MINING ACT. AMENDMENT BILL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14926, 31 August 1910, Page 10

MINING ACT. AMENDMENT BILL

Sin,—l venture to semi you » f-3\y words oil the Mining Ant Amendment Rill from a point of viov.- I have not, y<:t seen touched upon, and it' woiest against a most unfair legislation The Pius cT 3tl per ounce on. fill go!' 1 of the value of £3 10s 9i«l -pur ounce is especially severe- on Otago and Southland alluvial mining—probably on -ill alluvia! mining in fiow Zealand, which is, you arc aware, confined entirely to the South Island I make this statement for tlis reason t-hat. with the oxocption of a few ounces o[ platinum won in a. very few localities, the whole of the product of lha mines is penalised, as there are no byproducts to help out working costs. In the North Island, where no alluvial ground is worked, by-products form a consider a bin proportion of the total product, and are not lo bo fined. t No miner in the North island can work the reefs without the assistance of that accurst thing capital. .It is proposed to tax the combination .of miner and capital, in the north on part only of tiro product of its* work. In Otago, where the alluvial minim: industry is staggering to ex-fic-tion, it is proposal to tax the total //roduct! • Not only are the sluicing companies (/avgo and small), which, by reason of t.he radical change in the climatic conditions for the last, four years, finding the utmo-f. Jliflieulty in paying their way, anrl whose working expenses ara heavily increased by the fact that the 'cheaply-wrought ground in their ho'dings is in many cases finished, to ho fined, but the unhappy old "hatter" (whose, entire equipment has "ost probably ICs) is to. be robbed of 3d for overy ounce of gold he wins to supplement his «]rlage pension, whilst, the jwfevs of flm north am to be let off with a penalty on only part o* their product For legislators in the north, with an election near at hand, who, hubbfe .in millions sterling 3d an ounce is a very insignificant sum? but not so to thosj who have struggled in flic south against, four consecutive years of unprecedented drought I trust, this letter' may help to frustrate, before this lull is a wanton uttcmoi to p under the alluvial miners of the south at the instance of the trade union bosses Beiioyolence may easily be carried too far and this fading industry cannot • bear any further impositions.—l am, etc., ' -An Otago Sluicer.