The Governor may from time to time, by Proclamation, constitute and appoint any portion of the colony to be a mining district under this Act, assign boundaries to such district, enlarge, contract, or otherwise alter such boundaries, and declare by what local name every such district shall be designated.

All Crown lands which shall have been or hereafter shall be reserved for any public use or purpose shall be and the same are hereby exempted from the operation of this Act: But the Governor may, in manner as hereinafter mentioned, authorize the occupation of any such exempted lands, either for mining purposes or for machine, business, or residence sites, or for the construction of races, dams, or reservoirs thereon, or of races, drives, or tunnels thereunder, subject to such conditions, restrictions, and regulations as he may think fit to impose.

Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to limit or abridge the power of the Governor to reserve any Crown lands within a mining district.

Crown lands within hundreds or elsewhere which are or may be declared commonage lands shall not be deemed to be reserved for any public use or purpose within the meaning of this Act.

The Governor, in any Proclamation constituting a mining district, and also from time to time by Proclamation subsequently issued, either by general or particular description, may set apart for mining purposes exclusively any portion of Crown lands within a mining district, and in like manner may exempt from occupation for mining purposes, or for water-races, dams, or reservoirs, or for machine, business, or residence sites, any land within the boundaries of such mining district, and from time to time may revoke any such exemption, or may alter the limits and extent of such exempted land as he may think fit.

The Minister may, from time to time, with the sanction of the Governor, set apart for mining purposes exclusively any of the Crown lands within a mining district or outside thereof; but in the neighbourhood of any place where mining operations are carried on, and upon such reserve being so made the lands comprised therein shall cease to be Crown lands, and shall not be capable of alienation in any way, save for mining purposes, without the consent of the Minister, and then only by the Governor in Council.

The Warden may, until the assent or dissent of the Governor is ascertained,—

Reserve any Crown lands within his district for any public use or purpose:

Exempt from occupation for mining purposes any Crown lands within his district.

The Governor may, by Proclamation, from time to time abolish any mining district, and thereupon the same shall cease to be a mining district under this Act.

All rights, titles, and interests existing at the time of any such abolition shall be unaffected thereby, and shall remain, exist, and continue as though such abolition had not been proclaimed.

The Governor from time to time, by Proclamation, and as from a day to be fixed therein, may declare that any of the sections of this Act, to be named in such Proclamation, shall not extend and apply to any mining district constituted or to be constituted under this Act, or to any portion of any such district as may be specified in such Proclamation.

On the making of any such Proclamation the sections therein named shall not apply to the district or part of a district therein named; and on the revocation of such Proclamation the same shall from thenceforth apply to such district or part thereof until otherwise ordered.

The Governor in Council may from time to time, by Proclamation, declare that such portion of this Act relating to mining districts and to Warden’s Courts as he shall think fit shall have operation within any public reserve or endowment or any portion thereof respectively.

From and after the date of any such Proclamation as aforesaid, such provisions of this Act as shall be mentioned in such Proclamation shall have operation within any reserve or endowment so proclaimed, and which may be situated in any mining district, as if the same had never been reserved or granted.

Every holder of a miner’s right or business license may exercise the same respectively over any such public reserve or endowment, subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder.

The Governor in Council may from time to time make special regulations under this Act for facilitating mining on public reserves, and for hearing and determining suits in Warden’s Courts in connection with the same, where any existing regulations made under this Act are not adapted to the circumstances of any particular case, and for directing the manner in which the revenue arising within any public reserve or endowment brought under the operation of this Act shall be collected, accounted for, and paid over to the trustees entitled to the same, and may alter, vary, or repeal the same respectively.

Except so far as any such special regulations shall provide, all the regulations for the time being in force in any mining district shall apply and extend to any public reserve or endowment brought under the operation of this Act, or shall so apply with any modification or limitation thereof respectively as the Governor in Council may think necessary.

The scale of fees to be charged in respect of the occupation, for mining or other purposes, of public reserves or endowments, or any portion of the said lands shall be the same as those fixed by this Act and regulations made thereunder in respect of other lands.

All moneys arising therefrom shall be paid into the public account, and shall be paid out therefrom in the manner and the proportion which the Warden of the district wherein such moneys respectively arise shall determine in each case; and his decision shall be final.

The Warden shall estimate the amount of all moneys derived from any public reserve or endowment under authority of this Act which would be payable as goldfields revenue to local bodies if there were no such public reserve or endowment, and such amount shall be paid to the persons or trustees respectively to whom or in whom the reserve or endowment, in respect of which such moneys accrued, is granted or vested.

Nothing in the last-preceding section contained—

Shall empower any person to interfere in any way whatsoever with any works already constructed or that may be hereafter constructed by the Governor or trustees, or by any person or authority with the previous consent of the Governor or trustees as the case may be, within and upon any public reserve or endowment.

Shall detrimentally affect any rights in respect to mining or in connection therewith heretofore granted by the Warden upon any such reserve or endowment; and all such rights existing at the time of the coming into operation of this Act, and not being in any way injurious to the works upon the reserve or endowment, and the owners of which comply with any regulation hereafter to be made by the Governor in Council under the authority of this Act, shall be considered to be and be treated as rights granted under the provisions of this Act.

Nothing in the last three preceding sections shall affect—

The title of the trustees to whom or in whom respectively any public reserve or endowment has been granted or vested, or any power or authority in respect thereof, so far as the same shall not conflict with the operation of this Act, or any regulations made thereunder; or

Any of the provisions of “The Kumara Education Reserve Act, 1879,” which shall continue in force as if this Act had not been passed.

Notwithstanding any express or implied power in any Act, no trustees shall hereafter have any power to sell, mortgage, charge, lease, or otherwise dispose of any public reserve or endowment brought under the operation of this Act without the previous express consent of the Governor in Council: Provided, however, that all sales at any time, and all mortgages, leases, licenses, contracts, or agreements made, executed, granted, or entered into before the passing of this Act, or relating to any estate or interest in any such public reserve or endowment, and in force at the date of the passing of this Act, shall be valid and effectual to all intents and purposes; but any such licenses, leases, or contracts as aforesaid may, nevertheless, be brought under any special regulations made under this Act to such extent or in such manner as may be specified therein.

The foregoing provisions of this Act relating to mining on public reserves shall not apply to any reserves made for the use, support, or education of aboriginal natives, except with the sanction of the Governor in Council, who may grant such sanction, from time to time, in respect to certain Native reserves only, or to certain classes of Native reserves in particular, or to all Native reserves generally, as he shall think fit, and subject in any case to such conditions and restrictions as may appear to him just and proper.

Whenever a Native reserve is proclaimed to be under the operation of this Act, the provisions of sections thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-two of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of such Native reserve in the same manner as if it were a public reserve subject nevertheless as aforesaid.

Whenever Native lands have been or may be opened for mining purposes, there shall be payable for machine-, business-, and residence-sites on such lands respectively until the freehold thereof is acquired by Her Majesty, such sums as may from time to time be prescribed, which sums shall be payable annually in advance, and the amount of the first payment shall be deposited with the Receiver of Land Revenue at the time of application for the site, to be estimated as the first annual payment if the application is granted.

Any person, not being the owner of land the property of aboriginal natives, and not being the holder of a prospecting license in respect of such land, who shall mine or dig for gold or any other metal or mineral thereon, shall be liable to forfeit and pay for every such offence a penalty not being less than five pounds and not more than fifty pounds.

Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed or deemed to alter or affect “The Auckland Gold Fields Proclamations Validation Act, 1869,” or any of the provisions of the several agreements therein recited; and the Act last mentioned and “The Ohinemuri Gold Field Agricultural Leases Validation Act, 1876,” shall severally continue in full force, and shall have operation as if this Act had not been passed, subject, however, to the following provisions—that is to say,—

All rents arising in respect of land described in the first four schedules of “The Auckland Gold Fields Proclamations Validation Act, 1869,” occupied under licenses or leases issued under any Act for the time being in force authorizing the same, and the freehold of which has not been acquired by the Crown, shall for the purposes of the agreements recited in the first aforesaid Act, be deemed to be money arising from miners’ rights.

Sections six, seven, and eight of “The Ohinemuri Gold Field Agricultural Leases Validation Act, 1876,” are hereby repealed.

But any person who before the commencement of this Act may have become the holder of an agricultural lease under the Act last aforesaid of any lands within any part of the Ohinemuri block of land, the Native title whereto has or at any time may become extinguished, may, at any time after the extinguishment of such Native title, acquire the freehold of the land held by him without competition, paying for such land the same price as would be the upset price of land of the same class in the same land district if put up to public auction:

Provided that all lands within sixty-six feet from the bank and along the entire course of all streams within the aforesaid block of land shall be excluded from any sale authorized hereby.

From and after the commencement of this Act, the provisions of this Act in relation to agricultural leases shall apply in respect to all Native lands which have been or may be proclaimed open for mining purposes: subject, however, as follows:—

No person who shall become lessee of any such lands under this, Act shall have any right or title to purchase the lands so held, nor shall he have any claim to compensation at the expiry of his lease for any improvements effected by him or his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns on the said lands during the time of the lease thereof, nor shall he have the right, previous to the acquisition by Her Majesty of the freehold of the land comprised in such lease, to exchange the said lease for any other lease or holding authorized under this Act.

All lands which since the twenty-ninth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three have been or may hereafter be alienated or agreed to be alienated from the Grown, whether by way of absolute sale or lease or for any lesser interest, and all lands which have been so alienated at any time previous to the above-mentioned date, with the consent of the owners thereof respectively, shall be liable to be resumed for mining purposes (except lands alienated expressly for mining purposes) by Her Majesty, on paying full compensation to the licensee, lessee, or owner of the fee-simple thereof for the value, other than auriferous or argentiferous, of the lands and improvements so resumed, upon the terms and conditions hereinafter provided.

Any person may, in the form in the Second Schedule hereto, apply to the Minister for the resumption under the provisions of this Act of any land alienated from the Crown, and not hereinafter excepted from such application: and shall send with every such application the sum of twenty-five pounds, to be dealt with as hereinafter provided.

On a petition to the Warden, signed by not less than ten persons, and with the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor, in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty, may, in same manner, make application for the resumption of any land he may think desirable to acquire for mining purposes; and with this object, may appoint such person as he shall think fit to be applicant for him; and all proceedings in any such case shall be the same as if the application was that of a private individual.

No application shall be entertained for any land used as a garden, orchard, vineyard, nursery, plantation, or ornamental pleasure-grounds, or for any land of less extent in area than a quarter of an acre within any city, town, or borough, or for any land which is the site or is within one hundred feet of the site of any house, manufactory, hospital, asylum, church, public building, or any cemetery, or waterworks, unless the consent in writing of the person in whom the legal estate in such land is vested accompanies such application.

The Minister may refer any such application to any Warden having jurisdiction within the district in which such land is situated, and shall inform the applicant thereof.

If there be no such Warden, or such land is not within a mining district, the application may be referred to the Resident Magistrate having jurisdiction in the locality where the said land is situate.

Upon such reference the applicant may obtain from the Warden or Magistrate a summons to the occupier or owner in fee of the land to which the application refers, to appear before him on a day and at a place therein specified, to show cause why such land shall not be resumed.

The Warden or Magistrate shall give notice, in the form provided in the Second Schedule, by inserting the same twice in some newspaper circulating in the district, that on some day not less than fourteen days from the date of the first insertion he will proceed to hear such application, and shall also give notice in writing of the hearing to any local bodies within the district where the land proposed to be resumed shall be situated; and every applicant, if there be more than one, shall on the day appointed appear before the Warden or Magistrate, and in default of such appearance or of sufficient excuse for such default, the application shall be dismissed as against such applicant; and at the hearing any local body entitled to notice as aforesaid may be heard by any solicitor, officer, or other person by whom such local body may sue or be sued in any Court, but such body shall not be entitled to any costs.

Upon the hearing of the summons the applicant shall, unless the parties summoned appear, prove the service thereof, or that there is no one in occupation, and that the notice in the Second Schedule has been posted for not less than twenty-eight days upon the land, and that the owner in fee is absent from the colony, or that every reasonable effort has been made to serve him personally; and shall also prove that the land is auriferous or argentiferous, or that the land is required for mining purposes, or for facilitating and carrying on of mining operations either on such land or any adjoining land; and shall also produce evidence as to the market value of the land and the improvements thereon at the date of the issue of the summons.

The Warden or Magistrate, whether all the parties be present or not, shall hear, receive, and examine evidence, whether it be tendered to him or called for by him, and may obtain the assistance of engineers, surveyors, valuators, or other scientific persons, the expense whereof shall be deemed to be part of the costs of the hearing, and may adjourn the hearing from time to time as he thinks fit.

The Warden or Magistrate shall report to the Minister the evidence he has received and his opinion thereon, and the amount of costs (if any) which the applicant ought to pay.

The costs of the inquiry, including all costs of the occupier or owner in fee, shall be paid out of the sum deposited by the applicant, and the balance (if any) shall be returned to the applicant.

If the sum deposited by the applicant as aforesaid shall not be sufficient to pay such costs the Warden or Magistrate may order the applicant to pay such excess; and such order may be enforced by any person entitled to receive such costs against the applicant in like manner as a judgment of the Warden’s or Resident Magistrate’s Court in its ordinary jurisdiction.

If the Warden or Magistrate shall decide that the costs of inquiry should not be paid by the applicant, then all such costs as above mentioned shall be paid by the Colonial Treasurer out of the goldfields revenue of the district wherein the land is situate; but if the land be resumed by the Crown under section forty, such compensation and costs (if any) may be paid out of any moneys to be appropriated for the purpose by the General Assembly.

Upon the report of the Warden or Magistrate, the Minister shall determine whether the land in whole or in part shall or shall not be resumed.

If it be determined that the land in whole or in part be not resumed, no further application in respect to the same land shall, unless by the special direction of the Minister, be entertained within twelve months from the date of the refusal of the application.

If it be determined that the land in whole or in part be resumed, the Minister shall cause notices to be sent to the occupier or owner in fee, and shall agree with him as to the value, other than auriferous or argentiferous, of such land and improvements at the date of the issue of the summons as aforesaid.

In case no such agreement as aforesaid shall be made, such value shall be assessed and determined in the manner provided in Part III. of “The Public Works Act, 1882.”

Compensation, including costs, if any, payable for land resumed under this Act shall be paid by the Colonial Treasurer out of the goldfields revenue of the district, or other revenue derived from such district in respect of mining, within which the land is situate; and, if such district shall embrace two or more counties or boroughs entitled to such revenue, then the compensation shall be deducted from the said revenue in such proportion as the Minister thinks just.

But if the land be resumed by the Crown under section forty, such compensation and costs, if any, may be paid out of any moneys to be appropriated for the purpose by the General Assembly.

Where any land shall be resumed before the same has been actually granted in fee, the amount of all unpaid license fees, rents, or purchase-money, which, if the land had not been resumed before such grant, would have been payable to the Crown before the issue thereof, shall be deducted from the sum agreed upon or awarded as such compensation as aforesaid.

Upon payment of the compensation assessed the Governor in Council may, by a notice in the Gazette, declare that the land in such application described has been resumed for mining purposes by Her Majesty; and thereupon the whole estate and interest of the licensee, lessee, or owner, and of every person claiming through or under him, shall cease and determine, and the land shall be deemed to be Crown land, as if the same had never been alienated.

Upon production to the District Land Registrar, or Registrar or Deputy Registrar of Deeds, as the case may be, of the district where such land is situated of a copy of the Gazette containing such notice, accompanied by a statutory declaration by some competent person to the effect that the particulars stated in such notice are correct, the Registrar shall cause such land to be registered in the name of Her Majesty, and such Registrar shall make in his register the proper entries accordingly.

The names of the successful applicants, in the order of their application, shall be published in the notice of resumption, and until thirty days after the date of such application no act of any person other than such applicants, or some person authorized by them in that behalf, done upon or in relation to such land, shall be of any force or effect in creating or intimating any right or title, or determining the priority of any application for permission to mine in or upon the said land or any part thereof, or to occupy the same or any part thereof, for any purpose in relation to mining.

No Crown lands within any portion of the colony constituted or proclaimed a mining district under this Act shall, except as herein provided, and as in any Land Act may be specially provided, be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of under any provisions of any Land. Act or of any other law for the time being in force in such district regulating the sale, disposal, and occupation of Crown lands, except so far as such provisions may relate to the making of reserves, or to the exchange of agricultural leases under this Act for other leases or licensing under any such Land Act, or to the issue of leases or licenses for any of the following purposes:—

Depasturing;

Cutting or felling of timber;

Removal of clay for bricks or pottery;

Removal of sand, gravel, or stone;

Working of quarries;

Sites for ferries, saw-mills, flour-mills, tanneries, fellmongers’ yards, slaughter yards, potteries, brick or lime kilns; and cutting, growing, or dressing flax;

or to the occupation of land held under any lease or license granted before the commencement of this Act or before the issue of the Proclamation establishing such mining district; or to land heretofore or which hereafter may be reserved for public use or purpose, or except so far as such provisions may specially authorize the sale or leasing of land within a mining district.

The Governor, at any time subsequent to the constitution or proclamation of a mining district under this Act, may withdraw, by Proclamation, therefrom any Crown lands which he may deem it necessary to withdraw, and such lands shall thenceforth be dealt with in every respect as though such lands had never been comprised in any mining district.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the last-preceding section, the Commissioner of Crown lands in the land district wherein any mining district or part of a mining district is comprised shall, in respect of all Crown lands within such mining district, have the same powers, authorities, duties, and functions as he would have by virtue of his office as Commissioner if such lands were not included within such mining district.

The sections of “The Land Act, 1885,” relating to the powers and authorities of Commissioners of Crown lands, numbered from twenty-two to thirty-five, both inclusive, are hereby incorporated with this Act, and shall have effect as if they had been enacted herein, subject, however, to any special provisions herein contained.

The Governor, by Proclamation, may from time to time declare any Crown lands within any mining district, not held under license or lease at the date of such Proclamation, or over which the license or lease has been cancelled, to be open for sale or selection in sections of such size and form and on such date as he may determine, subject, however, to the express condition that all lands within sixty-six feet from the bank and along the entire course of all streams within any lands to be so proclaimed shall be excluded from any such sale, if the Governor so think fit.

Any lands so proclaimed may thereafter be sold at a like price and subject to the like terms and conditions, or as near thereto as may be, as Crown lands of the same class not within a mining district; and it shall not be necessary to withdraw lands from the operation of this Act for the purposes aforesaid.

When any land bonâ fide and lawfully held for residence or business, on which any building may have been erected, shall be about to be sold, such building and all other bonâ fide improvements that have been made on such land shall be valued, unless such land shall have been reserved for survey or sale prior to the erection of such building or the making of such improvements.

In case the holder of the miner’s right or business license by virtue of which the land is occupied upon which such building or improvements have been erected or made, and the Governor shall not agree upon the value, the same shall be settled in the manner provided in Part III. of “The Public Works Act, 1882.”

The value so agreed on or ascertained shall be added to the upset price of the land without such building or improvements, and shall together therewith be and constitute the actual upset price of such land.

If the holder of such business license or miner’s right shall bid such actual upset price or more, and shall be the highest bidder for such land, the value aforesaid shall be deducted from the sum so bidden, and the balance shall be the purchase-money for such land; but if any other person than such holder shall become the purchaser of such land, and shall pay for the same, such holder shall be entitled to receive out of such purchase-money the value of such building or improvements so agreed on or ascertained as aforesaid.

No Crown grant or conveyance shall have the effect of revoking or injuriously affecting any right to any claim, water-race, dam, or reservoir, mining tenement or easement lawfully acquired and held under or by virtue of the provisions of this Act, or of any Act hereby repealed, whether any reservation or exception thereof be contained in such Crown grant or conveyance or not.

Every such Crown grant or conveyance shall be construed with reference to every such claim, water-race, dam, reservoir, tenement, or easement as if such grant contained an express reservation of the right to hold, occupy, and use the same respectively, with all necessary and reasonable means of access to work, cleanse, repair, and efficiently use the same.

The provisions of this section shall be deemed to be and to have been in force within every goldfield proclaimed under “The Goldfields Act, 1866,” and gold-mining district constituted under “The Gold Mining Districts Act, 1873,” from the date of the original proclamation of such goldfield or constitution of such district; and every Crown grant issued or to be issued for any Crown lands alienated within any such districts under the provisions of any Act at any time in force in such district relating to the sale or other disposition of the lands of the Crown shall be issued and be deemed to be issued subject to the provisions hereof.

The Governor may cause Crown lands situate within a mining district to be selected and set apart for the purpose of granting agricultural leases, or for alienation by occupation licenses on deferred payments, under any law for the time being in force in the land district in which such mining district is situate.

Before such lands are opened for application the Governor may determine the size of the allotments, not exceeding the maximum which may be held by any person under any such lease or license.

The Governor may, in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty, from time to time demise for agricultural purposes to any person, for any term not exceeding seven years, any land so selected and set apart as aforesaid.

No agricultural lease shall comprise more than three hundred and twenty acres, and no person shall hold more than three hundred and twenty acres under agricultural lease, or more under any such last-mentioned lease than would, together with any land he may be holding under an occupation license on deferred payments, amount to three hundred and twenty acres at any one time.

Every such lease—

Shall be subject to such rent, covenants, and conditions on the part of the lessee, his executors, administrators, and assigns, to be paid, observed, and performed, as to the Governor shall seem fit:

May, at the expiration thereof, and if the conditions thereof have been duly fulfilled, be renewed by the Governor for a similar term, on such other conditions and such other rent as to him shall seem fit, and so on from time to time may be renewed at the expiration of every term thereof:

May be exchanged for an occupation license on deferred payments, or for a perpetual lease in manner provided by “The Land Act, 1885.”

If at any time after the granting of any such lease the land thereby demised, or any part thereof, shall in the judgment of the Governor be proved to be auriferous or to contain any metal or mineral, or shall in his opinion be required for mining purposes or any public use, the Governor may give notice in writing, as hereinafter mentioned, of his intention to determine such lease over the whole or part of the land:

At the expiration of one month from the delivery of such notice to the lessee or occupier, or to some servant of one of them on the demised land, or from the affixing of such notice to some conspicuous object on the demised land, in case there is no occupier or servant as aforesaid thereon, such lease as to the whole or such part as aforesaid shall become null and void, and all interest of the lessee, his executors, administrators, and assigns therein, shall cease and determine.

The lessee, his executors, administrators, or assigns shall be entitled to compensation for any improvements he may have made on the land or the part thereof in respect to which the lease shall be determined during the subsistence of such lease, and the amount of compensation shall in case of dispute be settled in the manner provided in Part III. of “The Public Works Act, 1882.”

But compensation shall not be awarded and paid for any land unless the same shall be occupied bonâ fide, and shall have been planted, cultivated, or otherwise improved.

Any person being the holder of a lease for land for agricultural purposes granted at any time before the coming into operation of this Act, under the provisions of section forty-nine of “The Mines Act, 1877,” shall hold the said lease, together with all rights and privileges attaching thereto under the said provisions, notwithstanding the repeal of the said section by this Act.

For the purpose of claiming, prosecuting, and enforcing any such right or privilege, the said section shall be deemed to be in full force, and operation. In all other respects every such lease shall be deemed to have been made under this Act.

The Governor may from time to time prescribe regulations for the issue of licenses by the Warden for the occupation for agricultural, horticultural, or dairy purposes of any reserve set apart for mining purposes, or part of any such reserve not required for immediate use for the purpose for which it may have been reserved, or of any other Crown lands within a mining district not exceeding in any case fifty acres; and the Warden shall forward to the Minister at the end of every month a list of licenses issued by him under this section during such month.

Every such license shall be issued on the express condition that it shall be surrendered upon demand at any time after notice of not less than three months without any right to compensation on any account whatever accruing to the licensee; and that the licensee shall not have the right to acquire the freehold of any part of the land comprised in his license.

Every holder of a miner’s right, and every person on whose behalf a consolidated miners’ right is granted, and every holder of a business license shall, during the continuance thereof, and subject to the provisions of this Act and to regulations made hereunder, be entitled to take up and occupy a portion of the Crown lands in any mining district for the purpose of residence or residence and cultivation or for carrying on his business, or both, and for either of the purposes aforesaid to put up any building or other erection, and at any time to remove the same.

No person shall be entitled by virtue of one business license to occupy more than one such portion of land.

Every business license, together with the right and interest thereunder, shall, on the death or bankruptcy of the holder thereof, devolve on his personal representative or assignee in bankruptcy.

Any person being the owner of a freehold or the holder of an agricultural lease or deferred-payment license under any Act, or of a lease under the provisions in Appendix F of “The Land Act, 1885,” and who shall occupy and carry on business thereon, shall be entitled to do so without taking out a business license.

Whenever any person shall require a site for machinery or for residence, he shall apply in writing to the Warden to grant the same, and must describe the situation, area, and boundaries of the land applied for.

As soon as conveniently may be after an application, the Warden shall make such inquiries as he may think fit, in order to satisfy himself whether there is any objection to granting the same.

If there be no objection, the Warden shall grant a license in the form set forth in the Third Schedule.

Subject to the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-eight and one hundred and twenty-nine, such license shall give the licensee for so long as he may require the same, not exceeding twenty-one years, the exclusive right to the possession of the surface of the land therein described for the purpose therein mentioned, and for no other; with the right, at the expiration of the aforesaid term, to a renewal of his license for a similar term, and so on at the expiration of every succeeding term, subject, however, in each case to such increased rent and other conditions as may from time to time be prescribed by regulations.

A machine or residence site may be granted, provided that such site shall not be required for mining purposes, or the granting thereof calculated in any way to interfere prejudicially with mining operations.

No machine site shall exceed five acres, no residence site one acre, and no business site one quarter of an acre.

Machine-, business-, and residence-sites may be transferred.

Such sums shall be payable for the above-mentioned sites as are prescribed in the Third Schedule of this Act, and shall be payable annually in advance, and the first payment shall be made to the Receiver of Revenue when the license to occupy is issued: Provided that no rent for residence site shall be payable by any person under this section so long as he continues to be the holder of a miner’s right.

Subsequent annual payments shall be due and payable to the Receiver of Revenue on the same day in every year as that on which the license is granted.

If the sum from time to time due in respect of any site is not paid when due the Receiver of Revenue shall sue for the same.

If any site be used for a purpose not specified in the license, or for three months be unused for such purpose or unoccupied, or if any sum due in respect of the same be not paid within two months, all rights under the license shall be forfeited, subject as next hereinafter provided, and the Inspector, Mining Registrar, Receiver of Revenue, or any holder of a miner’s right or business license may sue in the Warden’s Court for possession.

At the hearing of such suit if the Warden’s decision be against the licensee, the Warden may either award a pecuniary penalty instead of enforcing forfeiture, or he may issue a warrant under his hand to remove the licensee from possession.

The cost of proceedings shall be in the discretion of the Warden.

The several sections in reference to machine, business, and residence sites numbered from sixty-four to seventy-two, both inclusive, shall not apply to the land comprised within the Towns of Shortland and Grahamstown and Tararu, as the limits thereof respectively are prescribed in a Proclamation published in the Gazette on the sixth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.

From and after the date of the commencement of this Act, every holder of a residence site shall be deemed to be an “occupier” within the meaning and for the purposes of “The Rating Act, 1876,” and “The Rating Act, 1882,” respectively, no matter when he may have originally entered into occupation of such site, and shall be liable, from and after the aforesaid commencement of this Act, to pay rates in respect of the residence area he occupies.

For the purposes of “The Rating Act, 1876,” and “The Rating Act, 1882,” respectively, but for no other purpose, every person who is in the unlawful occupation of any Crown lands within a mining district shall be deemed to be an “occupier” within the meaning of the aforesaid Acts respectively, and shall be liable to pay rates in respect of the land occupied by him illegally in the same manner as if he were in lawful occupation thereof.

But nothing in this section contained shall be construed to give validity in any manner to such illegal occupation.

Any person who has been in unlawful but undisturbed occupation of any residence site for twelve months prior to the coming into operation of this Act may apply to have a license for the same granted to him subject to the provisions hereof.

Any person depasturing any horses, cattle, sheep, goats, or other animals upon any Crown lands held and occupied by virtue of a depasturing lease or license within a mining district, without the sanction and consent of the lessee or licensee, shall upon proof thereof be adjudged to pay to such lessee or licensee, by way of damages for each offence, any sum not exceeding five shillings per head for every animal so depastured.

Any person depasturing any horses, cattle, sheep, goats, or other animals upon any Crown land within a mining district without a license authorizing the holder thereof in that behalf, and any person depasturing a greater number of animals than under any regulations he may be entitled to depasture by virtue of a miner’s right, business license, or agricultural lease, or of any other lease or license authorizing the occupation of land for mining purposes, shall upon conviction be liable, for each offence, to a penalty not exceeding five shillings per head, for every animal so depastured.

Documents not transferable, to be called “miners’ rights,” and to be in force for twelve months from the date thereof, shall be issued in the form set forth in the Fourth Schedule to any person applying for the same, upon payment in advance of the sum of five shillings in respect of a right authorizing the holder thereof to mine on Crown lands, and of twenty shillings in respect of a right authorizing such holder to mine on Native lands and Crown lands, or such other sum as shall not be less than the sum which the Governor may have agreed to pay to the owners of the land as consideration for the right to mine thereon.

A miner’s right for which five shillings has been paid shall be in force throughout the colony, in all parts thereof outside of a Native district.

A miner’s right for which twenty shillings has been paid shall be in force within the Native district where it is taken out, and in respect of Crown lands throughout all other parts of the colony outside of any other Native district.

“Native district” in this section means a mining district which is proclaimed by the Governor to be subject to agreements with the Natives for the right to mine therein.

The Governor, on receipt of a resolution to that effect from the Councils of the respective boroughs, and counties entitled to any portion of the goldfields revenue of any district wherein an augmented fee as mentioned in the last-preceding section is paid for miners’ rights issued in respect of mining on Native lands, shall direct the Colonial Treasurer to pay out of the goldfields revenue of such district, or other revenue derived from such district in respect of mining therein, the difference between the five shillings fee payable in respect of ordinary miners’ rights and the augmented fee payable for miners’ rights issued in the said district.

The Colonial Treasurer shall pay such difference accordingly to the Warden for distribution to the Native owners, and shall deduct the total amount so paid in any year within any district from the total amount of the goldfields revenue accruing in such district before any apportionment thereof is made amongst the boroughs and counties therein.

No such direction as aforesaid shall be given by the Governor unless he shall receive a resolution as aforesaid from the Councils of all the boroughs and counties entitled as aforesaid; and no such resolution shall be capable of being altered or revoked.

The Governor shall notify in the Gazette any direction given under this section in respect of any district; and from and after the date of any such notification the fee to be payable in respect of the issue of miners’ rights therein shall be the same as may for the time being be payable in respect of miners’ rights issued in respect of mining on Crown lands.

Documents not transferable to be called “consolidated miners’ rights” and to be in force for twelve months from the date thereof, shall be issued in the form set forth in the Fourth Schedule to any person, agent, or company applying for the same on payment in advance of a sum at the rate of the sum payable for a single miner’s right for one year multiplied by the number of miners’ rights which the consolidated right is to represent.

Documents to be called “business licenses,” and to be in force for twelve or six months from the date thereof, as the case may be, shall be issued in the form set forth in the Fourth Schedule to any person applying for the same, on payment in advance of three pounds for a yearly license and one pound ten shillings for a half-yearly license respectively.

“Miners’ rights,” “consolidated miners’ rights,” and “business licenses,” shall be signed by the Warden or Mining Registrar, and dated on the day on which they are issued.

Every miner’s right shall contain the Christian or first name and surname, and the residence of (in case of a miner’s right) the person in whose favour the same shall be issued, and (in case of a consolidated miners’ right) the manager or trustee or trustees to whom, and the name of the company on whose behalf, the same shall be issued.

Every business license shall contain the Christian name or first name and surname and the occupation and residence of the person in whose favour the same shall be issued.

In any case where a miner’s right, consolidated miners’ right, or business license may have been lost or destroyed, and the existence of such right or license can be proved, a duplicate of such right or license may be issued in lieu of such lost or destroyed right or license until the due expiration of the same, and comprising the like rights and privileges and for which the fee of one shilling shall be paid.

A statutory declaration shall in all such cases be made as to identity and the facts of the case.

Any number of miners’ rights may be issued to any person applying for the same; and the holder of such miners’ rights shall be entitled to occupy, either separately or conjointly, a corresponding number of claims: Provided that in respect of each claim in the number of claims so taken up there shall be employed at least one man, who need not be the holder of a miner’s right.

If any person being the holder of a miner’s right shall hire himself for wages to an employer, the right to hold and occupy any claim by virtue of such miner’s right and to any gold therein shall be vested in such employer.

In the event of non-payment of such wages, any person so employed shall have a lien upon the claim whereon he has been employed to the extent of the amount of wages due to him, such sum not exceeding six months’ wages; and, until the said lien be satisfied, the person so working as wages-man shall be deemed to be in possession of the said claim until the wages are paid and the said lien fully satisfied; and the wages-man shall, within seven days after ceasing to work in the claim, register such lien in the Warden’s Court in the district in which the claim is situated.

It shall not be necessary for any purpose whatever, for any shareholder in any incorporated company to take out or be the holder of a miner’s right in respect of any shares held by him in such company.

A consolidated miners’ right shall on his or their application be granted to the manager or any trustee or trustees of any company of persons who shall have agreed to work in partnership, or in conjunction, any claim or claims registered under the provisions hereof, on behalf of the persons who shall from time to time be members of such company, and shall during its continuance be held by the manager or the trustee or trustees for the time being of such company on behalf of such last-mentioned persons, and shall be in lieu of and represent, and be of the same force and effect as a number of miners’ rights granted for the same period of time equal to the number of miners’ rights by virtue of which the said claim or claims shall have originally been taken possession of.

When any consolidated miners’ right shall be granted, the miners’ rights of the persons in whose behalf the same shall be granted shall be retained by them, and such persons shall be, by virtue of such consolidated miners’ right respectively, deemed holders of miners’ rights within the meaning of this Act during the continuance of such consolidated right. But nothing herein contained shall be deemed to make it obligatory upon the persons interested in a consolidated miners’ right to be also the holders of a miner’s right.

A consolidated miners’ right may be granted to any one person out of a number of persons associated together for working a claim to represent not fewer miners’ rights in number than the total number of persons so associated.

In such case each of the aforesaid persons shall be, by virtue of such consolidated miners’ right, deemed to be respectively holders of miners’ rights within the meaning of this Act during the continuance of such consolidated right. And the person to whom the same is granted shall hold the same only on the behalf of himself and the other persons associated with him as aforesaid.

If any person shall forge or alter any miner’s right, license, lease, or other document issued under the authority of this Act with intent to defeat the provisions of this Act, or to defraud any person whomsoever, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction thereof before any Court of competent jurisdiction shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or imprisonment with or without hard labour not exceeding two years, or both, at the discretion of the Court.

If any person—

Shall use or exhibit any forged miner’s right, license, or lease issued or purporting to be issued under the authority of this Act, knowing the same to be forged; or

Shall fraudulently personate the holder of any such miner’s right, license, or lease; or

Shall falsely or fraudulently represent that any servant or other person is an authorized person within the meaning of this Act; or

Shall fraudulently use or exhibit as his own any miner’s right, license, or lease belonging to or granted to any other person; or

Shall use or exhibit as valid a miner’s right, license, or lease which shall have expired,

he shall be liable to a penalty for every such offence not exceeding fifty pounds, or to imprisonment with or without hard labour not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the Court.

In any district constituted under this Act—

Every person, not being the holder of a “miner’s right,” who shall be engaged or employed in mining operations;

And every person, not being the holder of a “business license,” who shall carry on any business whatever upon Crown lands,—

shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

Every holder of a miner’s right shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, and to any regulations made thereunder, be entitled to enter upon any Crown land for the purpose of prospecting and searching for gold, notwithstanding such land shall be held under a depasturing lease or license.

Any person who shall be the holder, and any number of persons in conjunction who shall each be the holder, of any such miner’s right, shall, during the continuance thereof, subject to the provisions of this Act, and to any regulations thereunder, be entitled to take and maintain possession for mining purposes of a parcel, or of so many parcels as such regulations shall permit, of Crown land, in such manner, of such quantity and dimensions, and with such boundaries, as shall he directed by such regulations:

Such dimensions and boundaries shall be fixed at the time of the taking of such possession, and such boundaries shall be marked, and thereafter during the continuance of such possession kept marked, in such noticeable way as circumstances may permit, or as may be prescribed by such regulations.

Any such person or persons who shall have so taken possession of any such parcel or parcels of Crown lands shall, either by himself or themselves or in conjunction with the holder or holders of any share or shares to be created in such parcel or parcels of Crown land as are hereby permitted, be, during the continuance of such miner’s right or miners’ rights, or of a consolidated miners’ right granted in lieu of any miner’s right, and while he or they shall with reasonable diligence bonâ fide continue to carry on mining operations therein or in connection therewith, entitled to the exclusive occupation for mining purposes of such parcel or parcels, for so long as they shall require it for such purpose.

Any person by whom such parcel of land as aforesaid shall be occupied shall, subject as aforesaid and during such continuance as aforesaid, be deemed in law to be possessed of such parcel of land and the property therein.

The person or persons, or any of them, who shall have lawfully taken possession or be in the lawful occupation of any such parcel of land, or the executors or administrators, or the assignee in bankruptcy, or the guardian in infancy, or the committee or guardian in lunacy, or the purchaser under an execution of the interests of such person or of any such persons, may, in such manner as the regulations shall direct, register such parcel of land or claim by some name, and the owner of any share as hereinafter mentioned in a registered claim may register such share in such manner as such regulations shall prescribe.

No claim shall be registered unless the miner’s right or miners’ rights under which such claim shall be held shall be produced to the officer required to register the same.

Every holder of a miner’s right, and every person on whose behalf any consolidated miners’ right shall be granted, shall, during the continuance thereof, subject as aforesaid, be entitled—

To take or divert water from any spring, lake, pool, or stream situate on or flowing through or adjoining Crown lands, and to use such water for mining for gold upon such parcel or parcels of Crown land as aforesaid, and for his own domestic purposes, and to use by way of an easement any Crown lands, and to deposit upon such lands any spoil or débris arising from such mining for gold;

To put up and at any time to remove any building or other erection, to cut any live or dead timber, and to remove the same, for building for himself any place of residence or of business, or for mining purposes, or for fuel, or otherwise for his personal use, from any Crown lands not exempted from occupation for mining under this Act: and also to make tramways or other roads for the carrying out and in aid of such purposes.

The holder of a miner’s right may mine, and cut, construct, and use a water-race for mining purposes, upon or under any street, road, or highway, on obtaining from the Mayor or Chairman of the local body which shall have the care and management of such street, road, or highway an order permitting him so to do.

For the purpose of obtaining such order such holder shall apply therefor by notice in writing to such local body, who shall thereupon decide whether the same can be effected without injury to adjoining property, or injury or obstruction to such street, road, or highway, as the case may be, and thereupon the Mayor or Chairman of such local body may issue an order permitting such mining, and the cutting, construction, and use of such water-race, on such conditions and terms, and subject to such restrictions as it shall think fit.

The aforesaid local body may authorize any person to make or construct any roads, or temporary or permanent-ways or other works over, across, or through any works made or constructed by the holder of a miner’s right under the authority of this Act. But before such local body shall give such authority, seven days’ notice thereof shall be given to the person lawfully possessed of such last-mentioned works.

Claims shall be of such form and area respectively as may be prescribed by regulations affecting the particular class of claim. Claims are classified as follows:—

Alluvial deposits, and river or creek-beds;

Quartz-lodes, reefs, and leaders;

Sea-beach claims;

Prospecting claims and areas;

comprising respectively ordinary claims, double ground, extended claims, frontage claims, and dredging claims.

Any person desiring the exclusive occupation of land for mining purposes within any district shall mark out the same by causing to be erected at every angle thereof a post not less than three inches square or three inches in diameter, standing not less than one foot above the surface of the ground and having thereupon some distinguishing mark, or where this is not possible then in such manner as shall be prescribed by regulations, and any piece of land so marked out shall be called a claim.

When an angle cannot be so marked on account of the nature of the ground, the post may be placed at the nearest practicable point.

Where wood is not available for the making of posts, a cairn of stones and a trench or such other permanent distinguishing mark may be used instead of a post, as the Warden shall think sufficient for the purpose intended.

Every claim which is marked out in accordance with this section shall be sufficiently marked for the purposes of this Act, notwithstanding that any road may traverse such claim either at the time the claim is marked, or at any other time; and no such road shall be deemed to dissever the claim, nor shall it be necessary to demark the line of any such road.

If any person, on receiving a written notice from the holder of a miner’s right requiring such person to indicate and show to such holder the posts or other marks defining the claim of the said person, if such claim has not been surveyed, shall refuse or neglect so to do within twenty-four hours after receiving such notice, the holder of such right may assume the claim to be unmarked, and may mark out any ground therein and take possession thereof.

Every claim, from and after the day on which the claim has been marked out, registered, or taken possession of, shall be bonâ fide and continuously worked from day to day by the number of men to be prescribed in respect of such description of claim by regulations.

Preparations indispensable to the working of the ground in any claim, or any work in connection therewith or in the erection of machinery for the same, shall be deemed to be work in respect of such claim.

No owner of any quartz claim shall be required to employ any men on his claim until the expiration of ten days after the claim has been marked out and taken possession of, provided that the claim shall in the interim be occupied either by the owner thereof or some one person on his behalf.

If the owner of any claim shall fail to comply with the provisions of the last-preceding section the Inspector or any other person may apply to the Warden in writing to declare such claim forfeited.

The Warden shall thereupon issue a summons requiring the owner to appear at the Court on a day to be appointed by the summons.

Such summons may be served personally on the owner, or some one of the owners if there be more than one, if he or they can conveniently be found; and if not, a copy of the summons shall be posted upon some conspicuous part of the land comprised in the claim.

On the day appointed as aforesaid, the applicant appearing, the Court shall, whether the owner appear or not, proceed to investigate the case and decide the same.

If it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Court that the claim has remained unworked and that it was not protected, the Court shall declare the same to be forfeited; and in case it is proved that the required number of men have not been employed, the Court may—

For a first breach in respect of not working the claim, or of the non-employment of the required number of men, declare the claim or any part thereof to be forfeited, and may award costs to the applicant; or may substitute a monetary fine for such forfeiture not exceeding twenty pounds, or may impose neither forfeiture nor fine;

For a second breach shall declare the claim or any part thereof to be forfeited, and award costs to the applicant, and without the option of substituting a fine.

In no case shall a monetary fine be substituted when there has been a wilful and continuous neglect to employ the required number of men.

If the claim or any part thereof be declared forfeited and no fine substituted the Court may grant an order to the applicant authorizing him to take possession of the same as the owner thereof under this Act.

In case there shall be more applicants than one for the same ground, priority shall be granted to the applicants according to the date of the receipt of their applications by the Warden.

Any claim which shall be unoccupied, and upon which there is no plant or machinery, and has been unworked for a longer period than is allowed by the regulations for the district, or for the part thereof in which such claim is situated, shall be deemed to be actually abandoned ground, and may without any adjudication of forfeiture or abandonment be taken up as a claim in accordance with the regulations by any holder of a miner’s right, and the rights of any previous occupant of such ground, whether the claim was registered or not, shall be deemed to have expired.

No forfeiture of any claim or any part thereof, or any share or interest therein, through the neglect, absence, or omission of any workman employed thereon, or of any tributer, shall be incurred by reason of non-employment of the required number of men, provided that the owner shall without undue delay employ the required number of men, after notice in writing by the Inspector, Registrar, or any holder of a miner’s right has been delivered to him or sent by post to him at his last known address.

After a claim is occupied, but not before, the owner or owners thereof for the time being may, subject to regulations, from time to time divide the interest in such claim into such and so many shares as he or they shall think proper, and such shares or any of them may be appropriated to any person or persons, and such owner or owners may assign or encumber or create any interest in such claim.

The owner for the time being of any share in such claim may, subject as aforesaid, assign or encumber or create any interest in such share.

The Warden, on sufficient cause shown on application to him in that behalf, and on proof to his satisfaction that the claims or licensed holdings in respect of which amalgamation is applied for have been fully worked during the whole time of their occupancy—

May permit the owners of any two or more adjoining claims or licensed holdings to amalgamate the same;

May accept the surrender of any licensed holding for the purpose of amalgamating the same with any adjoining claim or of extending any adjoining claim;

May grant a special claim of extended area beyond the limits prescribed by regulations for the purpose of including in any claim or licensed holding any adjoining old worked ground.

Any claim may become amalgamated whether or not it be registered at the time of amalgamation.

If there be held from time to time by or on behalf of the owner or owners for the time being of a registered claim such number of miners’ rights as would have authorized the taking possession thereof when the same was taken possession of, or a consolidated miners’ right representing such number, the same shall be sufficient, and it shall not be necessary that any other miner’s right should be held by any shareholder in such claim as such shareholder.

The word “owner” in this and the three next preceding sections shall be taken to include any such guardian or committee as aforesaid.

The Warden may, with the consent of the Minister, grant special claims of greater area and of different form than may be determined by regulations made hereunder, for the purpose of carrying on mining operations under circumstances of extraordinary difficulty, or involving the expenditure of considerable sums of money, or for the encouragement of enterprise in prospecting new ground, or as a reward for the discovery of new workings; and also may prescribe the terms and conditions upon which any such special claim may be held, occupied, and worked.

The owner of any claim desiring to obtain a license for the land comprised in the same, or any other person desiring to obtain a license for the occupation of land under this Act—

Shall lodge an application for a license at the Warden’s office, where every such application shall be recorded in the order in which it is received in a book to be kept for that purpose, together with the day and hour of the receipt thereof;

Shall, at the same time, deposit with the Receiver of Revenue such sum for survey and necessary expenses in connection with the land comprised in his application as shall be prescribed by regulations to be made in that behalf, and a further sum of five pounds in respect of each application; the balance of which sums, after deducting therefrom the first year’s rent and the expense incurred in the said survey, advertising, and otherwise, will be returned to the applicant.

The Warden shall give public notice of the application by advertisement in one or more newspapers published in the district, and shall therein name a day on which the application will be heard; and on such day or on some subsequent day to which the hearing may be postponed, the Warden shall hear the application, and may, and whether or not any objection has been made to the application, grant or refuse to grant to the applicant or to a person appointed by him a license in the form set forth in the Fifth Schedule, which shall specify particularly the metals or minerals authorized to be mined for, the terms of such license, and the rent to be paid in each case.

The conditions upon which every license shall be held are as follows:—

That the licensee pay to the Receiver of Revenue every year during which he shall occupy the land comprised in the license a rent after a rate of ten shillings in respect of every acre and fractional part of an acre during the first three years of the term of such license, of fifteen shillings for the succeeding two years, and twenty shillings for the remainder of such term.

That the first payment is due on the day on which the license is granted by the Warden, and every subsequent payment on the same day in every subsequent year.

That the licensee shall carry on mining operations in an efficient and workmanlike manner, and shall employ in such operations at least so many men, being able and competent workmen or miners, as shall be prescribed by regulations.

But if, in the opinion of the Inspector or Warden, the full number of men cannot be reasonably and advantageously employed, a fewer number shall be sufficient if such fewer number be the greatest that can be reasonably and advantageously employed.

That the licensee may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the Warden, surrender the whole or any part of the land comprised in his license, and such surrender shall be indorsed by the Warden on such license, and therefrom the rental payable shall be proportionately reduced. But no licensee shall be entitled to make such surrender in part more than twice during the currency of his license.

That the licensee shall be liable to pay royalty in respect of all metals or minerals which may be found in the land described in his license, not being metals or minerals for which he is authorized to mine under his license.

Such other conditions for the protection of the equitable rights or interests of third parties as shall be inserted by the Warden in such license.

Applications for licenses and objections thereto shall be made and notice given in such form and manner as shall be prescribed in that behalf by regulations; and if no such regulations be made and in operation, then in such form and manner as the Warden shall from time to time require.

Every license issued under the authority of this Act shall be signed by the Warden, and he shall affix thereto the seal of the Warden’s Court. Such signing and affixing shall be in the presence of one witness, who shall attest the same.

The Warden shall in each month cause to be transmitted to the Minister copies or abstracts of all licenses issued by him during the previous month, together with a memorandum of every transfer, forfeiture, or other transaction made during such previous month and affecting any licenses issued at any time previous thereto.

Subject to the provisions of section thirty-eight, and to the provisions in respect of forfeiture hereinafter contained, every license to work a gold mine issued under this Act shall give to the licensee, for a time not exceeding twenty-one years, an indefeasible right to all gold and silver within the boundaries of the land therein comprised, and an indefeasible and exclusive right to dig and mine for gold and silver therein and thereon and dispose of the same, to erect machinery on such land and to construct works connected therewith, and to do all lawful acts incident or conducive to the carrying out of those objects.

If any holder of two or more adjacent licensed holdings shall desire to have the same included in one license, he shall surrender the same in a form to be prescribed by the Warden in that behalf.

On such surrender being made, the Warden shall grant one license for the several holdings so surrendered for the unexpired portion of the term for which the last dated of the surrendered licenses was originally granted.

No licensed holding held under one license shall exceed such area as may be prescribed.

Subject to any regulations to be made in that behalf, the Warden may grant protection to the owner of a claim, area, right, or privilege, or licensed holding to hold the same without working for such time not exceeding four months as may be shown to be reasonable, having due regard to the grounds on which such permission is applied for and all the circumstances of the case. If such permission be obtained by false representation, it may be cancelled by the Warden.

In any case where protection may be desired for a further time, application for the purpose shall be made to the Minister who may grant extended protection for twelve months at a time, on the recommendation of the Warden.

If the owner of any claim or licensed holding shall fail to maintain the posts, trenches, or other sufficient boundary marks as hereinbefore required, he shall forfeit and pay for every such omission any sum not exceeding ten pounds.

If posts, trenches, or other marks as aforesaid are not so maintained, and any person shall commence to work or mine on any land held as a claim or under license, he shall not be liable to damages, provided that he cease to work and mine as soon as the posts are replaced, or the trenches or other marks are renewed, and notice in writing given to him not to trespass.

The Warden shall have power to determine all questions and disputes arising with respect to the size, measurements, and position of marking posts, trenches, or boundary marks; and where any post is not in size, or position, or character exactly as required, he shall decide whether any such post or mark is or is not sufficiently in accordance with the spirit and intention of this Act for the object intended, subject to the right of appeal as granted by this Act in other cases.

Any person or persons shall with the consent of a Warden be entitled to construct a head-race, tail-race, or flood-race or drive any tunnel over, under, or through any claim or licensed holding, provided it does not interfere with the proper working of the same, and that compensation shall be allowed for estimated damage (if any) and such compensation shall if necessary be decided by arbitration as provided by this Act or regulations made thereunder.

The owner of any licensed holding or claim who shall be unable to discharge the débris from his workings upon his own ground may make application to the Warden to obtain authority to convey the same over any adjacent licensed holding, or claim, or unoccupied ground with permission to occupy thereon sufficient space for the discharge of such debris: Provided that such discharge, conveyance, or occupation does not interfere with the working of such adjacent licensed holding or claim, and it shall be the duty of the applicant to satisfy the Warden that all parties likely to be affected thereby have received due notice of such application, and if there be no valid objections thereto the Warden may grant a certificate with conditions prescribing the terms and mode in which such débris may be conveyed or deposited as aforesaid, and that compensation shall be allowed for estimated damage (if any) and such compensation shall, if necessary, be decided by arbitration as provided by this Act or by regulations made thereunder.

The surface of any Crown land upon which any house or other building shall be lawfully standing and in actual use or occupation, or which shall be lawfully and bonâ fide used as a yard, garden, orchard, cultivated field, water-race, dam, or reservoir, shall not be taken possession of or interfered with by the owner of any claim or licensed holding without first obtaining an order from the Warden authorizing the same, and such order shall not be granted unless it be first proved to the satisfaction of the Warden that the land is bonâ fide required for mining purposes, and that the compensation to be fixed as hereinafter provided has been paid; but no person shall be entitled to take up tent-ground upon any known auriferous ground, nor in the line of or adjacent to any known gold-working.

Such compensation shall be granted for improvements only and not in respect of the value of the land, and the amount thereof shall be ascertained and fixed by arbitration, and the decision of the arbitrators shall be final.

In case of arbitration the cost of ascertaining and fixing the amount of compensation shall be in the discretion of the arbitrators.

Every person lawfully occupying the surface of land, freehold or otherwise, whose property shall be damaged by mining operations carried on thereon or thereunder shall be entitled to recover compensation for such damage from the persons actually causing the said damage.

The Warden from time to time may grant to any person, subject to the provisions of this Act and to any regulations made thereunder, and to such fee, rent, or royalty as may be prescribed to be paid in respect thereof, a license to enter upon any Crown land not demised under the provisions of any Act heretofore or to be hereafter in force, and not occupied by the holder of a miner’s right or business license, unless with the consent of such holder, for the purpose of searching for any metal or mineral other than gold or silver:

And subject as aforesaid the Warden may, at the time of the granting of any such license, fix the special conditions upon which the same shall be granted.

The Governor may cause a license, to be called a “prospecting license,” to be issued in such form and on such terms and conditions as he may think fit, to any person, authorizing the person therein named to prospect and search for any metal or mineral within Crown lands outside any mining district.

The Governor may grant to any holder of a prospecting license as aforesaid who shall be the bonâ fide discoverer of any metal or mineral on Crown land, not being within any mining district, a lease of the said land or some part thereof for mining purposes, subject to the following terms and conditions:—

Every such lease shall comprise so much land as shall be necessary, in the opinion of the Governor, for the efficient mining thereon, having regard to the description of mining proposed to be carried on, but not exceeding double the quantity which might be held as a claim or licensed holding respectively in the nearest mining district constituted under this Act.

The term to be granted in each lease shall be any number of years, at the option of the lessee, not exceeding twenty-one.

The rent per acre to be reserved shall be ten shillings, or such other sum as may from time to time be prescribed.

Every lease shall contain clauses in the usual form introduced into mining leases—

The Governor may make regulations, if he thinks fit, as to the form, time, and manner of making applications for leases, and any other regulation he may think fit, in order to give effect to the provisions of this section.

All rent received under any such leases shall be deemed to be land revenue.

If the land leased as aforesaid shall at any time thereafter be included in any mining district, the Warden thereof, either upon or without the application of the person then entitled to such lease, shall grant and issue a license for the same under this Act in the name of the original lessee or his assignee.

On such license being granted, the said lease shall thereupon ipso facto be null and void, and the land shall thenceforth be held under the said license subject to the provisions of this Act, and all regulations made thereunder relating to the district in which such land is situate.

All deeds and documents executed and signed by the lessee, his executors, administrators, and assigns subsequent to the date of the lease but before the issue of the license, shall, for the purpose of completing titles of parties to such deeds and documents, have the same force and effect, so far as can be, in respect of the land therein included, as though such deeds and documents had been founded on the said license instead of the said lease.

All rights, titles, and interests which may have been lawfully created after the date of the said lease and before the granting of the license, and then subsisting, shall be deemed, so far as can be, to have been created under the said license, and shall be held and enjoyed accordingly.

The Governor may cause to be issued, in such form and on such terms and conditions as he may think fit, a license to any person, to be called a “prospecting license,” authorizing the person therein named, with the consent of the owner of the land, to prospect and search for gold on any land specified in such license being the property of aboriginal natives, and not being within any mining district.

Any person not being the owner of land the property of Natives, and not being the holder of a prospecting license in respect of such land, who shall mine or dig for gold or other mineral thereon, shall be liable for every such offence to a penalty of not less than five pounds and not exceeding fifty pounds, without prejudice to any claims for damages on the part of the owners of the land mined on against the persons so mining.

Any person being the holder of a prospecting license as aforesaid who shall discover gold on any such Native land may apply to the Governor for a lease; and on the cession of such land to the Governor for mining purposes, or the sale of such land to the Crown by the Native owners thereof, the Governor may grant a lease to the applicant in like manner and subject to the like terms and conditions as prescribed by section one hundred and thirty-two of this Act in respect of Crown lands outside mining districts.

And every such lease shall be valid and effectual against all persons whomsoever.

Any person who shall knowingly mine or employ any person to mine for gold on any land belonging to a private individual without the consent of the owner thereof or his duly authorized agent shall be subject to the like penalties as are mentioned in section ninety-three.

But nothing in this section contained shall prejudice any claim for damages on the part of any such private individual or owner against the person so mining or employing any person to mine.

When any dispute shall arise between holders of miners’ rights who shall be in occupation for mining purposes of any private land with the sanction and consent of the owner of such land, it shall be lawful for a Warden to hear and determine such dispute in the manner provided by this Act for the hearing and determining cases in the Wardens’ Courts, and in accordance as near as may be with the regulations to be made as hereinbefore provided.

Part IX. of “The Public Works Act, 1882,” is hereby incorporated with this Act, and shall be read together therewith.

The Warden, subject to the provisions of this Act and to any regulations thereunder, may grant to any person applying for the same a license—

To cut, construct, and use any dam, reservoir, or water-race through and upon Crown lands and private lands; and

To take, divert, and use water from any spring, lake, pool, or stream situate upon or flowing through or adjoining Crown lands—

in order to supply water for the purpose of mining for gold, or any metal or mineral other than gold, or for the purpose of driving any machinery for purposes of irrigation or other industrial pursuits, to the holder of such license or to any other person who may be engaged in such mining or other pursuits, or for the purpose of supplying with water any quartz-crushing machine or any engine or machinery employed in extracting by crushing or any other process gold from quartz, stone, earth, or other substance, or in the drainage of mines, and to occupy for the purpose of depositing matter removed from such water-race the land immediately adjoining such water-race, to a distance not exceeding fourteen feet in width excluding the width of such water-race, or partly on both sides, as may be specified in such license.

The holder of any such license shall be entitled by virtue thereof, and in connection with such water-race, to construct, excavate, and form reservoirs for the storage of water upon any Crown lands, and to deepen, widen, cleanse, repair, or otherwise improve such water-race and reservoirs, and to sell and dispose of the water so diverted or stored for any of the purposes aforesaid, subject to the conditions hereinafter prescribed, that is to say,—

Any person intending to divert and use water for mining purposes by means of any water-race to be constructed upon Crown lands shall give notice thereof in writing to the Warden of the mining district in which such water-race is intended to be constructed, and to any person whose interests may be affected by the diversion of such water, as well as to the owner or occupier of any land through which it is proposed to carry such water-race, and such notice shall be in the prescribed form or to the like effect; and copies of such notice shall be posted and maintained for fourteen clear days at the source or sources whence it is proposed to obtain water, except in the case of the supply of water being intended to be obtained by collection from any “Drainage Area,” in which case it shall be sufficient that the notice shall be posted upon some conspicuous part of such drainage area and at the proposed termination of such water-race; and the intended course thereof shall be indicated by posts not less than two inches in diameter, or by large stones marked with a broad arrow and placed not more than two hundred yards apart; and such notices shall state the mean breadth and depth of the proposed water-race and the quantity of water it is proposed to divert, and shall also state the time required for the construction and completion of such race.

If no valid objection be entered against the construction of such water-race within fourteen clear days from the delivery of such notice, a license in the form in the Sixth Schedule hereto may be granted by the Warden to the applicant, subject to the prescribed provisions and conditions.

Any holder of or applicant for any water-race, dam, or reservoir, desiring to obtain the exclusive right to collect or store the water that may naturally exist within or fall upon or percolate from any certain area of land, shall mark each corner of such area by a substantial post at least three inches in diameter, and standing three feet above the surface of the ground, or in untimbered country by a cairn of stones or stack of sods standing not less than the same height, and by trenches set at right angles to each other not less than six inches in depth and five feet in length extending on either side of every such post, stack, or cairn, in the direction of the boundaries of the claim; and if in bush one end line shall be cleared, and the trees blazed on such line from post to post; and shall make application to the Warden in the prescribed form to the like effect; and copies of such application shall be posted at the several corners of such area of land, and shall be served upon all persons whose interests may be affected by the granting of such application. If there be no valid objection, the Warden may grant to the applicant the exclusive right to collect water from such area, or from such lesser area being portion of the same as he may think fit, provided that no such area shall include any natural stream.

Any person desiring to cut any water-race, or occupy any claim, or carry on any mining operation upon or within any drainage area, shall apply to the Warden, who shall have power to authorize the construction of such water-race, or the occupation of such claim, or the carrying on of such mining operation upon or within such drainage area, upon such terms and conditions as he may think necessary or desirable.

The Warden, in granting any water license for a supply of water from any source that may be used for any industry other than gold-mining, may limit the grant to certain months in the year only; and the months for which any such license is granted shall in such case be set forth on the face of the license; and the holder of any such license shall refrain from taking or using water in the race at all times other than those stated in such license.

But the Warden may in his discretion, by writing under his hand, authorize the holder of any such license to take and use the water at other times without incurring any penalty.

Any person intending to construct any dam, reservoir, or water-race under the authority of this Act shall mark out the proposed points of commencement and termination, and the intended course of such proposed race, in such noticeable way as circumstances may permit, or as may be prescribed by any regulations; and, until the construction of such race shall be completed, shall keep and maintain such marks along so much of such intended course as shall remain unconstructed, and shall also serve notice in writing on the owner, lessee, and occupier of any land through which it is proposed to carry such race; and shall post and maintain copies of such notice for fourteen clear days at the source or sources whence it is proposed to obtain water for and at the proposed termination of such race.

Such notice may be in the form in the Sixth Schedule hereto, and shall state the points of commencement and termination of such proposed race, the length, mean breadth, and depth of the same, and the quantity of water it is proposed to divert and carry therein, and the situation and dimensions of any reservoir intended to be constructed in connection therewith, the position of any by-wash or storm-water channels for the same, and shall also state the time required for the construction and completion of such race, which notice shall be published twice in a newspaper circulating in the district and once in the Gazette.

A copy of such notice, signed by the person desiring to construct such race, or any one duly authorized to sign the same on his behalf, shall be lodged with the Mining Registrar of the district in which the same is to be constructed, who shall note thereon the day and hour on which such notice was received, and shall deposit and keep the same in his office.

The Mining Registrar with whom any such notice shall be lodged shall enter in a book to be kept by him the particulars of such notice, and the day and hour of receiving the same.

Every such application shall be referred by the Mining Registrar to the Warden of the district who, if no objection be lodged as hereinafter mentioned, and no reason be known to him why a license should not issue, may, at any time after the expiration of thirty days from the date of the receipt of the above-mentioned notice by the Mining Registrar, grant to the person signing such notice a license in the form in the Sixth Schedule hereto, to be in force for any term not exceeding fifteen years; and such license shall be issued by the Mining Registrar on payment of the prescribed fee.

The persons intending to cut any water-race or sludge channel through or over any private lands shall not, except by consent of the owners or occupiers of such land, enter upon such land until they have paid or tendered to such owner or occupier the compensation agreed to be paid or awarded to them as provided by this Act:

But for the purpose merely of surveying and taking levels, such persons may, after giving not less than twenty-four hours nor more than seven days’ notice, and if the consent of the Warden shall have been first obtained before the issue of such notice, enter upon such lands without previous consent of such owner or occupier.

Any owner, lessee, or occupier of any private land through or over which any race shaft be proposed to be constructed, and any person whose interests may be affected by the construction or use of any water-race, or the diversion of any water under the authority of this Act, may, within thirty days after the receipt of any such notice by the Mining Registrar, serve upon such Registrar a notice of objection in the form in the Sixth Schedule hereto.

Whenever any such notice has been given as lastly hereinbefore mentioned,

Cost to be paid by applicant.

Before a water-race shall be constructed through or over private lands, the owner, lessee, or occupier of such land shall be entitled to such compensation as shall be determined by agreement between the said owner, lessee, or occupier, or any other person appointed by them, and any person appointed for that purpose by or on behalf of the parties constructing such water-race.

Such compensation when ascertained shall be paid to such owner, lessee, or occupier by the parties constructing such water-race before they commence the construction of such water-race or sludge channel.

In case the amount of such compensation shall not be fixed by agreement within one month after the granting of such license, then such amount in dispute shall be settled in manner provided in Part III. of “The Public Works Act, 1882.”

There shall be payable annually, in advance, in respect of every license mentioned in this section the sum of five shillings, the first payment to be made on the day on which the license shall be issued, and every subsequent payment to be made on the same day in every subsequent year or within sixty days thereafter.

Such license shall be renewable at the end of the term for which the same shall have been issued either for the like or any other term not exceeding fifteen years, and every such renewed license shall be subject to the same annual payment and to the like conditions, and shall confer the like privileges, including the right to renewal, as were conferred by the original license.

The construction of a water-race shall be commenced within two months from the issue of the license authorizing the same, and the holder of the license shall continue cutting and forming the same with reasonable diligence until the work is completed, otherwise any superiority of right which he may be entitled to by virtue of such license will be deemed to and may be declared forfeited.

The term of any license may be extended by the Warden for a period not exceeding two months, if he is satisfied that diligence has been exercised in the prosecution of the work.

Any person who may desire to alter or extend the course of any water-race shall give the like notices and take the like proceedings as hereinbefore directed to be given and taken in respect of the original water-race.

It shall not be necessary to obtain a license in respect to such alteration or extension, but such alteration or extension shall be registered in the like manner as the original race, and the particulars of such alteration or extension shall be indorsed on the original license, and shall have the same effect in all respects as if the same had been comprised in the original license, but the right to any increased supply of water shall not be deemed an alteration or extension, or be obtained as such.

The holder of a water license shall keep the race in repair, and shall make an efficient bridge where any road in ordinary use at the time of the construction of the race crosses the water of the race, or where, in the opinion of the Warden of the district, bridges may be required for the convenience of crossing horses, cattle, sheep, or any other animals thereon.

If the water flowing in any creek or river is insufficient to supply all the races connected therewith, the owner of any right shall, on the receipt of a written notice from the owner of a superior right stating that the supply of such superior right is less than he is entitled to, immediately cease to use the water or such portion thereof as may be necessary to make up the supply of the superior right.

No license issued under the authority of this Act shall confer any right to the use of water as against any person requiring the same at any time for his own domestic use.

Two sluice-heads of water shall, if required by the owner of any property through which such stream passes, or by the Warden of the district, by writing under his hand duly served on the person taking water from such stream, be at all times allowed to flow in the natural course of any stream for general use.

All right of control over water shall continue in the holder of the water-right until the water leaves any claim, channel, or tail-race to which he is legally entitled.

No person shall back the water of any creek, river, race, or watercourse upon any claim, or cause any claim to be flooded, either wilfully or by neglect.

If the holder of a license does not construct a race of sufficient capacity to carry the number of sluice-heads registered, the number of sluice-heads over and above what the race is capable of carrying shall be forfeited.

Any owner or occupier of land adjoining any stream or natural watercourse, or any owner of property through which such stream or watercourse passes, or any holder of a miner’s right working in the bed of a stream or watercourse, may apply to the Warden of the district wherein such stream or watercourse is situated for an order that a quantity not exceeding two Government sluice-heads of water shall be allowed to flow in the natural bed of any such stream or water-course for general use.

Every such order shall be by writing under the hand of such Warden, and, notwithstanding any provisions in this Act or any regulations made thereunder, the Warden shall have full power and authority to make such order accordingly; and every holder of a water-right, or other person who may be taking or diverting water from such stream or watercourse, shall obey such order on being served with a duly-certified copy of the same.

If any person shall feel aggrieved by the making of any such order he may appeal from the decision of the Warden in such manner as he might or could do under this Act, and all the provisions thereof relating to appeals shall extend and apply accordingly.

The holder of a pastoral lease or license, or of any agricultural lease, issued under the authority of any former Act or of this Act, and the owner, lessee, or occupier of any private land, shall not be liable for any casual damage caused or done by any sheep or cattle to any claim, water-race, dam, or reservoir situate upon lands with respect to which any such lease or license shall have been or may be granted, or of which he is the owner, lessee, or occupier.

The holder of a license under this Act or any former Act, empowering such holder to divert water, and to cut, construct, and use water-races, dams, and reservoirs may sell and dispose of the right to and the use of the whole or any portion of such water.

Every interest in a water-race or in a right to divert water shall be deemed and taken in law to be a chattel interest, and may be assigned, encumbered, or transmitted in the same way as chattel interests in land may by law be assigned, encumbered, or transmitted, or in such other manner as may be prescribed or provided by any regulations hereunder.

Whenever any water which has been or hereafter may be lawfully diverted under any license or other authority shall be required for the use of bonâ fide settlers or for any public use or purpose, the Governor may revoke such license or other authority, and may cause such water to be restored to its natural channel.

The holder of any such license or other authority shall be entitled to compensation on account of such revocation as aforesaid, and for all races, reservoirs, and other works cut or constructed for the diversion of such water, and the amount of such compensation shall in case of dispute be determined in the manner provided in Part III. of “The Public Works Act, 1882,” and such compensation shall be paid by the Colonial Treasurer out of the goldfields revenue payable to the county or counties within which the race or reservoir is situate.

If water is not continuously allowed to flow in any water-race along its entire course, not being a catch-water or dry-race, unless prevented by natural causes; or

If any such water-race as first mentioned is not used for its proper purpose during any term of three consecutive months, or in case of a catch-water or dry-race, during any term of six consecutive months, shall be deemed to be abandoned; or

If by accident any part of any water-race be broken or washed away, and so rendered useless in part or in whole, and no steps be taken within two months from the time of the accident to repair the damage and to render the race available for use with the least possible delay,

Then and in any such case, so much of the water-race wherein no water is flowing, or as is not used for its proper purpose or as is rendered useless, shall also be deemed to be abandoned.

If it shall be proved to the Court that the race or any part of it has remained neglected so as to be useless, or been abandoned wholly or in part, the Warden shall declare the same or a portion thereof to be abandoned, and shall cancel the license of the original licensee as to so much of the race as is declared abandoned.

The Warden may thereupon decree the plaintiff to be the first applicant, or make such other order therein as may be just and equitable.

In case there shall be more applicants than one for the same race, priority shall be granted to the applicants according to the date of the receipt of their applications by the Warden.

The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to apply to any water-race used exclusively for agricultural or pastoral purposes.

Whenever in any case it is not expedient that the provisions of “The Public Works Act, 1882,” relating to the proclamation and construction of water-races should be put in force, or whenever any rights to the use of water held under Acts relating to goldfields or mining districts, or for the construction of works connected therewith, have heretofore been, or may hereafter be, acquired by or on behalf of the Council of any county under “The Public Works Act, 1882,” or this Act, or any Act repealed by this Act, and have by Order in Council been vested, or which may hereafter be vested, in the County Council of any county situated within a mining district, or partly within and without any mining district, the following provisions shall have effect:—

The County Council may in any mining district apply for, receive, and hold any license or other authority to cut, construct, and use any water-race, sludge-channel, tailrace, dam, reservoir, or for any other purpose and in any manner authorized under this Act.

Every such license or other authority shall confer upon the County Council all rights, powers, remedies, and authorities, and it shall be subject to the same liabilities in respect thereof as if such license or authority had been issued to it as a private person.

A notification in the Gazette signed or purporting to be signed by the Chairman and Clerk of any County Council shall be deemed to be sufficient evidence that such person has been duly appointed with all the powers and for ah the purposes hereinbefore mentioned, unless in such notification there shall be expressed some limitation of the authority conferred upon him.

Every Warden, Registrar, Clerk, or other officer whose duty it may be to issue any license or other authority under this Act shall, upon application made to him for that purpose, either upon an Order in Council or by the County Council, transfer or renew any license, right, or easement to and for the County Council.

It shall not be necessary for the County Council or any person on its behalf to take out and hold any miner’s right or business license under this Act, in order to enable it to hold any such license or authority as aforesaid; nor shall it be necessary that any such license or authority be renewed in any way, or that any annual or other fee in respect thereof be paid by or on behalf of the County Council; but such license or authority shall, during the term for which it was granted, subsist until relinquished by the County Council, or the original term for which it was granted has expired.

Every Borough Council shall have and may exercise the same powers and privileges as are conferred on County Councils by the last-preceding section; all the subsections whereof shall be read, for the purposes of this section, as if the words “Borough Council” had been inserted therein in place of the words “County Council.” Every Borough Council which shall obtain a license or other authority to cut, construct, or use any such water-race as in the last-preceding section mentioned, shall have authority and control over the entire length of such water-race, notwithstanding such race may extend beyond the limits of the borough within which such Borough Council has jurisdiction.

Wherever any County Council or Borough Council holds a water-race, the said Council shall cause a separate account to be kept of the receipts from such race, and the expenditure therefor; and no revenue from any such race shall form part of the County or Borough Funds, but shall be appropriated exclusively for the maintenance or extension of the race from which such revenue is derived, or for acquiring, constructing, or maintaining other races within the same mining district, or for the development of the mining industry therein.

It shall not be competent for any County Council or Borough Council to reduce the fee payable for water in any race under the control of such Council except with the assent of the Governor in Council.

The Land Board and the Commissioner of Crown Lands of every land district constituted under “The Land Act, 1885,” shall in respect of Crown lands and private lands outside of mining districts have all the powers of the Warden and Mining Registrar respectively for granting licenses for the construction of water-races, dams, or reservoirs, or for the diversion of water.

Part IX. of “The Public Works Act, 1882,” and sections one hundred and forty-one to one hundred and forty-eight, both inclusive, of this Act, shall be read and construed mutatis mutandis for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this section.

The Governor at any time and from time to time, and either by particular or general description, may set apart, by Proclamation, any portion of Crown lands for the deposit of tailings and débris from any workings or mining operations, or for the discharge of water, tailings, and refuse therefrom.

The Governor in Council from time to time, by Proclamation published in the Gazette, may proclaim and declare that any watercourse shall be a watercourse into which tailings, mining débris, and waste waters of every kind used in, upon, or discharged from any claim or licensed holding shall be suffered to flow or be discharged, and in like manner may withdraw any such watercourse from the operation of this Act.

Before any such Proclamation shall be made as herein provided, the Governor shall cause not less than ninety days’ notice of the fact that application has been made to him to proclaim a watercourse for the purposes aforesaid, to be published in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper circulating in the mining district where such watercourse may be situated, stating the name and locality of the water course in respect of which such application has been made; and any person whose rights may be or appear to be injuriously affected shall be at liberty to transmit to the Governor any objections such person may have to the making of such Proclamation.

If, notwithstanding any such objections, the Governor shall decide to exercise the powers hereby conferred upon him, such Proclamation shall prescribe a day on which the same shall take effect, being not less than ninety days from the date of the publication thereof in the Gazette.

“Watercourse” means and includes any river, stream, creek, pool, or any portion thereof, or any tributary thereof, mentioned or included in any such Proclamation, and whether within the limits of a proclaimed mining district or not; but in any such Proclamation it shall be sufficient to describe the watercourses affected by it in general terms.