Mr Cadman and Mining Rents.

Thames Star, Volume XXX, Issue 9217, 4 November 1898, Page 1

Mr Cadman and Mining Rents.

We take the following from the Otago Witness regarding the action of Mr Oadman re the mining rent arrears question:—" Mr Oadman's reply to the query put in the, House about the mining rent arrears question was entirely satisfactory on the face of it, but miners will be somewhat sceptical as to the.extreme reference for strict legality the Government have suddenly cultivated on this one particular occasion. Mr Oadman had his peace to make with his constituents, who, of course, are largely engaged in mining, and it is a thing not altogether unknown for a Minister to plead the unfortunate state of the law as an excuse to local adherents for actions often inimical to the colony as a whole. : The Minister for Mines, may be quite sincere in deploring the fact (if it is one) that his interference with the course taken by his officers would be " illegal," but we may remind him. that illegality rarely stops his Government from pursuing financial measures which seem to Mr Seddon to be to his political advantage, and for once they might have thought of the advantage, or rather the rights; of : others than themselves as a fitting sphere of indulgence for their peculiar ideas in that respect. We hope the " illegality," the bare idea of incurring which has so inexpressibly shocked Mr Oadman on this occasion; will now be mitigated by the exhausive judgment of Mr Hawkins, S.M., in the Lawrence case. If these most oppressive: proceedings, which are justly regarded in the mining districts as nothing better than "sharp practice" of the true pettifogging order, are not now promptly discontinued, ;we shall certainly expect to find scant attention paid to the Minister's excuse for his, action tip to the time of the ,'iuapeka decision. Equity has been admittedly outraged by the measures taken by the Mines Department agaioet miners who have been unlucky enough to take up non-payable claims; and now Mr Hawkins has declared that even the law itself, which was so triumphantly quoted by the receivers and their bailiffs, is all on the other side. Mr Oadman has, therefore, the plain duty before him of saying that the thing must stop, permanently and at once."