Page 6 Advertisements Column 1

Otago Witness, Issue 536, 8 March 1862, Page 6

PBOCLAMATION OF MINING DISTRICTS AND MINING BOARD. ? 1 1 Wjs take the *bllowin£ proclamation from the { Provincial Government Gazette of Wcdncs- c day, March 5 :—: — a WIIF.IvKAS by Warrant under the hand o i Thoni/M (lore Browne, Governor and c mander-in-Chitf in and over Her ?\lajesty's \ Colony of New Zealand, dated at Auck- s land the eighth day of June, in the year i of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and i sixty-one, and issued under the Seal of the c »aid Colony, by and with the advice and co.i- i sent of the Kxecutive Council thexeof, and in exercise of the power and authority for that 1 purpose in him vested, did thereby delegate j ( absolutely anl without restriction unto me, 1 John Lahkins Ciikksk Hichardsox, i as Superintendent of the Province of Otago, 1 all the powers vested in him under or by ■virtue of the " Goldtields Act, 1858," except i the powers contained in sections 7, 8, 10, '27 and 40 of the said Act, to have, hold, and exercise the powers within the Province of Otago thereby given. N And whereas by Clause XII. of the said Act it is enacted that upon petition of not le>s than one hundred persons holding Miners' Eights or Leases under the said Act, at any Goldfield, and having held such Rights or Leases for not less than three calendar months, it shall be lawful for the Governor in Council by Proclamation to declare such Goldfield, or any part thereof containing not less than one hundred persons holding Miners' Rights or Leases, to be a district for the purpose of forming a Mining Board, with the powers and authority thereinafter described ; nnd to declare the name of such district, and define the limits thereof; and after the publication of any such Proclamation the locality so described shall be and become a Mining District for the purposes aforesaid. And whereas by clause XII f of the said Act it is enacted that the Governor, by order in Council, shall fiom time to time prescriba ■what shall be the number of members of each such Mining Board, what qualification shall be required to render them eligible ; who shall act as returning officer; v.luu, where, -and in what manner the elections of such members shall be conducted; in what manner erroneous returns shall he corrected ; for what period such member shails be elected : when, and in what manner, vacancies in any Alining UoarJ •hall be created, and how the same shall be filled up; and generally shall make provision for ensuring the orderly, eff.clive, and impartial conduct of the electors of members of &uch Mining Board. And whereas more that one hundred persons holding miners' lights under the said Act, at the Tuapeka gold-field, in the Province of Otago, and having held such miners' rights for not let-s than three calendar months, have f referred their petition to me, pnnisig that would issue the neces&ary instructions for the information of a Board of Miners. Now, therefore, I, John Larkina Cheese Richardson, by virtue of the powers so delegated to me as aforesaid, do hereby proclaim and declare that Wetliei&ton's and Gabiiel's Gullies, and the lands adjacent thereto, shall be adistrict oft lie said gold-field for the purpose of forming a Alining Board, with the powers and authority in the said Act described. And I, hereby further declare the name of such district to be Gabriel's District, and I define the limits of the said district to be the following, riz: — Towards the west and north the boundary of the Tuipeka gold-field, towards the north-east the Waipori river aud the boundary of run numbered 57 on the map of the northeastern Pastoral Districts of the Province, and towards the south-east, tlie Watershed between the Tuapeka and Waitahuna rivers. And I do hereby prescribe as follows :—: — Ist. Seven shall be the number of the members of the said Mining Board. 2nd. No person shall be qualified to he a Member of the said Board unless he shall be of the full age of twenty-one years, holding a miner's right or lease, and being a natural I born or naturalized subject of the Queen, and resident within the said District. 3rd. Edward Croker, Esq. shall act as Eeturning Ofiicer for the said District. 4th. The Chairman of such Board shall be elected by and from the Members thereof, and every Member of such Board shall continue in office until his successor shall be elected as hereinafter mentioned. But notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, it fhall be lawful for any Member of the Mining Board, by writing under his hand, addressed to the returning officer, to resign his seat in such Board, and the same shall thereupon become vacant from the time of the receipt of such writing by the said returning officer. sth. The first general election of Members in the said District shall take place on Thursday, the 24th day of April next, and on the last Thursday in the month of April. In every •übsequent year, seven other Members shall be elected to serve on such Board, in lieu of those previously elected, and whenever any seat in any Board shall become vacant in the interval, between two General Elections, by death, resignation, or want of such qualification as aforesaid, a Member shall be elected to fill such vacancy. 6th. Every male person of the full age of twenty-one years, holding a Miner's liight, or Lease, and being a natural born or naturalized subject of the Queen, and resident within the said District, shall be entitled to vote at every Election for as many members as are then to be returned for the said District. 7th. One month, at least, before the said first, or any subsequent Election, the returning officer shall give public notice of such Election, requiring the names of all candidates, and of their proposers, to be forwarded to him within such time not less than fourteen days from the time of giving such notice as shall be named in such notice. And any person desirous of nominating a candidate for the said District, shall within the time named in such notice, forward to the returning officer in writing the Christian and surname of such candidate, and such nomination ihallbe signed by not less than five persons qualified to vote at such election. A»d no person shall be capable of being elected at any such election unless he shall have been proposed in manner above mentioned. And his name as a candidate shall have been published fourteen days before such election in some newspaper circulated in the said district. Bth. If the number of candidates nominated as aforesaid for the said District shall not exceed the number to be elected, the returning officer shall, at the said firs^t or or any subsequent election, declare Buch candidates to be duly elected, and they shall be deemed to be duly elected accordingly ; but if the number of such candidates shall exceed the number of members to be elected at any such election, the returning officer shall cause voting papers to be printed with the Christian and surnames of all the candidates in full in the form in the schedule hereto, and shall give public notice that a poll will be taken for the election of members on the day appointed for that purpose. Aud on that day a poll shall be taken at such place within the said district as the returning officer shall direct, and the poll shall commence at nine o'clock in the forenoon, and close at four o'clock in the afternoon. 9th. The returning officer shall preside at euch polling place, and shall have power and authority to maintain and enforce order, and keep the peace at such election, and without any other warrant than this proclamation, to eauße to be arrested and taken before a Justice of the Peace, to be dealt with according to law, any person reasonably suspected of knowingly and wilfully making a false answer to any question touching his qualification, or of personating, or attempting to personate, any voter, or of attempting to vote more than once 4$ the said election.