CROMWELL FLAT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21975, 9 June 1933, Page 10

CROMWELL FLAT

TO THE EDITOR Sib, —May I ask by virtue of what Act of Parliament the Minister of Mines has authority to decide whether land is gold bearing or not. before giving consent to an application for a prospecting license? Those of us who heard Mr Mac- 1 millan speaking at Cromwell are convinced of the fact that he does not know much about mining, and yet evidently he intends to undertake the prospecting and usurp functions which under the Mining Act belong to the prospector. How long are we miners to tolerate this kind of thing?— l am, e.tc., Digger. Cromwell, June 5. ( ’» TO THE EDITOR. Sib, —I thought that before this someone would have taken the Minister of Mines to task about his statement regarding Cromwell Flat published in your issue of June 1.Mr Macmillan says: “ Once the Govern-’ ment was satisfied that the flat was really gold bearing, I '. etc., and "in 1 the meantime any attempt to enter the land of the Cromwell Development Company could only be regarded as trespassing.” How, then, may I ask, can it be decided whether the land is gold bearing or not if one is thug prevented from entering it?—l am, etc., K. G. Lomax. . TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —The statement of Mr C. E. Macmillan (Minister of Mines) makes ,it quite clear that no progress whatever-has Been made during the six months in which applications have been held up. , The Minister says that the Cromwell Develop- - ment Company obtained the land on the Cromwell Flat under what was known as a “ contractual ” title. Jt would be a fair question. to ask what “ contractual ” means. It would be very interesting to know how the Cromwell Development Company obtained the mineral rights to this land, which was acquired, if I remember rightly, in the early years of the war, for the Mining Act makes it very clear that mineral rights belong to the Crown, with the exception of freehold lands acquired prior to 1873. There are many other aspects of Mi- Macmillian’s statement that would be worthy of a more able pen than mine.—l am, etc., Old Timer. Other Letters to the Editor appear on page 12. •'