THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1870.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 92, 18 November 1870, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1870.

The promptitude with which the Provincial Government responded to the memorial of the miners of Naseby, on the subject of the tailings grievance, was, as we remarked at the time, praiseworthy in the extreme. The almost immediate appointment of a special Commissioner to investigate the entire question, with a view to the suggestion of a practical solution of the difficulty, seemed to augur well for the sincerity of the Government on the subject, and far the speedy discovery of a remedy for the grievance which has been and still is the bane of this otherwise flourishing and progressing district. Four months have elapsed since the advent of Mr. Pyke on his mission of enquiry, and from that time to the present neither has any ostensible action been taken by the Government,, nor has the report which that gentleman has no doubt made been, so far as we know,

allowed to see the light of day. M , Pyke is an able and energetic office* and we canuot accept it as a probab lity, or even a possibility, that he has failed to report upon the subject. Cani it be possible that a similar system ' which we exposed in our last issue which has obtained with regard to the appropriation and expenditure of the public money can be attempted to be put m force in the case of the report of' Mr. Pyke, and can it be that with the fact of the Commissioner being appointed, and his report made, the matter! will be allowed to drop without furtherj action being taken by the Government in the matter. Or, can it be the intention of the Government to take the opinion of the Council upon Mr. Pyke's report, and vote the necessary funds for the construction of such works a» may be recommended, without even making, the persons most interested acquainted either with the contents of that report * or the nature of the remedial workJ suggested therein. If the Government imagine that either line of procedure wiH be satisfactory to the miners or the. community of the district, they wUI feel themselves disappointed in their*expectation.

If the practice hitherto adcspted by, the Government with respect to fcho appropriation and. expenditure of the P/ovincial revenue be tricky, if not absolutely dishonest, the idea of Keeking for the adoption of Mr. Fyke's report by the Council before submitting it for-consideration and' discussion by the miners would be au act ot' unneces-l sary and egregious folly—and one] which would not fail to excite feelings! of disapprobation and .disappointment throughout the entire community. Th% tailing grievance is a great and glaring evil, and one which is becoming daily more apparent and more felt. Frequent discussions upon the important question of bringing up a good and sufficient sludge channel to carry away the tailings have often taken; place, and upon the subject opinions have been alike numerous and varied. If any persons should know better than others how this great work tdauld bo constructed it should be those who have lived long in the district —who know the nature of the ground; thoroughly—who are well acquainted with the fall in the Main Gully, and are well up to the subject in all its bearings. A* we have said, Mr. Pyke is an abler and faft seeing officer, but it can hardly be c]fl pected that, during a single visit of a d'ay or two's duration, that gentleman should be able to suggest a remedy for the redress of a grievance which ha: puzzled the brains of the ablest an? most experienced miners in the district. Should Mr. Pyke have really hit on a practical solution of the difficulty, the thanks of the community will be undoubtedly due to him, and richly will he deserve those thanks. At the same time, we cannot excuse the Govern* ment of blame in not having, long ere this, placed the- report in the hands oi the Miners' Committee for their opinion and approval. In pursuing sucjp n course the Government would not onlj ; have acted wisely, but would at the same time have protected themselves against any charge of indiscretion 01 precipitancy in the adoption of Mr PvkeV "report without first consulting S those most interested in the mattei While on this subject, we cannot refrain from je)cpre^ißii^ v %: Tint'the prq ! posed sale-of land in various parts.c the Hogburn' JFlatj a survey of whfbi I is now being made-we believe with tba j object, will seriously impede futun ! mining operations. It is matter notoriety that not only the flat itself l the Main Gully is auriferous, but th | adjacent spurs also, and that the.a]; ! sence of fall has been the sole causes their not having been Ions; since worl|H by the miners. Should it be founj practicable to bring up a good and sujl ticient. sludge channel, much of tjyl ground now proposed to be sold canal turned to good and profitable accounl either for mining or the construction cfl tail-races. We trusi, therefore, thM until that problem —as to the practicß bility or otherwise of' a sludge channß —be solved, no further land suitabß i for mining purposes may be alienatjlH

Eor the sake of a small immediate ga to alienate from the miners groui which would, in all probability, last f yoars, seems to us to be an apt illu tratibn of the old fable of killing tl goose that laid the golden egg. Tl Government will do well to bear th; in mind before they commit an act i the same time rash, injudicious, and ir expedient. »

A summoned meeting of the brethren of the Loyal Naseby Lodge of Oddfellows is called for Tuesday evening next, at the usual hour, .in the Lodge room, Empire Hotel. The usual monthly meeting of the Mount Ida Cricket Club was held in Millar's Old Victorian Hotel, on the evening of Monday last. There was a fair attendance of the members present. The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting, which were confirmed. Messrs. C. Mowbray and H. Haggie were adtnitted members of the Club. The Treasurer intimated that the balance at credit of Club amounted to £6 12s. 6d. After some unimportant business had been transacted the meeting sepavated. The Dunedin 'Times,' referring in a late issue to the meeting held in this town by Mr. Main, M.P.C., states that a vote.of confidence was passed in Mr. Main's favor. It was simply a vote of thanks.

We are requested by Mr. Maitland to state that, on account of his absence from the district upon urgent and unexpected privatebusiness, lie is reluctantly compelled to forego his intention of becoming a candidate to represent this district in the General Assemb.lv.

We hope the report published in our last issue of the appointment of Mr. D. F. Maiii as ■district judge for Timaru is not correct. We •cannot tit-ink the Government would be. guilty •of perpetrating such a" job, for they well know Mr. Main is hot fitted to' fill the office, and •that there would be endless complaints and -dissatisfaction. The .general opinion seems to he that the report is a canard.—' Timaru Herald.' < ;

We have much pleasure in. directing the attention of our readers to the splendid assortment of family, pew, and pocket Bibles now on •vie w.and for sale next door to our office. We had frequently heard of the large importations -of family anil other Bibles by Mr. William Hay, the New Zealand and Australian Bible Agent, but had certainly, until this his'first 'visit to Kasebv, no.conception of the beauty, Tariety, and excellence, combined with cheapness, of the works sold by him. Having inspected his stock, we no longer feel surprised at his great success as a Bible distributor, and

we cordially recommend all and sundry to pay 'iiim a visit. 'By an advertisement in another we observe that to-morrow (Saturday) :is the last day of Mr. Hay's stay in Naseby.' ! f v, A sxoey recorded by the ' Bathurst Times,' * Enough in its inception, but somewhat iii its consequences to the parties con- ; cerned. is told as haying, happened lately at Trunkey. A jumping case was being heard ■ before the Commissioner, hT which some dispute arose as'to the kind of pegs used to mark ■ out the ground, ai id, to save the trouble of .going to the claim, an order was given to fetcli the'pegs to the Court for inspection. This was done, but one or two sharp fellows who were 'listening to the case at ohce iaw the way to improve the occasion. Leaving the Court to decide the quarrel between the litigants, they rushed to the ground whence the pegs had been withdrawn, and calling witnesses to the fact" that no pegs were visible, at once took possession of it as abandoned ground. ... The parties • At the Court were wrangling over the shells, "while the oysters were being swallowed at./a distance without their knowledge. When the was made, there was of course another appeal to th« Commissioner, who, as if. .soight be. expected, decided that the claim was ; *for*the time being In the custody of the Court, f" Sand-ordered it to be restored. The matter, however, is to be referred to the Supreme Court, as it is contended that the order to .re- ■; move the pegs was an improper one, and t erefore ought not to have been obeyed. The .case is humorous, and the point involved is certainly . a kuottv one. .The Waikousiiti election resulted in the return 'of Mr. J.. Mills, with a majority over his opponents of 21. Mb. Warden Robinson- having been absent since Monday last at Maerewhenua. no business lias been transacted either at the f ßesident Magistrate's or Warden's Court this week. There will be & sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court to-morrow, and of the Warden's Court on Monday. The sultry weather of the last few weeks, combined with tlie frequent hot winds, had begun seriously to affect mining operations by reducing the water supply, and so knocking a number of men off their work. Fields and gardens also began to give evident symptoms of suffering from extreme drought.- Most fortunately the much needed rain made its appearance on Tuesday before midnight, and kept on steadily .throughout the whole of Wednesday and portion of yesterday. Already are its beneficial effescta-xfeible all over the country, and we think we may safely congratulate the mining community on having received a supply of water which will keep the races going for some time to come. A meeting of gentlemen favorable to the formation of a Volunteer Rifle Corps took place at George's Victoria Hall,, on the evening of Tuesday last. About seventy gentlemen were present. Mr. Franks being called to the chair, first read the advertisement by "which the. meeting had been convened. The meeting was of a preliminary character, and the principal business consisted in asking and answering questions having relation to the volunteer movement. Before separating, a resolution was unanimously carried that a Mount Ida Volunteer Corps should be formed, and that the list should,remain open for one week for the sigmltureofpersons desiroui of joininw. Before the. meeting separated about forty gentlemen gave in their names, and the list is now lying at George's Victoria Hotel for further signatures; „

The sale of Mr. James Harper's stock-in-trade terminated on Monday evening last, the Tesult being on the whole, we understand satisfactory. It will be seen by an advertisement in. another column that Mr. Harper has disposed of his freehold and store to Louis G-ay Tan, a Chinaman who lias for some time past kept a Chinese store in thiß town. Louis Gay Tan, announces his intention of keeping European* as well as Chinese goods for the future. Mr. Harper, we believe, is bound for the Old Country, via, Fiji. .

The Home mail, via San Francisco, should ha,ve arrived in Dunedin about Wednesday. At all events, letters and papers by ehat route should arrive in Naseby by to-morrow's coach. An advertisement in another column notifies that a sale of stock will take place at Coal Creek on Tuesday next. Mr. Morrison's stock is well known to be well bred and valuable, and we expect to find spirited competition for the various descriptions. * With reference to Cromwell being made the terminu9jof,th& mail coach, and being reached on the second day, from Dunedin, the following letter from the Postmaster-General's office appeared in the last, issue of the ' Cromwell Argus,' and sliows that for the present at least, the scheme has fallen through" General Post Office, Wellington, 26th October, 1870. Sir,—"Referring to your letter of 25th August, I am directed to inform you. that as tlie alteration of the days of arrival,and departure of the Dunedin and Cromwell mails cannot be altered, as proposed by you,' without considerably increasing the cost of the service, the Postmaster-General regrets that he cannot alter the present arrangement at present. I have the honor, to be, sir, your very obedient servant, W.. Gray, for the Secretary. —The Town Clgrk, Cromwell."—The above is a verbatim copy of a letter purporting to be written "for the Secretary " to the Post Office. The composition speaks poorly for the calibre of the Government Post Office staff, and is certainly suggestive of the necessity for competitive examinations...