THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1870.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 49, 7 January 1870, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1870.

Mji. J. C. Bkowjn- a few days since again called the attention of the Government to the establishment of telegraphic .coramunication between Dunedin and Naseby. The reply vouchsafed by Mr: Donald Keid was to the effect that the plant had arrived, and that the General .Government would be willing to construct the line in question " if assured that it; would pay." The reply of the Secretary for Land and "Works to Mr. J; C. Brown i?, to our mind, eminently unsatisfactory. It cannot be forgotten that during, the session of the Provincial Council previous to the recent one the necessity for the construction of the line in question was admitted, and a sum placed upon the Estimates for completing additional extensions of the telegraph system; it being at the - time understood that Naseby and St. Bathans were to be :the first places brought within the proposed extension. ' The plant, Mr, Peid informed Mr. Brown, had arrived, but he neglected to state if the plant were the property of the General or Provincial Government, it though we cannot see of \ what uso ife would be to the Provincial Government after the lines had been sold to the General Government. The placing of a sum upon the Estimates for the extension of telegraphic cpm T munication was accepted by the people of Kaseby. (more particularly after a decided and definite promise had been extorted:from his Honor the Superintendent to that effect) as a guarantee

that the day would not be far disßa when this town would be that system, which already connect, "Wellington with Invercargill, and ij which almost every town in the Pro' vince of Otago, excepting themselves and St. Bathans, already participate f, A. d liberate promise having been givei by his Honor the Superintendent, an] the Council having voted the neeessaJ funds, to construct the work in qu« tion, it was a direct breach of faith JB the part of his Honor to allow the tS graph lines to pass into the hauls <J the G-eueral Government without tak-j ing care that provision were made to redeem his own pledged word, and to givq effect to the vote of the Provincial Council. "We have-often had the uij pleasant duty of reminding his of direct breaches of faith, and d<s liberate forfeitures of his pledged word! and hi 3 conduct on the present occasion only adds another to that already long list. jfl

The question has fortunately bIH re-opened by Mr. J;C.Brown, towbJM energy and indefatigable exertion in all matters, connected with the Goldfieldg the mining interest is so inuch, and hS been so frequently, indebted. Enerl getic and indefatigable, however, as IsW Brown is admitted to be, he is almoß powerless unless he be backed by til support of those whose interests hi wishes to defend, and whose battles hi is ever ready to fight. We have beeij informed that Mr. J. C. Brown hal addressed a letter to some gentleman in this town'upon the subject of telej graphic extension to this place, in whicl he has made some suggestions as to tl route the line should take. Not, Tiotl ever, having been favored with a sigll of Mr. Brown's letter, we are not in | position to offer our opinion as to ±hJ propriety or otherwise of his suggestions. In the meantime, the question as to whether or not we are to U treated as are other towns of less distinction than ourselves in tlie Province and whether we are to have that tc.4l graphic communication which iipnrll all the other towns enjoy, has been rel opened by Mr. J. C. Brown, and nfoS heartily does he deserve the thanks* tl this community for the action he baa taken in the matter. The question hov»J ever lies in the hands'of the- peoplJ themselves, and either will they bJ victorious, or will they be un-ucjcosfu:! in the attainment of this obje-t as the)' bestir or neglect to bestir themse!\*Js] to strengthen the hands of those \f}\4 areiiiclinedanddisposed to work heartily] and zealously in their behalf. /j

The following list of letters, receh ed durinß the months of August and September, 18691 and still remaining unclaimed at the Post Office, Naseby, has been lianded to us for publication : —Charles Fanner ; David Grioag ; Samuel Smart; Thomas Wallace; David Budge ; William Burns; an:! John Vareos* These has, we have been informed, been .a crushing of a considerable quantity of stont from the Great Eastern Quartz Beef, EougH Bidge, which has yielded at the rate of 3 oza to the ton. It is notified by Mr. Hislop, Secretary tc the Education \l Board, that the annual statutory meeting of the owners and occupiers o land and householders in each educaiioJß district, established under the provisions fl Education Ordinance, 1534, for the a new School Committee, and for the otaeH purposes specified by Ordinance, will be helS m the school house on Monday next the lOih ] January, at 7 p.m. I Advices from Cromwell inform us that ilr. Garrett, connected witli the Bendigo Gn&J claim, and well known to many persons in this town, came to an untimely death by a fall from his horse last week. On the afternoon of Monday and during Tuesday the low country, as viewed from th< high ground in this neighborhood the appearance in mauv places of a large Lulß The Taieri had overflowed its banks for milel while the high rise in the Kveburn had cause J the hotel of Mr. Malloch to'be perfectly surl rounded by the escaped water of the river. ] Owing to the inclemency of the weatherj and the utter impossibility to ford the varjj rivers which intervene between this place the Maerewhenua, Mr. Warden Bobinson has 1 •been prevented from holding his Court there as advertised. Intending visitors to the approaehing 4H meeting of the Mount Ida Jockey Club *■ find that great additions have been made fl •the stable accommodation of : this town. -A large new stable has, since the last gathering, been attached to the Victoria Hotel, while the Boyal, the Ancient Briton, the JSaseby and Xyebura, have followed suit; and. Mr. Packman and Mr. W; J. Millar are adding largely to their previous accommodation. Thiswofli seem to infer that a large gathering was eM pected, and we doubt not that, should the •weather provefai:-, these anticipations will be fully realised. The forthcoming meeting of the Mount Ida Jockey Clab promises fair to be a great success. We would once more remind all persons interested in the matter that the District Court under his Honor.Wilson Gray, will hold its bi monthly sitting in the'Coart House, Nasebv on Wednesday next the 12th inst. *H|

Treasurer of the Mount Lla Relief wund acknowledges, with thanks, the receipt o£ the sum of £L Is. 6d., amount collected on the "occasion of the Lite Oddfellows' pic-nic as prizes for foot races, for which, however, there were no'competitors. The water works directory appear to he in earnest in their desire to push forward the works of the Company with all possible despatch. It will he seen by an advertisement in another column that tenders are called for the construction of the reservoir. Of business or miniag matters we have literally notliing to report tliis iveek. The constant rains and heavy floods having brought everything and everybody, to a standstill. There has been neither arrivals: from Dunedin nor elsewhere, nor has the weather been such as to render mining, or indeed outdoor employment of any kind, possible. sale, by contract, of the Antrim Hotel, Kyeburn Diggings, which, if not sold by private contract by the 17th- hist., will be submitted to ■public competition by auction at an early ■date.

Yesterday aftei'noon, during a very heavy shower, a somewhat curious occurrence took place in this town. Though the shower lasted but a very short time, the water rushed in torrents down the main gully in greater volume than it had-done at any period of the l'ecent floods. The phenomenon was a very remarkable one, and is, we presume-;- to be ascribed to the bursting of a waterspout on the hills in the vicinity of the town. It was at'first surmised that the dam of one of the water race companies had given way; enquiry, however, proved such supposition to be incorrect, and the only other probable solution is, we imagine, the one we have mentioned.

Mb. llthn-tek, of this town, who it may be remembered left Naseby some ' three months back en route for the Thames Goldfields, has returned within the last few days. Mr. Hunter believes the ultimate prospects of these Goldfields to be highly encouraging, but is of opinion that the district is for the present overdone, and the population far in excess of the wants and requirements of the place. Mr. Hurfter does not speak in very nattering terms of the security to life, and property, and alludes to the existing police force as , being utterly powerless to preserve law and order. We hope, in our next issue,- to be able to give our readers some of Mr. Hunter's personal experiences on the Thames GolclSelds.

With the exception of a man, named Wil l liam Shears, having been brought up yesterday, charged with being of unsound mind, and remanded for medical examination, there have been no. cases in the Resident Magistrate's < 'ourt since 'our last issue. In the Warden's -Court there has been no business with the exception of the disposing of a few applications.