FREE GOVERNMENT ASSAYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1898, 19 June 1890, Page 13

FREE GOVERNMENT ASSAYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

A deputation from the analytical chemists and assayers of Sydney waited upon the New South Wales Minister tor Mines the other day to protest against the indiscriminate granting of free assays and analyses in the Government assay office. Mr James Inglis, M.L.A , in introducing the deputation, said that the gentlemen with him represented an influential and intelligent class, and would, no doubt, make their grievance clear to the Minister. For his part, he would like to see some restraint put upon the growing increase of assay work done at the public cost. Mr Dugall. F.1.C., said that this was the only country in the world in which assays were made at the expense of the State ; th>tt the nnmher of assays made in the Government assay office had increased from 242 in 1883 to 5246 in 1888 ; that many of these assays had been made for syndicates and mining companies and for the benefit of speculators and capitalists ; and that in some cases the minerals had been brought from the other colonies and New Caledonia, and in others the samples were not natural minerals, but products from works, such as tailings, &c. Mr Barnes said that the Government was not consistent, inasmuch as, while

by undue competition it was taking a means of livelihood away from the assayers now in practice, it was at the same time training young men in the Technical College to become assayers. He asked what was to become of them. The Minister, in reply, stated that the increase in the number of assays was due to increased prospecting. It was necessary for the Government to test stone at various depths in the cases where sinkiDg was being done at Government cost by the prospecting vote. Free assays tended to promote prospecting, and the consequent opening up of the country and increase to the revenue by rents from the mineral leasers. Minerals from beyond the colony's borders were tested only when they were of peculiar and particular interest. Messrs Woodgate and Roberts stated that they knew of many cases in which assays of only private importance had been done in the Government assay office. They had seen certificates from the Government assay office hawked round the city for the purpose of floating mining companies. The Minister promised the deputation tbat he would look into the matter and give it a fair consideration. — Australian Mining Standard.