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Cromwell Argus, Volume II, Issue 98, 26 September 1871, Page 4

The particulars of the riot in Dublin which are published in home papers to hand, by the last mail, give further evidence of the extreme discontent which exists in Ireland, and the feeling of bitter animosity with regard to members of the English Iloyal Family which reigns paramount in the breasts of many of the Irish people. It is a matter for very sincere regret that a race of people possessed of such warm and lot iog hearts in matters

connected with their own hind and kindred, should havo become so embittered towards tboso whoso destiny it is to govern them. No dotybt Ireland has suffered tinder grievances which wei'O hard to bear, and perhaps yet has cause to complain in many things; yet the use of unconstitutional methods of endeavouring to redress those grievances is wrong, and not calcuresult in the desired end. Such cdings engender a stronger and more bitter feeling in the minds of both those who consider themselves sufferers through monarchical misrule, and of the nation whose Royal family and Government are so bitterly attacked. They tend to widen the breach which already exists between theJEuglish and Irish people, and promote national prejudices which should be for ever sunk in oblivion. These internal dissensions are the source of dire mischief, and are the most complete means it is possible to use of disuniting and breaking-up a nation’s strength, and of causing misery and ruin among the people who are foolish enough to give way to feelings so inimical to their best interests. No one who reads the account of the Dublin riot, caused by the authorities prohibiting a Fenian anUesty meeting which was announced to take place on the Gth August, but will do so with a feeling of very tleep regret ; and the more so, that such men as the editors of the Irishman and the Nation, and a member of Parliament, should be ringleaders in the affray. When we read of officers of police drawing their staves, and felling the people by scores ; of stones being thrown; of sticks being vigorously used by the rnob ; and of women and children bring trampled under foot, and many of them being seriously bruised and wounded, we grieve that, such a state of affairs should exist where all should be pleasantness and cordiality. Bound together so indissolubly us England and Ireland are, such a state of things cannot exist much longer. If it is possible to remedy any of the grievances, or supposed grievances, which make the Irish people so discontented and hard to govern, steps should at once be taken by the Imperial Government to do so ; and the only effectual means of attaining this end would be the appointment of a Commission, composed of the most intelligent and liberal-minded men in the United Kingdom, whose duty would be to confer with delegates elected by the Irish people, and from them ascertain where the shoe pinches most severely, and what possible j means of remedy are to be found. Either j this, or the commission shou’d personally I visit each county in Ireland, and learn i from witnesses summoned from among the j people the nature of their grievances. A I report prepared by such a commission! would effectually set at rest the question ; of what is to be done for Ireland, and Par i liainent would have something tangible I upon which to work. No doubt the expanse of such a proceeding would be very great, but that should be no obstacle, for unless something of the sort is done, the Emerald Isle will for ever remain a thorn m the side of England, and a source of i annoyance, anxiety, and trouble.

The Hawea Station, consisting of 20,000 acres of pastoral country, together with the sheep and cattle thereon, has been purchased from Mr Charles Roberts by Messrs A. Eraser (of Earnsclfcugh), and A, Stewart (manager of Hawksburn Station). This station is situate on the Hawea Lake, within t.io boundary of the Canterbury Province ; and is said to be one of the most compact and easily-worked runs in New Zealand.

We understand tint the Albert Town Annual Races have been fixed for Friday, the 13th of October proximo. The events will comprise a Maiden Plate, distance, one mile ; an Open Handicap, distance, a mile and a half; a District Handicap—distance one mile—for horses the bonajidc property of station hands and working miners resident within a radius of twenty miles from Albert Town ; and a Hack Race. Several young blood animals bred in the neighbourhood of Bake Wan.aka are now in course of training, preparatory to trying their mettle on the Mount Iron Race-course.

We learn from private sources that the Assembly have adopted a resolution to levy an import duty of £lO per ton on rice. Yesterday a Chinese storekeeper at the Bannockburn proved himself e jual to the emergency by purchasing all the rice held by the Cromwell storekeepers before the latter became aware of thd tiSroas.a in the duty. The Mongolian merchant ■ai,^ v i'i en tly anticipated the imposition of a restrictive tax on the staple food of his countrymen, for he managed to secure the earliest information of the passing of the new tariff, and lost no time in turning that information to profitable account. At the Criminal Sittings of the Supreme Court recently held in Dunedin, the following sentences were passed Thomas States (38), for attempting to commit, an unnatural otlence at Switzers, two years’ imprisonment, -with hard labour ; P.ichard Burns (43), for committing larceny as a bailee, imprisonment for ono year, with hard labour ; Andrew 3. Gcddcs (2-1), for uttering a forged order, twelve months’ imprisonment, with hard labour ; Bridget Gee (25), for infanticide at the Glasgow Arras Hotel, Dunedin, two years' imprisonment, with hafd labour

By way of caution to “ m w chums,” ami in order to chock in sorbs measure the recklessness so prevalent among horsemen generally, a correspondent fnmishos the following account of an accidartt which occurred at Wamka Station a fOw clays ago :-r-“ The other nVsruing, At r W. A. Worsop, master of the Albort Town School, wishing to take r. young horse froni the stable to a neighbourin' paddock, mounted the anim il without either saddle or bridle; but he had only goae a short distance when the natural instincts of the unbridled stead caused it to “ ’boat ship" and make all sail for the stab’e. On entering the stockyard, the face of the luckless rider came in contact with the cap-rail of the gate, the result being that ha was taro.vu to the ground, his face badly braise I, and several of his front teeth knocked out. Mr Worsop lay insensible for a considerable time, and in consequence of tins untoward accident ho was conllued to bed for two days afterwards.

The sentence of death passed upon Gerald Henry Supple, for shooting a Mr Walshe in the attempt to shoot Mr G. P. Smith in Melbourne, has boen commuted to imprisonment for life.

Mr tfuhn (Jarrulliors has been appointed Engineer-in-Chief for the Colony under the Public Works Act, and Mr John Blackett, Assistant Enginaer-in-Chief,

There Is some probability that the postage on newspapers for circulation within the Colony will be reduced to a half-penny. A motion on the subject is to he brought forward in the House of Representatives. The survey of a line of railway between Tokamairiro and Tuapeka is in progress, and will be completed within a fortnight. At the Hokitika Criminal Sessions, Peter de Loree, who was well-known some years ago on the Otago Gold-fields as the “Champion Swordsman,” pleaded guilty to a robbery of jewellery, and was sentenced to three years' psju.l servitude. The amount of loss sustained by the burning of the Beehive Buildings, Sandhurst, is estimated at £IOO.OOO. The books of one hundred and twenty mining companies were destroved. Government aid has been asked to reconstruct the companies.

Several members of Eyster’s Opera Company. including Signor Devotti (tenor), Signor Ccur.ini (baritone), and possibly Madame Simonsen as prim a donna, are expected to visit. Dunedin and Christchurch cm a professional tour. The St. Bathans correspondent of the Mount Ida Chronicle, writing to that journal on the 17th insf., says “ Death has been in our midst, I am sorry to say ; and, considering our very small population, Thursday last will be remembered as a very remarkable dav in the annals of St. Bathans. On that day, and within a very few hours, there took place a marriage, a birth, a burial, a death, and two christenings.”

We have received a copy of the annual report of the Inspector of Militia an 1 Volunteers. Tho progress of the Volunteer movement throughout the Colony, as shown by the statistics appended to the report, is very gratifying. The number of effective Volunteers in New Zealand on the 30th June 1870, was 5407 ; while on the 31st May 1871, the number was 7533, —thus showing an increase of 2315 within eleven months. On the last-mentioned date there were 1303 Volunteers in Otago and Southland. .

The Wellington correspondent of the Ecenlnt / Star, writing of the new Otago members of the House, makes the following remarks regarding the lion, member for the Dunstan

“ Mr T. L. Shepheul is so well known in Dunedin that it is hardly necessary to say more than that he is thoroughly appreciated here at his true value. It is a great pity that his undoubted energy and ability should be marred by au amount of self-assertion ami want of consideration for the feelings of others, which form an insuperable bar to his over attaining any political position.”

The Mount Ida Chronicle of Friday last records the occurrence of two accidents from earth-fall in that locality on the 15th inst. The first happened on the notorious Surface Hill, to a miner named William Shaw, who was severely contused ; the other at Green’s claim, Main Gully, the sufferer being a miner enjoying the sobriquet of Sydney Jack, who. though contused, is not so much so as Shaw. —Wo also learn from the same paper that a child of about two years of age, the son of Mr E. H. Cavcw, was run over at Nasehy on Tuesday last, by a horse belonging to Mr James Wilkie (of Keith and Wilkie, Dunedin,), The animal was about to undergo the ordeal of having Ids legs washed with a hoso, when he became restive, broke away, and bolted down the main street, “absolutely screaming with fright. ” The child is reported to be out of danger. Under the heading of “ The Dunedin Quartz Mine.” the Evening Star of the 21st inst. says “ Sonic of our readers may ho startled at this title, and we are not quite certain that we have got hold of the right name, but believe that is the name of a quartz claim at Green Island where operations have been going on for some time. It has boon known for years that gold was to be found in that neighbourhood, and at different points a few miles from Dunedin a few diggers’ huts may yet be seen, minus the diggers, who found the ground not rich enough to pay for work with pick and cradle. We trust that this now enterprise will prove successful, and as it is hut seven miles from town, it may be hut the pioneer to many successful companies, affording employment for a large number of men. ’1 lie probability of success or failure will now shortly be determined. Yesterday the crushing machinery was set in motion for the first time in the presence of several gentlemen from Dunedin, by the aid of a portable engine, and the whole worked satisfactorily. The machinery was made in Melbourne, and is fitted with fho latest improvements. The most approved appliances are provided for saving golrtT The quartz, after being crushed, passes over ripple boards, and is passed into ah amalgamator, upon Berdan’s principle. Tile success of the enterprise depends upon the quantity o J f gold in the quartz, and we sincerely hope that in a fendays we shall he in a position to Report favourably rf tbo rrMilt."

Mr James Stuart, tlm spirited owrttfiMbf tlie Bannockburn Lower Ferry, Iras a men at work making a now road from Hotel along the river-bank towards the s pnnfcf Tire road passes close behind Mr Stuart’s house,s and has an easy gradient throughout. Jtie BXS pnctud to be open for traffic during the prbAeni week. The new road has the additional cage of being considerably shorter than the prep sent approach from tUe Bannockburn side of tlie • Jf-Fi river. 3

In thferenen to a paragraph which appeared in our last week’s issue re postal irregu-’i larities, Mr M‘Phorsoii, the Postmaster at Wakefield Ferry, has requested us to state whole of the mails arriving at that place;!®! Wednesday morning are invariably him on the same day, special messengers heinT sent from Mr Mitchinson’a and Mnrvcu ifill Station for the express purpose of meeting thei mailman from Cromwell. Mr MT’hersou far-i j tlier wishes to state that the Post-ofllceCatl | Wakefield has never been without some respond | sible person in charge, notwithstanding the 1 fact that all the letters aa 1 paper.; are Je'ivjred oH the inail-i lay. A meeting of tin; Oonmitten of th* : Cromwell Jockey Club was held in the Townhall yesterday evening. The Presi lent, Mr Rp L. Dagg, oucupie I the chair; and tin other | members present were Messrs Smith,am, Pipfcfep: ; Taylor, Harding, Kidd, Marsh, Dawkins, JollyT laud Loughilaii. Accounts to the amount ofi’£2(V .os from .1, Taylor, 11. Kidd, and the Cao-MWE-tL' j A nous office, were passed for payment, -The j President called attention to the fast that the;, j Duust.in Jockey Club had announce I the 23th | i and 29th December as the days for holding theiri j atrt annual race meeting, uni expiessc.l.'rhis | opinion that a want of courtesy had been ,'HisS ! played by the Dims tan Club in altering the’ datei j of their races from the first week in February tp j the days which had been chosen by this (J-lub ! since 18157. Messrs Loughnan and Sinithattf i agreed with the opinion expressed by the Presi l j dent. It was then proposed by Mr Pieroepahd seconded by Mr Smitham, “That the days for 1 j the annual meeting this year be the same as j usual, viz., the last Thursday and .Friday in De- ■ comber, and that the said days bo kept in | future.” Mr Loughnan proposed, as an amend-. : meat, “That the meeting be held a week pro 1 I vious to the above data.” The amenl.njut no(| being seconded, the motion was put ari l carried.* The Acting Secretary was instruct..d to advertise Hie date of meeting in the A nous. On the motion of Mr Taylor, seconded by Mr Loughnan/ it was resolved, “.that the Socretarv write to the Dunatan Jookcv Club, informing them of the ; lays liked by this Chib in 1337 for future annual 1 : .nee; ings. an 1 asking them to re consider their choice of days for their annual mectiii".” Mr W. Maonab was appointed sacre'ary to the Club/ at a salary of £lO per annum, with a corn mission", of 10 per cent, on all outstanding debts duo the Club, and 5 per cent, on members’ annual sub- j scriptions. Three guineas were voted to Mr Macnab for past services. It was res lived thftt a meeting of members of the Club should be held on Thursday, the 12th October. G |