Feb. 18.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 641

(2.) A notice of the office hours shall be kept posted in some conspicuous place in and outside the office.

Holidays.

121. The following days shall be holidays in the Warden’s Court and the office thereof, that is to say: the days from Good Friday to Easter Tuesday (inclusive); the days from Christmas Eve to 3rd January (inclusive), and all statutory holidays; and in each district the anniversary of the foundation of its province.

Minute-book, Plaint-book, Record-book, &c.

122. The clerk shall keep a book, to be known as the minute-book, in which shall be entered minutes of all interlocutory proceedings and of all temporary appointments, whether of officers pursuant to the Mining Act, or of office days or hours pursuant to these regulations. He shall also keep a plaint-book in the form numbered 71 in the Sixth Schedule hereto, and a record-book in the form numbered 72, in the Sixth Schedule hereto, wherein he shall enter the particulars therein specified.

123. The forms numbered 73 to 92 in the Sixth Schedule hereto may be used in respect of proceedings in the Warden’s Court, or of documents to be filed or lodged therein; and if for any such proceeding there is no form prescribed, the Warden may prescribe the form to be used.

Fees.

124. The fees specified in the Seventh Schedule hereto shall be payable in respect of the matters therein mentioned, and the allowances to witnesses in proceedings in the Warden’s Court shall be those specified in the same Schedule.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINING INDUSTRY.

Aid to prospecting Deep Levels.

125. With respect to the assistance which may be given by the Minister towards prospecting deep levels, the following provisions shall apply:—

(1.) A “deep level” to prospect quartz lodes shall mean prospecting operations undertaken to prospect auriferous lodes down to a depth of not less than 1,000 ft. below the level of the natural surface of the ground, or such less depth—in no case being less than 750 ft.—as in special circumstances the Minister approves.

(2.) A “deep level” in alluvial drift shall mean prospecting operations undertaken to prospect alluvial drifts at a depth of not less than 250 ft. below the natural surface of the ground, where it is necessary to erect pumping machinery to lift not less than 250 gallons of water per minute.

(3.) The number of deep levels for the prospecting whereof assistance may be granted shall be confined to three mining districts—namely, one in the North Island, one in the west of the Middle Island, and one in Otago; and not more than one deep level shall be assisted in any such district at one time.

(4.) Any person desirous of obtaining assistance for prospecting deep levels shall make application in writing to the Minister, stating the locality and nature of the work proposed to be done.

(5.) The application shall be accompanied by a plan of the site of the intended prospecting operations, and a statement in detail showing (a) the mode in which it is proposed to carry on such operations; (b) the amount of money proposed to be expended; (c) the character and value of the machinery proposed to be erected; and (d) the total amount of assistance required. Should mining operations have been previously carried on in the ground proposed to be prospected at deep levels, the applicant shall also state (e) the amount of money already expended on such operations; (f) the character and value of the machinery already erected on the ground; and (g) the quantity and value of the gold extracted from the mine up to the date of application.

(6.) Before any application is granted the applicant must satisfy the Minister that the applicant’s proportion of the total amount proposed to be expended is available; and upon being so satisfied the Minister shall, if he deem it advisable, obtain a joint report of two or more qualified officers of the public service as to the probability of the operations proving successful, and that the proposed site is in the best locality for testing the deep levels in the district.

(7.) The Minister may grant assistance not exceeding one-half the total estimated cost of the proposed operations, or he may decline to grant any assistance.

(8.) Progress-payments on account of assistance will be made from time to time as the work proceeds, on the certificate of an Inspector of Mines.

Subsidies for Water-races and Storage Reservoirs.

126. Assistance by way of subsidy may be granted by the Minister towards the construction of water-races or storage reservoirs, and for that purpose the following provisions shall apply:—

(1.) Every application for assistance towards the construction of a water-race or storage reservoir shall be made to the Minister in writing, and shall be accompanied with a plan of the proposed work and an estimate of its cost.

(2.) The application shall also be accompanied with a statement showing the source of supply from which it is proposed to take the water, the area and estimated depth of proved auriferous ground that the proposed work would command, the number of miners actually engaged in carrying on mining operations within such area, and the extra number of miners that could be profitably employed if the proposed works were constructed.

(3.) On receipt of such application, plan, and statement the Minister shall cause an examination to be made and a report furnished to him by a qualified officer of the public service as to the extent and character of auriferous ground which the proposed work would be likely to command, the extent to which