Idle Miners

On New Guinea Field Serious Condition of Stalemate Alleged

To the Editor Sir, —One of the many things here that is out of step with the rest of the world is that a man out of work is a criminal and gets three months’ imprisonment and is deported from the Territory. What would it be like if all the unemployed in Australia received the same treatment? Lang’s ambition would be realised and Australia off the map.

In this case it is due to the short sighted policy of the Administration that the men are out of work (that is, the mining portion of the community).

Once they have worked out their small claim there is no other ground for them to work. Yet there are hundreds of acres of payable ground on Edie Creek.

This is the only country in the world where ground payable to the alluvial miner has been allowed to be taken up in leases. Although these leases were granted, subject to Sec. 38a, the miner is not allowed a permit to work under that section. A few who obtained permits before December, 1928, are still allowed to work, but these are very few. Still, there are many who applied before that time and were refused permits.

After December, 1928, the miners were told that Section 38a was illegal, if so, then the leases were illegally granted and the few who are still working them under that section are illegally working them. These leases belong to the N.G.G. Co., who do not want the alluvial portion of the leases

so have let them, on tribute, in certain cases, to their employees, who, in turn, sublet them and continue working for the Co. Now, the Administration says that tributes are illegal and only the Co. is allowed that privilege.

There is no other work here for the miner to do but to mine. Many of them spent hundreds of pounds to come here, then had to get a bond of £50 to be allowed to work and earn a living in a country which they helped to make—only to find that their work is taken away from them and they are classed as criminals.

It should be remembered that there is no work up here for a man to do.

The plantations do not want men and there are no works being carried on.

The Co. imports all its employees from South —mostly from Broken Hill, where it can get them for lower wages.

A few years back the “Montoro” used to arrive in Sydney with 15,000 to 20,000 ozs. of gold from the New Guinea fields. Now the amount is not worth publishing. Yet the amount would still be the same if the miners were allowed to work. So far, the Co. has not sent away one ounce of gold; while the miners are trying to make a bare living in the back creeks, hoping that they will be able to pay what they owe the merchants who stuck to them when they were thrown out of Edie Creek. If they cannot make that living, then they are classed as criminals.

The thousands of pounds of public money spent on the Markham Valley road for the benefit of a small cotton company had been spent in sending miners out to discover new fields, there would to-day have been a better chance for these men to pay their way, a larger output of gold, and work for all the men who wished to come from Australia and increase the productive ness of New Guinea. —I am, etc.

Wau, N.G. ... Liviara.

October 30, 1931.