AGRICULTURAL AND MINING LEASES REGULATIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 749, 7 April 1866, Page 1

AGRICULTURAL AND MINING LEASES REGULATIONS.

(Prom the Daily Tims, April 2.)

Two important notices appear in the Provincial Government Gazette. One to regulate the conditions upm which agricultural lea c es will be issued, the other t© I amend, in certain particulars, the conditions upon which gold mining leases are to be granted. In regard to the first, the regulations are, to say the least, restrictive; and we fear, in the case of the poorer miners, prohibitive ; and yet these are the very men it is desirable to encourage to remain, to surmount the temporary ill- fortune with which they have to combat. The first provision is that the leases are to be for seven years. The second, that the leases are not to be transferable without the special permission of the Superintendent, and then only at the cost of a pound for the transfer fee. The third, reserves the right to the Government, of opening roads through the leased land, subject to compensation for improvements along the Hue of road. The fourth fixes the rental at 2s. 6d. an acre per annum, payable hall -yearly in advance. The fifth preserves to the Government ail mining rights, including the permission to prospect on unimproved land. The sixth is as follows :—": — " In the " event of the determination of any Agri- " cultural Lease, on account of the highly " auriferous nature of the land thereby " demised, the amount of compensation " adjudged to be paid to the holder thereof " shall (except in special cases), be con- " tributed by the persons desirous of '' mining thereon ; but no compensation " will be granted or adjudged for land " which has not been cultivated or other- " wise improved." The seventh fixes the price of survey at one pound, whtn the area does exceed twenty acres, and at one shilling for every additional acre. The eighth declares that leases will be cancelled during their currency, if the land is sublet or transferred without the permission of the Superintendent ; or if cultivation or permanent improvement be not commenced within six months after the issue of the lease ; or if at any time the land be neglected for a period of six months. The ninth fixes the fee for every lease at two pounds, the said fee to be forfeited if the applicant fail to execute the lease within one month after he receive notice to do so. Further regulations are laid down, providing that applications for leases must be posted fourteen days upon the ground ; that every application must be accompanied by a deposit of LlO, "to " cover the costs of survey," the balance, if any, to be returned " after the applica- " tion has been finally dealt with ;" that the areas must be shaped and marked according to a prescribed form ; that the land will be protected after it is applied for until the Superintendent's decision be made known ; and that leases will not be granted within the boundaries of proclaimed towns or public reserves.

The feature of the regulations to be complained of, is, that they discourage applications for small areas, by placing tie applicants at a great disadvantage compared with those who seek for larger

areas. There is no reason "whatever ■why miners should not. lease smaller areas than twenty acres. La many 3>attß of the country where miners lure domiciled, the patches of land it ■would be worth their while to take up would not be of that extent. But suppos- j ing a miner to apply for four acreß of land, the leasing fee would, to commence with, equal half the price of the upset "value it ia desired to attach to all rural lands. If it be desired to encourage agricultural leases, there is no excuse for fixing this high fee. It is not fair to impose a tax under pretence of au ordinary charge. Ten shillings would amply cover tbe cost of filling in a printed form of lease, and there is no reason why a higher charge should be made. The demand of a ten pound deposit will amount to a prohibition to a large number of miners to whom that sum is an object. We can discern no ground upon which it is asked, unless the Government desire the use of the money "by way of loan. The leasing fee for twenty acres is fixed at a pound, and the cost of a lease at £2] which sums, amounting to £S, the Government take power to forfeit in the event of the applicant aot taking up his lease. Why, then, ia a ten-pound deposit asked for? Many months will probably elapse in some cases fcefore the decision of the Superintendent will be made known, and meanwhile the applicants will be out of their money, besides being uncertain as to the result of their application. We would strongly suggest that the deposit fee on every application be strictly limited to the amount the applicant would forfeit ia case he failed to take up his lease, supposing it were granted to him. The amended regulations for mining leases are as follow. It will be seen they refer solely to the amount of rent ; in other particulars the existing regulations remain : — 1. The applicant shall state on his application the amount, by way of rent or royalty, lie is -willing to pay for the lease. 2. The surveyor directed to make the official survey shall, in his report to the WardeD, state the amount which in his judgment the lessee ought to be required to pay as rent or royalty, together with the grounds upon which he has formed his opinion. 3. If in the opinion of the Warden the amount aa Tent or royalty proposed to be paid by the lessee is less than in his opinion ought to be required, he, at or after the inquiry held into the truth of the particulars alleged by the applicant, shall pronounce to the applicant his opinion of the amount -which ought to be paid by the lessee as rent or royalty, and shall ascertain from the applicant what sum he is willing to Day us rent or royalty, and shall forward to the Provincial Secret .ry with the application a statement of his opinion on the n. alter, and shall report "what sum as rent or royalty the applicant is ■willing to pay. 4. The Superintendent shall, if he recommends the grant of any 'ease, state the amount which he recommends the Governor to requite as a lent or roya 7 ty. 5. The rv-nt shall be made payable halfyearly in advance. We are at a loss to understand who can have been stupid enough to devise such a propo?al as these regulations embody. From every point of view it is objectiunable. Its obvious tendency must be to uiscourage the search after new mines. Unless the prospector is assured that he himself is to nap the benefit of his discovery, "what inducement has he to prospect ? The yery vague a\ ay in which it is put makes it still more objectionable. The Warden or Superintendent may consider half the probab'e profits not too much to charge for the lease. There is no limitation, no restriction oi tbe arbitrary power of recommendation which tin regulations bestow. Itisidle to suppose that capital will be available for ;pro«pecUrjo; purposes with regulations which invite a repudiation of the claim of the discoverer. No principle is stated ■upon which the valuation is to be made, and in the absence of anything to the contrary we are bound to suppose that the intrinsic value is to ba the sole consideration to be taken into account, or in other words, that the discoverer is to lose the profits of a fortunate search. Indeed, with the intrinsic value test, the poorer Ms discovery the better it niay be for him. If it be asserted that other considerations thaa the intrinsic value are to be regarded ; if, in short, it is meant that an arbitrary discretion is to be exercised, then prospecting will be confined to those who can bring personal influence to bear upon the Wardens, or upon the Executive and the Superintendent, or who have already secured them as partners in the adventure. The position of the Wardens should forbid their endowment with anything pertaining to the exercise of partiality. In this case it will be forced upon them. With no principle to guide them, always supposing the intrinsic value be not the sole test, it would simply be impossible for them to act impartially. It should also be remembered that there is nothing in the position of the Wardens that makes it at all necessary they should possess anything approaching to the capacity for judging the value, intrinsic, or otherwise, of mining discoveries. Their

duty is to administer the laws and regulations which are provided for them to administer ; if they acquire or possess a technical knowledge, it is beside their functions to use it. The same spirit which "would place a Warden in judgment upon the value of mining undertakings, -would offer a direct encouragement to him to dabble in mining speculations, even at the risk of losing his appointment. Once convert a Warden into a judge of mining operations, and the division between him and a mining speculator is one of opportunity only. We trust steps will be at once taken to cancel these ill-advised amended regulations. Perhaps we shall be told that they are not meant to operate as we have pointed out. But we have dealt with them according to therr meaning ; and it is not to be tolerated that obnoxious regulations are to be permitted to^ exist, upon the faith that those who are in power will modify their meaning so as to avoid their misuse.