856d. 6363/9, 60
I have the honor to forward herewith to Your Excellency a note
drafted in the Eoyal Ministry for the Colonies and I permit myself
to refer to its contents.
[Enclosure—Translation]
Pending amendment of the Indian Mining Act, which was under
consideration, to the effect that no further concessions for the
extraction of petroleum and coal should be issued on the basis
of that act, the Indian Government, after consultation with the
then Minister of Colonies, in April 1913, had a notification
sent by the Chief of the Bureau of Mines (who, according to the
Mining Order, must be consulted by the heads of the local
administrations on all questions regarding permission for
prospecting for minerals) to the heads of
[Page 270]
administrations just named, to
keep all applications for prospecting permits under
consideration until further notice, unless the existence of oil
and coal was considered very unlikely.
It must be assumed that the American Minister refers to this by
the words “the repeal in 1912 of the so-called ‘old law’”.
Attention is also invited to the fact that that measure covered
all applications, whether by Dutchmen or by foreigners, and that
in the enforcement thereof no distinction has ever been made
between the two categories.
This measure was removed after the passage of the act of July 20,
1918 (Official Gazette No. 466), by which the Indian Mining Act
is amended to the effect that the discovery of petroleum, coal,
or iodine by the holder of a prospecting permit no longer gives
any right to a concession for the extraction of the
substance.
Extraction of such a mineral can be effected only by the
Government or, according to a so-called extraction agreement
approved under the law, by persons or corporations complying
with the requirements set forth in the first paragraph of
article 4 of the Mining Act. Consequently a working of oil wells
by individuals or private companies under the ordinary
conditions of the Mining Act can no longer be considered, and
this exclusion applies to Dutchmen quite as much as to
foreigners. Besides, the right of individuals to claim permits
for prospecting for these minerals is not curtailed; if
prospecting leads to a discovery, the reward therefor is settled
in each special case by the Governor General, in so far as no
agreement has already been made.
The act makes no distinction of any kind between Dutchmen and
foreigners with respect to the possibility of entering into
extraction agreements and obtaining prospecting permits.
The Government must, from the nature of the matter, reserve to
itself complete freedom with respect to the selection of the
persons or companies which may be entrusted by the Government
with the extraction of petroleum on the basis of an extraction
agreement.
