BENDIGO.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 207, 28 October 1873, Page 6

BENDIGO.

' (FROM OUR OWtf CORRESPONDENT.) October 22, 1873. I am tillable to discover anything appertaining to mining matters of sufficient importance to chronicle this week, and will not therefore trench upon the province of your mining reporter, Avho, I imagine, must find his office almost a sinecure so far as Bendigo is concerned. The several quartz companies are progressing, and evidently stick closely to the motto "festina Imte" for the "haste" of some of them is truly of the slowest order consistent, with motion. To make an Englishman growl, it is said you must touch his pocket; and as the pockets as well as the epigastric regions of Her Majesty's lieges in this part are suffering from a vile imposition at present, I trust I may be excused for giving vent to a mild murmur of remonstrance. The Laird of Morven, otherwise "Big Jock," has suddenly and without apparent reason raised the price of his sheep from 10s. to 14s. per head. As one lot supplied to our local butcher only averaged 321b. per carcase, he had to raise the price from 4d. to sd. a pound, and at this cannot hold his own. As a rule, the mutton is hardly eatable. To mend matters, I am credibly informed that no cattle whatever will in future be allowed to pasture on the run; and, further, the horses have been classed with the miners, and owners have had to take out a "right," and pay 20s. per annum for their steeds running on the station. Verily, " it is nice to be a digger." I am inclined, in the language of Artemus Ward, to ask, " Why is this thus?" Is it another illustration of the old classical proverb, crescit amor nnrmni? Or does the] great chief of the clan M'Lean wish to drive all the mining fraternity off his acres ? It is a clear case of " male' lean" in so far as the meat supply is concerned—(excuse this horrid " goak")—from which there is scarcely an avenue for escape ; it is Hobson's choice with us. Mr M'Lean is pastoral king of this territory ; like Robinson Crusoe, he is monarch of all he surveys. The run extends about seventy miles in each direction, consequently the chances of competition or opposition are very remote. I have been often struck with the extraordinary difference in the prices j current of articles of daily consumption in j the different Provinces and towns of New Zealand ; but I must admit Bendigo bears off the palm for extra high charges, they being actually in many instances 100 per cent, higher than in some more favoured localities. I oan see but one way of remedying this state of affairs, and that is by a combination of the inhabitants, and the institution of a co-ope-rative store, butchery, and bakery to supply the entire population. This has been done in other places when the shoe was found to pinch too severely, and if vested rights suffered, why, the holders of such were to blame for standing in their own light and not altering matters in time. With this remark, 1 leave those interested to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" the above. They may possibly find in it a partial solution of the enigma of the present stagnation in mining enterprise which obtains, in spite of the well-known resources of the district. Our coal prospectors have suspended operations pending the arrival of mining timber from Lake Wanaka. The shaft is down eighteen feet, and indications appear to favour the chance of an extensive seam being discovered. The sinking is entirely in block "country," and this is a good indication, I am informed. I hope so. Speaking of coal reminds me tha,t the Province now possesses a geologist, Captain Hut-

ton, who has been lately appointed to coin* plete Dr Hector's geological survey. A writet in the Witness recommends that he shall dc* vote a good deal of attention to the remains of defunct moas and other extinct species of antediluvians. Ihu mbly venture to suggest that his salary would be much better earned in examining our coal, gold, and other mineral deposits, whose name is legion. If he would condescend to shed the light of his acquired knowledge upon this neglected district, he would find much to interest him ; and possibly his researches might have the effect of inducing speculation in certain matters which are now lying fallow from ignorance of their probable worth. And if his "game" is moa birds, why he can find plenty of these anatomical curiosities here also : I have seen the remains of fifty, possibly, unearthed during the past six months. I am glad to see that Mr V. Pyke has been giving the House a taste of his quality, and I think the mining community is indebted to him for his efforts in its behalf, albeit th« said efforts led to no practical results. Tf he will follow up the course he has indicated next session, he will earn the gratitude of all miners; and I trust he may think it worth his while to do so. Many are of opinion that his stability can scarcely be depended upon, and that as a politician he will, like the great Julius Vogel, prove unscrupulous, and in the words of tho old couplet, " Get place and pelf,— if possible with grace; If not, by any means get place and pelf." Mining constituencies have been hitherto used, in most instances, as stepping stones by their representatives to reach the desiderata implied in the above lines, and if it should again occur, why they must only "grin and bear it," and try to do better next time.