The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Wednesday, March 9, 1864.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume II, Issue 90, 9 March 1864, Page 4

The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Wednesday, March 9, 1864.

We had the other day occasion to allude to the reported removal of our warden, Mr Beetham. Immediately the same was made known the miners in his immediate district energetically protested against it, and this was followed by the commercial inhabitants through their representative body, the Town Improvement Committee. We have now to allude to the reported removal of Mr Surveyor Wright, and which, if attempted to be carried out, will create a commotion the government little anticipate. Who is it that is so ill advising the Executive ? Mr Goldfields Secretary Pyke knows, from his Victorian experience, that the continual removal of wardens and other officers in the first years of that colony's era, as a gold producing country, brought down an amount of angry feeling and odium upon the government that should be carefully guarded against here. In that colony officers are now almost permanently appointed, and any changes, either as regards wardens or mining surveyors, are made as rarely as possible, and with great precaution. The effect of the removal of Mr Wright would be sin ply to throw the whole district into utter confusion, and would further tend to disorganise the efforts of the mining companies for the last twelve months. Advantage would be taken of his absence to at once annoy those parties who have invested such large sums and labor in races for turning the river, &c. Take, for instance, the four great race companies at Arthur's Point, who have almost daily to defend their water levels from outsiders. The mining surveyor alone can point out his beach marks and levels, and describe the effectsof the numerous orders made thereon by the warden. What would be the effect in the case of another flood up the river? What guarantee have the proprietors of the extensive fluming, tunnelling and other kindred operations, calculated upon a scale and basis lor years to come, that they will be protected from unnecessary annoyance ? Hardly any whatever, if removals constantly take place. These are serious questions, and the government that would hastily disturb existing arrangments that work smoothly, and are satisfactory to those immediately interested, would do a positive injury to the Province at large. We do not say our officers are better than those stationed upon other goldfields, but we do say they are mere intimately acquainted with the difficulties attending mining in this district, and with almost all the merits and circumstances of each particular claim, and must feel that any change, uuder such circumstances, would be for the worse, instead of for the better. One is almost inclined to view the matter as an attempt to mar and remove the favorable impressions produced by the late visit of the Superintendent; but we hope a wiser policy will prevail, which will prevent us having occasion to refer to a subject which necessarily bears somewhat of an air of toadyism to " the " powers that be." It is, however, our duty on the other hand, to exercise a careful watch upon the actions of the public servants of the Crown, and we shall be equally ready to censure as to commend if occasion is given.