MINING SURVEYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9917, 5 September 1895, Page 6

MINING SURVEYS.

' AN IMPERFECT SYSTEM.

I SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. | Of late a great deal of dissatisfaction Has i been felt throughoub Auckland's goldfields at the delay taking place in getting out surveys. Alterations have been made, but the system is still, admittedly, extremely imperfect. With a view to ascertaining to what extent this imperfection has made itself felt, a Herald representative yesterday saw Mr. P. E. Cheat, who is probably, now, the oldesb Auckland surveyor in active service in the field. Mr. Cheal, in answer to a question put to him, at once conceded that as things were there was great confusion. NOMINATIONS OP SURVEYORS. "In the beginning of 1886," he said, " the new Mining Act came into force. Under this the chief surveyor of the district nominated or appointed the surveyor to do the work. This led to a little confusion at the time, and at my suggestion nominations of surveyors on the part of the applicants were allowed. When the present rush set in, however, the system of nomination led to the work being placed in the hands of a few, the miners nominating only those whom they knew in the field. Then arose ' sweating,' some surveyors who were nominated offering work to others on heavy commissions. I referred this matter to the Survey Department, to the Minister of Mines, and to the Warden ; that, together with the agitation on the part of the Chamber of Commerce, and other bodies in Auckland led to the cessation of nomination. This really militates against mysolf, for, for the past two months I have been nominated for every piece of ground applied for ab Kuaotunu, where the postmaster, having bad no official intimation of the system having been dropped, asks the usual question as to what surveyor is nominated. My one idea in suggesting that the system should cease was to expedite the work, and let other surveyors, who were walking about, take full advantage of the mining 'boom.'" THINGS WORSE THAN BEFORE. "And whab is the present position of affairs ?" " Well, really, they are worse than before. The Warden is trying to push matters on as quickly as possible, and I believe his idea is that a district surveyor should be appointed, with an efficient staff under his control, at some central place at the Thames to which all surveys should be sent. This would mean a separate department, would lead to confusion, and I am quite sure neither the Govornmenb nor the people would stand a number of staff surveyors being appointed for this work, and an extra department being started in the colony." " Will you give the public an idea of how matters really stand now?" "At present the names of authorised surveyors who wish bo do mining work are placed on a register at the Thames, Paeroa, Te Aroha, and Coromandel. On the receipt of an application, ib is sent to the surveyor whose name is first on the list. The result is that surveyors who may be at work ab Kuaotunu have had sent to them surveys at Te Aroha, Waitekauri, Waihi, Whangamata, Thames, Tapu, Ohui, Boat Harbour, and other places round the coast, while others working at the places I have named have got applications from Kuaotunu and Coromandel. It is obvious that this must lead to a greab deal of trouble, expense, and loss of time in surveyors going from one district to another, and extra cost to the applicants in paying mileage rates." SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. " What suggestions have you to offer for the improvement of this state of affairs?"

"My suggestion is that as the applications are received by the clerks of the court in the various districts they should be forwarded direct to the Auckland Survey Department, where there is an efficient staff, ' and where, too, there are many ways of checking the applications and registering them. This would relieve the clerks of the court from the duty of keeping the rolls, which is an extra and onerous task placed upon them at a time when they have a vast amount of other work to do. If my suggestions were carried out the Survey Department and its officials, knowing where the various purveyors were, would forward the applications as received to the different districts in which the surveyors are at work, spreading out the applications as evenly as possible, according to the list of names on the roll. Just see how present arrangements work out. There have been a considerable number of small rushes, some at Tairua, Ohui, Boat Harbour, and Opiba. Half-a-dozen pieces of ground have been pegged out and applied for, say in any one of these places. The Warden sends one application only to each surveyor. lb is evident this sending of half-a-dozen surveyors to an outlying district must mean large expense both to surveyors and applicants, whereas the ."Survey Department could send applications for contiguous surreys to one surveyor in one district. This system could be commenced at once by simply handing over the work to the department I have named." " Would no difficulty be caused as to the applications already sent out?" " There need be no difficulty. The Surrey Department could request all ' the registered surveyors to return their authorities for all places except where they are working, on the understanding that a like number of authorities shall be returned to them, as far as possible, for the district where they are. Not bo do something like this means nob only expense, but hardships. To reverb to the case where half-a-dozen different surveyors are sent to survey the same number of claims. In some cases in surveying differenb claims they virtually enclose a piece of ground, which, under the present system, is given to another surveyor. All this lasb one has to ido is to pub in four pegs and his work is done. In new country too, like Tairua, where no other work had been done, the surveyor who goes down first has to do all the triangulation, which of course means time, trouble, and expense in connecting the holding applied for to the triangulation in the district. Half a-dozen different surveyors being nominated for these half-a-dozen surveys in an out-of-the-way place would wait one on another till one went down to do the heavy and expensive work; whereas if the Survey Department had the matter in hand, and knowing the expense and difficulties in the new district, one surveyor alone would be appointed to survey all the holdings ab once. His mileage charges would thus be distributed over the half-a-dozen surveys. But if six differenb men were sent they would nob be fairly paid, and each one would charge mileage against each survey. This touches the pockets of the applicants." OTHER DIFFICULTIES. "Are difficulties experienced in regard to mining claims alone ?" "By no means, there are other things that might be rectified as between bhe Warden's Courb and the Survey Department. Ab present, plans of all roads, residence sites, education reserves, and other areas surveyed on the gordfields are sent direct to the Warden's Office, and no knowledge whatever of them exists in the Survey Department. In bygone years, when in the Government service, I was instructed to lay out agricultural sections on the goldfield. I found many residence sites pegged out, of which the Survey Department knew nothing. There is now an importanb case of overlapping going on ab Kuaobunu, i which rests on the size and shape of an education reserve, and of which there is no record in the Survey Office or the Education Board. No doubt it is ab the I Warden's Court, where it is, in fact, no part of the duty of the clerk to furnish a tracing of the plan, the surveyor must go to the District Office or got some one to obtain the information. All these places should have duplicate copies at the Auckland Survey Office." " Would the adoption of your suggestion, do you think, do away with all the delay which at present exists?" "It would go & great way towards ib. Bub something else might! be done. The Chamber of Mines for instance could send a requisition to the Government for Mr. Norbhcroft, S.M., to assist the Warden by taking, say, the Coromandel district, and sitting there once a fortnight. This would enable applicants to get their applications through in half the time ib has taken hitherto, and it would be a great relief to our present over-worked Warden, Mr. Kenny."

** And whab of Mr. Northcrof work in Auckland," said oar representative 1 as he pub his notes of the conversation in his pocket. '. '•>. "Ah well "said Mr. Cheal, the Government would of ctv-'-se have to see someone else was pub in his place for a time."