OLYDE CORRESPONDENTS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 229, 31 March 1874, Page 6

OLYDE CORRESPONDENTS.

We do not as a rule care to notice or criticise the effusions of "Our Own Correspondents" from upcoimtry places, which appear occasionally in the Duriedin papers. It however, becomes.necessary to remind the gentlemen referred to that the-Dunedin with their precious epistles, find their wayc: up-country* and are read with various and mingled feelings. Our intention at present is to refer' more particularly to the Clyde correspondent of the Daily Tines, and to his last, letter to that paper. In it he takes.upon himself to inform th« readers of the Tvmes that his " Cromwell friends" are raising funds for the purpose of establishing a Hospital, and that, wonderful to relate, " about .£SOO have been already raised," —upon which and any further sum raised, he has no •doubt the usual subsidy will be asked. He then proceeds to discuss the question as to whether the Government will be justified in granting the subsidy, assuming of course, for the purpose of arguing the question, that Cromwell is anxious to build a Hospital because it has a quarrel with Clyde, and demonstrating, also as a matter of course, and as a Clyde correspondent should do, that it would be very wrong to grant the usual subsidy. - &' Our Own" is quite right in some things he says. His Cromwell friends have already raised £SOO, and they have a strong impression that they will be able to raise from £3OO to £SOO more for the very laudable purpose of building a<Hospital; and they further think they will be able to make out such a strong case for the consideration of the Government in the matter that it will be impossible to refuse the usual subsidy. Our Clyde friend is quite in error in supposing that the present movement towards the erection of a Hospital in Cromwell is the result of any quarrel between the two townships in the matter. It may be, and we believe the late election of a surgeon at Clyde had a great deal to do with drawing the attention of people resident in the Cromwell district to the advantage of having a local Hospital. Their opinions had an opportunity, as it were, of being consolidated on the subject on that occasion. But it is one which has been discussed in the Cromwell district for the past three years, and is not the outcome of a day's or a week's consideration. The number of accidents, and the unfortunately numerous cases.of sickness which have lately occurred in' Cromwell, we should rather say, have had much to do with the unanimous nature of the movement so far as our district is concerned. Individuals in either district may entertain, or profess to entertain, an anti-Clyde or Cromwell feeling, but " Our Own" may rest assured that no feeling of that kind will for long animate the inhabitants of a whole district, and certainly will not result in the raising of nine hundred or a thousand pounds for any purpose whatever; —it would be paying too dear for their whistle. The sum of £SOO being raised within ten days ought to be sufficient proof to anyone that the want of a Hospital is one which is no mere matter of sentiment, but one which is felt, and that strongly. The fear of not being able to support a Hospital in after years, if we should succeed in getting one now, may be put to one side. Difficulties will be met for a short time, both by the Dunstan and by the-Cromwell Hospital Committees, hut they will not bo insurmountable. The people in the Cromwell district are quite willing to face them, and surely Clyde, which is such a central and important place, and already has all the buildings and fittings of a Hospital complete, will be able to do the same. Every year the districts will increase in population, we hope and believe, and every year the bnrden of supporting each Hospital will become lighter.

Several other statements made in the letter above referred to, which are anything but accurate, but to which we shall at present do no more than allude. It is evident to us the letter has been written by a person who does not know much of the country above the township of Clyde. For instance, when he says that Queenstown is only forty-five miles from Clyde, so that no one has to travel more than twenty-five miles to. one or the other. Even if such were the ease, it should be remembered that twenty-five miles, to a patient' suffering from an accident or disease, is equal to a ten or twelve hours' journey. The-thirteen miles of road which intervene between Cromwell and Clyde are of themselves nearly equal to it.

We cannot conclude these remarks to " Our Own," without calling his attention to the fact, that of his last Clyde letter, which contains forty-eight lines of printed

matter, forty-two lines are devoted to a

,matter affecting Cromwell only, and six; to districts which are at least twenty miles distant from the township of Clyde ; and that he gives no Clyde news at all. Surely such is not the correct line of conduct for a Clyde correspondent to pursue, arict especially such a sensible oho as lie whose remarks we are how calling attention to has so often proved himself to be. .

We had. intended to notice very briefly the tone which the Clyde correspondent of the Southern Mercury has thought fit to adopt in his letters to that paper, whenever he has, or rather takes, occasion to mention Cromwell; but on second thoughts we shall let hira alone. He does the funny business occasionally, and he is great on District Court matters ; in fact, Court matters are his specialite. We should not "be surprised' to learn" that he was intimately acquainted with many of the officials for which Clyde is so justly celebrated. Mild means are the only ones to be adopted with persons of his class. Eeasoning is out of the question.