"OLLA PODRIDA."

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 144, 13 August 1872, Page 5

"OLLA PODRIDA."

Mv attention has been drawn to the disiu- \ clination or our VVarde.i to grant protection i tor claims situated in verv exposed localities, and I must confess 1 have /ailed'to discover any tangible reason for lus refusal to ex Tclse a power which is evidently largely conferred |on Wardens. • For instance, Mr Robinson, of Mount Ida district, annually issues a protective order fnr the whole of the Mount ! Burster diggings for the winter season. This j field is situated at about the same altitude as I a portion of the Carrick Range workings, j which ought with justice to be included in I the same category. Thj other day, the ap- | plicants for protection for a prospecting quartz claim in Paddy's Gully were grudg- | ingly allowed thirty days' grace, the Warden | remarking that "it was contrary to public ! policy to grant protection for so long a period |as sixty days." Now, as 1 hive before stated, having the power to grant the desired accomI modatiou, he should endeavour to prevent " public policy" from ove '-riding private enterprise, which should in such cases rather be encouraged, as tending in the end to the public good. I am sure if Mr Carew had ever visited the locality in question, he would j have no difficulty in making his mind up as jto the judiciousness of giving the desired j protection. Some years ago, I, with my | mate, was prospecting in the same gully, in | the month of November ; and the weather, i even at that advanced season, was so incleI ment as to preclude the possibility of working more thin four or Hve hours per day. Snow fed frequently, and at night an intense frost set in. rife wood existed only i i name, as about sufficient only for the construction | of a "crow's nest" would be the reward of I one hour's gathering. Ido not suppose mat- | ters have changed much during the interval. ! Therefore I think, under the circumstances, I that the Warden dooming the owners of the j claim to unnecessary hardships,—if they wish !to preserve their rights,—was rather an ill- | advised proceeding ; and in the future, if he wishes to see the reso ire s of the district J developed, and to continue the necessity for ; the employment of Wardens, he will do well jto stretch his protecting powers to the j utmost. While among public officers, may I ask if 1 there is a public vaccinator for the district ! j Tiie question has several times lately been \ put to me, and I have had to plead ignorance, j Having never seen an advertisement to the i elect that su ;h an officer is or was appointed. I Mothers c unplain, and with jusike, that the ; charge of one guinea, which appears to be the i fee demanded by our local medicos, is ex ■< s- [ sive. I b 'Hove the terms are cheaper in the case of large families requiring inoculation, I probably on the trade principle of "a reduc- | tion made on taking a quantity" ; but large or small, the Government, as conservators of the public health, ought to see that the poorer classes of the community, who may be unfortunately adding to the population, are not mulcted in this heavy tax upon their slender resources. We may escape a vis tition from the loathsome pestilence of smallpox this time ; but who can tell when it may again come upon us J The many channels which will be opened up by a large immigration oiler facilities for the introduction of disease. The Colonies have hitherto enjoyed a singula- immunity from infectious or contagious but the day may come when we shall be rudelv aroused from our fancied security ; and as " prevention is better than cure," 1 tt.ie Government take time by the forelock. A certain noble Lord is said to have stated, a few months back, that variola or small-pox was exported from New York, | " wholesale and duty free." An answer m | re public vaccination in your local columns i will oblige many of your readers. The old Cornish wrecker feeling seems still ! to be extant in Otago with regard to stranded I mining companies' property. No sooner does I i conip uiy suspend operations, than down | pounce the pirates on the t >ols and other un- : considered trifles which may be left partly | unprotected for a time. A eise of this sort ; has lately come to light, he.-e. Through the vigilance of Sergeant Cassels. one of thepecuI lators his been arrested, and the matter will 1 possibly result in an nft-toid lesson on the I laws of mumi et tuiim, <<nd a warning to light- | lingered gentry in general. I see " Crusher - ' lias conu out with an entirely n>w idea, which, during the present ! dearth of novelties, is refreshing,—to form a i council or juiicta of managers, to deliberate, ! adjudicate, or advise as to the fate of embryo j mining companies. The notion is great; but ias he truthfully premises, there are many j diHicult.iis in the way of a satisfactory cori- | elusion to the scheme,—one, and not the ' least, of which, 1 opine, would be the hard , unbelief of this doubting aga in the practical ability and experience of the present race of 1 manager?. If this incredulity on the part ot claimliolders were overcome, I fancy the rest : would b : easy. A party of having , steady employment, might tien, sinking their j bashful lejs, form themselves into a firm for I the object alluded to by " Crusher," issue { their advertisement: " Messrs Stamphcad ! and C )., prajtie.il miners and crushers. Ad'"i :e given as to mining speculations, &c. Sz;. | Fes as per agreement, pf- voila font'." i " (J rusher" verv delicatelv ignores the bw but useful matter of recompense ; but as f think ;i the labourer is worthv of his hire," the public suoiild 0« duly warned t.iat advice not worth paying for is not worth having. Rcudigrt, Aug. :'>. IST-. VI.VTOd.