Mr James Allen, M.H.R., and the Mining Industry.

Otago Witness, Volume 06, Issue 1986, 6 March 1890, Page 31

Mr James Allen, M.H.R., and the Mining Industry.

Editor Witness, —Sir : The paper on the subject of the mining industry read by Mr Allen at the Conference of the Chambers of Commerce in Oanedin embraces the whole subject of the importance of the mineral resources, of the country. The fact of Mr Alien being one of the legislators of New Zealand adds considerably to the importance of the paper, and proves beyoud a doubt that the mineral resources of a country are large factors in its progress and advancement, and likewise of great benefit to the agricultural aud pastoral iudustries. The subject of taxation on gold, though often explained in the press, holds a fair place in Mr Allen's paper, and no doubt in future discussions in Parliament on the subject he will advocate the abolition of what is purely and simply a class tax on labour. The mineral exhibits in the New South Wales Court in the Dunedin Exhibition, if they could only see it, are of as;, much importance to the farmers of Otago as they aro to those interested in mining pursuits. It iH well known that a groat quantity of Now Zealand agricultural produce is exported to New South Wales, not to feed the farming population there, but to supply populations created by the production of the various minerals exhibited in the New South Wales Court. As a general rule, with a few exceptions, farmers will not swallow auy kind of logic connected with mineral production without it is well pasted over with their own butter. And yet at the same time it requires a mineral production — money — to start farming with; aud the various implements of husbandry are the produce of mineral industry, without a farmer is content to go to work with wooden ploughs and pointed sticks and branches of trees to barrow the ground with. At the Burns banquet at Mosgiel I see one of the speakers spoke about the independent farmer. One often heats about the farmer's independence; still the fact remains that there is no one iudustry independent of another. The plough is as much dependenc on the pick as the pick is on the plough ; and when there is a mortgage hanging to the plough the wielder of the pick has the best end of the stick. The same speaker is reported to have said that the farmers followed the most pleasant occupation under the sun. Very true — no doubt of that ; still it is a remarkable fact that farmers who have amassed a good share of mineral wealth— money— as a rule, educate aud bring up their sons and daughters to follow some occupation in life supposed to be more genteel than farming. It is pure bunkum for anyone to think that a particular industry is independent, as every industry is more or less dependent on some other industry for either material or consumers. The export of frozen meat has had a most beneficial effect on the pastoral industry. The mineral industry has also a share in that business, »s it supplies the iron for the machinery and the coal to- keep it going to enable the meat to be exported to a market. Take almost the whole of the exhibits in the Exhibition, aud it will be found that in some way or other their existence is connected with some mineral production. Even the butter is made by machinery, and the paintings of any note have gold leaf on their frames. Further, the visitor who did not possess a mineral production in the shape of a shilling would have to take an outside view of the Exhibition building, and its interesting contents would be as a sealed letter to him. Any observant person examining the large aad varied contents of the Exhibition building could not fail to be impressed with the idea that the mineral wealth is of equal importance to the agricultural and pastoral in making a country progressive anil prosperous.

At the close of the reading of Mr Allen's paper a discussion took place in connection with company floating and gold mining. Any bona Jide gold miner will endorse the opinion expressed by the president; at the same <ime I would point out that it is not gold miners who float the money out of the public-, pockets. There is a broad line of distinction between a gold miner and a syndicate floater or a Bcrip bummer. As youc Lake Wakatipu correspondent observes in the Witness of January 6, it is those' who are greedy and attempt to become suddenly rich who fall victims to the syndicate floaters. Gold mining is greatly injured by so much floating of mining ventures, both quartz and alluvial. Any legitimate mining venture does not require to be floated all over the country to get gulls to bite at it, and co-opera-tive mining will make a venture pay where a company would fail completely. No one need be alarmed about gold being in ground and cannot be got out, for if the thing is genuine labour and capital will be forthcoming to get it out without gulling the public. I know mining ventures in which outside capital is being spent, and they have as good a show to get a hold of the meon as to see any profit out of the spec, or even get any of their outlay back again. I suppose they are laving out their money on the advice of mining experts. I have been mining a long time, but I have never yet seen a man who could tell whether ground would or would not pay before the ground was worked. Good judgment is necessary in gold mining, but without a doubt a great number of floaters, 3crip bummers, and " exporters " use their judgment wholly and solely to extraot the coined gold out of a gullible public and not out of the ground in its raw state. If companies are formed to prospect ground, they certainly have to take chance of success in the same manner as small parties of working miners have to take the risk of failure. As a rule, when a company is formed to work a quartz mine it is represented that it will yield so much per ton, or if an alluvial claim it will pay so much per 'square yard. When the cleaning up takes place, however, it gpnorally fails to come up to expectations or turn out arcording to sample. This is explained away by a yarn about mullock somehow getting mixed with the good stuff. If the investing public would only mark well and digest the advice which has often been printed in the Witness they would not be swindled so much, and gold mining would not suffer ia the least. — Yours, &c, Andrew G. Nicol. Grey Valley, Greymoutb, February 17.