PETITION OF THE MINERS AND RESIDENTS ON THE WAKATIP GOLD-FIELDS, PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1863 Session I, G-03

G.—No. 3.

PETITION OF THE MINERS AND RESIDENTS ON THE WAKATIP GOLD-FIELDS, PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

PBESENTED TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 10th, 1863, A_\D ORDERED TO BE BIGOTED DECEMBEE 11th, 1863.

AUCKLA N D.

1863.

G—No. 3.

PETITION OF THE MINERS AND RESIDENTS ON THE WAKATTP GOLD-FIELDS, PROVINCE OF OTAGO. To His Excellence Sa Geokge Gbet, Goyernok ano Commanber-in-Chief or the Coiony oi' New Zealand, and to tiii HorsK or Ekpbeskktatives in Assembly. The Petition of the undersigned Minors and Beridents on bhe Wakatip Gold-Fields. in tlie Province of OtagO, HUMBLV S1IEWKTH That your Petitioners are constrained to bring under the notice of your Excellency and tho Honorable House the following : — The Provincial Government of Otago derive from the Gold-Fields of that Province about two-thirdsof the whole Provincial revenue. Tour Petitioners, when these fields were fii-st opened, were contented to pay high prices for theneoesauies of life, in respect that the Provincial Government had had no opportunity of opening u) communication, so as to permit the importation of merchandise to the fields, and waited wiii patience the action of the Provincial Government. When your Petitioners saw, however, taat all the action likely to be taken by the Provincial Government was to enforce the collection (f revenue, they remonstrated in a respectful Petition addressed to His Honorthe Superintendent, and called his attention to the hardships under which they laboured. Your Petitionorscalled attention to the fact that these fields had been left for many mouths with only one "Wardei, who could not possibly perform all the duties required —that the diggers from the utmost coner of the field had to come to Queenstown to have settled every trivial dispute, distances varyjig from four to fifty miles —that these journeys were for the most part over a country where even [he most careful walking is attended with a certain amount of personal danger, and always atteidedwith great fatigue and loss of time —that a comparatively small sum would suffice to furnish, a1 least, pack tracks to the various almost inaccessible diggings, would reduce the price of provisions and would be the means of saving the loss of many valuable horses, as many of these are killed bj falling over precipices &c. while travelling the fields with provisions and other necessaries-^:ha.v the mates of miners suffering from sickness were unable, from the want of roads, to bring dowi their brethren for medical advice, and that many diggers had died w ithout anything in the "shape of medical attendance to alleviate their pains. Your Petitioners also called the attention of las Honor to the fact of the camp having been removed from Queenstown to Frankton, thus aggravating in a tenfold degree the evils already attending the journeying* to and fro. 'Phis Petition was couched in respectful, though firm language, and your Petitioners disclaim having had an] intei it ion of being disrespectful to His Honor. His Honor, however, declared that it was disrespctful, and declined to receive it. Action was however taken upon it to a certain extent, iuasnnuh as the camp was moved back to Queenstown, and the sum of one thousand sis hundred pound* given for the formation of a road up the Shotover. That your Petitioners consider the sum of one thousand six hundred pounds thus given was entirely inadeqiate, and indeed it was a burlesque ; and at the present moment your Petitioners are still w-ithoutproper access to the various diggings. The result has been that during the late disastrous seasoi, many miners have expended their all, owing to the high price of provisions. Phese prices wee increased one hundred-fold by the expense of carriage. Your Petitioners beg further to state to his Excellency and the Honorable House, that a motion was brought beftrc the Provincial Council by one of the Mining Eepresentatives, stating that vour Petitioners Tore inadequately represented in the Council, and urging the Chamber to increase ihe number of thise. "Representatives—that while the diggings, with a population of 24,000, are represented by th:ee members only, the town of Dunedin is represented by double that number, and that the pastta! interest of" Wakatip, with only five names on the electoral roll, has one member for itself. This motion was negatived, on tho ostensible ground that the miners are a '• wandering popuhtion." Your Petitioners deny the assertion that the miners arc a wandering population, ajid art read) to settle upon the lands', if the Provincial Government will open them up. The keeping rf these lands closed has been the cause of disease in the shape of scurvy, and deaths thereby havebeen numerous. _ That your Petitioners humbly beg to bring further under the notice of His Excellency and the Honorable Houie, that the management of the Gold-fields has been so radically bad as justly to lead to discontent The powers delegated to His Honor the Superintendent, and which he

G.—No. 3

alone is authorised to use, have been exercised by a subordinate officer in a manner that your Petitioners deem disrespectful to His Excellency, as well as to your Petitioners. A gentleman holding the position as Gold-fields Secretary has made and unmade officials on the Gold-fields iu. the most erratic and illegal manner. Several of these actions have been productive of evil to the interest of the miners, in regard of the vexatious delays caused by removals from place to place of various officers to supply the vacancies thus created. And all of the Gold-fields Secretary's proceedings arc hurtful to your Petitioners, inasmuch as that they are illegal and despotic ; and your Petitioners feel insulted by the fact that your Excellency's delegated power should have been exercised by an inferior and irresponsible official, thus throwing contempt upon your Petitioners, and implying that they are not worthy of respectful or legal treatment. Thai your Petitioners would further beg humbly to bring under the notice of your^Honorable House, that subsequent to, and your Petitioners believe in consequence of, the acts before alluded to of the Gold-fields Seei'etary, a motion was brought before the Provincial Council, urging it to elect a Gold-fields Secretary, who should be a member of and responsible to the Government. This motion was carried, and your Petitioners were consequently in hopes that the wants of those on the Gold-fields would then be more cared for, and the attention given to them which their importance as a producing clement entities them to. Owing to some informality, however, in the form of procedure, it was necessary that the vote should pass again ; :md advantage was taken in the absence of BOme of those who* had supported the motion, to re-open the question, aad it was negatived. Thus a measure which would have gone far to have put an end to the. misgofernment of those fields, deliberately debated and arrived at, was thrown overboard. That it has pleased an all-wise Providence to visit the miners o'nthe Shotover with a season of great severity. Accidents have been rife, and disease, superinduced by exposure and vant, has done its work. The violent deaths occasioned by landslips and floods alone exceed in number those that have been killed in the Maori war iu the Northern Island ; and the majority pf deaths from diseases brought on by want and exposure, we charge at the door of the Provincial authorities. Those deaths especially caused by scurvy, however they may be looked upott by legal authorities, in the eyes of a moralist cannot he spoken of except as deaths resulting f-om cruel and criminal mismanagement. That your Petitioners beg humbly to state in conclusion, that they hare no confidence m the Provincial Governmen: —that they have proved themselves utt ei-ly incapable of managing the Goldfields, and that the state of matters on these fields is luch as to call for the immediate attention of I [is Excellency and the Honorable House. And they humbly pray that your Excellency will withdraw the powers delegated toHis Honor the Superintendent of the Province of Otago, and take into your own hands theimmedate control of the Gold-fields, or do otherwise as your Excellency and the Honorable House may d.em proper. Hi re follow seventeen hundred and fifty signatures.]

4

PETITION OF MINERS, PROVINCE OF OTAGO.