WATER POWER REGuLATIONS

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12807, 31 May 1910, Page 4

WATER POWER REGuLATIONS

ADViOfi TO MLVEBS OF BJAIU

[United Press Association.]

Wellington, May I'.O W-hon tho Primo Minister Joseph Word) visited It-imU laSt ?/ee* he was approached with the object c! securing some relaxation of water power regulations. He informed the miners that they must t'emi'mbel 1 11: at when tli9 wilier regulations d d flarges Wore framed tlWy applied, to. the Whole of the, Ddminran on a basis of 6Ut<h pri)pdi l tiori il'u\t in comparison with. other countries, America for •iistance, they were the cheapest chargos in the world. The GoveriimeJit had found that tlte water powers of.. New, Zealand would some day be ah invaluable, ftsset; The .West Coast railways might some. day. he worked by energy generated by the water power. He would like to see the auriferous deposits of the Rimu flat brought to 1 \w surface. 'The presenk Crovcpir>->c»)> or New Zealand had ,no particular Spot in their heai-ts for any ono industry. 'LA.n.vhow,si)\"adtled Sir Joseph, ( we shali start afresh on Monday morning after my fjeturn to. and att^r.ii tsiiferende;.with my colleagues, I shall -wire the miners of Rimu something that shall be definite." After consulting the Hon. R. MacIvenzie, the Minister of Mines, in Wellington, Sir Joseph telegraphed as .ollows to Mr T. E. Y. Seddon, the member for Westland :• "Since my return, I have with the Minister of Mines looked into the position of the water rights for mining purposes. .The proviso to section 105, limits tho Wardciu's power to forty heads of water for each license, and for over forty heads the consent of the Minister requires to be given hi writing. The course for the Rimu syndicate to follow isto surrender the 'three individual licenses, and make a fresh application to the warden for one license for 120 heads. If this course is followed the Minister of Mines will consent to the license for 120 heads. The Hon. It. MacKenzie nforme me ho has already intimated to the representatives, of the syndicate the course they ought to pursue; There is no power under the Act for amalgamation, and there is ho. nower to enable the Government, by Order in Council to I>riirg in clause 93 of the mining regulations to which the legal representatives referred when discussing the matter with mij, as were the .Government to do so it would bo illegal." ' Later. The Rimu Syndicate repre^.-i^uivos | telegraphed to the Prime Minis!. -j'later in the day, stating that 'hey nod ' a^veecl to giro effect to the cowse svnI gested, as iho.y regarded it as a very 1 satisfactory settlement of the difficulty. Commenting, upon this prompt result of his attempt to settle -this long standing question, Sir Joseph Ward remarked that the syndicate's operations were said to involve' an expenditure of £200,000, so that it was a great enterprise, with a big field before it.