MR. McGOWAN AT WAIHI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13482, 8 May 1907, Page 8

MR. McGOWAN AT WAIHI.

GROWTH OF THE MINING

INDUSTRY.:

I; ; SPEECH 'BY THE MINISTER. ; J;: [BY telegraph.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Waihi, Tuesday. The Hon. Jas. MeGowan, Minister for Mines, who arrived here last" night, re-; mained in Waihi until this afternoon, when he left for ! Waikiho,-c.cn 'route vto the Thames ; and' Auckland. •. The Minister expects to arrive; in Auckland on Thursday afternoon, * and will remain in -: the ; city' overnight. :' '■' "' ■ -"' '.".'• ■ < ," ;. Last night a deputation from the School of Mines, headed by the chairman of the council, Mr.' T. • Gilmour, : waited on Mr. MeGowan with reference to ;the requirements of the school. Mr. Gilmour informed the Minister that an addition to the building was urgently required- if .the electrical .instruction of -students was to ': be properly catered for. To provide'■ the necessary wing and appliances a grant of £300 was wanted. It was also pointed out that under the; present conditions this important branch was-- being simply played with, in that instruction was afloideo. only once a week. - If electrical work was to claim .the attention,' its importance 'warranted it would be necessary that a permanent instructor .should be appointed. ■ -', ' Messrs... Kenrick and ■ Morgan supported the chairman.',;'.,.,.,- . ..•; • , . The Minister said he was desirous of seeing the practical side of ■ electrical,: work catered for, but pointed out that the vote atthe disposal of the Mines Department was limited, and would' not 'provide, for this work. ■; The • question : as •■ to the - length to which the Schools of Mines should- go had reached a turning point, and it meant that the Department under his control should ;in future have an increased grant to enable a more advanced course of instruction, or that an appeal should be made to the Education Department for a grant. When the schools were established the intention; was that miners should have ah opportunity of equipping themselves to an - extent that \ would enable them to. sit for J a mine manager's certificate rather than the , training of students to become electrical and mining engineers. If the money was placed at his disposal he would;; be quite willing to go right through with the training of students, but as matters stood this could could not be done. He, would, however, be glad to receive a report from the council with a view to going thoroughly into the matter. He promised to consider the question of providing a demonstration lantern and theodolite for the school. , ;

Later, the Minister .was entertained by the Mayor at a smoke concert at the Waihi Hotel. Prominent representatives of the raining industry, members of the Borough Council, and others, numbering about 50, were present. Mr. ? McGowan touched briefly on political matters, and referred to the steady increase in the colony's gold output, which last year was a record, •amounting to some £2,000,000, the Waihi district . playing an important part. He trusted that the * Waihi Company and the Government would yet be able to come to terms for the supply of water power, and generate electricity for mining purposes, but the Government would not countenance any scheme that savoured of a monopoly.''' ; ';'•■■-■ ; ' : '" : '..V' ■ "■■-' •; Mr. Rothwell (chairman of the London Board of Directors of .'. the Waihi Grand Junction Gold Mining Company) said that up to a few weeks ago the mining industry had been practically confined/ to the Waihi Company as far as this particular district was concerned, but it was confidently hoped by ' other companies that , exploration work would -: show that the famous Martha lode extended for miles, and would be met with far beyond the, boundaries of the Waihi mine. Geologists and others in touch with the industry held this view, but whether the" parent ore-body would be found to carry such satisfactory values outside the Waihi was a.point that only time and exploration I could solve. :He urged the encouragement: by the Government of the mining industry by the reduction in the existing railway carriage rates and the extension to the cast end of the town of the line of ■railway.-;..; He. thought that the remaining mile and a-half or two miles of line required would \ prove one of .the most profitable in the colony. •• ' " Mr. H. P. Barry, superintendent of the Waihi Company, said that as far as his experience of mining in Waihi was concerned he felt that there should be a great number of years of prosperity ahead of v the district. There ; was no 'reason to -suppose other than that the lode system 7 extended far beyond the boundaries of the Waihi mine, but in what direction it was hard to say, as the reef system, was so erratic. % Various toasts were honoured and a musical programme was gone through. \,