SEARCH FOR GOLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19731, 2 September 1927, Page 13

SEARCH FOR GOLD.

PROSPECTS OF A REVIVAL. MORE ENCOURAGEMENT URGED. THE QUESTION OF TRANSPORT. [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. Picas for greater encouragement in the search for gold were made in the House to-day when the report of the Mines Department was being discussed. Mr. T. W. Rhodes (Thames) said there was a large area on the Hauraki goldfield that was well worth investigation, and he' was sure there was a good prospect of a revival in gold mining if systematic prospecting were carried out. Several auriferous areas were at present locked up, and he contended these should bo made available to prospectors. Greater use could also be made of the School of Mines in Thames, but one of the greatest difficulties prospectors encountered was the cost of transporting ore to the school for treatment. If the Government could give some assistance in that direction it would be of help in reviving the industry.

Mr. A. M. Samuel (Qhinemuri) said the falling off in the production of gold should be viewed with alarm by the Minister and his department. Efforts to resuscitate the industry were being made, and he urged the Minister to give the movement all the assistance in his power. Mr. Samuel asked the Minister to have a battery erected at Karangahake so that the ore in that district would be treated. No one could say whether the field there was a rich one or not, and the only way to settle the problem satisfactorily was to erect a battery to try out the ore. "It is all very well people asking the Government to assist prospecting parties, but something should be done by the local bodies and the associations and others interested in any particular field," said the Minister, Hon. G. J. Anderson, in reply. " These people should come forward with some tangible evidence of their belief in the prospects of the fields." Mr. Rhodes: What about transport ? The Minister: We might be able to do something there, and I shall look into that. " As to the erection by the Government of a battery at Karangahake," continued Mr. Anderson, "the same objections apply now as when my predecessor in office considered the question in 1910. The erection of a battery is not warranted. There was a great deal of mining in that district in those days, but now there is none." Mr. Samuel: That is why. The Minister said two years ago he had suggested to the local people that they might do something to help themselves and then come forward with a request for a subsidy, but they had not done anything. He understood the discoverer of the reef had erected a small battery and for that he was entitled to credit. His action showed that, the spirit of the old miners was still in existence. Those men did not lean upon the Government for everything; they went out into the wilds to discover gold. • ________________ SICK BENEFIT SOCIETY. RAILWAY SECOND DIVISION. SCHEME BEING PREPARED. [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON, Thursday The progress made toward the establishment of a sick benefit society for the second division of the railway service I was outlined by the Minister of Railways, Mr. Coates, in the House to-day, when replying to a question on the subject. Sir John Luke (Wellington North) asked whether the Government proposed to establish in connection with the sei*vice a scheme of weekly sick payments and death benefits similar to that in vogue in connection with the friendly societies of the Dominion, and if so, whether the societies would be afforded an opportunity of discussing the scheme with the Government before final action was taken.. The Minister said that at the invitation of the department the presidents and general secretaries of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants., Enginedrivers , Firemen and Cleaners' Association and the Tradesmen's Association, together with the staff member of the Railway Board, the chief accountant and staff superintendent, had met for the purpose of discussing the advisability of establishing a sick benefit society for members of the second division of the service. After considerable discussion it was unanimously agreed that the formation of such a society was desirable, and it was decided to appoint a committee consisting of the secretaries of the three societies and the chief accountant and staff superintendent of the department. The committee had hald several meetings and had discussed the constitution of the proposed society. It having been ascertained that a society on the lines of the one proposed to be established in New Zealand was operating in connection with the railways of Western Australia, that society was communicated with and requested "to furnish full particulars of its constitution, etc. The desired information was now to hand and it was anticipated the committee would meet at an early date to go further into the whole question. The committee had communicated with secretaries of the various sick benefit societies now operating in connection with the railway service,- and it was proposed that the secretaries, or a least a number of the secretaries belonging to the larger of these societies, should meet in Wellington at an early date in order to fully discuss the matter. So far as could be seen at present there was a general desire for the establishment of the proposed society, added Mr. Coates. It now rested with the committee to formulate a suitable scheme for the consideration of the societies and the department. Sir John Luke: Will you give the friendly societies an opportunity of discussing the matter ? The Minister: The friendly societies will have an opportunity. DAYLIGHT BAKING. LABOUR MEMBER'S BILL. [BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. Notice of his intention to introduce the Daylight Baking Bill was given by Mr. J. McCombs (Lyttelton) in the House today. The bill is the same as that brought forward by Mr. McCombs in 1922 and provides that the making or baking of bread, rolls, cakes and pastry of any sort or kind shall be done between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. when one day's supply is .jeing made, and between the hours of 8 a.m. and six p.m. when supplies for two or more days are being manufactured. On (he weekly halfholiday the working hours shall be from 8 a.m. to noon.