AFRICA-continued. in conformity with the charter, or is not promoting the objects which its promoters professed to have in view. It will thus be seen that the Crown has in effect transferred its sovereign rights for the time being to the Company, which, when it has acquired, by treaty or otherwise, the rights of native chiefs or tribes to any land or property, can deal with such land or property, and the mineral rights in such land, by concession or otherwise, as it thinks proper. In accordance with the provisions of a Proclamation by H.M.'s High Commissioner for South Africa, dated June 10, 1891, the law to be administered shall, as nearly as the circumstances of the country will permit, be the same as the law for the time being in force in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. No Act, however, passed by the Parliament of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope after the date of the said Proclamation will apply to the Company's sphere of operations unless extended to the territory by express legislation. Amongst other conditions on which the Company at present grants land to settlers are conditions reserving all precious stones, minerals, and mineral oils, with the right of ingress and egress, and the right to resume any land required for mining on payment for the same at the rate of £3 per morgen (= 2 acres), and compensation for wood, water, and improvements, to be determined, if necessary, by arbitration. The following is a brief summary of the conditions on which persons are at present allowed to dig for precious metals within the sphere of the Company's operations: Prospectors' licenses (costing 1s.) must be taken out by anyone wishing to search for precious metals. Every holder of such a license may peg off one alluvial claim of 150 feet square, and ten reef claims (in one block), each reef claim being 150 feet by 400 feet. A license of £1 per month per claim is to be paid in respect of all alluvial claims worked. Any claim-holder, after pegging off his block of reef claims, must develop them to the extent required by the Mining Commissioners, who will then issue an inspection certificate, after which arrangements can be made for the flotation of the block into a joint stock company on the terms that the Company and the claim-holder divide equally the purchase price paid for the property. In reef claims no license beyond the prospecting license is necessary until the block of claims is floated into a company, when a license of 10s. per claim per month becomes payable. AFRICA-continued. Any discoverer of a payable alluvial goldfield has the right to peg off two alluvial claims in addition to his other rights. It may also be observed that land grants made by the Company are to be subject, amongst other things, to the reservation of all precious stones, minerals, and mineral oils, with the right of ingress and egress. THE TRANSVAAL OR SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. Although the Transvaal or South African Republic cannot now be properly described as an English Colony or possession, it is so intimately connected with the English South African Colonies, and contains so large an English population, that it seems convenient to deal with it here in close proximity with the English South African Colonies. The chief mineral production of the country is gold, but diamonds, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, and coal are also found. The output of gold in the Witwatersrand district alone now exceeds 100,000 ounces per month. The principal law relative to mining in the South African Republic is the Law No. 10 of 1891, which relates to the digging for and dealing in precious metals and precious stones, whilst there are separate regulations with respect to the mining for base metals on proclaimed grounds. As to pre cious metals and By the law (No. 10 of 1891) The right of mining for and disposing of preprecious cious metals and precious stones belongs to the stones. State. The Government may proclaim and throw open as public diggings State lands and also private lands, if possible, after conferring with the owner, such lands having previously been surveyed and represented on a diagram. Provision is also made for surveys and diagrams of all worked or developed diggings to be registered with certificates of title. Every landed proprietor is at liberty, after giving notice of his intention to the nearest Mining Commissioner or certain other officials, to prospect for precious metals or stones without a license on his own land, and to work or cause to be worked mines on his property subject to the Government right of investigation, but on discovery of payable precious metals he must report the same to an official. Any white man who has paid his personal taxes for the year, and who obtains the written permission of the owner of the land AFRICA-continued. THE TRANSVAAL OR SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. to prospect on his property, can obtain a prospector's license (costing 58. per month) for a period not exceeding six months, which may, however, be extended by the Mining Commissioner for a further term of six months. Finders of payable precious metals or stones at least twelve miles away from an already worked locality may peg off one claim, whether reef or alluvial, and may work such claim without license, and have other privileges. Private lands can be proclaimed as public fields with the consent of the owner. In such case the owner or owners are entitled to peg off for themselves a number of claims whether reef or alluvial (varying from one to ten according to the size of the farms) after the prospector has pegged off his claim. The owner of private grounds on which diggers' and prospectors' licenses are issued are entitled to receive monthly one-half of the receipts from such licenses. The owner is entitled to threefourths of the receipts from stand licenses. The owner of land on which precious metals or stones are discovered, who wishes to have the right to open and work mines on the land, must have a mining lease from the Government, to be issued for a period of not less than five nor more than twenty years, renewable for another period of twenty years or less, for which a rent of 10s. per morgen (=two acres) per annum, or at the option of the Government 23% on the value of the finds during the previous year, must be paid, which cannot be refused unless the Government wishes to proclaim or throw open the ground, and even then a mining lease may be granted up to th of the extent of the land, and the rights of the owners of private lands as to land for occupation water are protected. Prospecting is prohibited in public squares, streets, &c. Lands may be proclaimed within native locations, subject to certain provisions for compensation to the native chiefs or tribes. Provision is made for the appointment of Mining Commissioners and other officials, in all proclaimed fields, who can give permission for the construction of all necessary roadways and water-ways over property belonging to third parties, subject to compensation for damage to be fixed by arbitrators or the Mining Commissioners as their umpire, but objectors can appeal to the Minister of Mines, whose decision is to be final. Mining officials are prohibited from holding claims, from carrying on any trade, or undertaking any agency, or having any share in a mining company or syndicate or partnership in a mining interest. Individuals or companies, being the holders of concessions or AFRICA-continued. THE TRANSVAAL OR SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. leases on private or Government lands, may grant permission to persons to dig on their behalf, who must take out licenses, in which case the concessionnaire or lessee shall be entitled to receive from the Government monthly three-fourths of the money paid for licenses. Special provisions are made for the granting and holding of water-rights on Government and proclaimed lands. No concessions are to be granted on Government ground, but leases may be granted to one or more diggers of tracts to the extent of not less than 150 square yards, or more than 1,000 square yards, at rentals of 10s. per morgen per annum, the leases to be stamped with £5, subject to such conditions as the Government shall deem desirable. The law provides in detail for the mode and form of application for leases. Diggers or prospectors being holders of claims adjoining one another, not more than twelve in number, may amalgamate and have such claims registered with all the water-rights attached to them as amalgamated. Every white man who conforms to the laws of the country, and proves that he has paid his personal taxes for the current year, has the right to obtain a digger's license for 20s. a month to dig or mine for precious stones and metals on a public field. Any person residing in the Republic, and any male person of legal age residing abroad, may hold diggers' or prospectors' licenses through the holders of a power of attorney, and subject to certain conditions laid down in the law; and where a license expires without being renewed the claim cannot be pegged off by another person but reverts to Government, and the former holder of the claim may recover his former rights by taking up a new license within 30 days on payment of a fine, otherwise the claim becomes saleable by public auction. Every licensed digger may hold on every licensed digging one alluvial and one reef claim, and may purchase any number of claims from other licensed claim-holders, in which latter case he must hold a licence for every claim. Pegging off claims between sunset and sunrise is prohibited, as also on Sundays and on Christian holidays recognised by the law. An alluvial claim for digging for precious metals is to be 150 feet square, a claim to dig for precious stones 30 feet square, and a quartz-reef claim 150 feet long (in the direction of the reef) and 400 feet broad. Every licensed digger or prospector is entitled to have a stand for his residence in the immediate vicinity of his claim or claims, AFRICA-continued. THE TRANSVAAL OR SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. not, however, in a locality known to contain precious metals or stones, without any payment for stand license, but the holding must be relinquished on demand of the Mining Commissioner. Every white person may obtain stand licenses for the erection of stores, dwelling-houses, or other buildings (entitling him to hold a piece of ground of 50 feet square, or even larger areas by the permission of the Government, so long as the same is not an obstruction to digging on ground known to hold precious metals or stones) on payment of 7s. 6d. a month, or higher sums where stands are of larger than the usual area. Every digger or license-holder must assist to preserve public order on pain of loss of license and fine; and rebellion or resistance to the Government or the lawful authority on the fields is, beyond the ordinary legal punishments, punishable by confiscation of all goods. Heavy penalties are provided in case of digging, prospecting, or trading without a license. Licenses to trade in rough precious metals or stones cost £10 per annum. Anyone found in possession of amalgam or rough gold, who can give no proof of his having come into possession of it in a lawful manner, may be fined £100 or less, or imprisoned with or without hard labour for two years or less. No coloured person can become a license-holder, or be in any manner connected with the working of diggings, except as a working man in the service of the whites; and payment of coloured servants in rough metal or stones, or trading with coloured persons in rough metal or stones, is prohibited under very heavy penalties. Permits for the employment of coloured labourers have to be paid for at 1s. per month for each labourer. Notice must be given to the mining authority before claims are abandoned. Special provisions and regulations may be made for every proclaimed field. AMERICA. DOMINION OF CANADA. The The land of Canada consists of granted and ungranted land. ungranted land in the older provinces is the property of the provinces, and is disposed of by officials appointed for the purpose in accordance with the provisions of statutes passed by the several provincial legisla |