tyler and Miller will appear for Mr. Ehrenfried, and Mr. Brassey will conduct the cases for the Collector of Customs.