AUSTRALASIA-continued. NEW SOUTH WALES. of the deposit is to be returned) and his decision is binding and conclusive on all parties. Questions of priority are to be determined by date of application, or, if the applications are concurrent, by lot. Objections may be raised to the issue of any lease according to the prescribed rules (which include a condition that every person objecting must deposit £5 towards payment of expenses); in case objections are made, both sides have to be heard by the warden, who must report to the Secretary of Mines, and the Governor may then grant or refuse the application, or grant the same in a modified form as he thinks fit. If there are no objections, or the objections are over-ruled, a lease is to be granted according to the prescribed form containing conditions as to payment of rent, employment of labour, payment of compensation for damage to adjoining lands, and otherwise, with power for the Secretary of Mines to declare the lease void on breach of the conditions. Lessees may determine leases by giving to the Secretary of Mines three months' notice of intention to do so, and the Governor has power to renew leases for any term not exceeding 15 years (ss. 33-55 and Regulations published on the 13th July, 1874). Under Regulations relating to gold-mining leases published on the 13th July, 1874, it is provided that any Crown land taken possession of with the view to obtain a lease, must be efficiently and continuously worked from the date of taking possession, until the application is granted or refused; efficient work is defined as meaning the employment during the ordinary hours of labour on each day (Sundays and holidays excepted) of not less than two men upon a parcel of land containing four acres or less, and one additional man in respect of every two acres in excess of the said four acres contained in any parcel of land, under risk of having the application refused, unless there be a dispute as to the rights to possession of such land, in which case the warden may direct work to be suspended on the land until the rights of the parties have been ascertained. (6) MINING FOR MINERALS, &C., OTHER THAN GOLD, and (c) MINING FOR COAL. Mineral licenses. The Governor may cause documents called "mineral licenses" to be issued to any persons on payment of 20s., to be in force for a year, conferring on the holder during that period similar rights and privileges in respect or in connection with mining for minerals, other than gold, as are conferred on holders of "miner's rights" in respect of mining for gold. AUSTRALASIA-continued. NEW SOUTH WALES. The areas of Crown land, which may be occupied by virtue of such mineral licenses, appear to vary according to the nature of the minerals, and whether the object is to work or merely to search for minerals. In any case the land occupied must be defined by boundary marks and a notice board, and continuous and efficient working must be maintained, unless permission to suspend working is granted for sufficient reason by the Secretary for Mines or a warden. Within 30 days after the discovery of the mineral sought for, a mineral lease must be applied for under pain of forfeiture. Any holder of a mineral license may occupy for residence purposes a quarter of an acre of Crown lands, and may take, divert, and use water for mining or domestic purposes. (Regs. pub. 12th March, 1885.) Mineral leases. Under "The Mining Act, 1874," the Governor may grant leases of any Crown lands for the purpose of mining for any metal or mineral other than gold, the maximum area being, for coal 640 acres, and for minerals other than coal (or gold) 80 acres, the terms of leases not to exceed 20 years, renewable for a further period of twenty years; the rent being 58. per acre, payable in advance, and in addition a royalty of not less than 6d. per ton on all coal raised.1 The procedure after taking possession is similar to that in the case of gold leases, but the application must be made forthwith after taking possession. Mineral lots are to be measured in the form of a square, unless a Minister authorises a departure from that form. Lessees are bound to expend at the rate of £5 per acre on their lots within the first three years of the lease. Lessees may determine their leases on giving to the minister three months' notice of their desire to do so. On renewals a fine of not less than £2. 10s. per acre must be paid. The form of lease, provided for by the regulations, contains conditions as to employment of labour and otherwise, as in the case of gold-mining leases, together with power for the Secretary of Mines to declare the lease void on breach of the conditions; but it is provided that, if a lease is forfeited or not renewed, the lessee is to be at liberty within six months from the termination of his lease to remove or otherwise dispose of all machinery, and improvements, and the minerals brought to the surface during the term of his lease. Adjoining lots may be amalgamated by the authority of the Minister of Mines upon payment 1 N.S.W. Crown Lands Act 1884 (48 Vict., No. 18, s. 91). 2 A special form of lease is in use, applicable to Crown lands under tidal waters. Abstracts of the forms of lease are set out in the Appendix to the First Report of the Royal Commission on Mining Royalties. AUSTRALASIA—continued. of a fee not exceeding 20s. for each lot so to be amalgamated (ss. 56-63 and Regulations published the 24th February, 1885). Administration of Justice. All questions which can arise with respect to the enjoyment of the different rights with respect to minerals under the Mining Acts or relative to partnerships in respect of mining on Crown lands or mortgages or assignments of interests in mines are subject to the jurisdiction of the Warden's Courts, which are established as Courts of Record in each mining district, and which have also jurisdiction in all cases of debt or contract wherein the amount claimed does not exceed £50. Either party to proceedings before the Warden's Court can require two mining assessors to be associated with the warden in hearing the case. Appeals lie from the Warden's Court to the District Court sitting as a Mining Appeal Court with four mining assessors when required by either party, and there is a further appeal to the Supreme Court when the original claim or the property involved exceeds £50 in value. Board. Provision is made by the "Mining Act, 1874," for the election (by the holders of mining rights, gold-mining leases and business licenses) of a Mining Board consisting of not Mining more than eleven members who should have power, subject to the provisions of the Act, and in respect of all matters not otherwise provided thereby, to make regulations from time to time for mining for gold to be in force in all the mining districts of the Colony, or in any such district or division thereof, or in any goldfield within the Colony or on any Crown lands as the Governor should direct. The regulations so made must be presented to the Governor for approval before becoming law, and may be for all sorts of purposes, such as determining the size and the mode of taking and holding possession of claims and the rights and obligations of the holders of claims between one another, both as regards their claims and as to the use of water and other easements and a variety of other matters too numerous to mention here (ss. 64-6). The regulations so made by the Mining Board with the approval of the Governor are commonly known as "by-laws." (d) MINING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. Under "The Crown Lands Act, 1884" (48 Vict., No. 18, s. 45) any Crown land within a proclaimed goldfield which 66 AUSTRALASIA-continued. NEW SOUTH WALES. had been sold after May 25, 1880, or which should be thereafter sold under "The Crown Lands Act, 1884," is Resumption of land for declared to be subject to the condition that any person mining. specially authorised by the Minister should be at liberty to dig and search for gold within such land, and, should it be found to be auriferous, the Governor might cancel wholly or in part the sale of such land, subject to compensation being made to the proprietor for the value of the land as if it were not auriferous and of the improvements thereon, and that such land should thereupon become Crown lands; but that the person so specially authorised to dig or search for gold should be deemed the first applicant for a claim or lease of such land or a portion thereof. The principle so established has been extended by the Mining Act of 1889" (53 Vict., No. 20), whereby any Crown land which should be thereafter sold, or any land which should have been or should thereafter be leased conditionally under the "Crown Lands Act, 1884," or any Act amending the same, is declared to be subject to the condition that any person specially authorised by the Minister should, on depositing a sum of money to cover surface damage, be at liberty to dig, search for gold or other minerals within such land, and, should the search be successful, the Governor might cancel wholly or in part the sale or lease of such land subject to compensation being made to the proprietor for the value of such land or his interest therein and of the improvements thereon, but exclusive of the value of gold or other minerals therein, and that such land should thereupon become Crown land; but that the person so specially authorised to dig or search for gold or other minerals should be deemed the first applicant for a claim or lease of such land or a portion thereof. In other respects, when the proprietor of the soil is also owner of the minerals, the conditions of things are exactly the same as in England, and the proprietor sells or leases his mines on the best terms he can get. See Evidence of Mr. Abigail (formerly Minister of Mines for N.S.W.) and Mr. Stephen in the 4th Report of the Mining Royalties Commission. (e) DRAINAGE OF MINES. There does not seem to be any special Act in New South Wales to regulate the relations of adjoining mine-owners with respect to the flow of water or otherwise; but the forms of Crown This is the date of an Act (Stat. of N.S.W. 48 Vict., No. 29) which declared (s. 29) that any future sales of Crown lands within a proclaimed goldfield should be subject to a similar condition to that referred to above as being provided for by sec. 45 of the Act of 1884. AUSTRALASIA-continued. NEW SOUTH WALES. leases issued in accordance with the regulations reserve the right to the Crown and its assigns to make and use in, on, or under the land comprised in the lease any levels, drifts, &c., for freeing or keeping free any other lands and mines from water, or for conveying water to any other lands or mines, or for supplying any other mines with fresh air, or for effectually working any other mines, or for any public purpose whatsoever. (f) MINING COMPANIES. The Act 24 Vict., No. 21, as amended by 34 Vict., No. 16, provides for the limitation of the liability of the shareholders in mining companies registered under such Acts to an amount not exceeding the amount (if any) unpaid on the shares, and provides for the carrying-on and winding-up of such companies. The N.S.W. "Companies Acts of 1874 and 1888," which usually govern companies in N.S.W., do not apply to companies formed for mining purposes under the Act 24 Vict., No. 21, before referred to. (g) REGULATION AND INSPECTION OF MINES. The Act 39 Vict., No. 31 (passed in the year 1876), makes similar provisions for the regulation and inspection of coal mines and collieries to those contained in the English Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1872; whilst Regulations for the Inspection and Regulation of Mines other than Coal and Shale Mines, were published at Sydney on the 10th of August, 1876. of mining By "The Transfer of Mining Stock Stamp Duty Exemption Act, 1890" (Stat. of N.S.W. 54 Vict., No. 15) it is enacted that Exemption nothing in the "Stamp Duties Act of 1880" or in the first schedule thereto shall apply to any conveyance or transfer made after the 1st October, 1890, of any shares in the stock and funds of any corporation, company, or society carrying on only the business of mining for extracting or smelting any mineral or metal in New South Wales. stock from Stamp Duty on transfer. Import duties are charged in New South Wales in respect of some manufactured articles, e.g. : Duties on Iron, bolts, spikes, nuts, rivets, washers, galmanufac- vanised, in bars, sheets or corrugated, per tures of minerals imported. ton galvanised manufactures, per ton s. d. 40 0 60 0 30 0 Pig iron, per ton 10 O Iron and steel wire (not galvanised) on free list. Wire netting (galvanised), per ton. ("Aust. Hand-Book" for 1893.) |