The Dunstan Time. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1868.

Dunstan Times, Issue 348, 25 December 1868, Page 2

The Dunstan Time.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1868.

Beneath the- Uulc of Mcr estii.fi y j mthe !’ES is .mightier than the sword.

In our loading article of last week we commented uj.-on ilie desirability of the whole of tlie system of ferries, where rivers require to he crossed, by m,.iu lines of road, being in the hands of the Government, and not, as is now the case, tho trallic of the goldfields placed at the mercy of private individuals. Our friends at Alexandra are peculiarly fortunate, inasmuch as (ho owners of the punt at that township evidentl have the prosperity of the district at heart, and possess souls above tho narrowmindedness of enriching themselves at (lie expense of the public and cramping tho traffic of the northern goldfields within the confined limits of a nutshell. In many transactions of daily life the value of an article may he set down at what it will bring, and of a service at what it can be rendeicd ; but Mich is not the ease with a ferry when it Intel sects a road in daily use, and when the prosperity of a com. niinity depends upon the rcadiues* o* ecniiiniiiication vvi.h outlying places. In tho c.i. e of the f u ries on t,.e main Kiver, between this and Queenstown, the public are at the mercy of tho proprietors of the punts, and wc can-

not help asking ourselves whether the thousands of pounds expe. dud in the construction oi these lines of road was for the special benefit of the ferrymen or the people of Otago. It must be apparent to every one that, wbeu intersected by a river, a road to a given point can he ot no poss.ble utility unless there is a brulge or some otUer means of crossing the watery obstruction. fins fact, however, appears to have been totally lost sight 01 by the Provincial Government, whose utter incapacity for administration lias haudeu over me limes to private parties to cio just us they hire and charge wli„t liny liter, or even to stop trallie a,to o ethcr shou d Jiev please .0 do to. All that our i'rovincud .Scions have exacted is that the propropneiors ol these femes shall convey Provincial Government Ulheers over free of charge; out not the slightest reservaiion nas been made on behall ot the tax-paying population of the goldfields, who pay as much for piun charges on the conveyance of good- between Tuapeka and Clyde, or between Clyde anti Queenstown, as would nearly cove rthcent.rc costof carriage the same distance upon any other road. Vi c are clamorous lor opening up communication with the Teviot and 'J'uapeka, vid the west bank of the Molyueux, and f.r a bridge across the Sliotovcr, hi t ween Gromwcll and t!l ° Lak.s; but the real hem firs of these costly works wM bo monopo is, d by individuals whose only claim for comidoraiioii is that, th.y cross over

Uimi- rospf'c:i\ c ifnif.s Provincial Go-

\ l iliiiU'iit Uflicers IVcc ot tiud w c ;ire iihormcil, upon m»od auihoritv

in cues where these highly privd. ged

ienyprojirietorschoo.se to be also pro-

Is, the revenue ol the

|«ro\luce is made to suffer, inasmuch

:is their husiiie.s.s anti i■iiiihciin’s lie

fees arc acfuaih refunded. ami still no concession tor the public demanded as u:i 0(j dvMjiuit. A iriai')i*r of ecuiiiiinic..itiOn" hive riMc’io I the unsatisfactory state of the gold lielils’ lorries since the publication of our l ist issue, ami as jouma'ists we de,"ni It our duty to use our utmost endeavors to redress public grievances. Ihe time has imv arrived when the feiiios sh,ai.ti b< come the jirojiertv of the Mi ate, and when we inform our rca ers that the gr> ss jirovincial i evonue frotu the goldiichls amounts :o but lit.ln slidt of 5(),t 00/. p yr annum, they may very naturally inquire what they r.c-eivo in return. Hie municipal authorities of those towns wiio.se commercial prosnori y depends Upon a ready and cheap means of couv.nniiicati m between fhoir own and adjoining districts are quite able to secure immense concessions to thy travelling jmblic, shoul I they de-ire to do so. The success of • very country is dependent upon iho faculty and case with which mateiial can by transported from one p’ace to another, while isolated coiimnuii ies can never be prosperous, and, now that wo possess roads cat into the hitherto mountain fastnesses, surelv, nftcr expending so much treasure in their construct ion, we mi dit be allowed to convert them to their destined uses. In consequence of a resolution passed by the Presbyterian -As-sunhlv,

the —Ttli ol the present month will be observed as a day of humiliation jind

prayer, on account of the recent calamities winch have befallen certain districts of (his colony, through the

unhappy native war at present racing, Daily Times.

On Monday evening last, Vincent Pyhe, Esq., it.M., ekhvered a lecture in the .school House, Alexandra, in a d of the funds of the Manuherihia Public Library. Theltcinre “A night with tonic dead Lions,” w.th several new varieties lately added to the col. lection, was a most decided success, both as re aids the Lions chosen by Mr. Pyke, and the able manner in

winch he brought them in lore his dt-

lighted umbel

Tim amount re-

ceived hi the tale of tuckets Will prove

a uui n.ei.due. uduit.oii u> the Uiiids. of

vcr.iscd for the lit January, rcq.tojts

ns to itulc that it L> postponed.

We are reqms ad to intimate to members of the Church of England tlta't: lie R;v. Richard Coffey, Episeo pilian .Minister, will hold divine s'*rvi vj on Ch.ismas morning, at the Church of England, Clyde.

Wo have been requested by the Rev. Father Wi liams to notify that, sh mid (lie weather porin't, ho will fulfil his Christmas Day engagements viz,—to o liciato at Hoghurn, St. Bathan’s, and Blacks’. lie will also ho d Divine Service on Sunday next, the 27th instant, at Clyde and Alexandra.

The oili'T day we paid a visit to the new Concert Hall at Cromwell, erected by Mr Robert Kidd, the spirited proprii tor of the Cromwell Hotel. Tl ns magnificent room measures iu til i clear fifty feet by twenty

five feet, with a proportionate height

I of cci iug. For public gatherings, there is nothing lik? it between this i; and Dunedin. The papering, paint- ■ i iug ami oth t decorations were executed by Mr. A. Moore, of Clyde, and ;j are finished with tru-i artistic taste. ’this fine room will be opened in tho i course of a few davs with a Ball, in til aid of the Local .School minis.

A meeting of the Presbyterian Chim-h Committee at Clide was hel I on Wednesday last. Present, the Rev. 0 ". Ross in the Chair, and Messrs Clark, Z.ele, M’Rhersou and Histi'i; the mooting was opened with pi-aver. On account of the absence of the honorary Secretary, Dr Shaw. tlr l minutes of the hi-t meeting weie

not eon firmed The resignation <1 Dr. Shaw fnm the ollice of Secretary was accepted, and Mr. 0 Ziole elected in his stead. Pioposed by Mr Clark see-mded by Mr. Ziele, “That Mr M‘Plv»-son In reqaes el to draw up a ProiiVtiry N’oV at four months, on the P, ink of New Son'll Wal'-s for 1 I J r ., to meet present li bililies, and to have i f . endorsed by the members of Co nm'thee. Afar a. vote of thanks to ‘ho Chair, the meeting tormi- ated with prayer. The Oam in Jockey Club have decid'd to hold the rao ■ mooting for the eonvng year in the first, we k of March. 'ldle programme will shortly be pul lislu-d-A rnmoti" wis circulate 1 on S Guvday fast in Wellington of a dissolution of the Ass l in'dy being imminent. Th's Ins swelled into the report that a difference has taken pine i between the (I .venmr and the Min'stry. ending in the resigna'ion ot tho latter. Ihe Governor is certainly desirous of sending for troops from Austin Ha an 1 Mr. Stafford had a long interview with him yesterday. The minors liowever, are generally regarded as camr-U. They have excPed considerable Interest, from tho fact of Mr. IT a ugh ton having publicly stated some thing about a di-solution, which was at first thought to ha cvillrmitory. ah - Supremo Court on Wednesday list was ocompu'd with thotr d of the ias’v's stat' d in tho Equity S tiQWno Zcil'u l a-!. I .1 mtrdltn Land C'oinp-t----■n>/ (Linit'e I) v. Boyes and others. .tho dispute is as to tin right to occupy, for Dpistmug purposes, twelve thonsml a tos of excdlont land

known as tin Kiwarau Flat. The is sms w 're trie 1 in March last, and tin

finlings wnv in favor nf t ! e c mtcntiou of tin; phiat.ffs. Tiio defendants obtained a • new trial, mainly on tin; ground of the finding on the es-

sent.a! point being aghast the weight o! evil nice. Yc-termey ihc findings were again in favor of the plaintiffs ; and it is nn lerstood to bo likely 7 that

tlide will he again amotion for a new trid, on (he ground that an essential

finding was in opposition to an ex press direction of tho Ju Wo.— Sun.

Some unknown individual or indi‘iilnals at Cly de appear to bo determined to hive a Christmas dinner on the cheap. Within tho last two days there have been stolon a fat g (OS' 1 , ready for cooking ; a turkey, ready for roasting: and a Maori hen, which it was intended to boil down for the sake of i s oil by an unfortunate snff-rcr from rheumatism.

The alteration of the Mai service between B acksione Hill an cl St, Bathans from twice weekly to once a fortnight, lias given universal dissati.ifacdou. An ini] ortant place like St. Bathans should have a Mail at least once a week. Thomas Bassett was sentence 1 by Vincent P ke, L-q , at Alexandra, on Monday ia<t to one month’s imprhon incut or be.ug illegally louud iq on the premises of Mr. W. A. Low, of the G allow ay ttnlion, Manithcrikia.

The public examination of, and distribution ot prises to, the children attending the Clyde ' chool took place on Wednesday last, at the School House. Sir. Cope did duty as examiner. The children acqittsd themselves admirably, and the Master’s exertions in the cause of education was highly praised by the speakers addressing the company assembled. Full part'd liars will appear in our next issue.

At an emergency meeting of the Church of England Committee at Clyde, to take into consideration the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Coffey, Epi-copalian Minister, in the Dist ict, hell on Tuesday evening, the 22n i i 'St int, the following resolutions were passed. Ist, That an offer be mmle to the Rev. Mr. Coffey to guarantee two thirds of annual sa’ary, (at the rate of 400'. per annum) and also a moiety of expenses of voyage (nOl.) conditionally on his res'd ng in the Dunsta District,. 2nd To at tailing the above arrangement being acceded to, (lie Committee are prepared to guarantee such a mount of the said salary as may he in proportion to the time Mr. Coffey will devote to the Du stan District, and also a moiety of expenses as above. 3rd, That till" president, Mr V. Pyke be deputed whilst in Queentown, to definitely arrange with ihn Queenstown Conrn'tteo, as'o the settlement of the Rev Mr. Coffw in accordance with the above resolutions. The usual fortnightly meeting of Civile Town Council was held on Wednesday last, in the Council Chamber J. TLadett, Esq., Mayor, and live Councillors were present. The minutes of the previous meeting were re id and confirmed, excepting that portion re luting to the election of Uiditor, which was to be brought up at, next nn etiug. A letter from the Provincial Tiensurer was re id and received, intimating that Mr. Sperry, Treasury Clerk, had been up minted Auditor of Municipal Accounts, and that he would short Iv visit Clyde. Resolved, on the motion of Cr. Atkins, seconded bv Cr. .Patterson, That tenders for the pu; chase of the material of the Town Hall, in one or more lots, be adv .■rtisvil for. (See advertisement.) A deputation, of the Mayor and Councillors Clark ano Ziole, was appointed to wait upon Vincent Fyke, F.-q , Warden, nspeeting the grant of two heads of water from the Wui Keri Kori Crt ck, guaranteed by Thomas Dick, E-q., ile.iMig his Superi,Tendency, for the US'- o! the town for domestic purposes. The assessment for 18 :8-2, as produced, was passed. After a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting was adjourned. A nice ii gof the Clyde School Committee was held in the School IRu e cn L'ritlay evening last. At er the minutes ol previous meeting had been read and confirmed, curresjiomk'uce from the Skci'etary of Educational Board, respecting the selling of present School Building and erecting a new one ou reserve adjoining School Master’s resideitcj was read and received. Tnc Can k reported the proceeds of Mr. V. i’yke’s lecture to lie if) 155., a vote of thanks was recorded to Mr. Pykc. It was resolved that the annual meeting lor receiving report of past years proceedings and c.cation of new committee ■<e held on the llth January, irfJ9 i’ho meeting adjourned with a vote o, thanks to the Chair.

Au Lii,i alius Ah flame, and Ah K nv, alias Ah llama charged at tho Resident Magistrate's Court, Clyde 0:1 c 'hv.is.iayla,tw.th having obtained sums of money, namely 17/. Ms. 3d. m l Idl 1.35. ..cl. by false pi deuces h-om John Halliday, of die Bannockbum on the irk December hist were dt charged, there being no Act of the ISTow Zealand Legislation, by which the offenders could bo dealt with.They were, however, re-arrested on a charge of vagrancy, having no lawful means of support. Both prisoners were committed on the following day to three months imprisonment with hard labor in Clyde Gaol. On the same day Chung Fat and Low Thong You, two manufacturers of spurious gold were also charged with having no lawful means of support, and rec ived simi ar sentences For want of space, we are compelled to ho'd over a full report till our next issue.

The Provincial Government offer a reward of for the first Otag" owned Whaler, that clears the heads and remains on her cruising ground for a season, or such portion of time as may he necessary to obtain a full cargo of oil. 1 lie vessel to be of not less than one hundred and fifty tens burthen, and to carry five apprentice^.

! The Provincial Gazelle of the 10th instant, rontah s Ike l’\e l aws oi the j Incorporated Town of Alexandra.