THE PREMIER'S TOUR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11574, 7 November 1899, Page 6

THE PREMIER'S TOUR.

PROCLAIMING SLUDGE CHANNELS.

THE PREMIER ON DREDGING.

(Et Ouk Special Bepobteb.)

CLINTON, November 6. A deputation interviewed the Premier at Gore this morning over a question of great importance to the dredging industry in the Mataura Valley. A party representing .the Miners' Association, introduced by. Messrs M'Nab and Fraser, M.H.R.'s, waited on the Right Hon. Mr Seddon to urge'the proclamation of the Waikaka Stream as a sludge channel.

Mr Fraser said the dtedging industry was assuming such proportions that the question of proclaiming streams as sludge channels ■must be-faced and settled. He could speak more particularly of Waikaka, as mining operations in this stream, were chiefly in his' district. • There would be 30 dredges on this river in a short time. As the Premier would know, owners of land likely to be affected were given 90 days to send .in claims for compensation. That 90 days'; interim proclamation expired in December*-and the deputation wanted to know what was to be done.

Mr James Beattie, chairman of the Miners', Association, said that--a.tr the present- time something like £200,000 -was being invested in .mining property in the viciuity of Gore. The whole of Waikaka was marked out with dredging claims. There was ah injunction hanging over one party, and that was stopping work from going on, as well as deterring others who would /be putting their capital into dredges. The Miners' Association recently formed in Gore wished to know if the river was to be definitely proclaimed as a Bludge channelfor the carrying away of tailings, as at present everything was at a standstill. In addition to the 30 claims on the Waikaka there were 40 on the Waimumu and. Mataura. The holders of these claims would not launch their capital • and erect machinery on thorn until they bad some definite knowledge that the Government would be certain to make the proclamation. People would not invest their, money linless there was some certainty. He thought the best course would be to proclaim the whole Valley of the Mataura River. There were very few settlers who had not plenty of waler irrespective of the large streams. The only men-whom he considered entitled to consideration were Messrs R. and F. Wallis, who owned a fellmongery. The farmers were benefited by the increaae in the value of their land, which had gone up £10 per acre. •"My M'Nab 'explained that Messrs Wallis carried on a large follmongery and wool- ' scouring business, turning over £10,000 per month. It was necessary that they should have, pure .water, and they decided, in the event of the river being declared a sludge channel, they must have provision made for bunging in water. Although they were really, there on sufferance, tijeir business was so large as to. demand consideration. The question' affected hit, district, in the case of W.aimumu and Charlton Creek, and some of the farmers were anxious as to the result of dredging. He did nol share the opinion with them that much damage would be clone by the minine. and they would reap as much benefit as* anyone else from the operations. ' : Mr,Eraser said it was "not I.he desire of ■miners,to take any steps that would'eau3e injustice to any man. What they desired was liberty to carry out their work. If it had not been for Mr Wallis the matter could'have been settled. To settle with Mr Wallis did not mean that the matter was settled, as farmers would doubtless then put in their applications.

Mr T. Green said miners were labouring at a disadvantage in being outside the mining district. He suggested that the district should qe extended, to take in the Mataura "Kiver and all its tributaries. That would embrace the whole of the district, and put them on a "level footing with other districts. ■ The Premier said he wanted all the information they could give him as to the number of "claims'being worked, the number of dredges, the amount of gold being."got, the extent of ground proved payable,. and the number of men employed. Mr J. B. Paterson handed in a table ehov.mg eight dredges working, nine building, and 4-3, contemplated. The Premier asked what the working dredges were getting. Mr Pateraon replied that they were mostly private, and the roturns were not published. The Premier: Ton ought to have some kr.cwledge what they are doing. Mr Eraser said they averaged 20oz per week generally. There was no doult they were all paying.

The Premier asked what local bodies were affected.

Mr Fraser said the Southland County Coun oil took it all in.

■ The Premier said one reason he asked was because one moiety of compensation was paid by the local bodies.

Mr Fraser said the act of 1893 made it nayable out of the consolidated revenue, ana*the Government recouped the amount from the goldnelds revenue collected by the local bodies.

.'The Premier asked the value of the land. • ■_ Mr Green,said it would average £5 or £6 • per acre. In a good many cases the land afiected was in small patches unsuitable for cultivation.; He estimated that on the Waikaka therewere 5000 acres of dredgeable land. ;j- *h. 6, f.F emier inquired the acreage affected by riparian rights. ,■ ■■.■'■ ■;:;•■. ; ' :- -f 1" Green said the question would require tobe^reported on by an expert. There were : 1* or 15 miles fronting the Waikaka,. six miles ■PH.-^e Charlton, and 10 miles on the Waiimvunu.'. '■-:: ' ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■ .'.-. -■■• ■ •.-■ ■■ ■ !^.The %etiiier thought they mighttake it that • there were; 30 miles of laM .covered-by ripa- • rian-;nghtsfv-.;v?;: ; :.-.-■ </'.vy^'t'-^'c-;^': . ' that there was very little land that miners did not hold; options over. ' ■'.-■; ;■ Mr Fraser said that with regard to the Wai- ; kaka people, they wanted to know what action ,the .brpyernment were going to take after the 90 days had expired. They feared that claims ior compensation would appear so heavy that the. Government would refuse. He believed' Th -S l3 C°uld c sutslantially reduced. ;. ■ Ihe . Premier-asked if there had been any M^ Wirade-^ t0 the cost of Providing Messrs Wallis with water ■...'■■ hr!^lvfi liS Sai M he r Sieved water could be brought three miles from Taylor's Creek He Tt aS^ oheai S- OfwaterThL? if^f^ would have to be done. They would mther have to take out an in June tioii. or atop their business.art£f,,^rV b f id. farmers had not yet taker to Mr (in T'- PBttions had bee» Bent TK« P — ' who J lSßued the 90 days' notice. '£M00;^! iS Said h° I tiloUßht * WOUW take: £5000 as the race would require iron fluming. ;o£fe^s^if aG ~^ circumstances and existing conditions He had sympathy with the miners, but at the dr^wTi v' they n^r expected to have tlrfedges. working on the river. The next &n S WV hey t0 meet th 6 altered.conditi.o.us Recognising that the mining industry, uf,further working proved the prospec - ■■■JK?t tp^ aY; +I been eorr e ct,.it meant.that in ' P f •°i t!f cpu^y it would be the paramount ..industry : The ■ question then was: ■ What was the State going to do in regard to the _agricultural land? Under -the lai, the landowners had no right to the gold, and compensation for auriferous value could not be recognised. They had a law.fpr proclaim-ing-..xiistriqts, which had. been "extended; last ■sssaon -and'when"a..stream wasjprbclaimed a P^W.f 1*?.? 'carrying away tailings the working ;oE banks was included. There was no : use^ooking; at- the;; question from- a, local standpoint, >nd it was engaging the aiien- ■■£« ii • «9vern«aent whersver t«^ve were goldfields in the colony. It war not a question of dealing with an isolated case. It had been'suggested that the State-should resumo the lands;and re-let them,, and the re-letting : would, fcnng'-insufficient -tpCpay for them, in other>'ords,.. the prpclamatibn wouid not .attect-to"any extent the value of the land. In somevoases that would be,-so,:-and the land would re-let for. its present value; but, in i other cases, where land wasl6w-lyin ? , and the disturbing of tailings filled the mouth of the river, the silt arid muddy, water would cover the. laud, And its resumption:'would be of ho servioe.; The deputation had given him the number of claims, the number of men employed,- and the.contemplated claims. Those contemplated had been floated, and ■ their nominal capital was said to be £200.000 They nnist not forged that this capital was not called up. Hundreds of companies throughout the colony had been floated, and their notation would he the end of them and ™™ no ""MM percentage that would never get to work. A very large number were purely speculations. SpeakLg v4h some experience, he took the opportunity of warning people that a good many of these dtects V°lA d like U, IOSe in ™™Z diatricts. A man would put four pegs in thL^ H t.Wth S2 me mvst^o«s marks on them, and then rush away to a broker Preference shares would be distributed, and then the British pxibhc would be approached to subscribe the money, and the whole thing ended with the four pegs that had been put in. As regards prospecting, Mr Seddon said

'-"KOYAL CQLOES" 10S4QCQ.

one of the biggest curses that the country suffered from was mining experts. They wero specially sent out by speculators and company promoters into country districts. They had no conscience. They carried a magnifying glass, and some of them did not know gold from mica. He warned people, because he knew what was goinfir on at the present time, • and while feeling there was legitimate ground for believing that a, very good percentage of dredging claims would prove successful, at the same time he could not be blind to the fact that,a lot of ground was taken up that would never pay to dredge. Returning to the question, the deputation brought before.him, the Premier said it had been suggested the Government should sond an expert down,to ascertain a3 to the cost of bringing water to Messrs Wallis's felmongety. It appeared that Mr Wallis had already obtained an injunction, and the proclamation for the time ; being was subject to the injunction. That'acted as a bar in the interim, and it would not do for the State to ligjhtly proclaim a stream for the purposes of barring property owners.. He could assure the miners present that his colleague was not a man to simply issue an"interim proclamation for the pin-pose of holding it for the time beinpr, and then simply throwing it open and leave the miners to the tender mercies of those interested. It was iriypossiole for him, consistently with ;the responsibility cast upon ; him, to give: an as to what the Go.vernmerit'wouldfdd'after the 90 days" expired.. He; had received valuable information, ■■■but he had not^tieard the other side. When he-got; back to Wellington he would ask Mr . Cadman to' send . two men round, and the damage ,would be assessed, first as to pollution, and second as to the deposit-of tailings. When a complete report was furnished the Government would be in a better position at the end of 90 days to come-to a conclusion. —(Applause | As to compensation, that would be treated as purely a local matter, and Mr Fraser had suggested, that people should pay a royalty or gold duty. He was entirely against it, and he fought the gold duty until it was abolished. He never believed in a special tax on any industry. It was a matter for Parliament to decide, but he was not in favour of a nfold duty instead of money compensation. It was cither good enough to stand as it was, or it was better left alone. The next question was how was the,money to. be raised. He could say that his finance this year seemed to be as strong as last year, and if the Minister for Mines, after taking everything into consideration, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to proclaim these streams, then as Colonial Treasurer he could say that he had money enough to meet the emergency. It was the intention of the Legislature that wherever gold was discovered in payable, quantities the land of that district should.be proclaimed a goldfield. If there were any portions of the. district where they had dredges at''work, and- there was no doubt whatever, about theft getting gold^ there would be no difficulty. .If they" gave him the boundaries he would be most happy to ask the Minister for Miiies to give the subjectmost favourable consideration. The deputation thanked the Premier, who left immediately after for' Clinton by the express train.: : ";: -','. : '. '• .

DEPUTATION AT CLINTON.

A deputation, consisting of Messrs D. M'Lachlan (chairman of the Town Board), A. M'Donald, R, Irving, and A. -W. Geddes. waited on the Premier at Clinton this afternoon to ask that that portion.of the road which ran along the railw.ay line past the cattle yards should be metalled. They desired that" the sum of £100 should be-granted for the purpose. They represented that the road was used principally for railway purposes in connection with the Government siding and cattle yards.; Tlie County -Council were riot in a position to pay for the .work. ■<■ The Premier saicVhe tlid not'think the:Audi-tor-gcneral would;pass: any>'such grants for expenditure on country, roads. -■ He promised to see the Minister fpr Railways and acting Minister- for Lands and ascertain whether they had any vote that could be used for the purpose. ■■'•:,'.: •'•.'■■. ■ '...• ;' •

The deputation then asked for a railway' 'platform extension, to allow both- north and south trains to stand, at. the platform at the same time. They also asked for. a verandah for the platform, for the better-lighting at the south end of same, and for the Substitution of «n for 2in water,pipes at the. station so that they might be of use in case of fire. The Premier promised to see the traffic manager in Dunedin on the matter, and also to bring the matter under the notice of the Minister for Railways. , ■ ■ .'■ .''■'■ . ': SPEECH BY-THE PREMIER. Mr Finlay M'Leodj the: Government candidate for the district, was billed to speak in Clinton to-night, but gave way to the Prelriier.;He, : howeyer; "took the\opportunity to aodress the Premier's meeting from 8 to 8.30. Ihe hall was full, and inspite of a gale of humeane force and'cole! rain showers, there must have been 400 persons' present. Mr 1). uf'Laohlan presided. .. :'.- Mr Seddon had a splendid reception, and was greeted with vociferous cheering when he rose to speak. He again repeated his assertions that the Opposition objected strongly to his going round the country meeting the people, and said they.Wanted his hearers to take their politics from the ' Otago Daily Times and "Witness., They had nearly every day in the week the Opposition side in the' articles of these papers.. After mentioning that the Olutha: had'been represented by Liif T-men in tlle Past. he said he took it that the Liberalism was lying dormant, and would soon wake up and demand another Liberal representative. He went on 'to refer to the Left; Wing, the Wrigg; scandal,, the prosperity ot the colony, excursion trains, land and income tax, and the emancipated small farmers m much the same terms as in previous speeches. Eegarding^the increase of the'pubiicdebt, Mr.Seddpn said : the: Government were going on increasing it, and told the people •trankly they were going to do it. Money would have to be borrowed to purchase Native Jands and land under-the Land for Settlements Act, and for advances.to settlers at a cheap rate of interest.:. They would not increase the debt, as it was done in the old days when the Conservatives made railways through their own. estates, and not a soul to travel on them, while poor settlors liacl to do without roads or- railways. ~. The increase of the public debt made by. the Government did not cost the taxpayers Is. They must go on increasing the public debt if they were to develop the covmtry. It was wrong'to expect in a young country that the present generation should maie all;, the roads, aud railways and leave them to be enjoyed by future generations, whilst they.were..ground down by taxation. Work of a permanent character ought to be constructed out of borrowed money, and it-should be left to future generations to bear their equitable share of the burden. Speaking of the Pomahaka inquiry, Mr Seddon said the committee had: been unanimous in acquitting Mr M'Kenzie of any wrong-doing. No Minister, from the Premier downwards, could interfere with the Land Purchase Board. That body was independent of the Government." They first had to see that the land was wanted for settlement, and the Government could only purchase at the price the board recommended.".He did not believe Mr James M'Kerrow would be a party - to; give Is more than any land was honestly worth. No. man was perfect, and private individuals made/mistakes in. purchasing land, and the same thins that applied to individuals might apply to a member of the Land Purchase Board; but there had been no wrong-doing; and no corruption. After dealing with the reduction in-the rate of interest, Mr Seddon said he anticipated a substantial surplus next year. "Latest advices reported a buoyant revenue. Speaking of the Agricultural department, ■ the Premier said people could not make cheese until the Government taught them; and, in regard to the six veterinary surgeons imported by the Government, unfortunately four had been secured by the meat exporters, who desired that their meat should be sent Home certified as perfectly sound. After touching on railways, ocean freights, employment of children without wages, the Premier concluded with the old-age pensions, the Education Act, Asiatic Immigration Restriction, aud the Transvaal i contingent.

On the motion of Mr James Taylor, a vote of thanks to the Premier and confidence .'in the Government was carried with cheers. At the conclusion of tTie address, which lasted nearly three hours, the Premier was entertained at a banquet in Irving's Hotel.