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Wk havo lmd bofoto us; for somo.Iimo.a
J>rliUmo»tary Papor; numbered i ilQ, en- i
rtorsed " Tamar Hematite IroniCompany:
Pnputs'aiitl Correspondence: irolative to'
Transfer of Lease -of; 'Crowu ; Lands."
These documents were .-moved for by Mr.;
Doolcy, and vrcro ordered To bo printed
on Oth February last. Since; the adjourn-
iudiit of Parliainunt tho order for printing
lias -been' complied' with; and Papor < No. .
110 has; been- issued .to ;tho Press and to,
memberSiiof. tho Logislnture. It cannot
havo oscapod'tho attention of : the. public
that since .lho fact- became known that
certain, sections of laud leased . by . the'
Govorhmont to a Melbonrno company,
for tho purposo of prosecuting jbusincss
under, tho nnmo of "The Tnmar Hema
tite Iron Company" passed into tho pos
session of.AloBsrs. " A. Douglas, William
Hart, William Dawson Grubb, Willinm
Ritchie', and Samuel Tullech, ail of Lauu
ceston, in' Tasmania, gentlemen," etc.,
'that- muchf curiosity has .been ovineod to
know bow ; tho transfer from the;. Iron
Company, .who held certain lauda uudor
tho Mineral Lenses Act, 1870, to
tho,- gcntlomon ; jusfc .nainod lmd been
effected. Tlicro was, too, a good
deal of dissatisfaction. manifested, both by
words and nots, when it came to bo known
tbat part of the Crown estato lensod
ostensibly for the purposo of smelting and
utilising iron oro, had been privately,
transferred to a fow individuals for gold
mining operations. _ This paper, No. 11G,
throws a Hood of light 011 a subject, the
real merits or circumstances of which wore
a mystery to all but tho pnrtiesimmcdiatoly
interested. "The papers and corres
pondence relative to the transfer of lease
of: Crown lands " possess moro than an
interest for tho forcunato transforraes,
whose good fortune wo arc sure no reason
able porson will onvy. No blame what'
ever can bo attached to those gentlemen
who wcro clear-sighted enough to appro-
ciato the valuo of tho property they so
cleverly acquirod. But we have in this
caso another very strong and convincing
proof of tho danger of leaving it in tho
power of any individual occupying, per
haps without any special merit or claim,
mid practically without any fear of
responsibility, to dispuso of tho public
property: with no better security for1
its boiug dealt witii for the benoiit
of tho State than his " discretion." It is
tlio exercise of this discretion that secures
the Minister irresponsibility, for it can be
soused us to closo the lips of the Opposition
in Parliament, and to scoitro tho allegiauco
of his professed supporters. By rirtno of
Iris " discretion " the Minister can havo
roads aud bridges so laid out and provided
for as to outflank his opponents, by para
lyaing tho action of representatives of
constituencies inimical to his rule, con
vinced of his incapacity, nnd dubious of
his honesty of purposo. Whon tho ad
ministration of the Public Works Act, the
Wasto Lands Act, and Mineral Leases
Act aro placed in the hands of a Ministor
to administer according as his " discre
tion"— which means, according to his own
and his party's,' and not 'tho pttbjic
iiitoresls — wo virtually invest hhn
with the full command -of tho whoio
resources of tho Stato to use or abuse, just
as it suite his -individual purposes. Wo
givo him tho moans of corrupting con
stituencies, of rewording tho apostate, and
wasting tho honest elements of lho rcpro-
sontatiro power of tho country, and all wo
havo as security against his so doing is
tho exercise of his "discretion," when
deciding who are to benefit by the
administration of thoso laws which nflbct
tlio,. very life of tho body social aud
politic.
It will bo scon that it was in virtue of
tlio oxorciso of this irresponsible " dis
cretion," and not by that of any impera
tive mandate of the law, that tlio leases
originally oxociitcd in favor of 1111 iron
mitring company passed into tlio posses
sion of Mcssra. Douglas, -Grubb and Co.
AH considerations of public policy npponr
to lmvo boon overlooked, and nothing
thought of by the Minister wlion sanction
ing the transfer of the lease, but tho
omnlpntenpp - (ind probable . effects of
relying upon his "discretion," which
the law loft him quite froo to do—just as
ho considered it to havo donu when
practically , applying Soction, 24 of the
Wasto Lauds Act, 1870, No. 10. But, in
lliiu. caso we aro now about. coiiBidoring,
there can be no question that although
Mr. Douglas and Go. had u legal right to
inalco tlio application which ultimately
secured tlio transfer of - tho Homatite
Iron Company's lease, ' tho Minister
of 1 Lands ' was left froo to accept or
reject it. How ho cnino to reason
himself into noccptipg it wo shall
now proceed to show, from references to
tho official documents and correspondence
before us. Afier tho diBBolmion of tho
Hematite Iron Company, tho. land leased
to them was prospected, and found to be
richlyauriforous. Thernsnlt .at first waaonly
confided to a few,- and hot until timo was
given to make preparations for the com
municating of all that followed, As wo
have alroady said, no fault can bo fonpd
with' tlio action of tlioso'who succeeded in
possessing themselves .of what, turns out
to lie a very valuable property." ""'It is
with tho r Government — with , tho laws,
which permit tho' piiblic property to bo
disposed of. at tho discretion of an irro-
Hponsiblo Minister," who may naturally bo
Biinposed to be always inclined to uso that
discretion " to maintain hie position,
and consequently with an oyo directed
linoro to his own than tho, public interost.
<\Vo shall' commence bur oxtracts from this
parliamentary paper, No. JIG, by giving,
vorbatim, thp upld Commissioner's lotter.
iWo tiiko this courso In-order that in any
auhnoqiibnt , statement of our oqinnionta
'nnon the' caso, wo shall not ho exposed to
the. imputation , of being jm unfair or a
partial eritio , : —
; Launc'cBton. 10th January, 1878.
i JTy Dear Sir,— Mr. Jlouglas has this mnrii-
ing applied for u lcaso of 30 nvros, including nil
tlio 'auriferous' laud 01 the Uomatite Company's
lujis'o'at Cubhago I't-eo Hill. , Ho. informs 1110
thatlfe has marked off tlio ground as required
'by, Regulation 87. J)is .application is pot In
itfio prescribed form, but ho will make tlio
formal application and puhlish tho "Gazette"1
! iiotico within the J 4 days allowed.
J t Is a question if ho is tho holder of lho lease
imilorYVJIw" Mineral, itiww Act,. 1870," but I
tnip|Hino ho must bo rcr-ogtiftirjl jih suoh wlinn In,
produces tho assiguincjit of the leioso from tho
JJuuiatiU) Com iHiny.1 1 have not had' thus this
morning. to look very carefully into lids mntlnr.-
hnt it appears to mo his Hp|»licaUon for a gold
mining lenso umlcr scotioji 3D of 'J'lio Mineral
Lands Act, 1877, settles the difficulty in deal-
in" with tho question of tho forfeiture of lho
lonsc. The lessee of tho laud tiudor 'J'hn
Mineral Looses. Act, 1870, Inw thu rlcliL to
'w for lho Ratio ; ami linvhig applied, and
aW. ' 1 j„ particulars with Uio LUibl'
complied u„„H (prefiiuning ho does «o
field .Rcgiiliu. |,ot think liiu title to thy
011 Monday), I do
ground can be affected in anj way by the action
of tho Executive in cancelling or othenriso tho
mineral lease. Ho will havo a legal status as
an npplicaut for a gold mining loaso, and notta,
of the other persons occupying tho ground havo'
any right whatever— are, in fact, trespassers.
If tho Jixecutive cancel tho mineral lease, It
appears to uio Mr. JJouglas's application must
go on through all its stages. I do riot think lio'
«an -apply lor 30 acrcs-wlthont special per
mission from von, but for 25 acres only, tlio
limit prescribed iu Regulation 85.
When ho makes tlio formal application, I
'shall have to call upon hlm'to show me that ho
Is tho lessee. If ho cannotdo that, I do not see
how I can rocoive his £ppUcntiou. .
I am told that several-people aro on'tho' look
out for tho forfeiture, reauy to mark off at
midnight.
.,«,M;,«.Yours faithfully, - -----
f . , . ( .. Beuxaud shaw,,
| xno'uon. JNt 0, jjrown. k-j ; | i
- O11 tlio 28th January, 1878, Mr;
-Douglas inndo his .formal application- for a,
:lba>o of tho 30 acrba roforrdd to by Mr.
Shaw, "as tho purchaser of thoHematito,
Company's land" by virtno of ; tho
Minoral Leases Act 1877. Air.
DouylaB1 could / not; havu bocn' the pur-:
chaser of tho u land," which wo presume
is a misprint, nnd ought to have been
" lease." On the 29LH he is informed by
Air. fc'haw,." that tho. GoIdSohV Regula
tions do riot niitlioriso you to include a
larger area iu ouo application than 25 acres
.without tlio special , poru'rissioti of the
Mtnisturof LandsaiunVorks,"iuid furtlior,
that tho, Commissioner '/ cannot record
an; application from you;' or dual with it
iu- the prcacribod manner, -Minlil tho
mineral lease has been transferred to you
undor Uio- 10th section of tho Alinnral
Lauds Aot.".- On tlio 80th,- or day fol
lowing, Air. Douglas oxpresscs his readi-.
ness to accept a' least) for 25 acres, " if it
shall bo dotcriiriucd by tho authorities,"
but claims "a right, to nil or any portion
of tho lniul of which 1 havo purchasod the
lease for mjeclf rind others," -arid con
cludes by asserting that " Tho Goldfiold
Regulations can have 110 effect on me
as lessee." On tlio 2nd February tho
Commissioner, by letter, returned Air.
Douglas's cheque for £10 as deposit, ns
11 1 cannot recogniso you as tho lossoo of
the miueral seetiou until you have ob
tained tlie transfer under tho 19th clause
of Tlio Mineral Lands Act." There ap
pears to havo been- no furthor comutrica-
tion from cither sido until '."21st Feb,
1878 "--when thcro is a lotter addressed
by tho Commissioner, to ((tho hen. tho
Minister of Lanes aud Works.". As tlio
points of diffbroucQ between tlio Commis
sioner nnd Mr. Douglas nro clearly and
briefly stated with a viow of obtaining
upon thorn " tho opiuion of tho liou. the
Attorney-General," we' shall give' Air.
Shaw's letter in full.
' Launceston,' 21st February, 1878. '
Sir,— I havo tlio honor to forward for your
Eorusal corresj>on(lcnco between Mr. Adye
oul'Ios and myself upon the. subject of nn
application for a gold mining lease, under the
30th section of the' Mineral Lmuls Act. Mr.
Douglas claims tlio right (wheu he is in a posi
tion to ho recognised as tho lessee) of applying
for n gold-mining lease of the wholo area nolo
under the; mineral lease, but I urn of opinion
he cannot hold in one lenso more than tlie
area prcscritatl by the Goldfield Regulations :
altliougli ho may hold ns many leases ns will
cover tlio whole section. The 30th section is
not, however, very clear on this point, and I
would suggest the matter to bo referred for tho
opinion of the Attorney-General.
I have, etc..
Bervard sllaw, Commissioner.
Hon. Minister of Lands and Works.
Tins conveniently ob3curo Alineral
Lands Act was chiefly tho work of the
two principal legal purchasers of tho land
leased to tho Iiemalito Company aud just
camo into operation a few days beforo
Air, Douglas addressed bis first com
munication to tho Commissioner. The
lato Mr. William Dawson Grubb was tho
ehiof' simper of tho Aet and tho iutro-
ducor of nearly nil tlio amendments of
which tho general body of miners havo
so loudly complained. In our next wo shall
conclude our obsorvatipns on a subject
which has so many points of intorest for tlio
public to carefully consider — when it wilt bo
scon how perilous and full of dangors is
tho practice of leaving everything to tho
<( discretion " of a Ministor or Aliuistry,
The Ksm.wii Mail.— Tho R.AI.S. Tan-
joro reached Hohson'sBay yesterday morn
ing, and the s.h. Southern Cross, with the
Tiisinuuinn portion of the mails, left at 1.30
11.111. for Luuucuston, and uhu will roach the
Tamai' this morning iu time to conic up with
the tide, iu which case letters will !kj deli
vered hero this evening.
Tklkurai'Hiu co.umunioatins Restored.
— A memo, , was posted at the Telegraph
Office yesterday to the ulfuct that telegraphic
communication with the JJnon had beat
restored.
Medaus vou tiih Rifles. — Wo yesterday
were shown at the establishment of Mr.
Thomas Way, the well-known jeweller, four
beautifully designed medals, manufactured
for presentation to several members of the old
riHorogiiiicnt. ThoinodalfinroniadeoflinegoM,
and have the name of the respective winners
inscribed on each. They are to lm presented
as a memento to thoso who in years gono by,
when the volunteer movement was previously
In vogue in this city, competed for a medal
offered by Up) Goycrnriicnt'to whoever should
win tlio greatest number of mntehes. Tho
volunteers, however, 'woro disbanded beforo
tlio prize was won, nnd sotuo time sitieo
Lieuts. David Lewis, John O'Boylo, Bombar
dier John Mc/.gor, .and Corporal Andrew
Kirk, sent in a claim for tho trophy, they
having been victorious iu tui equal number of
matches. It was - decided that instead of
presenting the ouo incdal, four should be ob
tained ami given to tho above-named gentle,
men In recognition of tlicir skill in the using
of the rillo. Wc understand that tho pre
sentation is' to take placo early next weok.
The Oami'jikll Town Tavern Plate.— It
will he romoiuborod that a protest was
lodged on lrahnlf of the owner of tho second
horse in this raco against Air. Eady'siCnl-
stock receiving the prize, alleging 'that that
horso had not carried extra weight, the
penalty for a previous win. Tho matter has
ajneo been under the. consideration of tho
stewards, amj we' learn' that' they docidcd
-tne prize should 1» ))onf?4 ever to Mr.
Kftdy, .who was( soot. a. f?)Qquo fqj? $1;©-
amount!"-'' v "! ' ' "
; Accidhxt. — Yesterday a hoy named
Thomas Kelly, 9 years of age, fell down in
Letitia-streot, and fractured his loft arm near
the oliiow joint. Tho sufferer was .convoyed
to tho hospital, whoro splints woro applied,
and he, left,. , , _ , . .
: The Skasjan'h Dispute, -t-Wo yostorday-
received a communication signed "20 Sea
men of this Port," referring to the threatened
reduction of wages by tho shipowners; but'
until tho nnmcH of somo of the number nre
forwarded, wc munt withhold its publication.
A Row. — Another of thoso disgraceful
disturbances so froqpent in thoucigliborliood
at tho angle of Murray ami Mclvjllo-street,
5ecUITcd last evening shortly beforo ten
o'clock, A yuung woman of duubtful clmrac-
lor had been ifrhikihg in a public-house
known as tho Clolden Cross, aud from tho
iwpect of affairs enacted afterwards, jt would
seem she quarrelled with 0110 of the occupants
pt the house. To resent the wrong, thoro-
foivy (ho i|gj'jovcd ono atpneo,:.iuulor protest
of the owner, connppjioed to huiohIi in tlio
wimlows of the hotel. Aiiqthor cjf tho denu-
Miende. clnas, huwovcr, interfered, and. the
consequence was a recurrence of one of' tnoso
itiiHcendy brawls' in wh'ieh'sonio of tho most
filthy language .is invari.ably bitroduccibIho
row niged for some timo, and oh a tableau to
Mm h-ijiio l» u urinsliiblml . «|>ijo«v4- j'1!0'!,?'
h.iii-hc l/.w mnl nriter reigno'l ""I'lJ?'"0' ,
nre ciiiiLiiimilly ilrnwinK 1 """L:' "
Hiliwriiilmuloiit of Pofi.cp. J? V'l.Vvl S
IkkhI, whloh ix dimply « liotbe'l of xii.u l> nil
(l.lmuoluiry, Imt without, iwnil. If t o oot
ii. Uio inl-ircxt of tl.m ofllcmt to
fix-, I Mm lii,;!)cr n«t||or.liod " ,
fuiMicr iloli.y, inyoat'tm'V.'VS W> . -
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