THE LAKES DISTRICT.

Dunstan Times, Volume 601, Issue 601, 24 October 1873, Page 2

THE LAKES DISTRICT.

~o—(from our own correspondent. Arrowtown, OcL 21. The Provincial Gnvernmi nt have decided at last upon doing something with the Martin’s Bay track, and tenders are called for work to he performed ; hut as yet it is not settled what shall he done. On Wednesday last Mr. Warden Peetham, Mr W. Powell (ove'seer of roads) together with Messrs. Hallenstien and M‘Bride, left in the Antrim steamer, for the purpose of deciding hy personal observation the lest route round Lake Harris. Jhtwun this and the Greer.sti ne Valley icnte or n’i rs differ much. Still, as the Coven mi nt have already expended so much im ney on the Lake Harris route, it would he a pity to abandon it. In crossing the dividing range, the altPude to he reached is some thousand feet higher hy way of Lake Harris than hy the Greenstone; but, ly the former the snow country is soonest gone through ; while, in (he case of the la'ter, there is a long dr*a>y journey. It must also he taken into consideration that, during the worst part of winter, loth tiaiks arc objectionable, neither is it lil ely (hue will be any traffic at that particu’ar se- si n. If the Government can m, ke a pack-horse track via Lake Harris, wl i-h there should ho no insurmountable difficulty in doing, a slrel ( er-shed erected a li't'e below the snow level m either side of the range would make it a 1 ways availal le. The short journey o\er the rocky ridge is easily accomplished in ordinary weather ; and, after all, it is much hitter to travel on a good hard track of snow then tl ri ugh interminable hogs, as would he the cose hy way of the Greenstone. Were there a practicable pack-horse tr.-ck to Mr nil’s Bay, much good would nsult to.tie district, as well as the Province at a’ge. Experience sietns to pnve that a'urge tract of auriferous country lies ii. this dinc-tien, and which would he worked could min ra only procure provisions at resonahhe rates. The coast teens with fish, which would form an impi it; nt trade for return pack-hoi sis, besides providing employ n ent for a large number of persons,. The sale of the runs is giving much dissatisfaction in ci r tain quarters. Thohci) ists in particular, who have so ling cnjoyid an almost immunity from taxation, or ratio r have been enabled to occu] y i our. ly 1 y 11 o payment of an amount inch lihw tie number of stock ripas'Uicd, ft-i 1 sire that tlnir monopoly is si < n to ci n.e to an i i d. In mining natters there is not much to notify. Unh ss claims are paying vagis they have been mostly abandi md, the hi;h rate for labor inducing tie owners to ■ seek other employment. ] am afraid I the Public Works sehime will tell Lcavi'y | against lire gold’fields. Tnsicctirg is completely at an end, there Ling no inj ducemetit to pnseiutc new discoveries, | white the empli yment of labor in chums | already at wnirk's for them st part narrowi il | down to the owners thin selves, who find it impossible to employ help at a profit, j With farming operations there is a corresponding clullnes. V heat has he. nso j low in price that farmers have hesitated to put much in the ground. Oats ace high, hut as this arises from speculation outlie part of the storekeepers, the benefit to the producer amounts to nil. The labor question is 1 scorning ore of very great difficuhy. It is very donhMul if the incoming harvest will he gailitred. Men cannot he engaged for love or money, and they are still getting scarcer, so great is the attraction for jul lie works An osj sedated system of labor appears the . ray way out of the d tliculty, and there is no reason why this should riot 1 o carried i nt, | while to cultivate less and have less e' • p’oyes would l e of more her elit to the majority of farmers thin doing a lot of work and receiving no benefit from it. The cause of the Governor v. Charles Low still occupies a certain amount of public attention, and the action of the Government is g.nerally condemned by all parlies. It appears very strange that the Government should have had to resort to Icg'al process to recover a small amount for rent duo on an agricultural lease, when other measures, such as cancellation, might have been resorted to. For If. Bs. 6d the amonnd recovered. 12f. costs is rnt'ir heavy, leaving alone the Ws of time. Who is to blame in this case it is difficuH to say It was of course the duty' of the War.h n at the Arrow to forward a list of defaulters to the Government, while it was also the duty of the Queenstown Warden to hear the case when brought 1 efore him. In Ore mode of procedure appears the error. Some officer of the Court could have brought the case on, without the employment of a Dwyer, and it appears to me that to hire a bloodhound to hi*e is as bad as hit in myself. Some of our gold-fields lawyers have s i little to do that they make the most of a case when they git one. There was no necessity to hire a lawyc". In fac f , no Government should resort to such a tirin'’ - , or rut people to unnecessary expense. Every public officer should ho aide to do his duty, without the assistance of a profe S’onal—or what courtesy du’ s as such. That a great wrong has been inflicted upon Mr. Low is evident ; hut, so far as I can see, the gold-fields officials merely' oheyi d instructions, or, perhaps, were a Hti’e overzealous in lire matter of collecting the revenue. The employ mint of a lawyer brought about all the trouble. A fee of 31. 3s. for the recovery of If. 7s Cd. was enormous, let alone bailiff’s and witnesses’ unnecessarily hear cd nn, as the case had to he heard in Queenstown, Mr. Warden I Stratford being required as a witness to ! prove the demand, was enough to raise . public indignation to the hi.ln st pitch. It j is satisfactory to know that papers containing a re. ort of the case have been sent ho ne, so that the a Locates f>r immigration to Otago may he confronted wi'h pofit ve facts when lecturing on tiro advantages . of immigration to this Province.