0.—3.

Suggested Amendments in Mining Law. Appeals. —ln order that the public may have confidence in the administration of justice, it is necessary that the right of appeal, without being possible of use as an instrument of oppression, should yet be effective. At the present time the remedy by way of appeal from the Warden is ineffective. Section 283 of the Mining Act provides that the appellant shall, amongst other things, serve on the opposite party a notice of appeal within ten days of the decision being recorded. Now the term "serve" has been interpreted not only by the District, but the Supreme Court, to mean personal service. The result is, that of late in one or two instances the successful litigant in the lower Court has succeeded in eluding service of the statutory notice until after the prescribed time had expired. I think the difficulty can be met by regulation. (See subsections 32 and 44 of section 302.) Mining Privileges in Bespect of Private. Lands. —Attention is directed to sections 56, 57, and 58 of the Act. It will be observed that no provision has been made for the registration of privileges granted in respect of private lands, and registered under either "The Deeds Registration Act, 1868," or " The Land Transfer Act, 1886," and it is quite possible for an owner of private lands to acquire, or consent to another acquiring, a mining privilege having such lands for its subject. A company may be promoted to acquire the privilege, and simultaneously with this promotion the owner may sell his estate in the land to a third person who may have no notice of the grant of the mining privilege, and who may intend to use the land for purely agricultural or pastoral purposes. This state of the law may not only lead to serious complications but even to the perpetration of frauds on the public. Meantime, and until a remedy is provided, it would be as well for those dealing in private lands situate in mining districts to search the mining records, in addition to those compiled under the Deeds Eegistration and Land Transfer Acts. Marking-out and Making of Applications for Mining Privileges. —As the principal Act and the regulations made thereunder were drawn, it was doubtful whether the filing of the application might not precede the marking-out of the land. I ruled that it might, but am convinced that the more convenient method is for the marking-out to precede the filing of the application. The obscurity was attempted to be cleared up by section 4 of the amending Act of 1899, but the only effect has been to make confusion more confounded. The subsection repealed by section 4 only relates to private lands, and only deals with the specific case of granting races over these lands ; and my decision, in so far as it relates to Crown lands, would seem to be left untouched. The whole matter is at present under review by the Supreme Court in Dunedin ; and I would suggest a simple provision : that the filing of any application for a mining privilege should be preceded by the marking-out of the land the subject of the application, and if such filing is not so preceded, the application should be void. Mining Surveys. Delay in effecting Surveys.—- 1 would direct attention to the delay which has taken place in the survey of claims. For this delay the Survey Department is in no sense responsible ; but it is noteworthy that at the end of the financial year there were in this district 250 applications for claims adjourned pending completion of survey. This did not delay, it is true, the promotion of companies to work the land, investors greedily applying for the shares offered for subscription as soon as the preliminary hearing had been disposed of; but the loss of revenue to the local bodies concerned is serious, as rent does not commence to accrue until the survey has been completed, a grant made by the Warden, and the consent of the Minister given in those cases where the statute requires that consent. Survey of Mining Privileges in respect of Private Lands. —The heads of the Survey Department are of the opinion that plans of these surveys should not issue for indorsement on licenses for mining privileges in respect of private lands. The reason given is that two titles may not issue in respect of the same piece of land. The titles issued to the private owners by the Land Transfer and Deeds Eegistry Departments give the grantees no right to the gold, and it is to confer this right that the mining licenses are issued. Thus, although two titles issue in respect of the same piece of land, they are not in respect of the same right. It need hardly be pointed out it is the Warden and not the Survey Department who has to decide whether mining licenses applying to private lands are or are not to issue, and if the Warden makes an order for the survey of these lands with a view of granting a mining privilege thereover, it is the duty of the Survey Department to carry out that order. That department, in adopting its present practice, is setting at nought the will of Parliament, unequivocally expressed. I think the difficulty could be overcome by regulation. (See subsection 37 of section 302.) Bevenue. The revenue shows a substantial increase at all but one of the six offices from which titles are issued, and this notwithstanding the reduction in rentals effected by the Act of 1898. The figures are as follows : Clyde, Alexandra, and Boxburgh, £3,025 6s. 9d., as against £3,044 12s. 2d. for the year 1898-99; Cromwell, £1,795 6s. 4d., as against £1,125 175.; Queenstown, £1,223, as against £1,100; and Arrowtown, £421, as against £380. The total revenue is thus £6,464 13s. Id., as against £5,670 19s. 2d., for the previous year. There should be a further increase next year, as the rents on claims granted this year will by then be doubled. "The Gold Duty Abolition and Mining Property Eating Act, 1890." The increase over last year in the valuation under this Act is £164,200, and this notwithstanding that two of the counties interested reduced, or had their valuations reduced, although a large number of additional dredging-claims had been granted within their borders during the year, and companies floated to work them. I have, &c, S. E. McCarthy, Warden. The Under-Secretary, Mines Department, Wellington.

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