The Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1860.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 1, 3 November 1869, Page 2

The Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1860.

Nemo me impune lace»*lt. Nemo mains felix. We present our readers with' the first number of the Cromwell Argus under circumstances which we little anticipated, and which requiro explanation at our hands, in order that wc may from the outset establish an understanding which will, wo hope and believe, be of very long duration. We desire to serve the' public faithfully and well, and wc can only db' this by establishing in the public mind thorough confidence in our principles and in our mode of procedure. To the public we look for support. Our existence depends upon the public ; and we trust that while wo perform our part towards them, the community will do the sumo towards us; Some weeks ago,'being about to leave Tuaprka in c ih n prosperity

of two papers there being an impossibility, and having sold out to our contemporary the Tuapeka Times, we cast about for some favourable field for newspaper enterprise, and hearing of Cromwell, we visited it, and we need hardly say were well received Wo were, indeed, most kindly treated by every person s accorded n hearty welcome —hospitably entertained—and, upon canvassing in order to ascertain what prospects of success awaited us, were given an amount of encouragement which at once decided us to settle in Cromwell. Tins, our readers will kindly observe was on the 15th and lGth of October ; and on the night of the 17th a perjon named Carrick arrived in Cromwell on the same errand—viz., to establish a newspaper. On our" return from a visit to the quartz reefs, on the evening of the 17th we met Mr Carriole who informed us that he had heard of our presence in Cromwell and of our object, that he had come with a similar intent, and that had he known we were coming, he certainly would not have come. lie then said that if we had made up our minds to establish ourselves in Cromwell he should immediately abandon all thoughts of the place and return to Dunedin ; and we parted with Mr Carrick wHi the distinct understanding that he had abandoned all thought or intent of coming to Cromwell ! We immediately commenced arrangements for removing our' plant from Lawrence. Oiu' readers will be well aware that such matters take time ; and as we had still three issues of the Tuapeka Press to publish, it was impossible for us to come out in Cromwell prior to the fir's* week in December. To our utter astonishment, we last week received telegrams from certain of our Cromwell friends to the effect that Mr Carrick had arrived in Cromwell with a printing plant ! Was ever such direct breach of faith ! Has there ever been a more dishonourable deviation from the truth'? We appeal to the public for replies to these questions ; and we also appeal to them to discountenance and discourage such not only unbusinesslike, but such grossly immoral, proceedings as the one the particulars of which it has been our painful doty to lay bare. Such practices are not only injurious privately, but they are public injuries. They are contra bonos mores in the fullest ami widest acceptation, and must in the long run recoil up an the heads of thoss who so wilfully c:>m nit evil deeds. We are sorry indeed to- be obliged to narrate these circumstances—to bore the public with matters that affect us privately ■ but we have no alternative. When wc received intelligence of this gross breach of faith—of the enactment towards u£ of this practical lie —we immediately resolved what course to pursue, and we determined to show our readers that We were, in energy at all events, equal to the occasion. One issue—the last—of the Tuapehi P'r'ens still remained to bo published, and we determined, as roon as it was out, to remove our farewell leader, and to insert this article, heading the paper with the title destined fur it, to print the requisite number of copies, and immediately to visit Cromwell and circulate this our first issue. As a matter of course, had things gone as we anticipated—had Mr Carrick not broken faith with us— we should not have made our debut until the Ist of December, when we should have come out with a proper text heading, with Cromwell instead of Tuapeka news, with Cromwell instead of Tuapeka advertisements, and with a leading article upon a subject which would have given us more pleasure to write upon, and our readers more pleasure to peruse, than this. One word to those who so liberally gave us their names as advertisers : having the orders merely, we were wholly unable t) insert any Cromwell advertisements in this issue ; but during the week every one will be waited on, and the very large number of advertisements which have been promised us, will appear in our next. We sincerely trust that when next we take occasion to refer to ourselves, we shall be able to write on a more pleasant theme—that instead of being obliged to devote our columns to the exhibition of a piece of deceit, we shall be in a position to thank our readers for having supported rijht against dishonesty, and for having worked pleasantly with us for the public weal in the interests of this important and promising district.