BLACK'S.

Dunstan Times, Issue 303, 14 February 1868, Page 2

BLACK'S.

(from a correspondent.) , February 4. Yesterday the Goldfrclds • sion paid us a flying visit, arriviiHr about 2 p.m. After partaking of re- . freshmont the Commission proceed to business, and pushed through the important work of examining hooks, t vouchers, &c, in about one hour. Th : entire police force of the district (ore ; sorgeant) was mustered, and the various evolutions in which that, body are quite "au fa'V were gone through in a most satisfactory manner. After all this arduous work was accomplished the Commission, without condescending to ask questions from any of the residents, departed for Dunstan Creek, r where they stayed the night, and 1 , presume, went through a similar farce. i i V hat arc these gentlemen nulling •, through' tic ccuiitry fci 1 wiiHvhai

isan theyjiave possib'y learned of the "requirements of .the district 1 ? Absolutely nothing beyond what it. is prewarned is reported weekly to the Gorernment; but, had time been taken "to institute inquiries, much information would doubtless have been elicited. "It is true, and must not be lost sight of, the commi sion was appointed for a Special 'purpose in connexion with the proposed redistribution of the goldfields ; yet it is thought that two birds might have been killed with one stone, and in addition to the questions affecting Wardens and Clerks, the questions of opening up the lands for settlement, the construction of roads, &c., might, with great profit to the country, have been taken into consideration. His Honor the Superintendent, on h's flying tour through "The country _ 'did not deign to even look at us, though hj« was within gen shot distance. We oertainly do deserve rather more consideration than we have hitherto received, and it is to be hoped that, at the hands of the Council, we shall not be treated so cavalierly. Up to the (present time neither civility nor (what is of greater moment these times) money has been bestowed upon us, though as far as population (the census returns will show that), our escort returns, and the amount of general rvenue we produce, I think it will be seen that the district of Blacks is not ifhe lowest on the list. lam given to understand that for licenses alone i' 80() was our quota to the revenue. Particular attention is paid fo mental training and care of the morals in our metropolis Dunedin, and large sums are set aside for building and other improvements for the grand centre. The question naturally arises how is it that such a state of things exist when it is detrimental to the outlying districts] It may*b3 that those gmtlemen ia. whose hands lie the true business of the prosperity of the country are afraid to meet those who hj tve suffered from neglect so long. Our present wants are many more than, in all likelihood, we shall get satislied for some time ; but I will enumerate the most pressing :—l. Land for bonafide settlement. To attain this it will In necessary to compensate the squatter; but, by tlu settling of a permanent population, direct advantages will accrue to the Government and to the . public generally. 2. The survey of a township, the present site being unstated and inconvenient for many reasons f principaly to the fact that the present site will ere long be required by the miners to run their t tilings on fr<>m the hil's. Iturd a suspension bridge across the Manuher'kia, whereby foot passengers and hj irsemen could eross the river without danger of being swept doven the stre»m ; this w int his bee • felt for a long- tira^ s , but never so much as no>r, •as by the last flood, the ferry boat was washed away, as a'so the shallow bar of gravel, upon which pedestrians and equestrians used to cross ; last the estiblidiing of a School, I believe there are about thirty children i i the district, Whilst I am writing this, one of the heaviest storms of rain I ever witnessed is falling, the whole of the flat is one vast lake, with the water still rising, ruthlessly sweeping everything before it, the I own is some fees under water, doing vast damage to the stock in the various stores, with the exception of one or two small patches ; the whole of the cultivated land is under water. 9th. Fcby. The flood has at length subsided, and laid bare the full damage done. The small Farms, cultivated by Messrs Lee, Booth. Los ie, Vee, Mownsey and others are denuded of everything ; in some instances the fences and houses ■having succumbed to the flow of water As yet, the number of cattle, or horses that were drowned, is not known, but it is feared, there are a great num' er, to attempt to compute the amount of mischief done by the flood we cannot, but we hope our worst fears will not be realized. The water-races luckily escaped, therefore mining operations will not be delayed.