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