CORRESPONDENCE.

Cromwell Argus, Volume 2, Issue 85, 27 June 1871, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the j opinions expressed by our correspondents.] THE CLYDE GAOL. To the Editor of the Cromwell Argus. Sir,--Through the medium of your valuable paper, 1 beg to endorse the remarks made by Mr Brough regarding the disgraceful state of the Clyde Gaol. Ido not mean to say it is dirty ; but this T am sure of, that in the whole course of my experience in Loudon, Victoria, and elsewhere, I never was confined in a worse place ; and I would advise others of my class to steer clear of it.— l am, &c,, Old Fake. Cromwell, June 19. CHURCH IMPROVEMENTS. To the Editor of the Cromwell Argus. Sir, I would respectfully suggest to the Church Committee the desirability of having the School cleaned out for Sunday’s use, and the lamps attended to. At present, the schoolroom is always very untidy on Sundays, while the lamps look as though they had not been touched for twelve months. —I am, &c., June 19. Church-Goer. SOMETHING WORTH TRYING FOR. To the Editor of the Cromwell Argus. Sir, —It was a common saying in the early days of the Dunstan Rush that “ we would be all right when the river went downthat is, We would be in a position to settle the accounts owing to the bakers, butchers, and storekeepers, and also “ square up” with our mates. You will easily understand that many of us came over from Victoria “ a bit short,” and had to depend on a friend occasionally to keep us going. At any rate, the “river is down ” now, and if we are not right, we ought to be : it’s our own fault if we are not. But, let me ask, where are all those enthusiastic and energetic spirits we had amongst us in the early days ? Have they left the country in disgust, to join their wives or friends in some other clime? I have heard them swear they would live for two years on a biscuit a day rather than abandon their claims. Has the Molyneux lost her charms, or what is the cause ? Mr Editor, I repeat, the river is now “down and I may with truth add that since October ’62, it has not been lower than at the present time. Therefore, now, it ever, is the time to unearth its long-buried treasures. If lam not very much mistaken, we have a second “ Frenchman’s Point,” still untouched, at our very doors :—it only requires to he developed.—Yours, &c., Cromwell, June 17. Look Ahead.

“ THE ROAST BEEF OF OLD CROMWELL,” AN D WHAT WE PAY FOR IT. To the Editor of the Crow weir, Argus. Sir, — I beg you will pardon the liberty I take in requesting your consideration of the extreme prices charged by shopkeepers of this town for articles of daily consumption—necessaries of life, in fact; more particularly by Messrs Suet and Co., members of the guild of fieshers. Mutton, 4d per lb. ; joints, Gd and 8d ; beef-steaks, t)il! Sir, in and about Dunedin ; on many of the various diggings scattered over the Province —I may say most of them ; and also in the little agricultural towns within the Otago boundary, meat of good quality is retailed at nearly 100 per cent, less per lb. If, Sir, your vision is as many-sided as that of the ancient gentleman after whom your paper is named, you will no doubt be able to discern the reason why the butchers of Cromwell should have a monopoly of high prices ; and you will, I feel sure, explain the cause in a manner satisfactory to them, and the carnivorous public as well. For my part, though, I may say, with Mr Samuel Weller, “ that I haven’t got a pair of million magnifying microscopes to look with ; being only eyes, you know, my wision is limited.” Consequently, in an ordinary perceptive way “ I can’t see it”— i. e., the.whereforejust yet. 1 am not going into “bunkum,” by saying I am a “ pater-familias that the butcher’s monthly bill makes my flesh creep when I look at the double figures in the “pounds” column ; that I fear William Adolphus, and Clementina Jane, and Dickey-bird, and Mopsey must forego bsof-steak pie, aye, and cveiTthe cold shoulder, —rod-letter days excepted,—till the present exorbitant charges for moat are considerably reduced ; aud that I fear the poor little darlings’ hankerings after the forbidden flesh-pots will have the efTcct of diminishing their vigorous substantialities, observable in the letting-out of tucks, &.0., at waists and bodies, rents at elbows and knees, and—well, never mind where else, whilom the delight, as also the annoyance, of the tender but much stitching maternal parient. No, Sir, 1 mean to tell you straight away that I shall not endeavour to excite sympathy by resorting to any subterfuge or misstatement. I am a single man, having only myself to care for, yet I can assure you, Mr Editor, 1 find it to bo a task beset with much hardship, when I am made to pay so dearly for the food I cat and the clothes I wear. Had it been my lot to bo the owner of a second self, together with half-a-dozen pledges of affection in Cromwell, with the limited wages of a miner in this inclement season, I verily believe the high prices of provisions would bring us to the brink of starvation. I. am aware a third butcher started business in the town, and that he reduced the price of; meat in a great degree ; but I have heard that

he has been bought out by the two others who are of longer standing ; so that we may expect a continuance of existing extravagant rates, unless some patriotic " knight of the cleaver" comes to the rescue, and immortalises himself in the memory of a grateful people,—an event that would not be likely to be profitless to such a venturesome champion. Perhaps though, as already hinted, Suet and Co. may have a justificsition for big prices, and they will vouchsafe an explanation thereof to yourself. 1 should have referred to others of various callings trading here, who also charge enormously for goods of hourly domestic use ; but I think that I have gone beyond the limits of the space you will allow me for my communication. However, with your consent, I shall get at them in a future epistle. In the meantime, I subscribe myself An Attenuated Miner. Cromwsll, June 25. (To the Editor of the Cromwkll Argus.) Sir, —I havo heard and read a great deal of the complaints of those gentlemen (the Deputy Returning Officers), who, as it is believed, discharged the duties very effieiemtly, and had most unpleasant journeys to make, and went to some expense for horse hire, to say nothing ahout cost of living, &c. ; but there, the matter, it was thought, would end ; but they call upon the Government to pay them for what they were compelled to lay out in performing their duties, and think it very hard that they have been kept out of their money since February last. Ridiculous ! Is it not enough for them to i know that they have been of some service to th e country ? and that the Government only pay those gentlemen holding rich sinecuro appointments (and very properly so too, no doubt) ? It is abominable that the Government should be troubled for pay by thos« who have done something for their money ; and I trust this may meet the eye of some of the great officials, so that they may take measures to stop these clamorous persons who try to get reimbursed. I would suggest that the Government intimate to them, that if they continue to press for their own, the honour will not again be conferred upon them on any future occasion.—l am, &c, Ex Officio Smart.