Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, September 29, 1874.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 261, 29 September 1874, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, September 29, 1874.

We must decline to acce|)t the in some respects honourable position of being the official organ of the present Provincial ; Executive, which the Wakatlp Mail appears determined to force upon us. Why that usually well informed and ably conducted paper should in two successive issues speak of anything appearing in our columns as something published “ under authority,” we cannot imagine,unless it be the fact that a late proprietor of this paper happens to be at present a member of that Executive. We remember well some months ago the Mail congratulated the Government (ironically or otherwise, does not at present matter,) on the fact that for the future the Akous might be looked upon as a kind of ministerial organ,; but surely the absolute non-appearance ever since that time of any news in our columns which was not open to acquisition by any other journal, might have convinced the Mail that we derived no benefit of inspiration by authority. We can say with sincerity quite equal to that of the Mail itself that we are not “ anxious to be an official exponent of the views of the present Provincial Government or of any other. Our ever independent position suits us far better—at least we do not feel thereby held in leading strings, and are not afraid to open our months about such a matter as the prospective fall pf % the provincial system of Gb-

vernraent,*’-—or indeed xipoji «ny other subject which appears to call for Remark at oiir hands. But we must insist upon choosing our own subjects for remark. What may appear to the Wakatip Mail of the utmost impdrtAtcb, 1 and-deserving of discussion V6ek after week, may appear to us of none at all, and deserving only of total silence. Further, we expect in future any expression of opinion; which may appear in our columns upon any subject will not be seized “ as a representation of the views of the Executive;” We profess no special knowledge of the actions or opinions of that body • nor do we desire to possess any, beyond what may be obtained by any country journalist. If after these few remarks, the Mail chooses in future to deal with any expressions of opinion or items of news which may appear in this paper as being officially inspired, we shall only think the Mail is forgetting the courteous; line of conduct which: has, hitherto characterised it in its dealings with its contemporaries. Some of our readers will feel rather surprised when we inform them that the above sentences have been penned in consequence of two leaders which have lately appeared in the Wakatip Mail, and which were primarily caused by a local which was published some three weeks ago in our columns. In that local we announced, according to information which we had received from a reliable source, that the Government had had several communications from parties relative to selling the leases of certain portions of the so-called Wakatip commonage; and we then stated our conviction that provided sufficient reserves were still maintained over the portions round the townships and the more important centres of population, such a sale would prove a public benefit. We thought very little more of the matter till the elaborate remarks of the Mail again directed our attention to the matter, and we now propose, to lay the result of our enquiries briefly before our readers, who may, not understanding the case, think that whilst we advocate and have advocated so strongly the necessity for a commonage in our own district, it is strange that wo should yet recommend and approve of the cancellation of a portion of the Wakatip commonage. For the benefit of the residents in our immediate neighborhood, we may premise that we should think ourselves comparatively blessed, with the possession of something like 15,000 acres pf commonage, whilst our Wakatip friends have reserved for their use something like 170,000. Because we are badly off, we do not for one moment wish our neighbours to be so also ; but we cannot say otherwise than that 170,000 acres is greatly in excess of the requirements of even the Wakatip .district. One hundred •and seventy thousand acres is easily said, but let anyone try to realise the enormous area, and then say whether, all things considered, one district is entitled to hold such a reserve. If that area, large though it be, were enjoyed by the settlers in anything like a reasonable proportion to each, if either directly or indirectly every man in the Wakatip district enjoyed a share of the benefit of holding such a commonage, then we would say, by all means preserve the existing area to their use. . We would have some satisfaction in thinking that, in one portion of the Province at least, there was settling a vigorous and thriving population. But when we know that the extent of land which we have indicated is mainly enjoyed by the adjacent runholders, that in fact at the present moment it is mainly depastured by sheep belonging to these runholders, and that not the slightest revenue is derived to the country from such depasturing, we think it high time to enter a protest against such benevolence on the part of the Government, the Mail notwithstanding. Our readers would think it a good thing, no doubt, to have the country from Lake Wanaka to the Nevis and thence to Clyde declared a commonage, but what would they say if they found it practically used as spare ground for the adjoining runholders 1 Would they not .think it an infinitely better plan to lease portions of such an extent of country, for which the occupiers would have to pay to the common revenue, with portions reserved as commonage for dep:isturing great cattle, which would be manageable? How much more would they be convinced of this, if from their own knowledge and from good information, they knew that a large extent of the ground was unfit for the purpose of depastm’ing cattls, and was only fit for sheep. And this is the case at the Wakatip. A large extent of the Wakatip country is only fit for sheep, and it has in our opinion been proved that such a large reserve is pi’actically unmanageable, and to preserve it simply means to subsidise the adjoining runholders. In no part pf the Province have stronger efforts, been made to impose

regulations for the management of commonage than have ' been ;■ made in tho Wakatip, and in no part have they more signally failed,—the chief reason : fbr such 1 failure being in our opinioh simply from tile extent and varied nature of the country tried to be so managed. , '• '" r ,ii • • It is all very well to theorise on the subject, but let ns take one or two examples to see how the system has worked; for, after all the theorising, it must be brought to a practical test.Hpw does Arrowtown, for instance, benefit by the commonage ] Is not the country near that township t, monopolised by one or-two individuals, who pay no rent for it t True, a number of the people there run a few horses and cattle in the neighbourhood, but is it for that purpose that 1-80,006 acres r are required] If the men who own two or three thousand sheep and herds of cattle numbered by the hundred were excluded, would 10,000 or 15,000 acres not be sufficient for the purpose ] Most ’undoubtedly it would. Tlie Cardrona people, again, are placed at the extreme end of the .present reserve, and. how are they situated ] As a matter of fact, do we not find that one or two men, who have made cattle-rearing and sheepbreeding (on the easy terms mentioned above) their business, are in a position to crowd off the man for whom the commonage was primarily intended ] It is to a certain extent a risky speculation, but hitherto it has been found that a man has only to be the owner of i four or five hundred cattle and one or two thousand sheep, and he secures a monopoly of the ground. The modest possessor of six or eight or ten cattle has no chance. It will pay the former to keep horses and men to manage his cattle and sheep over some twenty or thirty miles of country, whereas the small holder must have his small herd continually under bis eye, as it were. Would eight or ten thousand acres not better meet the wants of the Cardrona- people, when under their certain and, local control, than their mere situation on the outskirts of 170,000 acres, [' overrun by nomadic herds from distances of perhaps fifty miles ] Other parts of the Wakatip we could mention, but it is needless. We are quite satisfied as to the verdict which would be returned if the question were fairly stated. ■ Even the Mail admits that about 40,000 acres at the head of the Shotover could be struck off the present reserve without causing any remonstrance to be made by the residents in the-district. It then goes on to urge reasons (eight in all) why the other portion of the reserve should be protected. Its first reason, that a local organisation is about to be formed,to protect the rights of the people as against the runholders, is a curious one. It proves conclusively the truth of our remarks, that at present the people, as a body, derive no benefit from the commonage; that, in fact, it only benefits the few. ; To let things be as they are at present, with the hope that things will of themselves improve, is a sham and a delusion.—Supposing, now, for the sake of the argument, that the Government really intends to lessen the size of the commonage, (of which we have only heard the rumour), the second reason given against such a course by the 'Mail is equally curious. By what power of reasoning does the Mail arrive at the conclusion that the evil now complained of will be intensified, (how can it be, over a smaller area ?) and that no steps will be taken to guard against a con* £ tinued encroachment on the part of sheepowners.—The third and fourth reasons, put shortly, simply mean that no more of the land is' to be leased, Jest it become more valuable : surely an absurd position to take up.—The fifth reason is a gem in its way. It says, in effect, this :In case the proposals of the General Government, re the abolition of provincial institutions, at some future time become law, the Provincial Government should in tho meantime abstain from, in any way, interfering with affairs in the Wakatip district; nay, if the argument is carried to its absurd length, it should anticipate possible- future legislation, and not interfere with anything at all. High time it would indeed be that Provincial Governments were abolished if such arguments as these could in any way influence its action.—The sixth reason urged against the rumoured leasing, is simply a repetition of those childish wailings against the Provincial Government which are so unworthy of the ability which usually directs the utterances of the Mail. It wants no further notice at present.—The seventh reason, that the leasing of “small sheep runs does not tend to increase the settlement or prosperity of the district,” is, simply an assertion that the almost universal feeling in favour of breaking up the present large depasturing leases into a riumber of small ones, within reach of the means of a large number of men with capitals limited t o M' few ihitirdred:

is a wrong feeling, ami one that must be put down. This reason will not,‘we think, receive general support.—The eighth and last reason urged by the Mail, is. about the purest specimen of bunkum we have seen for' sbme time., Foy the benefit of, our readers we, produce It entire. u , It says : “ That these commonages were purchased from the early revenue contributions of the miners and settlers who opened up -this unknown portion, of Otago, and for which they received no*otlier benefit, and many of these then pioneers are still residents of the district—owners of stock—and itwould be unfair to deprive them of their rights." Could the force of wn-wisdom further go ? The reference to the revenue contributions we pass over in silence. The revenue extorted from the Wakatip district by a cruel and despotic Government is one of the subjects upon which the Mail invariably forgets itself; but the poor pioneers, where are they] How many are there left, and what is the'extent of their claims] Are all the inhabitants of the Wakatip district, from the Roaring Meg to the Head of the Lake, and from Cardrona to Kingston,, pioneers] and are they all owners of stock ] It strikes us that the lines of the pioneers have on the whole fallen in pleasant places. They are something like the Old Identities down country. They can expatiate beautifully on the hardships they endured, on the pluck that carried them through their hardships; but they invariably forget to describe the nice things which, by virtue of their fast undergoing these' hardships, they managed to secure for themselves, or if not actually secured, at least had the chance of securing. Oh, Mail! let us hear no more of the pioneers., We have been, and are, all pioneers. .... - We do not believe, as the Mail says, that the Superintendentsoorf r the South Island have come back from Wellington determined to “ loot” their several provinces. What motive would dictate such a course of conduct to them ] . What power have they if they even had the wish ] If the Mail is convinced that to keep up a semi-revolutionary feeling would conduce to its own wellbeing, and the good of its own district, we say with Artemus Ward, “Let it went.” What the result of such conduct would be, we can hardly venture to guess, and the Mail has left the matter wrapped in mystery. Possibly, however, the Queenstown Volunteers would be found equal to the occasion.

It is said that the powers of the Town Council aa a local Board of Health will form a subject of discussion at the next meeting. Citizens should attend. Next week, we are requested to intimate, the subscribers of the local hospital building fund may expect to see the list of subscriptions advertised. Calcutta sweeps are to come off, under the management of Mr J. G. Chappie, on Thursday evening, at,Starkey’s Kawarau Hotel. Last evening, Mr Nicholas, the local telegraphist, received a telegram from-Mr J. .S. Worthington, meteorological observer, Queenstown, as follows : “ Steady rain, Shotover rising ; may affect the Clutha. Make it public. ” Two entertainments have been given by Dr Carr in Kidd’s Hall during the week, one on Saturday and the. other on Monday. On both occasions, for phrenology and mesmerism, the Doctor was fortunate in obtaining “ heads” and “subjects"; and his delineations of character and experiments in mesmerim were eminently satisfactory. Amusement is derived from listening to the graphic descriptions of the different characters during the phrenological part of the performance ; while all over the hall the most boisterous laughter is evoked at the experiments in mesmerism. Dr Carr’s ability as a lecturer is well-known to be very high, and to those who enjoy an intellectual treat, the lecture with which he opens the entertainment is certainly the most entertaining and interesting portion of it. The Doctor announces a seance for to-morrow evening, and it is to be hoped that a clearing up of the bad weather will allow a good attendance of ladies,—in which respect the two entertainments under notice have been unfortunate. The entertainments are certainly amusing, and far more than the money’s worth of fun is to be derived from them; while as certainly they are instructive in a very high degree. Mention was made during the last session of Assembly that Mr Lemon had succeeded in perfecting a system of duplex telegraphing on the submarine cable across Cook’s Straits ; and the following, which we take from the Telegraphic Journal, may therefore be of some interest at the present time, M. de Sautry (who was at one time, we believe, electrician in the New' Zealand department) thus WTites to that journal It must prove interesting-to your readers to learn that the possibility of working the duplex system of telegraphy op long submarine cables is no longer a matjer of doubt. After fourteen months of experiments I have at length succeeded in obtaining very satisfactory results on the Gibraltar and Malta cable (1121 nautical miles), and do' not • doubt but that on receiving some additional instruments I shall be able to practically establish permanent correspondences between (Gibraltar and Malta on this system;— Gibraltar, May(2s, 1874.’! When M. de Sautry has practically proved the soundness of the process, he promises to .send a descriptive paper to the journal on the subject. Mr Taifc, tfie ptvner of Goldaboroughyhas been offered.£4i>OO.f(Whint ■■ *'

Tenders are invited by the Provincial Government for the erection of two bridges over the Teviot and Clutha at Roxburgh. They will be of timber, in single spans of 83ft. and 17ft. respectively, the arch of each being on the laminated principle. The abutments will bo of stone, . r Dr Carr, it will be noticed, is to give one of his seances at Bannockburn school-house on Thursday evening. The Doctor will also lecture on “Self-culture,” and besides the amusement to be'derived from the after part of the performance, those who Wish to enjoy an intellectual treat will do well to pay a visit to the schoolhouse on the evening named.—On Wednesday evening, the Doctor gives a concluding seance in CromWell. Mr J. G. Chappie sold the privileges in connection with the Spring Meeting, at Heron’s Hotel, on Wednesday last. Mr John Marsh bought the whole of them,—the booth, the horse-paddock, and the cards,—for a total sum of £lB 7s. We have to remind our readers that the Church of England bazaar takes place on Thursday and Friday evenings next. On Thursday, the numerous articles contributed are to be laid out for show, and those who may bo inclined to purchase privately may do so. On Friday, the remainder will be sold by auction by Mr J. C. Chappie. After several threatenings, the weather broke in earnest on Saturday evening last, and since that time it has’ been cold, wet, and thoroughly miserable,—a south-west wind blowing, accompanied by a heavy fall of rain. Yesterday morning, several of the masons at work on Messrs Hallenstein’s new building had a very narrow escape from an accident which might have resulted seriously, if not fatallv to some of them. Part of tha scaffolding on which they were at Work came down by the run, bringing with it five of the masons, and a considerable quantity of stone. All the men were slightly bruised; add one of them was jammed for some time among the debris. When he was got out, however, it was found that he was not hurt in any serious manner. Not the slightest blame is attributable to the contractors or any other person in connection with the affair. On Sunday evening. Dr Carr gave a, semi-religious lecture in Kidd’s Hall. The subject was “The Grave and After,” and the’ Doctor treated it in a philosophical and unsectarian manner-. The wet weather prevented a very numerous attendance, but despite this, the Church of England building fund, in aid of which the proceeds went, benefited to the extent of £3 odd. The Doctor argued that the mind is spiritualistic, opposing the theory of John Stuart Mill, Professor Lain, and others, who held that the mind of man is materialistic and dies with the body, and deny the existence of any hereafter. The hereafter is firmly believed in by Dr Carr,— not a heaven and a hell according to the usual acceptation of the meaning of these terms, but states, not localities : Heaven a state of eternal improvement, Hell a state of eternal couscieticetorture and repining for lost opportunities. The lecture was listened to with the deepest attention. Friday first is the day of the Cromwell Spring Meeting. The weights for the Handicap are published in to-day’s issue. The paucity of entries for the handicaps is much to be regretted, but the numbers of entries for the post entry events are likely to be fairly numerous. Sr that there is every possibility of the meeting proving as successful as those of former years. Generally, in the past, the weather has been the reverse of favourable, but seeing that it is so bad at the present time of writing, no doubt before Friday a clearing-up will take place. Fine weather goes far to augment the success of any race meeting, and it is to be hoped that the Clerk of the Weather may prove especially kind on this occasion.

.The'programme of the Dunedin March meeting has been published. First day ; Maiden Plate, 80 sovs.; Dunedin Cup, a handicap of 300 ■sova., with a sweepstake of 10 sovs. each ; Newmarket Stakes, 60 sovs.; Selling Race, 50 sovs.; Publicans’ Handicap, 100 sovs.—Second day : Handicap Hurdle Race, 80 sovs.; Jockey Club Handicap, 200 sovs., with 6 sovs. sweep ; Rous Stakes, 75 sovs.; Novel Race, 100 sovs.—Third day : Steeplechase, 100 sovs., withs sovs. sweep; Town Plate, 100 sovs., with same sweep ; Master Rowe Produce Stakes, for sweep and Cup ; Forbury Handicap, ,150 sovs.. with 5 sovs. sweep ; Flying Handicap, 60 sovs.; Consolation Stakes, 80 sovs. The Cup nominaton will be on October 21st; weights declared, November 26th ; and acceptances on January 21st. Mr Bass, first assistant of the American expedition for the observation of the transit of Venus, which will take place on the afternoon of the 9th of December next, has arrived in Dunedin by the San Francisco mail boat, in advance of Professor Peters, who is at the head of the expedition. Mr Bass is to select a suitable place for the observation, and in furtherance of this he will proceed in a few days on a tour through the Province, accompanied by the Chief-Surveyor. The Council of the Otago Institute has recommended the region of the Clyde, Dunstan, as being a likely locality to command an undimmed atmosphere and clear sky. The objections Mr Bass has to this district are that it would in volve some difficulty and risk in the transit of the numerous delicate instruments with which the party will be equipped, and he is desirous of having a station as far south as possible.— Daihi Times.

Major Ropata, who visited Australia with the Defence Minister, has been describing to his countrymen, through Te Waha Maori, what he saw 1 and heard in the various Colonial capitals. His last contribution is from Melbourne, where he visited all the public institutions. One day he went to the Exhibition of Arts, and says of it“ln this building there are some shocking, things—images. Really the Pakehas are a.most extraordinary people ! They are shocked if a button falls from-a man’s shirt collar, and exclaim, •* Mind ! Mind the button of your shirt! It has fallen oft! The ladies will see your throat!’ And yet they manufacture naked images of stone, and exhibit them to travellers ! Who can comprehend the mystery of their ways,”

Mr. E. Clark lias resigned bis seat as member for the Lakes district in the Provincial Council. Mr H. Manclers is in the held as a declared candidate already, and Messrs Innes and Millar are mentioned u« probable candidates. A valuable statistical paper has been published in Melbourne showing the relative positions of the several colonies, In New Zealand it shows the rate of taxation per head of the population to be £3 18s 10|d, and the rate of indebtedness per bead of population £4O 6s lid, which is considerably higher' than any other Colony. The value of imports per head is within £l2. Victoria is the highest on the list, and of exports Mew Zealand is only above Western Australia and Tasmania*' Since the decease of Dr Dick, the Mount Ida Chronicle says the Hospital Committee have been making strenuous efforts to supply the vacancy at the District Hospital. The Secretary, upon the decease of the late doctor, at once telegraphed to Dr .Stirling, asking him to supply the vacancy in the interim. The doctor, however, finally replied that it was impossible. Dr Lake, of Switzers, telegraphed, offering to take the permanent post at the Hospital; but of course the Committee could not accede to that. Ihe Government, in Dunedin, have been doing their best to induce a ship surgeon to start, but had not been successful at last advices.