MINING OCCUPATION LICENSES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2274, 30 September 1897, Page 18

MINING OCCUPATION LICENSES.

A number of applications for occupation licenses were forwarded from the Land Board for tbe endorsement of Mijor Keddell, warden, and his Worship, in referring to them, at Livingstone, on Friday, said (the Oamaru Mail ieports)that hitherto he had always Feen that all the applications had been properly advertisedin the local papers in order to give every publicity possible, and then had at the sitting of the court given opportunity for any persons objecting to come forwaid and let fbcmselvea be heard. Throughout the whole of his five years' appointment to this district, hosvever, not a single objection had been made lo any of the many applications for leases, and now to his greit annoyance he found that an inspired article had appeared in the North Otago Times setting forth how undesirable it was that the warden should grant occupation leases for blr-ck X, Macrewhenua, to all and sundry. Not only that, but the other day a deputation wai'ed on the two members for the district, with, 'Mr Wilson, the inspector, and urged there the same thing, and Mr Wilson called upon him aud informed him of this deputation, and expressed the opinion that it was, veiy undesirable that the warden should grant occupation licenses for block X. He thought that those who objected to these licenses being granted should have availed themselves of the opportunity he had always given them to object, and not have acted in the way they had done. He had now resolved, in face of what had been done outside the court, and considering the inspector's expressed opinion that it was undesirable, not to grant any more of these occupation licenses for block X. Mr Lee said if he might be allewed to make an observation, he-would point out that.it would ba far belter for all concerned if the

Government, instead of allowing the impector's report, which was founded upon objectors' »t*tements only, to be final, would have each 'applica- ' tion decided upon its merits by the warden in the open court. His Worship agreed with Mr; Leo that this would be the better course, but in faca of what the iuspector had' said he would now endorse these applications in the way suggested by the inspector.