THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7920, 12 April 1887, Page 5

THE GOLDFIELDS.

During the recent visit of the Hon. Mr. Larnacb to the Thames one or two nice points of law, of considerable importance to the mining community, were brought nnder his notice by Mr. A. Brodie, chairman of the Thames County Council. In the first place it was pointed out that, under the vote of aid towarde prospecting, County Councils were required by the Audit Department to contribute an equivalent to that given by the Government to the proepector, although there was nothing in the Counties Act to warrant such an expenditure. In the course of conversation between Mr. Larnacb and Mr. Brodie respecting a contribution in aid of a tunnel which wae being driven by Mr. J. W. Walker through the Pretty Jane Spur, Karaka, the County Chairman, while impressing on Mr. Larnaoh the desirability of a subsidy to so important a work, also pointed oat that County Councils, no matter how important or how necessary any mining scheme might be for the advantage of a district, the Councils were powerless to help them by any monetary aid. In the interpretation of the Public Works Act the word mining is included ; but the Counties Act, the Mining Act, the Local Bodies Loan Act, aud the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, in the interpretation clanse of public works in them all, mining has been carefully excluded. This fact put mining counties in rather an awkward position, because several beneficial Echemes of works had been projected at the Thames, such as atunael between Karaka and Tararu, and the extension of the Moanataiari tunnel to Panga Flat, which the Council, although aware it ■was a universally expressed wish of a majority of the miners that theoe works should be undertaken, found that no matter how anxious they were to assist such schemes, the law prevented them from so doing. Mr. Larnach gave the matter considerable attention, and requested Mr. Brodie to aak the county solicitor, Mr. Miller, to place the omissions referred to in proper legal form, when he would ondeavour to have the law amended in the direction indicated, beoause the matter appeared to be entirely an unintentional overoight in the original framing of the Acts, and certainly should be rectified in the interests of all gold mining counties. This omission, of course, as the law now stands, entirely precludes counties from borrowing or expending any money at all on mining ventures, no matter how judicious or necessary such expenditure might be.