Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN COLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, August 26, 1873.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 198, 26 August 1873, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN COLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, August 26, 1873.

In considering the report upon the Goldfields of New Zealand, laid on the table of the House of Representatives by Mr Haughton, as Under-Secretary for the Gold-fields, one.cannot but be struck by the extraordinary unanimity of opinion held by the Wardens from one end of the Colony:to the other, on the absolute necessity of providing an increased water supply for mining purposes. In some cases, the Wardens recommend the consideration of increasing the supply by making available the supply which at present is, in a mining sense, running to waste down the original creeks where no gold deposits are to be found, by diverting it in extensive races to localities where auriferous deposits do exist. In others, the recommendations all point to the conservation of the present supply by means of darns and reservoirs. The Warden of our own district also recommends the consideration of utilising the Waters of such rivers as the Clutha arid the Kawarau, intending, we suppose, by means of their own currents, to make them self-distributing sources of supply. - Those living upon gold-fields cannot biit,< j feel gratified to see that the great drawback to the prosperity of the gold-fields, the scanty and intermittent nature of the water supply, has from almost every district in the country been well represented by the various Wardens. If the matter is not taken in hand by the Government it cannot be alleged in excuse that -it is neglected in ignorance of the necessity. While admitting,'however; that the Wardens have done their duty in drawing attention to the ne- \ cessity of increased w iter supply, one cannot help being also struck with the feeble way in which this all-important questionis from year to year handled by the Government. Last year Mr Haughion leported his.earnest conviction that £3,000,000 instead of £300,000 could be profitably expended in carrying out a comprehensive scheme of water supply upon the gold field;; At the same time the Government were congratulated upon the liberal regulations they had framed for the purpose of expending the smaller sum in a proper and profitable manner. Surely, one would have thought, being guided by the spirit of last year's report, the gold-fields will at last receive the attention they are entitled to. Nothing, in fact, it was clearly and we I may say ably shown, was awanting to increase the prosperity and population of the gold-fields but a better and more com prehensive scheme of water supply. We b<U lieved then in the conclusions drawn from the statements of the Wardens and from Mr Haeghton's summary of such statements; but we confess now to being doubtful of the Government's real desire to give effect to the meaning to be drawn from such conclusions, or its capability of giving such etfect even if a real desire existed. For what do we find by examination of the?-present year's report? We find the same or a similar urgent necessity insisted upon in still more forcible terms by the Wardens throughout the gold-fields; example upon example given ; but no prospect can we see in Mr Haughton's summary of any practical result being the con- ! sequence. If we look up the tabular returns of the accounts for water supply upon the gold-fields, we get the most meagre information. We see, indeed, that £IBO,OOO is to be spent in large works entirely by the Government, but we have nothing to show us that this sum is not simply a subsidy for four districts ; while if we consider the account which shows the application of portion of the £300,000 for subsidies for race construction, we find that, out of eleven companies asking a loan, only four have as yet been successful in getting it, the other seven being ] refused, so far, on the ground of not having complied with the provisions of the Act. and Regulations. In all probability,, six of these seven companies will get the loan after months of vexatious delay) after large sums have been spent in sur- I veys useless for the practical work'of race | /cutting ; and aftec their-Credit -has' been J I all but destroyed the 1

public opinion as to the Government's estimation of their soundness as companies. But is this the result which was anticipated when it was first proposed to expend £300,000 on water supply ; or is this the result which .one would have anticipated from a. Department of which Mr Haughton was the head? Most assuredly not. "Under any system of Government interference in questions of this kind, it might have been foretold that a work-like the Mount Idawater race would have been constructed ; but under no system could it have been imagined the regulations for assisting companies with loans of money to construct races would have proved so nearly unworkable and so certainly vexatious as the returns show the present regulations to have been. Our space will not permit us to exhaust the considerations which arise upon a perusal of this report. On a future occasion we may endeavour to show that although much good might be effected if the Government were to substitute a liberal policy in disposing of the money at their command for the extension of the water supply, in place of their present cautious and cent-per-cent policy, it yet remains for them to introduced large and comprehensive scheme which would benefit.all the gold-fields in New Zealand. - -

By the report of the annual meeting of subscribers to the Dunstan Public Library, published in the last Dunstan Times, we notice that it was resolved to discontinue the receipt of the Cromwell Argus by that institution, seeing that it was the only paper which required to be paid for. In "a late issue we had occasion to refer to the injustice which/was done to the proprietors of newspapers, by the practice which has lately become so common of supplying Athenaeums and Public Libraries with copies free of charge. When we did so, v and when we reprinted an extract from the Tinwru llerald on the same subject, we had no idea that the matter would be so - soon and so forcibly illustrated in our own case. However, it gives us another opportunity of referring to the hardship which the custom entails, or rather till of late entailed upon ourselves, and therefore we are glad the occasion has arisen. There is a large number of Athenaeums and Public Libraries in the Province, and the number is being yearly added to ; and to each of these Athenaeums which asked for the favour, we were in the habit of sending f a free copy. We had to bear the expense of buying the paper upon which these copies were printed, of printing, of providing clerical assistance, and we had all the trouble of addressing and seeing that they were posted to their proper destinations. Now, suppose there are thirty Athenaeums and Public Libraries in the Province, (not to speak of the Colony,)—and if one Athenreum is entitled to a free copy, every one is entitled, — can Athenaeum Committees not be got to understand that it is a great hardship to the proprietor of a newspaper to have to print, fold, and address fifteen hundred and sixty copies of his newspaper every year for nothing? But this in itself would be nothing. The newspaper proprietor would not grudge supplying a number of Athenaeums with his paper free of charge f' "it were only the extra expense of printing and paper which were put upon him. But he finds that the very gift which he makes becomes the means of still further reducing his own income. The residents in towns outside his own particular locality tell him sooner or later not to send them copies of his paper: they can see it at any time in the Athenaeum. This is a a state of things which should have some limit set to it: it is fast becoming, as the proprietors of many newspapers can testify, intolerable. It is with the hope that some general principle will be enunciated and recognised as to the manner in which Athenaeums should be dealt with as regards the supply of papers gratis, that we have written these lines : not, we trust it will be understood, with any special reference to the Dunstan Public Library. We merely used the account of their action as a peg on which to hang our remarks.

We have great pleasure in complying with a request to circulate the Bruce Herald supplement containing the debate on the Maerewhenua land sale, as it will interest many of our readers. We should have had more pleasure in doing so, however, if it had also contained a report of the speeches on the Government side of the question. We are informed that the newly appointed District Engineer, Mr Fergus, will assume the duties of his office at once. He may therefore be expected to arrive in Cromwell •ometime during the present week. Those interested in the expenditure of the various sums ;T O J»d. for this district should make a note of ..thji ■

Our readers are reminded that letters for the Home mail must be posted at the Cromwell office on or before Thursday, 28th inst. The mail leaves Dunedin on the 2nd proximo. In reference to the question of the number of miners rights required to be held by Registered Companies, which was raised in the Warden's Court last week, we understand Mr Simpson is of opinion that they must be represented by the same number as would be required by a private person,—that is, in proportion to the quantity of ground occupied. The petition in favour of the Railway Extension to Cromwell, which was lately.circulated through the district was signed, we are informed, by 450 of the male residents. We believe had time permitted a very much larger number of signatures could have been obtained. The petition, with the signatures, was entrusted to the care of V. Pyke, Esq., M.H.R., for transmission to his Honor the Superintendent, who will present it. From the Dumtan Times, we hnrn that the petition circulated in the Dunstan district received 348 signatures. There was a meeting on Friday evening of the Sub-Committee appointed to draw up a programme for the ensuing Spring meeting. The collectors, Messrs Marsh and Starkey, reported the amount collected and promised as amounting to £36. The Committee, on the strength of this amount, and what will yet come in, then considered the matter, and, as will be seen from our advertising columns, determined to issue a most liberal programme. The date of the meeting they also altered from Saturday the 4th to Friday the 3rd of October. Coming so conveniently after the Dunstan Spring Meeting, it ought to be worth the while of the lovers of good racing to send their horses to both meetings. [ln our | report of the last meeting of the Jockey Club Committee, in speaking of Cavenagh's tender, we should have said "whose tender informal was not considered."] It would appear from one of the returns attached to the Hon. E. Richardson's Public Works Statement, that whenever the Government conditions have been fully complied with, it is intended to grant the loans of one, two, and five thousand pounds respectively, to the Golden Point, Beaumont and Tuapeka, and Cacrick Range Water Companies. These sums are set down in the return as Liabilities for Water Races on Gold-fields. The attention of the Town Council, or of the Athenaeum Committee, (whichever body is responsible,) is respectfully drawn to the fact that there are only three chairs in the Town-hall fit to be used for the purpose of being "sat upon." The election in the Wakatip district last week resulted in the return of Mr Vincent Pyke by a majority of thirty-five. The numbers polled by the four candidates stood thus : —Pyke, 227 ; Manders, 192 ; Times, 174 ; Barton, 104. The news of Mr Pyke's return will be received throughout this district with considerable satisfaction, if the opinion of the majority in the town of Cromwell is any index to that of the district. One thing is pretty certain, at any rate, that any action taken by Mr Pyke in his seat as M.H.R. can hardly but be friendly to the interests of our district. By reference to the Gazette of August 14, we notice that Messrs Busch, Cunninghame, Herbert, and Pratt, (the Mayors of Naseby, Milton, Lawrence, and West Hawksbury,) have all been appointed Justices of the Peace. A Gazette of another date contains notice of the appointment of Messrs Beresford, Naylor, and Wait, (the Mayors of Alexandra, Clyde, and Oamaru.) The Tuapeha Times says that Mr E. H. Carew, who has acted as Warden of the Tuapeka district since the resignation of Mr Pyke, has been permanently appointed Warden of the district. At the meeting of the Waste Lands Board on Thursday last was considered the application of Mr James M'Arthur to exchange his agricultural leases of sections 80, 81, and 82, block 2, Leaning Rock district. This application had been heard before a board of inquiry at Clyde, which board recommended its refusal. The decision of the District Board was confirmed. The Daily Times states that Mr George Langley, of Tokomairiro, died on Thursday, 21st. inst., of apoplexy, at half-past three. Mr Langley had been complaining of ill-health for two or three days previously, but nothing serious was anticipated. The deceased arrived in the Province about eleven years ago, when he was employed as driver on Messrs Cobb and Co's line of coauhes. A more careful and steady '■ whip," it is acknowledged on all sides, was not then to be had. Mr Langley afterwards took a hotel, in which line of business he was engaged till the time of his decease. Tn Tokomairiro, he was principally known in connection with the White Horse Hotel. A Christchuch baker informs the public that on a certain day every week one pound's worth of silver in florins will be distributed in his 4!b loaves for sile on that day. He has evidently taken a hint from Madame Cora. Efforts are being made to secure a visit to Dunedin of Mis 3 Arabella Ooddard, the celebrated pianjste, who has been so enthusiastically ''received in Melbourne and Sydney.

Mr Vogel has announcer! in the House that the Government will for this session withdraw the Elector.nl Bill, and next session bring in another, abolishing the miner's ri,;ht qualification, and substituting manhood suffrage, with registration and education qualification. The Wellington correspondent of the Dunedin Guardian says :—" Our worthy Governor Sir James Fergusson must either have a keen sense of the ridiculous, which he cannot help exercising at the expense of our Representatives, or else he must be actuated by a most laudable desire to keep his evening parties select, inasmuch as his last invitations to a gathering at Government House held out the most attractive inducement ' to meet the members of the Assembly.' Only fancy getting one's self up in a white choker and irreproachable blacks to meet a Mervyn or aT. L. Shepherd ! To be sure, in an obscure corner of the ' ticket' there was a modest little insinuation of ' music,' but whether it was to hear a M 'Gillivray chant an extempore psalm, or to witness 'J. White' in the last comic sons: out. was left to the imagination of the invited. The idea was a brilliant one, no matter from whom it emanated, and has given rise to a considerable amount of chaff and fun." A robbery was committed in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Christchurch, the other evening. During the service, and after the collection had been made, some one got into the vestry, and emptied the collecting plates, containing something over f2. The Tuapeka Times says the Lawrence Town Council have accepted the offer submitted to them on Monday evening by Mr Jonas Harrop, for £2OOO debentures bearing interest at 6 per cent., for the erection of a Town-hall. This is an example which might be profitably remembered by the Cromwell Council when discussing the permanent water supply question. It is rumoured in Wellington that Mr Voxel goes Home after this session to negotiate a further loan. The body of Mr James Ritchie, a young squatter, was found on the Waipori Ranges one morning recently. It is reported that his horse and dog were also near him on the ranges. No marks of violence were found on the body. An inquest was to be held in the afternoon. The Wellington correspondent of the Guardian says :—" Again has there been another fight over the Licensing alias the Permissive Bill, and again has Mr Fox triumphed, as in Committee there was made a most determined attack, with a view to burk it for at least this session, but this was defeated by 38 to 13, and teetotalism is rampant with joy. On the motion for adjourning during the debate for the usual " ten minutes for refreshments." Taiaroa caused some amusement by stating that he objected to memb rs going out to imbibe "whiskey hot" and then coming back to vote for teetotalism. Mr Fox tries to tell the story another way, but this, I think, is the best version of the two." Bishop Moran has evoked a keen criticism throughout the Province of Auckland in consequence of bis denunciations of secret societies and secular education at the Thames. He said there were only two Churches—the Catholic Church and Satan's Church, and the latter was formed of secret societies. In the House of Representatives the other day, Mr Macandrew gave notice that he would move the House into Committee in order to place a sum on the supplementary estimates of £l,soofor establishingcommunication between the East and West Coasts of the Middle Island. A Bill to enable the Superintendent of 0ta»o to construct a branch line of railway from the Southern Trunk Bail way to the Green Island Coalfield, has been read a first time in the Assembly. A late Wellington telegram says :—Mr O'Veill moved a reduction of the gold duty by 6d. per oz. —M r Vogel said he was sorry he had to oppose the motion. A Mint was to be established for the purpose of continuation against the Bank (sic). The reduction might benefit Auckland, but not Otago or Westland. He was sorry the reduction was made last year. The gold duty was not a tax on miners. The gold-fields members should be glad that others opposed the reduction.—Mr O'Connor supported the motion, and quoted largely from statistics to show that the miners in New Zealand were worse off than those in Victoria. He showed that the yield of gold was reducing, and the number of miners falling off. —Mr J. L. Gillies supported the motion.—Mr T. White argued against the duty as being a special tux, and urged the absurdity of levying a special tax on an industry already heavily burdened.—Major Atkinson opposed the motion, and said the question was one of royalty, and not of special taxation.—Mr Fox supported the motion, and sail that there was an underselling last year that the reduction should be gradual each year. —Mr Sheehan opposed the motion, and said the Assembly had no right to remove the revenue of the provinces.—Mr Buckland said tha ! "; unless the tax were continued, the Auckland province would become insolvent. The debate was interrupted by the arrival of the dinner hour.