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Show THE MININO LAWS AGAIN. Tliu paramount jmrpo.-.; uf any -w of uiiriiiii laws .ilnjiild he to oncotirair tin) di;vi:luimeiit of our mineral fl--MOtin:'rrt by facilitating tlic actual working work-ing of tlir; iniii.-.H. Hcii'ic wt: ar: u.-pi:-oially Mtlioitom tint, in any general niifiin law that may b: cmctcj, tlnTu hliall bu a provision (i n i n i in unmistakable unmis-takable tcnud what eh ill consiituti; an ahan'turiuient uf a mining claim. Thi ijue.ilion of abamlonineiit lias never, that via art) awaro of, been ina'b: ll.c itubjeut ol' .itatutory n-L'tilaliuii. It haa boon puroly a qucu-m fur a jury tu d :ci.l: ; a un:rc inattor uf opinion about wbicli the licume between men to ditfer i so broad that it ba.i always been, where any work was done ou a mining location, an iiuiiuanibiliiy to prove abandonment to tin; fatiafac-tion fatiafac-tion of a jury. Wo tliiuk that liuo'e should be a law requiring a cer'aia amount of work to be dune every year oti every mining location male, and that it about d be enacted that, whenever one year nliall have elajmed without the per formanee of the amount of work apec-iliod, apec-iliod, the mine .nhall bo doomed abandoned aban-doned and subject to relocation. One year i.s as loujf a timo a.i any mine hhould bo permitted to lio idie. The policy of recognizing a title to the possesion pos-sesion of a mino as indefeasible after Join a limited amount of work upon it, is tho prolitio parent of mining law suits. This policy the original bill introduced in-troduced in tho legislature recognizes; while the substitute bill provides that after doing a specified amount of work within the yoar of location, the mine may be then held for two years more without work. Tho first proposition would blockade tho development of the initios forever, tho last would raise the blockade after two years, and both aro in tho interest, in different degrees, however, of tho arclwoological searchers search-ers of dilapidated mining records. It is a mooted question whether the U. S. courts would recognize the legality legal-ity of a State or Territorial statute de-lining de-lining abandonment, by making a mine once located subject, to relocation, in the event that it is not worked to a certain extent within a specified time. Wo aro inclined to think that the authorities of tho government would maintain tho validity of such a statute, because it accords with a sound public policy. The government is vitally interested in tho production of the precious metals. Bullion is the basis of tho national credit, and its increased in-creased production is the only possible mode of c fleeting a return to specie payment. Kor these and other weighty reasons, policy dictates the encouragement encourage-ment of a rapid development of our mineral resources, and the effect of a law limiting the idle occupation of a mine, will undoubtedly be to stimulate such a development. The strictly legal que.--1 ions involved would of course be entirely subject (o the discretion dis-cretion of the government, been use the : government holds tho absolute owner- ' ship of the mines. 1 |
