H.—ls

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Tunnelling through Occupied Ground. 18. The owners of any claim who shall desire to make any level, adit, drive, or tunnel through occupied land, shall make application in writing to the "Warden for liberty to do so, specifying, as nearly as may be, the portions of such occupied lands as wouldbe used in making such level, adit, drive, or tunnel. (2.) On receipt of such application, the Warden shall obtain from the Mining Inspector for the field—or, if there be no such Mining Inspector, from some other competent person —a report on the propriety of granting such application, and as to the terms on which the same should be granted. (3.) On receipt of such report the Warden may in his discretion refuse such application, or grant the same subject to such terms and conditions as he may think fit, and to payment of such compensation as he may, upon hearing all parties interested and their witnesses, adjudge. (4.) Along with such application, as aforesaid, shall be paid to the Warden the sum of Five Pounds Five Shillings as a deposit, Three Pounds Three Shillings of which shall be paid as a fee for furnishing such report; and there shall be further payable upon the hearing of any claim for compensation the usual fees and costs payable in the Warden's Court, such fees and costs to be payable by such of the parties as the Warden shall adjudge. The balance, if any, may be returned to the applicant. Protection of Claim, and Terms of Protection. 19. Permission to retain a claim or interest therein unworked may be granted by the Warden, and the same shall be thereon protected for such time as the Warden shall think fit, not exceeding the terms hereinafter mentioned. The causes and time for which a claim may be protected under this regulation shall be as follow, viz.:— (1.) Any claim having been proved to the satisfaction of the Warden to have been worked by the party wishing to have it protected, for at least three (3) months immediately preceding the application for protection, and no payable quartz having been obtained from such claim for at least one month previous—Three (3) months. (2.) The claim having been sunk and worked to the water —the party being unable to overcome the same—the adjoining claims not being down to the water—Three (3) months. (3.) Any claim, the holder of which intends to procure machinery for quartz-crushing or waterbaling, during the time of protection, and shall give security by bond, or otherwise, to the satisfaction of the Warden that he will procure such machinery within a time to be fixed by the Warden—Three (3) months. And such further time as the Warden shall think fit, not exceeding in the whole twelve (12) months, according to the description of machinery. (4.) Any river claim during fluming, race cutting, or other works for the benefit of the claim— Three (3) months. (5.) Any miner suffering from sickness, or being compelled to be absent from sickness in his family —Protection for the period of the continuance thereof. (6.) Any miner engaged as a party to or a witness in .any case, as an assessor or juryman in any Court of Justice —During the sitting of the Court in the case in which he is engaged, and with reasonable time for travelling to and fro. Protection of Stacked Quartz. 20. Any miner wishing to retain possession of quartz or other auriferous substances may have the same protected for a period not exceeding six (6) months, provided that such substance is properly stacked on ground not supposed to be adapted to mining purposes, and that a board with the owner's name, address, and date of stacking legibly written or painted thereon, be posted on or close to such stack. Protection void if JFalse Representations made. 21. Any protection obtained by false representation shall be void. Notice of Protection to be Posted on Claim. 22. All protected claims or interests must be marked by a notice, with " protected " and the owner's name, address, and particulars of the claim or interest, posted on the ground. Report required in certain cases. 23. No protection under sub-sections 1, 2, or 4 of Eule 19 shall be granted except upon the report and certificate of the Mining Inspector or other competent person appointed by the Warden, for which report there shall be paid into the Warden's office before such report is made the sum of ten shillings and sixpence from the parties applying for protection. Conveyance of Debris or Rubbish over Adjoining Claims. 24. It shall be lawful for miners, when it is not practicable to discharge the debris from their working on to their own or on to unoccupied ground, to discharge or convey the same on to or over adjacent claims: Provided that the permission of the Warden, in writing, shall have been previously obtained, such permission being withheld or given upon terms, or otherwise, in the discretion of the Warden. Inspection. 25. If the owner of any claim shall show reasonable cause for the suspicion that his claim is receiving damage from the working of any claim adjoining, the Warden may grant permission for the inspection of such adjoining claim.