The Dunstan Times SATURDAY, 27th JANUARY, 1866.

Dunstan Times, Issue 196, 27 January 1866, Page 2

The Dunstan Times

SATURDAY, 27th JANUARY, 1866.

‘Beneath the rule of men entirely jvst, tin pen is mightier than the sword!”

The Dunedin '' Daily Times " in a recent article on the subject of railway communication, expresses considerable astonishment that railways have not yet been introduced into this Province, and advocates the immediate formation of one, via the Taieri, to Balclutha —a little village at the mouth of the Molyneux, or the Eden of Otago, as by some it is designated. With ourselves, we are not at- all surprised, nor do we feel indignant at the of railways. What wefcre"su4srlsedi and indignant at isf Ihafe there does not exist such a as a passable road from Dunedin to this and the Lake Districts. Surely there has been ample time for the conplejion of a main line of road from the metropolis through the leading gold producing centres* Wg are almost daily hearing through the pages of the just

mentioned journal of the ad vantages the Province will derive from the development of its quartz-reefs and copper lodes, and the vast impetus mining operations will receive from the introduction of machinery, but it does not seem to occur to the editor of that newspaper how the machinery is to be conveyed to where its uses are required, or how, in a country where there does not exist a single stick of timber, a mine is to be worked. It is all very fine for people who do not understand mining operations to read in their papers quotations from Victorian journals of how few pennyweights of gold to a ton of quartz will pay for crushing and leave a handsome dividend behind, or how small a percentage of copper is required to clear the cost of raising and dressing the ores ; and to draw fancy pictures of an unexampled state of future prosperity, but we fear that, like the railway, .such flights of imagination may either in theory or upon paper look very promising, but nevertheless will not stand being reduced to practice.

Could timber be procured at even reasonable rates, many quartzreefs would have been long since opened, and other works undertaken that would have astonished the world. In the Mount Ida Valley, there is a well-defined deep lead of gold traced for nearly two miles in length, which, were it in

Victoria, would support a popula- [ tion of at least 3,000 people, hut here it does not afford a living for as many hundreds, only for the reason that material is so costly that unless each claim is a £ : jeweller's shop " its owners cannot earn salt. Props at 8d per foot, and caps and slabs in proportion is an effectual bar to any mining progress. No one will speculate unless the venture is almost a dead certainty. Now, if the Government really do desire to promote the development of the goldfields they must give us good macadamised or other passable roads throughout the various mining centres, as also branch

roads to the several sources s of timber supply, for without that indispensable commodity is * more readily obtainable we can- ] not hope for progress. Dcarness of material is the real cause of the < present unsatisfactory state of ; mining affairs, and which are lan- < guishing in consequence. Labor is dear, not because of its scarcity ; but that most employments are j of so desultory a nature that a 1 man is better off working on liis s own account for half-wages than by hiring himself to another. s Eoads in this country are by no ; means difflcultto make—there may ' certainly be many steep gradients, but metal is always aihand, seldom requiring to be carted to where it is necessary to be placed. The only thing wanted is sufficient capacity on the part of the authorities to expend the public funds to advantage and not fritter them away npon bauble toys as dictated by the leading Dunedin journal, bearing always in mind the urgent necessity of a ready access to all the principal centres of mining operations, and the cheap and expe- ' ditious couvevance of material.

i A railway may bo all very well : in years to come, but it is too costly • an affair for present consideration. • Surely it will be mucli better i for the Province to be able to furi nish its miners with, the means of f extracting gold at home than let f them leave for the West Coast . and supply them there with oats I and potatoes from Dunedin by • means Balclutha Railway, f which if ever made could never 1 compete with the present system ) of water carriage, via Port Molyi neux. We can assui e the Govern- ) ment that if something in the ' direction pointed out by us is not • done, the mining population will f get fewer and fewer, and with few l exceptions the quartz-reefs and: • copper mines will only exist in the • verdant imagination of the editor ; of the "Daily Times."

Arrangements hsve been made in Mel. bourne with the fltoama Steam Shipping Company for the conveyance of three thousand Chinese to Otago. The presence of even that number of this industrious class among us will add consideaably to our reduced escort returns, while the bene, fit to be derived by the business people is too well known to need comment.

Cobb and Co.'s eoaches leave ouce again for Dunedin every Monday and Friday morning. An alteration in the Tuapeka mail is necessary—to close on Tuesday night, instead of Wednesday as at present. This alteration would be a great convenience to the public, as it would enable them to return answers to letters arriving by the mail on Tuesday.

Mr. John Hughes, M.P.C., will shortly visit this district. Mr. Hughes, although abused by some of his brother members, has worked hard for the general prosperity of the goldfields- His assistance to deputations in procuring the required interviews, and in offering explanations has been very valuable, and we feel sure that he will be warmly welcomed by his fellow miners. A gentleman recently returned from a visit to Campbell's diggings supplies us with the following information : The i lower shelter shed needs repairs to the < extent of about £lO to make it serviceable. The upper shed, which is at the summit of the bill, is very much dilapidated, and will require an outlay of some £'so to render it available as a place of refuge. Our informant recommends that a small shed be pli-ced at the head of the Pomahaka, which would afford shelter to travellers from the direction of the Teviot. The wires which were suspended from the snow poles are broken and lying on the ground, land he is of opinion that if these, together with the unused coils, were collected land sold, the proceeds would go far toI wards the expense of repairing the sheds.

A t rotter's Gully there were several parties at work with good success. Al the upper end of Camybell's Gully there are four parties at work, each party consisting of from six to eight men. They are at present engoged in the work of cutting tail races. At Adelaide Point Warmsly's. Robinson's, and M'Lachlan's parties were doing first rate. These parties are old residents at the place, and possess valuable claims. The number of the population is about one hundred. There are two stores and one restaurant. The district has lately been visited by severe storms of snow and rain, occasioning heavy floods, With settled weather, our informant is sat'sfied, the yield of gold will be very large.

The following letter has been addressed to the Secretary of the Dunstan Hospitaj and handed to us for publication :

" St. Bathan's (Dunstan Creek), January 17. To the Secretary of the Dunstan Hospital- Sir - , —Being appointed a juror i in the Wardens Court held to-day, I received for my services the sum of ten shillings, which I wished to give to the Dunstan Hospital. After a fruitles search for the donation bax, I inquired for it at Mr Lynch's, and was informed that it was in the Court-house. After another search it was found under a seat in Mr Lynch's office. Now Sir, do you not think that it could have been in a better place than to be thrown on one side in that way. In the present instance I am certain that had the box been accessible, eacli of the other jurymen would have also given ten shillings. I think that persons who take charge of donation boxes for such an object should at all times keep them before the eyes of the public. Goodness knows, there is no fear of their being overloaded with money, I am, &c, Denis Brady. P.S. My sole object in addressing you in this matter is that you or somebody connected with the management of the Hospital, may call the attention of persons who have donation boxes in their charge, to keep them always in the most conspicuous places they can find."

We are requested to mention that the first meeting of the newly elected Hospital Committee will take place on Monday evening next. Yesterday we were shown by Mr. J. E. Staite, photographer, of Clyde, seven views (all taken from different points) of the town and bridge of Cromwell. They are exceedingly well taken, and invaluable for transmission to Australia and England, enabling persons at a distance to form a correct idea of the river scenery in New Zealand.

It will be seen by our advertising columns that Captain Baldwin has announced his intention of becoming a candidate for the representation of the Manuherikia district in the General Assembly.

We extract the following from the " Dunedin News Letter " :—" Never per. haps did a scandal cause greater commotion anywhere than did a startling anecdote involving the charaoter of a public officer; and a married lady of highly respectable connexions, which was extensively circulated in the city on Saturday morning last. Without going into particulars, it will be sufficient to say that the gentle, man referrred to was paying an evening visit to a certain fair lady during her husband's absence, and that she husband having for some time entertained suspicions as to his at one time better, but then much worse half s fidelity, a w.itch was set, and certain proofs assumed to be undoubted, were obtained. The matter, however, did not rest here. The enraged husband was said to have tackled the gallant gay Lothario, and soundly castigated him over the shoulders with a poker The story, which "if false, at least, as the Italian proverb has it, "is well invented," has since given rise to the rumor that Lovelace—who, as we said before, holds an official position—has applied for a two months' leave of absence. We suppose we need hardly say that, despite the pruriency and false delicacy of a portion of the press, which affects to ignore the great scandal, the matter is sure to come to the ears of the proper authorities. The story, which has already been blazoned all over

the city is either true or false. If false, every exertion ought to be made to find out the autho.i of so infamous a fabrication. If true—charging as it does one of the gravest offences against the moral code upon an important public officer one result only ought to follow, unless public justice is to suffer a most shameful miscarriage at the hands of its responsible administrators. Anyhow, the subject cmnot possibly be hidden away in a quiet corner, and the best that can now be hoped for is a full investigation."