Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, January 7, 1873.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 165, 7 January 1873, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, January 7, 1873.

Tf it be not always a pleasurable thing to do, at least it is a profitable one, at the close of a year to cast back upon that year's events and incidents, —to reckon up its progress or retrogression,— to discover if in anything in its history there be room for congratulation on account of good achieved, or for an anticipation of future success to result. The experiences of the time past may ever teach us a lesson, if we can but grasp it, as to what we may expect in the time corning. 1872 has gone, quietly but swiftly,—by stealth as it were; its latest hours differing only from other hours in that they may have served more pointedly to show, to those who will heed such signs, the irrecoverable flight of time. And the new year has come, silently but not the less securely to follow in the old accustomed round of days and weeks, and months, until it, too, shall be gathered in by the " stern old Reaper," and shall go to swell the eventful total which lie numbered in that old Reaper's barn, so to lie until the "threshing"—the final sifting-out of their harvests—shall be called upon to occur. What this new year will bring forth, —how much of peace and prosperity or of war and ruin, how much of life and death, of gain and loss, how much of progressiveuess in religion and in the arts and sciences,—none can teli ; but all know that many mutations of some sort must come to them and to the world as followers in the train, as ineffaceable marks of the march, of 1873. The year just passed away for can put forth no claim to the distinction of being termed an eventful or extraordinary period in the world's history. For the greater part, the time has sped on with but little of excitement, Since the fearful struggle of 1&70 between France and Germany, the peace of Europe—of the world indeed—has remained unruptured. How long that struggle may stand out as a bloody datemark in the historyof war and desolation, it happily seems just now beyond the bounds of human possibilities even to guess: rumours of wars are unheard, and "all is peace." In France, M. Thiers,—a "lively little old white-haired man," as newspaper reporters have describe! him, —holds his station at the helm of affairs. Whether he alone of all Frenchmen is (it to keep his turbulent countrymen in check, it is difficult to say ; but ho has, so far, succeeded, at a time when success was especially difficult of attainment, in restraining any violent outbreak of the fiery desire for revenge which lurks in every Frenchman's breast, and which is certain one day to burst forth with a glare all the more lurid because of its long-curbed repression. The Emperors of Russia, Prussia, and Austria have recently fraternized genially at a friendly meeting in Berlin. The English journals have chronicled the occurrence of reviews, state-banquets, torchlight-jubilees, and so forth, which have amused these august personages, and whiled away the time they have had on their hands after attention to " business," winch, although such a view of the occasion of their meeting is deprecated, has doubtless had something to do with their " friendly personal gieetings." In the past year, we have seen that monstrous attempt at extortion—the Alabama claims—disposed of and amicably adjusted by the Geneva tribunal. The Australasian Colonies have no slight cause to rejoice that this settlement has been effected, and that now—to quote President Grant's message to Congress—the bend of union between England and America was never less liable to lie broken. But perhaps foremost in interest to us of all the occurrences of world-wide importance in 1872 is the consummation of the opening of the through telegraph line between England and Australia: another addition to the list of triumphs secured by the hand-in-hand conjunction of Science and Art. And it is very probable that before long,— s;iy three years, at furthest,—we shall have a cable of communication laid between our own Colony and Australia, in this case, wo ahali be iu receipt of fruui Lou-

don within four or five hours of its (lis. patch. Compare this with the condition of things which obtained some dozen years ago, when five or six months were fre. quontly occupied in the transmission of news from Home, and ample evidence ig afforded of the rapid strides by which New Zealand has advanced in importance. But now to come to matters having a more direct local bearing and interest. A[ the opening of Spring, we ventured to pre, diet that the Summer weather would oecasion the opening-out of many new reefs at the Carrick Range, and a revival of reefing activity at Bendigo. But we are necessitated to confess that in neither case have our predictions been verified to the extent we deemed probable. Perhaps at some fij. ture time we shall endeavour to trace out the causes which can account for the 11011. fulfilment of our hopes in these directions, But, if we cannot congratulate the district upon new discoveries, we are afforded the pleasure of bearing testimony to the fact that the old claims are keeping up the average returns. Some of a later " or«a. nization," too, give abundant promise that they will in no wise lessen our reputation for possessing payable reefs. Last week we noticed that a comparatively new claim had returned the highly respectable and satisfactory yield of an ounce and a half to the ton. During the year, two or three new batteries have been erected in the district, and these increase the facilities I for crushing stone. As regards alluvial 1 mining, the Christmas returns seem to, have been unusually large. In our local columns of to-day we present a few "facta and figures," to which we direct attention, and which amply support us in this statemerit. On all sides, we hear of good wages; while in many instances, especially in the Bannockburn and Nevis districts mining parties have had an uncommonly good season. In connection with mining also, the sitting of the Mining Conference was a highly important event of the year, A body of intelligent practical men, witl their hearts in the work they were called on to do, must have been expected to suggest many useful reforms in our minin* laws; and it is only according them a slight meed of the praise they deserve to say that many of their suggestions, if attended to and embodied in the new Gold Minin» Bill about to lie drawn up, are calculated to effect, a much-needed improvement both in the material and political condition of the mining class. The report of the Conference we intend to remark upon in a future issue. A commonage for the district is another matter in connection with which we have thankfully to remember the year that has gone. We have had part of the required block made over to our control ; and a little judicious pressure will doubtless secure what the district is entitled to in the matter. As regards Municipal affairs, there have been no works undertaken during the year that call for notice. But the water-pipes have at length made their appearance ; and we are promised a more regular, if not a purer, supply of water than we have been accustomed to receive by means of the present open channel. With the new year, tliel new reguhtions as to the payment of li-i cense-fees within the Municipality to the I Corporation, come into working. From I this source, an increase in revenue is ex-1 pected of £IOO, —an amount of some con-1 sequence when the sum-total is considered. 1 There are many other matters worthy I of mention in a retrospective, and to some I extent prospective, article of this sort;! but the exigencies of space compel us to be briefer than we could wish. We may conclude by expressing a hope,—which may not be considered out of place,—that in our capacity as journalists we haw satisfied the public that we have been actuated by a conscientious desire to advance the interests of the district, to faithfully and not braggartly chronicle its progress; and (not by any means the least of a journalist's duties) to foster a public opinion in its inhabitants. How we have succeeded is not for us to say ; but if an unswerving determination to strive to the best of om ability to accomplish these our aims is any guarantee of success, we feel that we maj confidently leave the verdict to be returned at the hands of our readers. From and after the Ist inst., the rat* of postage chargeable on new.-,papers address' to any place within tho Colony is reduced to* halfpenny each. List of letters received at the Post Office, Cromwell, during the month of September, afl remaining unclaimed at the end of .Decern'*' 1872 :—John Milieu ; William O'Sullivan; Gw Maehlan ; Patrick Cannon. Sports and races were held at the Lo* burn on New Year's Day. The weather wasd* lightful, and about 150 spectators were on I ground.

I. Meetings for election of new School Committees are advertised to bo held in each educational district throughout the Province on Monday next, the 13th inst., at 7 o'clock p.m. j It is expected that the election of a Committee for the Cromwell School will be hotly contested, the neglect of duty evinced by the outgoing Committee being a matter of notoriety. We look forward with much interest to a perusal of the annual leport which the Education OrdiI nance requires them to submit to their " consti- *" I tuents." t The annexed table shows the quantities of gold forwarded by Escort from Cromwell r during the past four years. It will be observed I that the product for the year just ended exceeds j that of the preceding one by 3739 ozs. The fact | affords a gratifying proof of the growing pros- ' \ perity of our miners ; for it must be remarked j that the increase of population since the close of l " | 1871 is-if any—scarcely appreciable. A very 1 \ considerable proportion of the enlarged yield is ! ' lof course due to the development of the Carrick ' e | reefs, and to the valuable accessions made to the \ number of paying quartz-claims within the year. Ie 1869 17,361 ozs. 0 dwts. *• 1870 19,761 n 18 n it 1871 18,620 „ 2 „ ,„ 1872 22,359 .. 6 ~ i I The December Escort for 1872, as compared ' j with that of 1871, shows an increase of 366 ozs. , I 2 dwts.,—the respective quantities being as fol- [ j low :—December 1871, 2574 ozs. 8 dwts. ; Dec. j 1872, 2940 ozs. 10 dwts. J e \ The Bannockburn Water Race—known pg |as Kendall, Berry, and party's—has been so far a j : ; completed as to allow of the water being dropped to into the AH Nations Company's race at Shep- ■ : herd's (Jreek Gully, whence it is conveyed along ' | the base of the Carrick Range to Quartzville and | Smith's Gully. The supply from the new race ' j: (which is being utilised at several points along J ' the line of the All Nations race) is most oppor- |( u time, as the All Nations Company's water was V r daily decreasing in quantity, and would soon • s i have been insufficient for ordinary requirements. 'y i About nine miles of the Hanaoslcbura race still Si j re*iin to be constructed, but the main difficulM g ties in connection wLh the work have beeu suciV. p cesst'ully overcome, and the unfinished portion tfl f will be comparatively easy of accemplisument. :xl ;. The race, which is capable of carrying fourteen £ ij heads, seems Co be very substantially constructed, ■i«r Baud will, when finished, be the means of openlit |i%' "P a large extent of auriferous ground that ay fi has hitherto lain untouched solely for want of an C( l Ude'.matc supply of water to work it njj ; Messrs Nicholas and Martin, after much P(l : delay occasioned through having to sluice away til fa large " face" of ground, have recently comof i'laenced to sink a new shaft for coal. We hear m- ;i that about two months will elapse before they a will be eaaljled again to get a pit into full workis- in-order. Lately, coal has been rather difficult t)i ; ;V) obtain, having had to be ferried across the „, r Kawarau from the Bannockburn pit; and if this ia( j state of things continue, a regular and handy to ;■ Bll Pply from our Cromwell coal works will be e!j _ ■ welcomed by the townspeople. ict A full account of the proceedings at the •ds recent Mining Conference, together with the no ; report embodying the various amendments promt imposed to be made in the Land Laws and Goldve fields Regulations, has been printed and pubwo ;lished in pamphlet form, at the office of the r. Tuapeka Times. Copies can be had at a nominal ns . : price on application to Mr James Crombie, BanMlt nockhurn, or tj Mr Christopher Hansen, Benthe li- The Northern Escort left Clyde for the -Dunedin yesterday morning, with the underoni mentioned quantities of gold. Cromwell, it will ex - he seen, contributes nearly 3000 ounces: 011 . ; Queenstown - . . 2129 19 , ( J : Arruwtowu - - . 2603 9 '• M ' . ll y |le .... 950 o ■me .Alexandra- . . . 1012 12 rt; Teviot - . GSB 7 to „, , . lilV lotal • 10,324 17 icli | A. miner named James Graham, who has hat time past evinced symptoms of insanity, avc | * M on Sunday taken in charge by Sergeant ac . \ Cassels, and conveyed to Clyde to await medical m |«Mmi:iatiom Graham has been for the last illy j even y« ai< s working as a " hatter" in a remote ocalityon the Bannockburn stream, and was „„■. ,ltel y engaged in cutting a water-race in the lin p ,M neighbourhood. For several days previous deJ [rearrest, he had been hiding in abandoned ring |" nnels i'i Pipeclay Gully, and although natuol ° L r % of a retiring and quiet disposition, the fact any !■' his beill g at large created a feeling of inseculia'v r* a,llnil g the residents there. However, on •ii'cjl VUUr ' layifc was ascert ai»«d that he had been 'Been near Mr William Ellis's hut, about half-way Between the Bannockburn Ferry and Cornishmm; and on Sunday the police found him hiding ratcß tlie rocks some distance from the hut. :ssel s yp° ob -ondria, superinduced by seclusion from to a '° Clety ' U sa id to be the chief feature of his Mai malady. The man has always borne a lice f l ' ectal)le character, and we sincerely hope that J affliction uuder which he suffers » n " K prove only transient. Ge o, I * te| egram in the Daily Times, dated >ira, January 1, says:-Mr James Hayes, • oW . i^ |ier ' wa s stuck ii|> by bushrangers last night, "' , , r !: e miles f,, om town, and robbed of 369 ozs. of 1 F ,aS wcll as notes and cheques to a total ithe f4eof£i6oo.

The following letter from D. Iloid, Esq., M.P.0., late Provincial Secretary, to the lion. Secretary of the Cromwell Commonage Committee, has been handed to us for publication: " Salisbury, North Taiori, December 20, 1872. Sir, —I have the honour to acknowledge the roceipt of your esteemed favour of the 6th inst., in which you request my co-operation and assistance in securing a commonage for Cromwell. In reply, allow me to assure you that any assistance which £ am able to give will be most willingly accorded. Indeed, your town ought to have had a commonage before this ; but the difficulty of making reasonable terms with the pastoral tenants in that locality, the depressed state of the Provincial finances during the past three years, and the doubt as to the power of the Government to cancel under the lGth Section of the Gold-fields Act, all tended to retard the opening of commonage in your district. The decision given by the Court of Appeal in the case, M'Lean y, the Superintendent, regarding the block on Bellamy station, has removed doubt as to the power of the Government in the matter ; and the extended powers granted under the new ' Waste Lands Act' will enable the Government to make terms with the runholder for a block of commonage,—failing which it can be proclaimed under the new Act, and compensation determined by arbitration. Trusting that your district may soon be placed on as good a footing as others in regard to commonage,—l remain, yours truly, D. RkiV We understand that His Excellency the Governor and Lady Bo wen leave towu for their country tour towards the end of next week, and expect to reach Naseby in a fortnight from this. —Star, Jan. 1. The revenue collected at Dunedin during 1872 was £225,140, as against £190,526, for 1871, and £194,578, for 1870. The enormous increase this year is the strongest possible proof of the general prosperity of the province during the past twelve months. The Provincial Engineer, Mr Simpson, is to be despatched to Naseby at once to go over the ground for the sludge channel there, which is to be let in small contracts. It is likely he will be accompanied by the Secretary for Goldiields.—The large heal race from the IV'anuherikia river is also to be gone on with at once. We regret that the Kawarau coal-pit has again broken out into flames. For some time past it has been smouldering, but the lessees, Messrs Dooley and Sproule, had hopes of keeping it under. It has however defied their efforts, and our informant says is now a blazing mass over a face of 60ft. by 40ft. The volume of water in the Cambrian race has been turned on to it, and we hope soon to hear that the pit is workable. — Arrow Observer. The Tuapeka Times of the 2nd inst. says : —" An awfully sudden accident occurred about three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. While Mr Alexmder (irant, of Havelock, was riding along the Waitahuna road, in company with Mr Eraser, he exhibited signs of faintness, and was about to fall off his horse when his companion caught him and lifted him down. Various restorative* were applied, but proved ineffectual. Dr lialley was sent for, and on examining Grant pronounced him dead. The cause of death is supposed to be sunstroke." An inquest is to be held.