Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, January 6, 1874.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 217, 6 January 1874, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, January 6, 1874.

Oi[Oß more we,are 09^ pel 1 ed' t>• T' of : the nature pf ithe ‘water wpj/ijf yhi’c.b thp unfortunate' ih>a^t»n^ , pr.the’tQ^n-‘ : ship of Cromwell,are' cdrnpQjje^'to up with. For some past the mpiif 'bps been. - clamant enough ;but as the Qpaj?(al.#a%**'’*, to use its ownphrase, direction,” we thought to'ajva'i’t, the result which ihighf^ih^ : th^r f fpo.r? :; ing. The result, so far, has, been very iis'* tonishing; so much so, in hict;'■thaV'we'; have come to the conclusion that the water :r ‘ supply will never;he better' untif ; pn : : * (lertakeiv by "30 hie private.,atnKhs,"or- ; at ? least till the Couhcil'is content tpbe'gaidtd by the ad vice of cifci .4 ita - pw-tr 7 ' body,- . Nearly a' thousand jpourufsi -bag” been, spent one way and the other r the last few yWrs/on water JchemJs,"and' ' to-day we are" pbsitiveiy''wora® (/ of^’ : as gavds the indispensable ' el^iheiit, i: th{iji ; w were when' entirely• goodwill of Messrs 'CoNNhhLui and party?' ' We are now in tbedieht of summer, and ? we can only now and theh get' f drofpf : water when it is a caliiv day 'a^ : tlmre;^‘ v ' no dust blowing. Ifo*’ of day happens at this season of .the year, 1 4 every one knowsVby :^^f • Even when we are. have a stream flowing,..it - ; is chargcdiwith', all kinds of organic Aptl-W' 5 . have no hesitation whaWvefyin and we are supported;'ip’our^B^^<)p; ;^jr !'

tlie experience of-every:in>, the tbJhe ffithy £#s* '• insufficient water supplying "bfem" great measure due. the extraordinary mine, }»er of low fever cases-that have .prevailed in Crom well for the.past-two years. How-. can it be otherwise? ’Children' are ; cpn- :r: ' tinually paddling in it ;.\cdws walk up and ’ down in it; pigs wallowjn it; .cjogs ; waIlQW' • in it; — Ugh lit is -too disgusting*- to con- : : - tinue the description. If anyone doubts” " the truth of it, let him look at tjjie race an hour after it has ceased \y,i!} % have an opportunity to-day, or tomorrow.,:... f or almost any day he p!eases)bH»nd ; befoi;e the mud has had time to, get He e.; will find it teeming with countless ni^lipp ,* v of those minute animal§ which flourish amongst, decaying animal and . yegetabie-. , matter. Let -him further .ihe- ■ deposit in the tanks and barrels set at Uie’ /’ side of the race. His wondeLwij Hie that l i-

we have not ion" ago Ireeh ‘Ueciniated-hv. ' typhus, or some other Fever.:.-of ■tiw’/mo.st j malignant type. W.e.jimy 'depend ..«pt>A ' it that the comparatively mihT’cases we have had have only been, warnings, which should not be neglected. The infraction’.,, of a natural law to the slightest possibleextent is invariably followed by the penal tyy; made for such a case. The .niejof .wtateV-i, highly charged with decaying,, ; matter is invariably followed by sickness of some kind or other,—generally bf fev’ersof a typhoid nature. And fevers of that K description, when they do not end iiixltiath, generally leave behind them the seeds': ofT untold and protracted sufferings.'. ' ’, ’ In speaking thus of the water, supply :■ we do not wish to be understood ‘as .Ham-, . ing the Council for the works they., have , lately been executing upon the race. '.By *■ no means ; we believe they are quite-right ~ in trying to,Jieep the present supply going to the best possible advantage. In the, " absence of a new kettle, by all means, let the old one be tinkered. But let the tinkering process only be carried on so" lohg as we cannot get a new vessel; —and -this brings us to the point where we must . blame the Council. They are so engrossed.,;‘ with the tinkering job that they are actually mistaking it for the whole .duty which is „■! required of them. T, .'

We think it may be fairly assumed that the present supply, even if it?was a con- * stantly flowing stream, on account of : its - 1 liability to contamination, if for ho otherreason, is insufficient for the wants of the ' Town of Cromwell. That is, in fact, admitted on all sides, and therefore needs no 1 demonstration at our hands. It is also aciraitted that there are only two‘practicable methods of supplying the township with water, if we exclude that which might bo • obtained. from the river Clutha ; namely, from the Firewood Creek, and from one or other of the races which take their supply from the Lowburn. We have on previous occasions, advocated the Firewood Creek • scheme, but on this occasion we shall, for the sake of argument, admit that the two schemes have equal advantages to present, and that the cost would in each case be identical. We shall, assume the cost to be £3OOO, the interest of which at eight - per cent/ would be £240 per annum. We .have"fairly-stated the probable cwt,

and e have qpw, simply to ask the Couu cillaw duo question: Are they prepared to Undertake the matter, or are they nqt j No imaginary difficulties need .be caispd on the question. The money can bq raised on Corporation securities with very little trouble y or the work itself can be Undertaken and completed by priVatU individuals upon jhe guarantee by the Corporation of the rate per cent, above mentioned. It ia no part of our duty in the meantime to go into the details of such a method of getting the work dope ; that is one bf tl(e things for which Councillors were Created; at all, and one of the duties, indeed, which has for the last year or two,' as we shall presently show, been voluntarily undertake (in words) by the very persons who compose the present Council. We hope the citizens of the town will second our request for an answer to the question we have above proposed. As an example of the opinions expressed by the persons who now ait in the Council, and what indeed went a long, way towards securing the seats tp them, we shall quote the words made use of in August, 1372, by the now Councillor (Hunt when Standing for election. They are a very fair expression of the views Hold at' 'the time by the gentlemen who are pow members of Council j that is, so far as the importance of tjhe.question is concerned. He said : , ' : ‘ " “ GocKi and fresh water was what the town must have ; the want of it could no longer be endured. Firewood Creek was indubitably tbe natural supply, for Cromwell; and if -no surplus water was to. be had, he woyld be in favour of buying Messrs Barker and Strahan’s water right. What if their right did coat £IOOO ? It seamed to him ridiculous to Stick- at that sum for a good and efficient supply pf water. Talk

of Fire Brigades ! _ firing in the water from Firewood Creek, and no Fire Brigade, for real efficiency, could equal it. (Cheers.) To-night the inhabitants of the town might go to bed, and rise to find two or even ten thousand pounds’ worth of property destroyed, and yet it was argued that £IOOO was too muca to pay for a supply of water Why, it was ridiculous! It was further stated that the Corporation of Crom-well-could 'tint-:raise'- sufficient money to carry out the Fireyyond Creek scheme. Well, let the Council borrow money;-. He would even gn the length of mortgaging every atom of Municipal property —the ’ Corporation s?al included, rather than continue to be served with the present inefficient -supply. ” Our space will not allow ns to pursue the matter-further in the meantime. We I trust enough has been said to convince the ! Council : thkt"tliey must “.rhove” to some ! he.tter purpose "thkn thev' .have hitherto | clone, or the. account <orf their stewardship! will not be; received by the ratepayers I with the ■ applause which is expected. I Their promises, they can perceive, although | they have not been fulfilled, are not yet | fprgotten, and are not likely to be. !

• _— ; ! We have received a poetical (?) contribution on the Subject of the reduction in the prige of gold.'. The effusion is not signed by the real name of the author, and for that reason alone cannot .be inserted.

Within the last week or two, we have heard many complaints from subscribers as to the great irregularity which takes place in receiving copies of the Argus. The complaints, we may say, ate most numerous from some parts of the Bannockburn district and from the Nevis. We can only say in reference to them, that we regret very much that such irregularity should exist as is complained of, and we shall endeavour to have' it remedied in future. One thing we may assure onr subscribers of: the papers are deapatched with the utmost regularity from our office at present/ Tn the absence of the time honoured and poetical custom of ringing out the Old Year and ringing in the New, the event was marked on Wednesday night, or shall we sav Thursday morning, by the Cromwell Brass Band playing a succession of tunes through the town. The moat of the adult population followed the band and numerous and l.earty (l«*t « 8 hope) were the salutations which could be heard on all sides. After the band had finished playing, and welldisposed people had retired to their homes, a number of young men made night hideous by unearthly bowlings and tin-kettlings. It was the firrt ,offence of some of them, and we smcerelyiMpc it will be their last. If they wish to celibmte the advent of the New Tear, why don’t they teach themselves to do it after the manned of some of the “ Christmas Waits” at Home, or in ffljme other human fashion ? Kero-sene-tinning and howling are most absurd ways of making fun. J Through the courtesy of Inspector Moore, we are enabled, to-give the following statement of gold forwarded by Escort from Clyde to Dunedm. fith January, 1574 ; - f. , O/W. dwts, Queenstown 14°| ]7 Cardroaa SSO 6 Arrow .............i!' 1165 3 J!r o ™ well 4134 19 - Clyde v. • 3/;o q A1exandra . ............. Tevi0t.............*. fg 'jj

The following letters wei*e received at thrt Cromwell pos 'j'ofjjco in September, and remained unclaimed at the end of December Samuel Cook ; Wm, Hope Johnson ; Malcolm M'Lennau; Mrs Murchio. By reference to the Provincial Governthent Gazette we see that the quartz crushing machine and building on Rattray-street Jetty, Dunedin, were to be sold by public auction today at noon. We understand that Messrs M k Lean and Co., of Ardgour, have procured the use of the Government boring-rods for the. purpose of testing the coal seam lately discovered near the Lindis river by Mr Tolmie. This is the first time the rods have been applied for in this districts- Other parties who may have occasion to use them should make application while they are here, as it would be a saving in the expense of carriage to find from Dunedin, besides the saving in time waiting upon them. It will be noticed by our advertising columns that the txion troupe,—the largest company that has yet Visited the up-country districts, —will give an entertainment on Thursday and several following evenings. The papers of other places where this troupe have appeared speak in the highest terms of their Various performances. Their very numbers alone will enable them to present pieces which could not be attempted by other companies. -i ■■ .-.oiu Mr,Weston, who is advertised to play to-night and to-morrow night at Mr Goodger’s billiard-room, played a game last week with one of the best of the Clyde local amateurs. Weston gave 375 points, and was level with his opponent at 540. At the end of the game the score stood ! Weston, 700 ; Amateur, 604. For the office of Surgeon to the Dunstan Hospital the following applications have been received in addition to those already published : —John Bowden Lake, L.F.P.S. (Glasgow), L.M., Cromwell;' Charles Scott, L.F.P.S. (Glasgow), L. Queenstown; Alexander T. Thomson, M. M. 8., C.M., Clyde; Fetherstone Cuthbertson Haugb, L. R. C. S. 1., L. K. Q. C. P. 1., Hokitika. We have heard a good deal of grumbling at the action taken lately by the Progress Committee at the Nevis, to .whose hands was entrusted the expenditure of the £4OO voted for the construction of roads in that district. Of course, it will be Understood, that we do not vouch for the truth of the statements we have heard ; but it is clearly our duty to make those statements | public, in order that, if incorrect; they may be ■ contradicted by the parties whose good faith js impugned ; and, on the other hand, if correct, that an enquiry may be instituted in the public interest. It is said, then, shortly, that tenders have been accepted for the road between Mr Scally’s hotel and the upper workings, nearly double in amount to that of other tenders sent in. The tenders accepted are (it is said) at 15s. per chain, whilst tenders were put in to do the work for Bs. fid. per chain. As we said before, we cannot say whether such is the case or not.; but in justice to themselves, the members of the Nevis Progress Committee should publish the rates and amounts of the various tenders sent to them, and the reasons, if any should be required, for accepting the ones which were accepted. Their so doing will settle the whole matter. We notice that 2500 acres have been set apart on the svstem of deferred payments at Tiger Hill The advertisement appears in the Gazette.

The installation of officers of the Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge took place at the Lodgeroom, Kawarau Hotel, on Wednesday evening, 31st December. The ceremony of installation was admirably conducted, by Bro. Christophers, H.W.M. and P.M. of the Dunstan Lodge, assisted by Bro. Freshaw, P.M. Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge. The following are the officers for the ensuing twelve months D. MacKellar, R.T.M.; W. Bell, D.M.; FT. Behrens, S.M.; 0. F. Johnson, S.W.; J. Escotfc, J. W. ; W. Taylor, S. D.; T. Tait, J. D.; 0. Pierce, J.C.; A. M'Minn, Secretary; J. Taylor, Treasurer; J. Stuart, Steward. After the ceremony of installation, the brethren adjourned to a sumptuous banquet, at which a very pleasant evening, enlivened by song and toast, was passed, the brethren expressing the highest praises at the feast prepared for them by Host Starkey. Mr Rivers is reported to have sold Wild Manx Boy to Mr Keenan for something between £7O and £BO, the sale including clothing, saddle, etc. We are informed that the manager of the Hawkdun station has been indulging in rather an extensive impounding raid lately. On Friday last, he actually impounded oke horse, thfc property of Mr James Marshall, manager of the Garrick Water Company. It appears that the horse committed the enormous offence of breaking his tether and straying upon the run. A week ago we should have said there was no runholder in the country who would have done such a thing ; now we know there is one : we honestly believe only one. Mr George Coppin, the best theatrical manager, comedian, and business man in the colonies, and one of the proprietors of the Melbourne Theatre Royal, has been elected a Member of Parliament in tlie Victoria'Legislative Asrsmbfy.

From thje last Dunstan Times we learn that, in thojßesident Magistrate’s Court, Clyde, on Monday last, the 29th ult., Mrs Stoy was charged with bigamy. The prosecutor not being prepared with the evidence of marriage, the accused was discharged. The Bench commented strongly on the seriousness of the charge, and said the informant should have been prepared with his evidence before laying the information. On the Ist instant Mrs floss was charged with vagrancy, and remanded to the Bth instant for further evidence.--Speaking of the former case, and without expressing the slightest opinion as to its merits, we may make a remark as to the extraordinarily lame manner in which the ends of justice were sought to bo obtained. Margaret Wilson, or Stoy, was arrested on the 13th December at Invercargill, and remanded to Cromwell, that being the place where the second marriage was said to have taken place. On Monday, the , 22nd December,, the pase was brought up at Cromwell before James Corse, E'q., J.P., when accused was again .remanded, this time to Clyde for 48 hours, without a.single word of evidence having been heard, one way or the other, beyond that already taken at Invercargill. The case was further remanded at Clyde, till on Monday, 290h ultimo, it was dis> posed of as above reported. It must strike one as something curious that it is possible to imprison a person for sixteen days on a serious charge .such as.that of bigamy without it being discovered that the prosecutor had no evidence to bring forward in the matter. The R.M. at Invercargill may not be to blame in any way, but we Certainly think the J.P. at Cromwell ought to have elicited the facts of the case. Again - why should a remand have to be made to Clyde? Had not the country incurred sufficient expense already without incurring more? Justices of the Peace should either be prepared to do their duty or to resign.. It is absurd to grant re mands simply on the request of a .Sergeant of Police,-when nothing iS'brought forward to show that a remand is at all necessary. We have received the first copy of the Southern Mercury, the new weekly published in Dunedin. ;If it only keeps up to the standard attained in its first issno. it will be a great acquisition to the ranks of journalism. The editor promises that it will improve as it goes on, The politics are somewhat vaguely set forth in the prologue as being “ Liberal and Progressive.” It proceeds to say “It has been objected that these phrases may mean anything. True; and it is intended that they shall mean a great deal. To advocate the cause of the People—to address ourselves to the People—to wrestle manfully

fok the People : these are the objects which we shall:steadily keep in view. Subservient to no Party, .andjnAtrammelled by personal influences, it will be dur-aim to promote the. general :welfare, ever | remembering that nothing can be really beneficial which tends unduly to advance the interests of a class at the expense of the community, and to the detriment of the commonwealth. We claim the right frcelv to criticise both MKASURKs and mux—-deprecating all sympathy with the silly cry which pretends to deal with the one and iynofe the o'dier. ‘ Measures and not men (thus wrote a trenchant penman a century ago), ’’s the common cant of affected moderation—a baseconnterfeit language, fabricated by knaves, and made current among fools. ' Never yet has sound legislation on any subject proceeded from stupid or vicious legislators. Of the two, the latter is least dangerous to the Stajte'-; for vice may be curbed, but against blundering incapacity there is no protection;” !

A correspondent' of the Guardian at Queenstown says, under date December 31st., by telegram : —“ John Haves, an old miner, was returning home to the Shotover with his mates, and. while resting on top of a track, accidentally rolled over ‘a precipice and was killed. A verdict of accidental death was returned. The man was affected by liquor. His remains were brought into Queenstown. The priest refused to perform the funeral ceremonv, and objected to his being buried in the (Jatholic dep-rtment of the cemetery. The trustees replied that the ground was theirs, and that the interment should tak" place. The priest refused to allow any of his flock to read prayers over the deceased. Mi Worthington, of the Church of England, read a prayer. The funeral was well attended.” The Mount Ida Chronicle , in its report of the local Miners’ Association, says: “A circular letter was received from the Se re l ary of the Cromwell Miners’ Association (a copy of which we published in our issue of the 19th ultimo), bringing under notice of this Association the combination between the banks, by which means they have reduced the price of gold to 7ds., and suggesting a plan to prevent, the miners from being completely in the hands of the associated banks. After some consideration, the plan suggested was approved, and, on the motion of Mr James Horn, seconded by Mr Moore, the following resolution was unanimously carried—- “ That the suggestion made by the Cromwell Miners’ Association to break up the unfair combination by the hanks to regulate the price of gold, is, in the opinion of this Committee, a good one, ami that this Association pledges itself to sell all gold to one hank only, and begs to name 1 for this district the Bank of New Zealand—the me bank for the whole Province to be settled by the Central Executive, and published in all the newspapers as early as possible.” The Mercury sars“ Tn every other country in the world the Government fixes the price of gold, and by the aid of banks, mints, and assay offices the price is kept steady. The world-accepted va'ne of refined gold is £3 17s. per standard ounce of 22 carats fineness, or at the rate of 3s. <>4<l. per carat per ounce. Most of the Otago gold is over 23 carats fine, nul is therefore worth £4 and upwards per nmee ; which' for crude gold would be equal to £3 18a.” The onus of relieving the miners from he yoke of the bank rannopolvnow rests with jis HonojrAhe Superintendent and-"the Provincial Executive.