THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1870.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 62, 8 April 1870, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1870.

A including his Worship Mr. Ferauc],. Mayor of Clyde; his .Worship Mr. Birch, Mayor of Dunedin, and other influential gentlemeuj last week waited on his Honor the Superintendent with reference to the most important subject of increased water supply on the Goldfields. Mr: Eeraud, after characterising the newly discovered claims ii i Bendigo Gully " as the richest '" deposit of" gold-bearing quartz reef "probably in the world, certainly in " New Zealand," proceeded to show how these important discoveries were impeded arid kept back in consequence, of; the absence of water, for -mining .purposes, arid how the want might be supplied by the assistance of the Government. With, a: .sufficient supply'of water, -Mr... Peraud contended "that " from -5000 to 6000 miners could find "profitable employirient on Bendigo "reef for the next twenty, if. not fifty, " years to "come." " Eive thousand suc- " cessful miners (continued Mr. JFe- " raiid) ,would require a; population of "three times their number, including " their families, storekeepers, skilled ar- " tisans, and. professional men ; and " therefore,, by rendering the assistance " now asked at the hands of the Go- " vernmerit; a population of. ; 15,000 " would in all probability be soon settled "in the. neighborhood:" We have riot space to enter into the means suggested to obtain the send iri view.- ; His Honor, however, in reply, explained- that the object of the deputation had been pretty well anticipated by the Provincial Council, which on the 23rd of December last adopted the following- resolution, and further stated that an Act had been prepared for introduction into the General Assembly to give effect to; those resolutions:— ....

Ist. That, with'a view to develop, the auri-. ferous resources of the Province,.and in order, to ensure a supply of,water for mining purposes at all seasons, and upon reasonable terms,, this Council is of opinion that it.is desirable to encourage the construction of .water races aud = reservoirs on the : G-oldfields, by moans, of a guarantee on the capital invested in such undertakings: , 2nd. That Ida Honor the Superiniedent be requested to introduce a Bill at,the. first-session, of the G-cneral Assembly, eruppwering. the; Provincial Q-overnment to guarantee interest at a rate not exceeding eight per cent, per annum on aiiy sura' or sums -which may be ex-., pended on the construction of reservoirs and water races on the various Groldfields throughout the Province ; and, also, proyidhig,thatan additional sum of three per cent, on the amount expended should be set aside as a fund for the purpose of. purchasing the works at a fair valuation, so soon as a "sufficient "fund' has kecu-

mulatedfoi* that.purpose ; provided such work shall! be airiderfcakqji under and cO&plefcedtb the satisfaction of the\ProVhie|al Executive, and that the Government shall have power to fix, from time to time, the scale" of charges for the water ; the amount on which interest to "Be guaranteed as aforesaid nob to exceed the sum of £IOO,OOO. We are extremely glad to find that a subject of so much consequence to the future welfare and prosperity of the Province has at length assumed a position of prominence worthy ifc£ importance, and we sincerely trust that when the Act to which his Honor referred comes on for debate in the General Assembly, Otago will for once find her representatives: cast off all personal feelings, and political and party predilections, an d address themselves to. the subject with the full intention of doing it justice, and of supplying the means to pbtaiii an end—the absence of which basl been long and severely felt, and is being daily arid hourly felt, throughout the.G-oldfields, and indirectly throughout the Province. "What Mr. Feraud stated to be the case with regard to Bendigo G-ully.is doubtless equally applicable to these, as well as many other workings in the Province.

Hitherto, while other interests have been fostered and petted, the Goldfields, have, as- a rule, been treated with neglect, if not contempt. The mhier- has been looked upon simply as a bird. of. passage, here to-day. and gone to-mor-row, and the interest which lie represents has consequently been considered as transitory and uncertain. Yet, we "Mould venture to say that, at the present moment, the mining interest is the most expansive, the most productive, and at the same time the most permanent interest in the Province. All that is;wanting is assistance from the Government to aiid in its . development. Many of the alluvial diggings .are still yielding large and handsome returns, and day by day are additional auriferous quartz reefs being discovered in every part of the country —some more and some less rich ; and ther is little doubt that farther and still greater discoveries will yet be made. The latest returns frorii home show that the anticipations of the value of the native flax as a permanent industry have been overestimated ; while the low price obtain- • able for wool does not depict the pastoral interest in particularly flourishing colors. 'With, ourselves, the small returns obtainable for agricultural produce, combined with a bad harvest, will leave but small encouragement Tor the farmer: Consequent upon such a state of ■ affairs must necessarily be great depression i n both pastoral and agricultural, and correspondingly, the mercantile interest also. With gold in junlimited quantity -around- us, it ap- ! pears to us to be a suicidal act to.ne- . gleet that interest to which alone we can at present look for the restoration of prosperity/. The Goldfields, properly fostered, would ; sustain>a:population far,- very far, in excess of that which they at present contain, and would, by causing increased demand, give an iinto trade in every branch. / The principal thing wanting more. Tully to develop the enormous resources of our Goldfields is no. doubt an ample cheap and constant supply of water. The diggings as a rule, though extending over a large area of country more : or less auriferous, are not what can be termed rich: • The gold is finely scattered through, a large extent of washdirt, but it requires the displacement of: a large quantity of ground to make the work payable, This can only be> : done when water is both abundant and cheapy In many places, arid more particularly perhaps in this very district, the difficulty to be met with will be either the repurchase of the alienated water rights, or provision for the bi-inging in of the Manuherikia Biver. Writing on this subject the ' Daily Times ' of the 26th '■tilt, thus concludes an able and temperate- article -.—" The Government has ."no right to .speculate: upon, the pre- " sumed richness of a particular field. " Its action must be guided by a prin- " ciple, not by an accideut: Putting " Cromwell "aside, 5 it is enough to say " that the Goldfields generally require ;" an adequate water supply, and that " the'e are practically no other means "of obtaining ;ifc except- through, 'the "Government." His Honor mentioned to the deputation that he was in correspondence to obtain the serSuces of a competent mining surveyor from Victoria. JsWe trust, therefore, that ere long-the whole question'of a further and. water supply for the Goldfields will beentereduponnot only witri spirit, ,but also .ability.: = ■/;<;.■.*<

"We understand that the intended guide posts to the Maerewhenua are to be completed within one month from the date of the acceptance of the tender, andjthat Mr. Warden Robinson has defended his next visit to those diggings for that period, in order that he may be able to inspect and report upon the "work as soon as finished. There can be no doubt that these guide posts will be of the., greatest service to the residents both of this~place and the Maerewhenua.

A gekjebai meeting:.of J the members of the Mount Ida Cricket Club took place on Wednesday ev'eni. glast at Horswell's Royal Hotel, \, :when, it having been stated by the treasurer r that there remained to tlie credit of the the sum of £l3 175., it was resolved that an' angle gate be placed at the present entrance to : the ground, and that the season be brought to •-' a close by a dance, to be held in the Masonic Hall on the evening of Wednesday next, the 13.thinst.—the managing committee to consist of Messrs. M'lntosh, Grudgeoh, Barron, Pipe,, and Currie.

The. engagement of the Rev. Mr. Burchetfc •"' as minister of the Union Church, Naseby, terminated on the Ist iast. We are not aware whether or not any arrangement, has been made to continue the services of the rev. gentleman, in tliis town. . . There lias been no business either ih the Warden's or Resident Court during the past week, Mr. Warden Robinson having been absent,, holding Courts at Hamilton,. ■ Hyde,, and Macraes. The 'Provincial Government Gazette' of 7 last week notifies the cancellation of the proclamation by which protection to claims for one month \ras granted,, within a radius of three miles from the Court-house, Naseby. Os the first of the month, the Antipodal Ist of September,, and the openiug of the shooting a number of gentlemen left Jiaseby, duly fortified, with the necessary weapons to. f wage war with the feathered as well as with the furred tribes; About the Xyebum Hotel and Mr. MaUoch's farm was the scene of their operations. The. ducks are spoken of as being wild and difilcultof approach —the rabbits, as. requiring the assistance of properly bred end trained dogs. In spite, however, of these drawbacks, our sportsmen all returned withi bags well filled with ducks, Maori hens, and rabbits, of which there appeared to us to be the greatest proportion of paradise ducks. From what we- hear of the number- of rabbit* in the locality to which we refer, and from what we learn of the destruction committed by them in other places, we cannot help anticipating that ere long they will, from their peculiarly prolific q.u;ilities> become a perfect; nuisance.

"Wjb understand that the Jtrv. J. B <rehetfc. will preach at the Kyeburn laggings on Sim.day first, sit two o'clock.

- The weather,, since our last issue, h:is given uiiuiisUikeable signs of the rapid approach of' winter—the mornings and evenings hare become cold and keen, oivd the mountain 'range* have been on more than one occasion clad in, their snow-white apparel. It is anticipated by many that the- winter \ipori"whieh we are about: to enter will be a severe one, though we hare not been able to ascertain the-data upon which these quid nuncs found their hypothesis. One thing, however, is certain (humanly, speaking)are on the verge of weather in which, in all the water will be frozen, and milting operations completely suspended.' We/ do not- wish to appear- in the character of croakers, yet we cannot shut our eyes to the; fear of the "result; of (the late strike'being severely felt during the months of stagnation, upon* which we. are about to enter. During the late controversy between the miners and! the-water companies the water supply was unusually .abundant. Since the adjustment cf' their differences doubt if the miners,; as a ' rule,, have succeeded iri : making* over lialf'time. We trust, however,, that the winter may be a mild one,, and our unpleasant and gloomy fore-- ; ; hidings entirely without foundation. : The following is a list of letters received afc , the Naseby Post-office diiring the months of "November and-December; 1869, and still (31st March, 1870) : remaining -'"unclaimed:—Win'. 'Burns,, J. W. -Cambridge, James JFlemming,' SamueiHall, Mathew fiUl,. Thomas fluneychiack,. Charles "Kelly, John "Kennedy, "N". A. Laughnan, r J v Mumick,. Gr. Henry,, Smith, Jam'es Taylor, tJnderwbod. & Brown, S, J. Veale. *.• ■ v ■;. .*••-. < 1

The usual quarterly summoned meeting of itlie-members of the. Loyal; Naseby Lodge of ;for: Ifche; election of. officers forthe ensuing quarter,-took place on Tuesday evening, 29tbjuit-i in the. Lodge Room, Hun-. ter's. Empire HojteL There ■was a large dance of the brethren. The following, brethren; were elected officers for the ensuing quarter:—" Bro-iJ. Hutchinson, N:G.; Bro. Hugh Wilson,. Y&k and Bro. D. Barron, E.S. A cheap and useful work for the Otago Goidfields has just been published by tie Provincial Government.., It contains 122 pages,, and the price is only 2s. We can hardly imagine a mare useful or necessary work for'a miner, or one that is likely to. save him sa much delay and trouble. It consists of the Goldfields Regulations; Rules for Proceedings, and Practice iii Wardens' iQourts, the Goldfields Act, 1866, the Goldbearing Claims; Drainage' Act, 1868, and the Goldfields Amendment Act, 1869 i. with the Agricultural Lease* Regulations, .

Sergeant Mallard lias been, removed from 'Port Chalmers to Tokomairiro.. •: ,

A great many claims (says the 'Cromwell :Argus') . have .been abandoned at - shareholders seeing iio prospect of having the stone crushed. The want .of a public crushing, machine is greatly felt, but it" is confidently hopejl that next-spring -will bring,-with it new blood, as the Bendigo district ia really but m riteinfaucy at present. Many Have left the - re^Svbefore the winter sets in. THi-fpllowing extract from a letter from Pr~ Hector, Government geologist, upon "'the : subject' of iteep sinking, appeared m JihV * Charleston Tiin<;.s', of 19th March last.:—l -, quite agree* witb your idejv about gold : being ' got below the sea level>in defined leads. The experience in Boss clearly tnat water

with drift" -were subprior to the. laskeleration: of' the land formed the fine gold b-'aches. The rule in searching for such'old alluviafis to get as deep .as possible toithoutj through any marine except, of thdse which belong eridenily to the Hpsed beaches. It is no use sinking after the ■PLue clay and limestone, or brown coal strata ■has been struck. I always expect to hear of Ktheir tracing s >me of the heavy gold leads from »the Grey up towards the Neison side." H His Homob the SoPEEtvrENDEXT, in r reply Wty * l recent deputation which waited upon him, ■ sm.6. thekG-overnmenfc' had received a letter ■ from the Qhief Secretary of Yictoria, who had * B recommended a competent mining surveyor, wl and they were in correspondence to secure his ■ services to report on the auriferous resources of ■this Province. K-' The offer, of £SO reward for the discovery of ■ the perpetrators of the outrage on at Moonlight has, so far, failed to obtain the necessary information. Mr. Alloo, Chinese inSergeant Fox, and Constable M'Ghmn, ■ r have frequently visited the spot, and order has fjfen restored. The feeling against the Chinese * is, however, very bitter. —' Wakstip Mail.' I The Auckland ' Evening Star' writes thus < . o£ Mr. Commissioner Branigan:—"The war i Rising over, Mr. Branigan having no further of seeing service at the front, has ; gone; 1 to Wellington to keep the accounts l of > f the Defence Office, and 'foot up' the bill of ; expenses incurred in not catching Te Kooti. , Our last intelligence from Patea showed >that . Tito ICowaru had but few followers, and could brj easily secured. Why does, not Mr. Branig3jn go and catch him? Everybody says that Mr. Branigan is a misplaced man. Why then ! did Mr. 1 Fox elect him' to fill his present responsible appointment ? We believe the true ' ; explanation to be, that Mr. Branigan having been a bugler in the 45th regiment, '• Mr. Fox thought he would be admirably qualified to blow his (Mr. Fox's) trumpet." L The first birth at, Martin's Bay took-place, on the 12th March, the wife of the Bev. J v J/2/ntosh, Presbyterian clergyman at Greymputh, being safely delivered of a female child on the Hollyford Sandspit, where the passengers of the Charles Edward had taken refuge. The youngster (says "the 'Cromwell Argus'), tvho first saw light on this inhoep'tab'e shore, to be called Martina Whitworth, in remem■M brance of the place -of her birth and of the • gentleman who acted in his unwonted capacity Hot' medical attendant on the occasion. Mother Hand child, both of whom were doing well, proHeeeded by the Kennedy to Itokitika on the March. [Mr. Whitworth, who aecomWpJ&ded the expedition to Martin's Bay. in the Hcapacity of special reporter to the 'Otago H IDaily Times.' parsed .through oSTtiseby by Hcoach, en route tor' Dimedin, on Monday H We have to apologise to our readers for an Herror which appeared in our Tinker's Gully H correspondent's loiter on the 25th ultimo. It H appeared in that issue that Mr. M'Cluskey' ■ disposed of his share in the Blue Mountain for £6O, instead of for the handsome usual monthly sitting of the Petty SesCourt will take place at the Court-house, on'Friday,' the 29fch April inst. a meeting of the Justices on Friday last, revision of the jury list for the current year. adjourned till the following day, when the which contains the names of nearly 300 persons resident within the required limits was Hrevised and allowed.. „ ~ - H| We learn with pleasure that some important of gold above the falls at -theMile Creek, Lake Wakatip, have made, and we are informed that a consi extent of country, capable of containa large population, is thus opened up.' The obtained is " nuggetty," and of large Hitherto, gold had not been ■ obtained the falls, so that the discovery,' and the of the geld being so coarse, indicates very results.—' Mail.' - Urn T:is usual monthly meeting of the Mount' School Committee was held in the Schoolon .Tuesday evening last., ..-Picsmt —' Botting, (chairman), Lory,, XHckson, Ross. The minutes of the previous meetwere read and confirmed. The Secretary, 1 accordance with a minute passed at the meeting, produced a list of bpoks, &c, to the. Committee, checked by preminutes. Proposed and carried—" That Secretary be instructed to furnish a copy list to Mr. Pefcchell, and request hhn to to Committee with regard to it." Mr: HHKxry reported that Mr. Roberts and himself failed to find the ' agreement with Mr. among the papers of the Committee. and carried—-' That the Secretary be HHfistructedto ■write to Mr. Hislop,-asking for a of.engagement with' Mr. Petchell.'' Mr. reported that,* in accordance; with -a passed at the previous meeting, Mr. and himself had called on the manager the Bank, of New-South who; spoke/ about a.loan,. ahdv would,let them Hfemow when. he has. a; return from D unediu.; and carried—-," That, in the event of Committee receivhig L the ; loan from the the Secretary be instructed to settle the of the Comrqittee, asi .per list', furfrom the minutes of 6th December, |H1869, and that the Secretary's salary for.tlie ending 31st March, ! be' paid:" Proand carried—" That the. • Secretary the schoolmaster's monthly l re-i of Ist February and Ist March, and that be informed that the Committee have not report for Ist April, and quarterly r.eand request liim to furnish the same." and carried: —'"That a public reading, jfiold for the"benefit'of the Committee." and carried—" That a committee be composed qf Messrs. Lory, Dickson,, and,Rosj3, tO arrange about carrying the readings."