ORIGINAI CORRESPONDENCE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXV, Issue 7145, 10 February 1892, Page 2

ORIGINAI CORRESPONDENCE.

THE MINING ACT : ANOMALIES AND ABUSES, (To Hie Editor.) Sin,—l delayed replying to "Miner's" letter, which appeared io your isaae of the 4th instant, because his defeoce of the Mining Ac! was so exiroruely weak as to scarcely call for any commeui at my hands, Rod I certainly thought lhai there were others in our midst who would hive risen to the ocoaeion. However, for want of a stronger adversary, I will begin by informing "Miner ,, that (he "'Karaka Creek" is but a very insignificant part of the auriferous conntry to which I referred io my lotte'r of the 19th ul , , and before finishing I will endeavour to convince him as well aa those who think with him that (lie Mining Acts both past and present are nothing more nor les3 than clogs on tho wheels ofprogrepfi. " Minei" is undoubtedly at bis best when speaking of the number of forfeited holdings that aro now being worked in hie neighbourhood, but he omits all mention of tha money spent and men employed ihess holdings prior to their forfeiture, and whether the present occupants are deriving any benofit from such expenditure. These are matters requiring explanation before ic can bo determined whether the mines referred to are in a bolter position than was ihe case belore the Inspector of Mines exercised hie authority. On the snbjeot under discussion '■ Miner" confines his re. marks lo.the." Karaka Creek" and Tightly so, for 'he sound and simple reason ibafc tboy could not be jus Iy applied to any other" Creek" on the field, which " Miner" should know extends from Cape Colville to TeAroha. Between these two points there aro at leant ten different mining centrce, and ,l Miner" ehonld have tasen : the trouble (o ascertain the actual state of affairs at all those places before charging me with making false statements. " Miner's" knowledge of tfce effeqt wbioh our mining laws have had on gold mining generally, must of necessity be limited and his views on tha etibjec, as gleaned from bis" Karaka Creek' ,, experience are some* what narrow in consequence.

it is now some twenty three years since the wriier first stnrted work in the" Luck* now" Claim," Karaka Creesy' which, even then, was looked upon as being the place, -par excellence, for poormen to operate with every chance of euceess, Although the lodes peculiar to the Karaka are patchy, the patches are notoriously rich end it was and eiill is, I believe, no uucommon'.occur* rence for« miner Io lake from one breakdown, sufficient s : one in the tail pockets of his coat to represent a whole year's wages. Rich specimen ore is the exception and not the rale pa our gold field, and districts like (he Karaka are only mere drops in the ocean of auriferous country, where :lie ore is low grado or complex requiring dulled metnllargislsbacked by capital for its treatment.

! Right hera I challenge " Miner" or any other person to prove that reining in this region can be carried on without the aid of capital; hence the u'ter absurdity of framing minin? laws that are calculated to drive capital out of the country. A vary simple Act is all that is needed for the guidance of gold miners, and the leading fea 1 ores should be " certainly of title and security of tenure," while rents, rule?, and faxes, should be'reduced to the lowest piasib'e limit'. Now, the points Itere touched upm are tli9 most objeotion« able ones not only m ths pressor, but also in nil previous mining Ac's, and foreign capitalists have again and again refused to invest in NewZnaland gold mines, because he iit lβ there o, offered by our paternal government, is simply valutlm. Ol •iouree iho same cause deters local moneyed men from entering info mining speculations ind, as a natural sequence our goldfielde ire languishing, whiie rconey is flowing like water in'o Australia, America, and Africn, for mine development' Under present circumstances there ia too much of what is known as " circamlocn« tion " about Wardens' departments. Thore is by fartoo much "Taihoa," which, I may add, is now understood es being tha watch word of the North ißfand, . and it should be emblasoned in letters of gold over the door of every office belonging to the Government eervice, except, perhaps, ihe Telepraph Department.

Now, if there in one branch of industry more linn another that will not brook the "tuihoa" business, it is that of eoH raining When the excitement uttendent upon a new gold discovery ie at his'height then it is the lime to obtain money for mine development, for experience has taught me that, in this respect, the end , invariably justifies the means. Bat unfor« Innately at this juncture, when " dispajeb.' , should be the order of the day, the Gold, fields Department appear on the scene to administer the "Act," which provides for all sort of vexa'ious delays, in the matter - of eecuring titles, and the results'are only two painfully apparent to every manhaving had any experience of gold mining laws ia New Zealand, v ■■/.'.'

To illustrate what I mean, take tho case of Marototo, which place is familiar !o most of your readers. If oar mining laws had been single and workable that district would have got a good testing at tho very outse', when there undoubtedly was plenty of money available for ihe purpose, The reported richness of (he discovery attracted quite a crowd of moneyed men, who were willing to find tbe needful for prospecting, provided they could get eoine tangible security in the shape of extended areas, and secure titles for their investment, Now murk tba sequal, These men wore literally bounded out of ths place by a. lot of "agia'ore," '• jumpers," and "fc&h lawyers," who°protested eo long and go loudly aeainst tlm introdection of capital as to convince Warden Stratford that they were equal to.4he development of the Held fliemsßlves, and he adminie*. j tered Ihe Act occordingly,. As a result ' Marototo wa3 practically looked for, folly sis mon'lis, and in ths meantime capital winged i'self away to other scenes where common aet\so is brought to bear on gold mining as on oshar matters pertaining to tho general welfare, Had Marototo got fair play from the s'art there is no knowing what tho outcome inijlit have been as compared w|ih the present aspect of affaire. To-doy the place is almost deserted without any work worthy of mention having been done, and one feels inclined to ask " Whero are tho men who' made the country ring again with cries of. no locked mineral areas or sheep rnns at Maroloto?" Where are the men who hindered .'he. work of prospecling as well as that of securing titles by misrepreseniaiion ond 'bogus plain's occuping the Warden's Conn, day after day, for month?, and .thereby driving those who had tlio means for prospecting at their command away from the place in disgust ? Agaio, I nek, whom uro these men who wero guiug to turn Marototo upside tipwr^