The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, May 7, 1903. MR HERDMAN AND THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 365, 7 May 1903, Page 4

The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, May 7, 1903. MR HERDMAN AND THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

In view of the many influences that are being brought to bear against the prosecution of the Otago Central Railway, by grasping representatives of northern constituencies who are interested in other lines, the people of Central Otago are amazed to learn that the ranks of the enemy have been swelled by the newly-elected member for Mt. Ida—Mr A. L. Herdman. This gentleman has propounded the startling and ridiculous suggestion that the line should be stopped at Ophir, and that, instead of continuing tho railway, the road through Thomson's Gorge should be completed so that the settlers in the Hawea-Tarras districtmight be brought into closer touch with the seaboard. One would naturally imagine that a representative t>f a Central Otago constituency would be among the last to oppose the prosecution of this much-needed railway—the railway for which the people have so long and so persistently striven—and that his voice,would be the last to be raised in an attempt to decry the resources of that portion of the interior which happens to lie just beyond the imaginary line dividing his constitu ency from that of his neighbor. Mr Herdman's attitude in this matter discloses a spirit of narrow-minded parochialism, which will be deplored by those who entertained hopes that the member for Mt. Ida would develop high qualities of statesmanship ; and if it be (as has been suggested) that his remarks in this connection were made with a view to winning the good graces of electors politically opposed to him, then all we can say is that we have sufficient faith in the good sense of the people, in the upper end of the Mt, Ida electorate, to assert that they will not allow themselves to be wheedled by any such clap-trap. In the event of the Alexandra and Clyde districts being tacked on to the Mt. Ida electorate before the next election, it would be intensely interesting to note what effect this littie change would have on Mr Herdman's views regarding matters pertaining to this district. The recorded ' opinions of Mr Herdman regarding the suitability of a road through Thomson's Gorge, as a means of communication between Hawea and the railway, are scouted by all those, who know the locality and are in a position to judge. The road crosses the range at an attitude of 3200 feet, and for a great portion of the year must be practically impassable; while the grades will be so steep that, even in good weather, the loads that can be taken over the road will be very limited. Under these circumstances, it seems to us that the settlers at Hawea would be much better served with the railway terminus at Alexandra or Clyde, than with the absurd alternative suggested by Mr Herdman. We may say that we do not oppose the construction of the Thomson's Gorge road (which is now proceeding), as it will doubtless be highly serviceable to a great number of people, but what we do say is that to spend a huge sum on this road, as an alternative to prosecuting the railway to its natural terminus, would be the very acme of folly. Then Mr Herdman airily asserts that there is " little beyond Lauder to support the line." He is blind—wilfully blind, we are afraid—to the immense resources of this district—to its latent possibilities,for example, in regard to fruit culture, and to its capacity for carrying a large population in pursuit of this onp industry alone. The absence of quick communication with the sea-board is the one factor that has operated against the fuller development of this industry, but with the advent of the railway fruitgrowers will be encouraged to develop the resources lying latent, in the soil, until eventually the district will fully justify the description given of it by the Government pomologist for the North Island, the other day, when he referred to it as the California of New Zealand. Then Mr Herdman presumes to express the opinion that " dredging was a somewhat fabrile industry, and he did not think it would be an extremely prosperous one for any. length of time." This statement is rather refreshing, coming as it does ! from a gentleman who has had little or no opportunity of making himself acquainted with a subject anent which he -bo loftily airs his opinions, and is quite in harmony with the other absurdities propounded by the hon. gentleman in his remarkable statement. The dredging industry speaks for itself, and its prosperity or longevity will not, we opine, be seriously affected by Mr Herdman's "opinions." The statements made by Mr Herdman, indeed, seem to us to be so absurd that they are scarcely worth refuting, but as they will no doubt be made use of by the enemies of the Otago Central Railway, it will be well if the people of this district take prompt measures to vigorously urge upon the Government their claims for railway communication to the Molyneux Valley..

Thbrk is some talk of forming a ourting club in Alexandra. We are glad to notice that Mr F J Burgess, S.M., has been gazetted chairman of the Tuapeka Licensing Bench, vice Mr Oraickshank, A requisition is being signed in Alex, andra asking Sir \Tcseph Ward to visit this town, daring his forthcoming tour through Central Otago. W« regret that, owing to pressure on ouspace, the remainder of our report in col ' nection with the tour of the Vincent County Councillors, is unavoidably held over till next issue. Lieut. Colonel Robin will inspect the Alexandra Rifles on Friday, 29th inst. -The firing for the Government medals will take place the same day under Colonel Robin's supervision.

The Government have intimated tbattbsy intend bringing down this session an amended Municipal Corporations Bill to enable boroughs to inorease the number of councillors.

At the Ophir Magistrate's Court last Thursday, W Waldron was fined £26 for selling liquor at Ida Valley, without a license. As some £l7 worth of liquor was confiscated, the fine was subsequently reduced to £lO.

Mr S J Mathibon, representing the American School of Correspondence, informs us that he will be in Alexandra only for one week longer. Anyone desiring information regarding the School should, therefore, apply early. A* a meeting of fruitgrowers held at Earnscleugh on Thursday evening last,' it was resolved that Messrs Dawson and Iversen be appointed a deputation to wait on Sir Joseph Ward, at Ophir, with the object of urging upon him the necessity; of completing the Otago Central Railway : to the Molyneux Valley. A contemporary recently made a rather suprising statement to the effect that 400Q rabbits were received in one day at the Clyde depot, off the Earnacleugh runs We are reliably informed that the rabbits are not nearly so numerous as might be inferred from the above mentioned statement, and that, as a matter of fact, less than half the number stated is the record tally. Considering that the rabbits are taken toff 100,000 acres of land, it does not appear at if the rabbits are more than usually numerous in that locality. .-: In "The Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom "we got the following .-—Look before you sleep; many are called, but tow get up; a bird on a bonnet is worth ten on a plate; displays are dangerous; a lie in tlma saves nine; some are born widows, some achieve widowhood, whilst others have widows thrust upon them ; where there's » will there's a law-suit; friendship is more to be valued than love, for love is a thing a man can buy and a woman can get for nothing; pride goeth before, and the bill coßieth after; absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

Friday last was the tenth anniversary o' Mr Seddon's assumption of the Premiership constituting a record tenure of office for this country, and very nearly a record for Australia; in fact, in a few weeks Mr Seddon will have exceeded Sir John Forrest'* lengthy but far less remarkable term of office in Westralia. On Saturday night, atWellington.the Premier was entertained atl meeting of the Liberal party, and was presehtedVith an eulogistic address. Among the congratulatory messages received from far and Bear was one from the Colonial Secretary I " Prime Minister of New Zealand. My best wishes for m&ny years' life and happiness to yourself, and for the continued prosperity of New Zealand.—(Signed) Chamberlain."

Mb Ryan, the Otago Education Board's truant officer, is now devoting his attention to negligent parents and guardians in country districts. At Ophir, on Thursday last," before Mr M'Ennis, S. M , the following parents, prosecuted for the irregular attend. ance of the children, were fined 2s on each informant, with 7s costs:—-William Watson, five informations; Edward Kearney and JohnW Johnston, each four informations; James Whyte, Bernard Flanneryand Oharlea Gallagher, each four informations. At St Bathans on Friday the following parents were fined 2s on- each information and 7a costs in each case for the irregular attendance of children :—Thomas Davis M'Levie, of Cambrian (four informations), and Andrew Haig, (five informations). Mr M'Ennis, S M.'said as it was the first time the defendants had been prosecuted for the truancy of their children he wouldbe lenient but if they came before him again he would impose the maximum penality. The consumption of whiskey among the upper classes has increased enormously with* in the last few years (says a Scotch correspondent of the " London Daily Telegraph "), and coincidently there has been a great Increase in the number of distillers and dealers, many of the latter having but & vague conception of the meaning of "malt" and " grain "as applied to whiskey. At the present time there are 160 Scotch distillers producing annually about 35,000,000 gallnne of spirit usually called whiskey v pf which only about half the quantity, being made from malt, is entitled to be so described ( the rest being made direct from grain (no* malted) is merely grain spirits the first cost of which is about one-fourth that of malt whiskey. Of the enormous quantity of Scotch whiskey consumed probably as much as 95 per cent is composed of malt whiskeje and grain spirit blended in various proportions, according to the requirements of the various merchants' clientele, that usually supplied by public houses, especially In the Worth, being more or less innocent of malt. Pure malt whiskey, well matured by age, la, of all the alcoholic drinks, the moat wholesome, whereas grain spirit is pernicious. We are reliably informed that rabbits are more than usually numerous in the vicinity of the water races on Galloway run owned by Mr Rivers and the Alexandra Borough. This is perhaps accounted for by the small rainfall this season on Galloway watershed, causing the rodents to congregate and form warrens in the neighorborhood of the water-races. Their favourite place for burrowing appears to be below a tussock about the level of the bottom of the race, so that very often they escape the eye of the caretaker, who is continually employed attending to the race. The rabbits carry their burrows to within an inch or two of the water, and breaks in the race are contin* nally occurring from this cause. As the Borough Council will shortly require Xi Rivers to supply them with an unroterrapted supply of water for the requirements of the town, it would be well if the Council would assist Mr Rivers by insisting that the runholders be compelled to make provision for keeping the rabbits down during the whole year, as required by law, and not allow the course of the water-races to be made a breeding-ground for the pest until the season when the skins become more valuable.