CARDRONA DEEP LEAD.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 196, 12 August 1873, Page 6

CARDRONA DEEP LEAD.

The dispute between Mr T. Cotter, the •agricultural leaseholder, and the parties of ■miners working on the above has excited a ■deal of interest in the minds of the Cardrona public. This has culminated in a public meeting being held to consider the subject, and to protest against the action taken by Mr Cotter. The following are the resolutions adopted at the meeting, which was held in Cardrona on the 30th July. Appended, also, is a copy of a memorial on the subject forwarded to the Government during last week, and which we have been requested, in the interests of the mining community at Cardrona, to publish : Proposed by Mr Robert Hodgson, and seconded by Mr Robert Studholme : “ That a memorial be at once forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent and the Provincial Executive, praying for a fresh arbitration in re Cotter v. the Cardrona miners, and the immediate cancellation of at least ten acres of the agricultural leasehold of the former ; the award in'the first arbitration being deemed •by us to be excessive, and made without a full knowledge on the part of the arbiters of ■the facts of the case.” Proposed by Mr Dalton, seconded by Mr Hodgson : “ That a Committee be appointed to draw up the memorial referred to in the former resolution : said Committee to consist of Messrs Russell, Yeldham, Needham, M‘Dougall, and the mover.”

Proposed by Mr M‘Bengali, seconded by Mr T. Fox : “That in case action at law is taken by Mr Cotter against any mining parties, similar to those in which the Great Extended and Banner of War were placed when prosecuted, that this meeting accord to them such sympathy, and furnish to them such monetary assistance as may be in their power to give.”

Proposed by Mr M'Dougall, seconded by Mr Oliver ; “That in the event of the cancellation of that portion of the lease before referred to, or of the cancellation of the whole of the lease, this meeting pledges itself in word and honour to render every legitimate assistance in its power towards securing to the present claimholders the claims they are now engaged at work upon.” The following is the text of the memorial: — ■“To his Honor James Macaudrew, Esq., Superintendent; Horace Bistiugs, Esq., Goldfields Secretary, and the other members of the Executive of the Province of Otago. “1. We, the undersigned miners, storekeepers, settlers, and other residents of the? Cardrona Gold-Held, beg most respectfully to call your attention to the very great amount of suffering and loss which we—more particularly the. miners—have recently had to undergo, and which suffering and loss have been occasioned by the existence of a certain agricultural lease held by one Timothy Cotter, and who, by virtue of his being in possession of the said lease, has been enabled to inflict upon us much serious loss and injury, and thereby retard and prevent the development of what we—at a cost of three years’ expenditure of unprofitable labour, and . all our capital—have recently proved to contain a highly auriferous and payable lead of gold. “2. We most respectfully submit, that as we are nearly altogether a mining community, and that as no other calling or occupation is open to us to engage in, we are therefore justified in asking that, as men desirous of expending our honest labour in the development of the resources of the country, and of gaining an honest and independent living for our families and ourselves, you shall remove from our midst all barriers to the accomplishment of such a desirable end as may be in your power.

“3. Wo further submit, that if the cancellation of the aforesaid lease is effected, that no loss whatever will accrue to the consume)', inasmuch as the land in question is ami always has been almost wholly devoid of the elements which constitute fair agricultural soil.

“4. We would further submit, that we have never at any time disturbed or in any way injured the surface, or other portion of the land held by the agricultural lessee, inasmuch as that our workings are at a depth of not less than 70 feet from its surface, and which have been prosecuted by means of tunnels at that level, and the mouths of which tunnels are altogether outside the limits of the area in question.

“5. We are further constrained to ask for your immediate and effective interference in our behalf, inasmuch as there are at present upwards of forty miners directly interested in the settlement of this matter, and who if left to the mercy of the agricultural lessee, and the equally .merciless machinery of the law, will simply be hopelessly ruined, and eventually driven from the country.

“6. We would further respectfully submit, that as a proof of the calamity now hanging over us, one party of miners were, no later than last week, compelled by the agricultural lessee to submit to a loss in Court of nearly £IOO sterling; and, further, that at a public meeting held here last night, he decbred he would continue this harassi .g policy until he had driven them from their claims.

• “7. We venture most respectfully to express an opinion that, notwithstanding the interpretation the law may put upon them, it never was the intention of the framers of the Agricultural Lease Regulations that an agricultural lessee should be able to take up such a position as would enable him to say, ‘ I am. by virtue of my agricultural title, the owner of the gold and other mineral wealth within this block.’ “8. With all due respect, we finally ask you to at once take steps towards the immediate cancellation of the lease, and thereby prevent the occurrence in future of the disasters already described. “And your petitioners will ever pray.”