226 CHAPTER XVIII. NOTES ON MINING LAW OF INDIA, THE COLONIES, AND BRITISH POSSESSIONS. THE following is a short statement as to the minerals which are found in India and the different Colonies, and as to the laws which govern the ownership and regulate the working of such minerals. This statement, without attempting to cover the whole ground, will at any rate afford some indication of the variety of legislation which exists with reference to the subject matter, and may serve as an index to such legislation. Every possible effort has been made to bring the revision of these notes up to date; but it must be observed that the progress of legislation in some of the Colonies on such a subject as that which is here dealt with is so rapid, that considerable difficulty has been experienced in keeping pace with the constant change of laws and regulations bearing on it. As many of the laws and regulations respecting mining in the Colonies have reference particularly to mining for gold and silver, it may be here observed that grants by the Crown (or Government) of land in the Colonies (as in England) will not pass gold or silver mines therein unless an intention to transfer them is expressed or necessarily implied (Woolley v. AttorneyGeneral of Victoria, 2 App. Cas. 163; and Attorney-General of British Columbia v.Attorney-General of Canada,14 App. Cas. 295). The notes in the 3rd column of the tables as to the ownership of the mines, must, therefore, usually be taken as applicable only to mines other than gold and silver. This constitutes an important difference between the position of the owners of private lands in the Colonies and in the United States of America, where, as before observed (p. 161), the common law right of the Sovereign to the precious metals has been waived. It may also be observed that whilst in the early days of the Colonies it was common for grants in fee simple to be made without reservation of minerals, there has been a tendency of late years, as the mineral resources of the Colonies have become developed, to provide for the reservation of minerals in Crown grants of land. It must also be understood that the notes as to the ownership of mines given in this statement generally have reference to lands which have been alienated by the Crown, and which are here called "private lands," and not to the waste, unoccupied, and uncultivated tracts of land, or to the specially reserved mining districts, which in many of the Colonies still remain unalienated in the Crown, and which are here termed "Crown lands"; and it will be seen that the legislation as to mining in the Colonies is usually applicable to Crown lands alone, the incidents of ownership of minerals in private lands in the Colonies being usually governed by the same principles as are applicable to the ownership of minerals in England. Name Minerals ASIA. Ownership Remarks Plumbago In surface-owner No one is permitted to Iron stones (except where gem on Crown lands without license. (Ceylon Ordinance No. 7,1882, and see below). There do not seem to be any acts or regulations relating to mines of coal or metals. By "The Gemming Ordinance, 1890" (1890 No. 5), no person is to open, work, or use any mine of gold, silver, gems, or precious stones without a license from the Government, which is to be subject to a stamp duty of five rupees, and may be granted to any person establishing a prima facie right to enter on, open, work, and use a mine on any land (the word land being defined to mean every description of land not being the property of the Crown). Licensees may not, however, employ any person in or about a mine without a written permit under the hand of the Government agent, for which a fee of 75 cents. is to be paid, and which shall be in force only for the current quarter in which it is issued (s. 8). Import duties are charged in Ceylon on various metals, e.g.: Ore-crushing or machinery, railway rails, and machinery of various descriptions are, however, admitted free. An export duty is charged on plumbago per cwt. of 0.25.-Return of Colonial Tariffs presented to Parliament June 1891. The mining law of Cyprus is similar to that of Turkey (see p. 156). The Cyprus Ordinance No. 5, above mentioned, enacted (inter alia): 1st. That concessions should be under the hand of the High Commissioner and the Seal of Cyprus instead of an Imperial Iradé. 2nd. That the High Commissioner in Council might suspend the provisions of the regulations of the Ottoman law providing for payment of a fixed surface rent. 3rd. That the rents and royalties payable to Government should be paid into the Island Treasury. 1 The following extracts from The Cyprus Guide, by Lieut. H. M. Johnstone, R.E., bear witness to the importance of the mineral deposits which have been found, or which still exist in Cyprus. "Cyprus abounds in metals, the most important of which is copper. Copper mining has been carried on in remote ages as early, it is said, as the time of the Trojan war. Heaps of scoria in many parts of the island bear witness to the magnitude of the mining operations which have been undertaken at different periods of the island's history. So enormous are some of these heaps that the natives will not believe that they are the work of man, but imagine that they are the result of earthquakes, volcanoes, or some such convulsion of nature." ... "For many years copper mining has been abandoned in Cyprus, but since the occupation concessions for mining have been made to an English firm. . . . The royalty paid to Government for copper mining is five per cent. on every ton of copper extracted, the minimum amount being £500 a year, which has to be paid however small the amount of mineral procured.' "Iron abounds in Cyprus. . . . It does not appear to have been ever mined in Cyprus, and there is no likelihood of its being undertaken at the present day." Manganese exists in Cyprus, but it is not worked." 66 Ochre, or 'terra umbra as it is called, is met with in large quantities." "Asbestos is found in the mountains, but it is not worked." There were 105 collieries in Bengal in the year 1887, of which 62 were worked during that year, with a total output of 1,319,090 tons, as compared with 1,186,802 tons in 1886. The total yield of all Indian coal-fields was 1,560,393 tons in 1887. In the Bengal coal-field collieries are worked entirely by companies and other private owners.-(" Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India, 1887-8." 2 The position is clearly explained in the evidence given by Sir Charles E. Bernard to the Mining Royalties Commission, showing that in the permanentlysettled districts-that is to say in Bengal, in part of the North-West, and in part of Madras the property in the minerals is vested in the owner of the surface; in other parts of Madras the small surface-owners have also been recognised to be the owners of minerals, but in the latter case, when the minerals are worked the owners are bound to pay an extra land tax of 5 rupees an acre to the Government. In other parts of British territory and in Native States the minerals belong to the State. Even in cases where the minerals belong to the owner of the surface, the Government, having power to acquire or expropriate land for public purposes (either with or without mines), on making full compensation in the manner provided by the Act, may, and has, exercised this power for the purpose of acquiring and letting coal mines to a public company. (See evidence and copies of the Land Acquisition Act, 1870, and the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885, published in the Third Report of the Mining Royalties Commission.) New Rules as to Prospecting Licenses and Mining Leases on Crown Lands in India are about to be issued; but at the date of publication of these Notes no copy of the Rules as finally settled has come home. ASIA-continued. The total yield of Indian coal has, during the past few years, increased as follows, viz. :— During the same period the importations of coal by sea have decreased from 849,000 tons in 1886 to 605,000 tons in 1889, but rose in 1890 to 784,000 tons; of this, the bulk came from England, while 12,014 tons came from Japan, and 10,017 tons from Australia.--(" Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India, 1890-1.") In Bengal.-The road cess is to be levied on mines, amongst other property. (Bengal Act IX. of 1880, sec. 6.) In the Central Provinces.-Unless it is otherwise expressly provided in the records of a settlement, or by the terms of a grant made by the Government, the right to all mines, minerals, coals, and quarries, and to all fisheries in navigable rivers, shall be deemed to belong to Government, and the Government shall have all powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of such rights. Provided that whenever in the exercise by the Government of the rights herein referred to over any land the rights of any persons are infringed by the occupation or disturbance of the surface of such land, the Government shall pay to such persons compensation for such infringement, and the amount of such compensation shall be determined as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1870.— (The Central Provinces Land Revenue Act, 1881, sec. 151, as since amended-see the Central Provinces Code, 1891, p. 165.) In Bombay.-Mines and minerals in all unalienated lands to be reserved to Government (subsisting rights of occupants not to be affected).— (Bombay Code, Act No. 5 of 1879, sec. 69.) In the Punjab.-All mines of metal or coal and all earth-oil and goldwashings shall be deemed to be the property of Government, and the Government shall have all powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of its right thereto; but if, in the exercise of any such rights, the rights of any person are infringed by the occupation or disturbance of the surface of any land, the Government shall pay or cause to be paid to that person compensation for the infringement, such compensation to be determined as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1870.--(Punjab Code, Act No. 17 of 1887, secs. 42 & 43.) In Ajmer and Merwára.-Except in the case of lands in respect of which istimrári sanads (perpetual grants) have been granted by the Chief Commissioner with the previous sanction of the Governor-General in Council, the Government shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be the sole owner of all mines, opened and unopened, of metal, coal, and |