MEETING OF MINING DELEGATES.

Otago Witness, Issue 953, 25 April 1889, Page 12

MEETING OF MINING DELEGATES.

A meettog of delegates from the mining •ass&oSafcions of '(Hago teas held to the Vincent Council Chambers on the lfoh insfc. (says the Dunstau Times), at which were present the 'following Representatives: —Messrs Werner (Jbewfeurn), Guffie (Naseby), Brown (Kyeburn), and Eagle (St. Bath&tts). Mr Werner, who presided as SonvSu'er of the conference, submitted the following propositions for consideration :— (1) That tta fcofo eSfcort duty be abolished. (2) That Tor the purpose of making tip fche loss of revenue to the County Council all land held for mining purposes shall be "subjected to county or other Ideal Government rates; and that the value of aiteh land shall be as fbllowsi— Claims (ordinary claims) to' be registered and treated as acre claims at £40 per acre; land occupied by water races, claims, and other easements, at the same valuation as the average agricultural lands tter acra ; and one mile of race to be equ'&i to two acres. («) That all rent from occupation licenses Oh the goldfields be made county revenue. (4) That in connection with the large pastoral runs, the fact be, pointed out to Government that this large 'portion of the public 'estate has been rendered more Valuable every year' through the work done by the county councils, 'and therefore that the Government should fee recommended to assign a portion of the rent from pastoral leases to the county funds. The first proposition was carried nem. con. Proposition No. 2.— Mr Guffie objected to ordinary claims being taxed, as it would rather tend to harass than benefit the mining industry. The object of putting a value of 4540 per acre on claims as a means of raising revenue was right enough } but the object and intent of. the present conference was not to raise revenue, but to lighten the load already borne by miners. He thought that £20 was quite high enough value. —The proposition was amended accordingly and carried. Propositions Nos. 3 and 4 were carried. Mr Werner proposed—" That the miners' right suffrage be abolished, and that the miners be placed 6n the electoral roll as ratepayers on their respective holdings — mining and otherwise—in the following manner :— On the first day of April in any year the clerk of the Warden's Court shall furnish the county clerk with the names of the miners in each riding, and the numbers of claims, water races, &c, then held by each respectively. The county clerk shall then rate each after the following style, and a miner so rated shall enjoy the same privileges and be subject to the same penalties as any other ratepayer. One mile of water race to be equal to two acres of land." Mr Guffie and Mr Eagles said the proposition' virtually destroyed the miners' right franchise, which they oould not agree to, it being against the true interests of the miners. Mr Guffie said that, considering there was but a small meeting, he thought so radical a change in the existing laws it would not be wise to deal with.' His own district, he was fully assured, would be averse to interfering with the privilege of participating -in the affairs of local government which the miners' right franchise conferred. Mr Brown and Mr Eagles ooncurred, and the proposition was negatived. (5) Mr Guffie proposed—" That this meeting recommend that therentpaid on licensed holdings be a uniform rate of 10s per acre per annum, except those holdings which by reason of their high altitude, 3000 ft above sea-level, mining operations can only be carried on for eight months in the year, euch holdings to pay only two-thirds of the ordinary rent."' Carried. — Both proposer and seconder spoke highly in favour of this concession being made, holding that the present rates were well-nigh unbearable — instancing the case of a claim originally being granted for 10 or 12 acres, during the course of time being worked to' one or two acres, yet having to pay the rent for the full area.— Mr Eagle pointed out clause No. 13 in the " Mining Act Amendment Act 1888," giving special privileges to claims at a high altitude for protection, and said that in the matter of rental it was but a reasonable request contained in the proposi tion

(6) Mr Brown proposed— " That whereas ail race robberies have been frequent of late a the Ofcago goldfields, it is the opinion of this meeting that special legislation is necespary to deal with the crime; therefore this meeting earnestly requests the Government to protect the miners by making trespassing in rail races or claims after working hours, or during the owuer's absence, a felony. Mr Werner, who seconded, said that to effectually deal with the dastardly crime the cat must be applied, as imprisonment to thieves of that class was bui a holiday. — Carried. (7) Mr Eagle proposed — "That the Government be requested to offer facilities whereby the miners can, at a minimum cost, avail themselves of the mints of Australia — either Melbourne or Sydney, or both." — Carried. Mr John Eagle, St. Bathans, in seconding the resolution, said: Mr Chairman, in rising to second the proposition you have just made, I would say in discussing this vexatious question, the gold duty and its abolishment, let us take no narrow-minded view of the question; letMt be discussed wholly and solely on its merits. Would it be better for New Zealand to refrain from abolishing this export duty on gold, or would it be more beneficial to the colony to abolish this export duty at once? Sir, I feel firmly,convinced that it would be better for New Zealand on the whole to abolish this duty at once. This tax has been looked upon by many eminent men who do nut follow the business of mining as an obnoxious and vicious tax on the mining industry, and a tax that heavily handicaps the industry. We find the majority of our legislators voting in Parliament for the abolishment of this duty, but; still the tax remains on tne Statute Book of New Zealand as the law of the land. Sir, you naturally would say, " Oh, if the majority of our legislators vote for the abolishment of this tax it must be abolished""; but such is not the case, as I will explain. A bill was brought into the House of Representatives in 1886, and passed the final reading on June 11, with a majority of 23. In due course it passed along to the Upper House, where the Hon. Dr Pollen moved as an amendment that the bill be read again that day six months. You are all aware if this is carried it is tantamount to rejecting the bill or throwing it out. On the 6th of July a vote was taken on the amendment, when there voted against it 15, for it 16, so that by a majority of one the bill was ordered to be

fea'4 the 'second time that day six months. Could we have have brought all oar legislators together into one chamber, and taken one vote we should then have found a majority of 22 of oar legislators voting for the abolishment of this tax. Sir, this is the minority ruling the majority, find not ft bare majority, but the substantial tiia-jority of 28. This state of things should ndtlie toletafad by thfe electors tot New Zealand. I have alwayß adv } ofeatefcl reformation in the Legislative Council; it Mould be composed of elective* members instead of nominees of the Government of the day. kWe find that in 1873, 16 years back, a resolution was carried to abolish this duty on fold. In that year the duty was reduced from s 8d to 2s, and each following year it was to be reduced 6d until the whole of the duty was removed. Thus in' lß7B the mines of New Zealand were to be put on the same footing as the farmers and squatters 'and fellow miners in the Australian colonies by theabolitidn ot ths,tai on their produce. ISlrj the miners of New Zealand kuo* how faith was kept with them on that occasion} yeaj and so does the Whole colony know sadly to ltd cost. Had this, tax been removed at that time it would have opened up Freettad'e in this comnlodity, and the competition to purchase the product tif the miner would hare beboflle mtich keeHet— such competition as flre haVe seen in the early days of mining in Victoria, where I have seen the gold rise in V.ajue in 6he week from £3 16s to £4 per ounce. What has taken place in .one gdld producing country t am quite justified in saying would take place in another under similar circumstances, and instead of getting £3 15s per ounce for gold as it is at the present day, it is more than likely that £4 would be the ruling price given for every ounce of gold the miner sold in New Zealand. Sir, this 5s difference in the price of gold would be the turning point in the paying and nonpaying characteristics of claims and licensed holdings held by the individual miner or by companies. Could we to-day say that £4 was to be the ruling price given for gold throughout Otago ? Then, Sir, I have no hesitation in saying that thousands upon thousands of acres of auriferous land that are now lying idle would be taken tip and profitably worked. Look to the grand result that would follow. This would reduce, to a great extent, the numbers of the unemployed that we see» hear, and read so much about. Here, Sir, is the means at our very door of giving employment to many of the ablebodied men that we see travelling the country looking for work, but who, under the present circumstances, cannot find it. Sir, if it was necessary to abolish this duty 16 years ago (and our legislators deemed it to be so) how much more is this required at the present day? The gold was obtained much easier at that time, the earnings then were more than double what they are now, and the capital to be expended was a mere cipher to what it is now. I can speak for myself and the district I come from. There the miners were making three times the amount of gold they are doing to-day. The capital I had to lay out was £6 for a canvas hose, and those working around me were similarly situated. Now you will see thousands of pounds expended on miles of iron piping, with unions, junctions, valves, and directors. Add to this plant the costly work of channels and tail races, and you will have the round sum of £20,000. Sir, you will be able to perceive how much easier the tax could be borne then than now. In other words, the tax was not so oppressive as it is at the present day. The letters and leading articles that you have seen in the columns of the press advocating the abolition of this obnoxious tax have been very numerous of late. ' Looking at these expressions of opinion numerically, more have appeared in the columns of the press within the last 12 months than during all the previous years together. These writings surely indicate something. Sir, they proclaim that this tax 'is becoming unbearable. Those who are opposed to the abolition of this tax try to mislead by saying that the mining community is not so heavily taxed as other sections of the colonists. I will show the fallacy of arguing this way by giving you a few figures and facts taken from the Hon. Mr Bonar's speech on the abolition of the duty on gold. ("Hansard," No. 14, 1886.) The hon. gentleman says the total exports from the colony have been £100,000,000. Out of that gold has been exported to the value of £42,000,000. An industry that contributes so largely as that is not to be overlooked. The hon. gentleman further says: "I do not want to trouble the Council with a lot of figures. I wish to make a comparison io the three principal goldfield districts— the Buller, Grey, and Westland— to show in what proportion the miners contribute to the funds of the county councils. Take the Buller: There are 11.48 miners, contributing to the county revenue £3106— equal to £2 143 2d per head. The rest of the population who are not miners, numbering 1399, contribute £665. So that the others only contribute 8s 4§d. In the Grey there are 1772 miners, who' contribute £6819, equal to £3 17s per head, and the rest of the population, 3167, only contribute £404. So we find the miners contribute £3 17s per head ; the rest only contribute 2s 6|d per head. In Westland the miners number 2757, and contribute £6384, equal to £2 6s 3§d ; the rest of the population, 5362, pay 4s 6§d per head. So the miners contribute out of ail proportion compared with the rest of the community." There are other harebrained individuals who argue that if the miner does not get the gold he has not to pay the duty. If the miners did not get the gold they could not exist as gold miners. The natural result from this would be the collapse of the industry. What a dreadful state of things this would bring about. Sir, were the industry to collapse within the next 12 months what an awful amount of misery and insolvency the colonists would have to go through. This phase of the question cannot be entertained. After looking into the figures and facts, the Hon. Mr Bonar has furnished us with, I have come to the conclusion that by asking the Government to abolish this export duty on gold we are not asking any special favour; we are merely asking them to relieve the industry from the heavy loading it is weighed with. Sir, you say we should provide something in the place of the duty we want to take away. I think this is work for the Premier and his Cabinet. But I would suggest this much: Let the County' Councils study economy, and not only study it, but put it into practice (as the Premier had to do when he undertook to form a government on the last occasion) ; let all mining property come- under the same category as other property in the colony. This would be fair and equitable, and I can see no reasonable objections why it should not.be so. Then the local bodies could finar.ce to carry out their work smoothly. In conclusion, I would request the gentlemen present who have been appointed delegates when they return to their respective districts to rouse the miners up from the state of apathy they have allowed themselves to fall into, and press upon the Government the: necessity of putting the mining industry on something near the same footing as the industry is on in the colonies of Australia, The duty on gold in those colonies is a thing of the past. Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria

have mints erected, encouraging and fostering the industry. By this means the miners are able to obtain full value for their produce. Let me counsel my fellow miners not to give tip to the first reverses we may meet with, but to keep trying and again trying until we accomplish our ends, remembering 'ihd coward in the conflict Give's up at first deffeat ; If once repulsed, his courage ■ Lies shattered at his feet. The brave heart wins the battle, Because through thick and thin He'll not give up as conquered, ' He' fights and fights to win.

Mr Werner said that when interviewing the Premier in 'Cromwell this subject was discussed, and both the Premier and the Hon. Mr Fergus said if there was any feasible plan of doing this they would most willingly do all in tbeir power to carry it out, though it mast be understood that it wds no part of the duty of a Government to interfere vvith bankers or any other traders, excepting it could be' proved that there was a combination to extract an unfair pto&h.— -Carried. Mr Guffie tabled a number of suggested amendments to the Mining Act, of which the following were agreed to : —

That provision should be made whereby the ownera of water race licenses would not be liable to the forfeiture of their rights on the ground of mere non-paynien't of rent or renewal fees. That the rent of all gold raining leases, whether granted under the existing or prior 1 Mining Acts, be the, earners for licensed holdings- -lO's per acre per aiiniitri. , . That the regulation as to registering mining privileges should be so amended as to make it dear that a registered transfer or mortgage or encumbrance should have priority over an unregistered transfer, mortgage, or encumbrance of the same property. That section 129 of the " Mining Act 1888 " be amended by the addition after the word " compensation," "in the Warden's Court to the extent of £200."

That seeing the almost unlimited jurisdiction conferred on wardens by section 232 of the " Mining Act 1888," in respect of mining privileges and the increasing .importance and value of said privileges, the time has now farrived when wardens on the goldflelds should be trained lawyers. That provisions be made whereby appeals in some casei against the warden's decision should be made direct to the Supreme Court, imtead of to the District Court alone.

Over .the last suggestion the general expression was that it cast no reflection on. the present wardens, they admittedly being, from their lengthened experience on the bench, in every respect competent for the positions ; but it was thought that when vacancies occurred, and fresh wardens or resident magistrates had to be appointed, they should then be selected from the legal profession.