ALEXANDRA.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 123, 19 March 1872, Page 6

ALEXANDRA.

(From an occasional Correspondent!) i | March 1(5. At last, we have a supply of water forj , | mining purposes, and with it find our street •! deserted by the many miners who of late ; | have visited us for want of something better '! to do. The Ovens Co. have again started to | work their claim on the Manuherikia River, I! and there is little doubt it is the richest they have owned for many years. Jt is to be J hoped they will not again be flooded out. ' j The Manuherikia Co., at Ainslie's, are work--3 j ing away, and are getting very good wages. i The party at Alexandra (or the Molyneux J party, as they are generally called,) are worki; ing two claims, —one near Messrs Theyers ; and Beck's brewery, the other at the "Bluff"," 'j—with favourable results. Blackwell and party are washing up, after having been run- - ning off for the last six months ; and I am e informed that they expect something hand--11 some. The Manorburn Flat is all alive with v -1 Chinamen, who are going in for water races, f j tail races, and extended claims : and 1 am of -' , opinion that in a very short time their mim- ; hers will be doubled, for several parties are j getting very good gold. The whole of the < claims on the Molvneux banks have a ,r ain I commenced work ; and Kett and party and '. M'llroy and party have also made another start, \ The Butcher's Gully reef is being worked e| in right earnest now. The shareholders inc tend to get out about 40 tons of stone, which they ivill have crushed at the Conroy mill, and it will afford me sincere pleasure if 1 am enabled to chronicle a payable return. 1 hci- lieve it is the intention of the shareholders in , the Conroy's reef to sink their deepest shaft ( j about 50 feet farther. But this is much 3- easier said than done ; in fact, I am afraid !1 they must have different machinery to that \ at present on the ground before they will be ~ able to do so. ic ; In School matters, we are very quiet, but lt j things seem to be going on very satisfactorily. | The same will apply to the Library ; in fact, r-1 thanks to the Committee-men we have in -•- harness, both institutions are in a very ® : flourishing condition. I cannot say quite st • s much for the Town Council. As yet, wc in ; have none of that water flowing through oui >' streets which we have all been so anxiously |° | expecting to see. I am of the firm opinior in j that we never will have water flowing througl; sn j Alexandra streets until the Council goes b 1C j the expense of laying down pipes from one ol ,„ the races. It is true that water can bi jI i brought into the town in an open race ; bui 1S !in summer time it would be more than one Xti i man could possibly do to keep the race cleai of sand, especially in windy weather, —whicl es |we get plenty of. There is one great objec tion to laying down pipes, viz.,—we wouh !g have to purchase the water from one of tin companies owning water-races, for which w< *y \ wouid have to pay a high price ; and tin | tenure wc could get would not warrant tin | expense,—although one of the greatest boon: nt i any town can enjoy is a good water supply. t ] There are numerous complaints just nov ; " respecting our commonage, owing to the fac that Mr Turnbull is impounding all cattli iff found trespassing on his run. \V 7 hen Messr Macandrew and Reid were soliciting our vote lis for the Superintendency, both gentlemei ' 3 - promised, if elected, to extend our com he | monage ; but, since then, we have heard no f s j thing further about it, except that the squat ,g_ We have simply a strip of the flat betweei av here and Clyde for a commonage, which i ;( p almost worse than useless for the purpose - )S . j I would recommend the people of Alexandr as I to try the member for the Dunstnn, and se en j what he can do for them in (he matter.