WATER POWER REGULATIONS.

West Coast Times, 24 June 1909, Page 2

WATER POWER REGULATIONS.

AGITATION CAMPAIGN. KANIERI PEOPLE UNANIMOUS. "DIETY TEICK" CONDEMNED. . A public meeting at Kanieri was held last night to protest against the watev power regulations. There was a large attendance presided over by Mr McGuigan, M.C.C., in thb unadvoidable absence of Mr Ferguson, the County Chairman. Mr McGuigan mention that of course those present knewi the object % of the meeting and he showed in a very lucid way the great advantage this scheme would prove to the whole district if the Government would only give them reasonable terms. He was not altogether in favour of a syndicate getting water for all time for absolutely nothing but what he thought they had a perfect right to was cheap water. Government ought to help those who were willing to risk such a large capital, then when gold was won there could be no objection to a tax being put upon it. We must, he said, pass a resolution calling for liberal terms. Mr McGuigan said there was NO MONOPOLY. whatever in this Company holding this 600 acres and now was the time to press Government for fair terms, for if this scheme did not go on the young men would soon have to leave the district altogether. (Cheers). Mr Selby then moved, the following resolution — That this meeting of "miners and residents of the, Kanieri district approves of the stepr. taken in othe*; local centres in ngitating for a material modification of the Water Power Eegulations in the direction of giving improved facilities for undertaking hydraulic goldmining (1) by dispensing with the heavy deposit necessary under the regulations, (2) by not enforcing the lequest for cost1\ plans and specifications of the scheme (3) by reducing or waiving the rent charges for water power during such period of development as the Minister for Public Works may think neoessary: an.l further that in view of these concessions any company undertaking a hydro-elect-ric scheme be required to supply miners adjacent thereto with at least 2o heads of water daily, at a cost not exceeding the local ruling c.h.aiv ges for water. This was seconded fey Mr- Chesterman and the Chairman called on the meeting tQ express its views and if any one desired to do so he was qu*tc in order in moving an amendment Mr Michel said that tho syndicate did not take .up the position that the proposed regulations were out-and-out bad. In certain .'ases they would be quite fair but cerium » • not in this case because Government had no right to chsk-ge thorn more for watev Kr eleci.'c power than xtvnli'. have fcwn chaiged for gravitation, Plans, and 1 specifications would $&$ $t least £2QGO and it was n,e& fy\v- to ask the Syndicate fa :hipur this expense before the Company was floated, because it was quite likely that when the Company was formed it would require new plans altogether from its own "engineer and thus the cost of t^he ori- • ginal p&na, would be lost money entirely. As to the deposit asked he said this too was unreasonable because af- ' ter the deposit was made they might ' not be able to raise the capital, and { what then? that deposit remained the * property of the Government. He _. strongly objected to Qovernmeut pay,- a

ing any attention whatever to a pro* test lodged by two or three at the most individual miners against a scheme which was being supported a^ every meeting in the district. Councillor Clifton said that the idea of monopoly was absurd. There was not a single man who had earned a living off Rimu Flat during the last 19 years. Mr Baucke said he was surprised and could not understand the Minister for Mines at all and he pointed out that nearly all the ground to be worked by the water available at present had been worked out and therefore this proposed scheme had just come at the right time. "I am told," sai«! Mr Baucke, 'that the Minister for Mines Has been informed by some miners in Eimu that this is o monopoly," then Mr Uaucke proceeded to make it very plain to the meeting with whom that story bad originated and in a very graphic way he exposed the ' despicable dodge. "The same partjV' " he said, "who tried to spoil my claim one? is at the root of this wire t6 the Minister." (Cheers and applause.) Mr Borkin said he had just come from a meeting of the Executive of , the Miners Association who h:n nnI animously agreed to wire the Minister L at once requesting a copy of the pro- , test which had been sent to him from j Bimu. "I am here," he -said, "to , repudiate any such protest, for there is L no such protest from the Bimu Miners And what «s n.ore I would not at this moment be one of The party I who sent this protest, no not for all the gold in Bimu. It is a low, mean, dishonourable, dirty trick and wo have decided to have a public meeblag at ' Bimu on Monday night next when this contemptible, underhand trick v^ill be exposed." (Loud cheers and applause). They had scarcely fifty nuW ers in Bimu and that number would ye multiplied by ten if this syndicate went ' on. It was nonsense of the Minister | to say that this was a political affair, because the chief men in the syndicate 1 were strong supporters of the Government. Councillor Clifton gave i the scheme and the agitation hi? whole ' hearted sympathy and support. J The Chairman then put the 1 motion * to the -meeting and it was carried amid cheers unanimously. The Chairman then put the following 3 - motions which were also carried unanimously, viz.: — * That having regard to the cbst of the undertaking to instal hydro-el-ectric power for hydraulic goldmin1 ing, this meeting is not adverse to the promoters of such a scheme takl> ing up special claims, providing such z areas are manned and worked in. * t«ms of the Mining Act*. ■* That copies of the forsgolxig Be 7 , forwarded to the Acting-Prenu*er r the Minister for Public Works and s Mr Seddon, M.P. , * Mr Michel said he wished to draw attention to the statement made by the Minister, vis., that "Gorenunent is not taking the agitation seriously." , This he said was an insult; zo every man in the district and 'he thought only one Minister would have dared to make such a statement ani that was Mr Hogg. Mr Michel therefore moved. — That this meeting learns with surThat this meeting learns -vitb. surprise that the Government is not 1 taking the agitation seriously.. - • This wa3 met -vith the unanimous i approval of the meeting. r Mr Che'sterman then moved — i That the Hon. Minister, of Mines r hi informed that this agitation is not "being engineered for political 3 purposes," as he alleges, tat for purely business purposes and for j what we know to be the best in- } terests of Westland, and that it is crnr intention to push this agjfc&j tion until we secure the right tout3 ilize our own natural resources, without the prohibitive taxes N and conditions at present imposed. b This was received with great air- > plause and carried without a single dis- , sent. i A cordial vote of thanks was given l to Mr McGuigan for presiding over : the meeting. «,,