THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1871.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 147, 22 December 1871, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1871.

Ehe another issue of the Chronicle is in the hands of our readers Christmas will have been again among us. ' A few days and tLe funereal knell of another year will be sounded. The year about to close will be the third year of our existence as a journal, and we are, we think justified in flattering oui'belves that our existence has not been in vain or without useful and practical and that'we have, in some measure at least, tended to the alterations and improvements which have taken place in the towti and district. That we have been uha|uVto accomplish all that we desired' and'still desire to see accomplished UJ not to be wondered at,. To command' success is, not within the compass of human power. .'Btill, we assert that much haa been done, admitting :at=the same time that,"though we have done much, much remain^still to be accomplished. Those who can call to mind Naseby three vears back will scarcely recognise it in its present very much altered and improved appearance. The roads are better, the style of building is far superior, and a suburb has grown. into existence. Here, as in the old country, pleasant looking cottages and gardens are to be seen. The greater part of the improvements to which we allude have taken place since the day, the anniversary of which we are on the eve of celebrating. Still, we hold that the local improvements which have taken place have been the result of private pluck and enterprise, conjoined with our Press influence, Let us for a moment look at Mr. Vogel's gigantic KaiU way and Public Works scheme, and think within ourselves, and, if possible, bring the public to consider, how we shall be able to bear the burthen which the railway scheme must necessarily impose upon us. We are not surprised that localities such as Queenstown, glorying in an able but, perhaps, at the same time, an unscrupulous representative (an old whipper-iii), should have been able to effect that which a member of our own 'election 1 has pr6ved himself incapable of performing. , With the feeling that we ; have* been not only not represented but really misrepresented—that we have placed, not the right; man in the right place', but contrawise; in spite, we say, of all these facts, we loyalists and'others can. not nor do fail to see a marked improvement in all and everything which affects the district. The great drawback to the full and fair development of this important Goldfield—bein£, as it. is, a sluicing district—is the insufficiency of the water supply, and when we read of the money about to be spent on railway here, railway there, and railway everywhere—Naseby being a district from which a very large proportion of the current revenue has been and is derived—we should like to know why so little attention has been paid by a paternal Government upon a district which so largely contributes to the revenue of the country; ; At a happy season of the year such as the present we prefer to refrain from

criticism, but, at the same'time, we are conventionalism,' but, by all, the rules t ,jtndjpractice,which Christianityhasnot only inaugurated but successfully carried out, to trust and hope that the future will excel the past, and that. great .as Naseby has become, gradually Bhe will still continue to progress, and that at the end of another year this -. improvement may still be more marked, her population,; more stationary, and everything tending to show that the district is' and will be a permanent one. In these "hopes and with the full expectation,of) their we respectfully wish our readers ! kit Mehet Christmas and a' Happy "I'i -'.I i' l NkwTeaß; '

-xjAmono the various important matters -* which, during the last session of tthe • >f New-Zealand Parliament characterised i the Governmental action, there can, be > no'doubt'that -their railway scheme f held the pre-eminence., :In point of 1 fact, railway was the> Al pba and O mega 'of .'the-session—the bait on the hook by which they attempted to, and'in a -!■■ great measure, succeeded' in obtaining votes. 1 'To carry out the railway* pro- ' position' of the Government additional 'taxation,,in a country already fearfully - overburthened, will have to be.resorted < .to. Such' a scheme' must necessarily' an immense outlay—a heavy drawing upon the resources of a country. That the'ordinary revenue of the country can or will supply the means 4 to meet the' necessary expenditure- it - would be absurd for a moment to * suppose. Admitting, suppositiously, the Srinciple (to* which We are inclined to emur) that-the railway.scheme be > the one, the:great tpanacea for all New wrongs ~ ancl* grievances—admitted'such a panacea to still we shouldi-like to see the results. Those;results,-imthehands of an honest -. Government, should be equally distributed -throughout the Cojpny. If, in, some localities, railways are not only ;' possible but advantageous then, we say, Jet,those districts benefit, on the other hand,, we saj/s that the dis- , tricts uncomeatable-by railway, contri- - buting r in an,equal degree to the gene.- ' .* of the Colony, should have , K their quid pro quo. .If our district con- .. tributes, as it does largely, to the generevenue, give us something. Im- . prove our ordinary roads,, and make communication as safe and rapid as . possible—ueh should be the action of . our representatives—then} attempt to , achieve that which we have barely dared . to sketch. Have they done their duty? Let the public who elected them a*n,.,'Swer for 4 aye or for nay. Have,*during the last session of, the Councils General and Provincial, any efforts been made to assert our rights and do justice to the district, by f our popularly elected representatives?—(.iod save the mark! We trow not. We feel, as public s journalists, that this constituency has peep, sold, that its best interests have been* sacrificed to party—sacrificed with the base desire of acquiring .per-1 t eonal emolument and. personal advan- ] , tage, and ( that the present position ofj , the, Colony is, that of absolute prostration at the foot of Vogel and Co. t . , We decline from offering a decided I opinion of the scheme of Vogel and Co., , which it is supposed will remedy all the - evils' under which New Zealand groans, ' but, as rational, beings, and as beings desirous of consolidating the interests ,' <of the Colony, we must say that we regard the Fox-Yogel policy with doubt. Indulging in the hope, nevertheless, that our own anticipations may - not be realised, and that the policy which, to'our inferior minds, may appear foggy and obscure, may shine in all the brilliancy which its promoters claim, and that our non-belief may be disappointed, and that New Zealand will, under, the auspices of the men who .at present conduct or control her destinies, proceed and progress until she arrives at that apex to which some, perhaps too fond, friends and admirers ,?vpuld ascribe to her—the Britain of the South.

and the hon. sec. E. T. George. Two additional offers, to sell to the Committee residence areas as a site for the building were declined. After long discussion, it was resolved to adopt the report of the Sub Committee with regard to tlie ground adjoining Bleach's garden as a site for the erection of the institution, and the Secretary was instructed to request the Govvernment to make a reserve in that locality of five acres for Hospital purposes; and further, to ask the Government to cause the ground to be surveyed without delay, as the Committee w»re desirous of calling for tenders forthwith. The Committee recorded their unanimous opinion that permanent access to the well upon the ground which had been selected by the Sub-Committee, and, which had been constructed by Mr. Bleach, should be granted to that gentleman. It was subsequently agreed to udvertise for tenders in the 'Mount Ida" Chronicle '.and Dunedin ' Daily Times,' vide advertisement..

[t may not be generally known that arrangements have been made by which persons desiring to get their friends out from ho.ne can do so by Jthe, payment of. £5; for each adult—children .oyer one year old half-price, and under one year free. This!-arrangement is made under the Immigration and Public Works. Act, 1870. Applications can be received by the Receiver of Grold (Revenue at -' Naseby, and we understand that the Warden, on his journeys throughout the district, will also be prepared to receive applications for transmission to the proper,quarter. ~, ~ » Some of the gold from the new diggings (Cambridge, situate on the summit of the Rock and Pillar range) has, been submitted to us for inspection. The specimens, so far as we have seen, are coarse arid dark though, as< we-are informed, they are good in quality, and weigh well. The gold does not a pear to be in any way watierworh, as'all the corners remain, sharp and defined, unlike anything which has performed a rough voyage by .water over rock and shingle. The climate of these diggings is spoken'of as something execrable. '• His Honor Wilson Gray will hold his usual Court on Wednesday, thelOth January, 1872. There ; are we believe, no cases before the Court, the simple business being an adjudication in bankruptcy, re Tootell, and the delivery by his Honor of his judgment in re White v. Law.

We have been requested by the Secretary of the Mount Ida District Hospital Committee, to acknowledge tlie receipt of £3 7si 6d from Mr. T. Jackson, Treasurer of the late Miners' Committee.

The Secretary of the Mount Ida District Hospital Committee has requested us to acknowledge the receipt of.a letter from the majority of the Comuoittee,calling upon him to advertise a list of subscriptions and donations received in aid of that institution. The Secretary also desires us to say that the letter came so late to hand that he is compelled to hold over the publication of the list until our next issue. Holders of subscription lists will be kind enough to return them to the hon. Secretary, together with the amounts not later than Tuesday, the 27th inst. The usual half-yearly summoned meeting of the brethren of the Loyal Naseby Lodge, M.U.1.Q.0.F., took place on Tuesday evening last, in the Lodge room, Masonic Hall. The following brethren were elected officers for the ensuing six- months, viz.:—Bro. E. C. Smith, N.G.; Bro. J. Petchell, V.G.; and Bro. C. E. Gudgeon, E.B. The meeting in connection with the Carew Testimonial, on Monday last, was brought to a somewhat abrupt termination by the startling cry of Fire! fire! fire! AH rushed but, and it was at once found that the cry was but too real, and that it proceeded from the Union Church. Proceeding to the spot, we were informed that a meeting had taken place and that, upon separation, one of the. kerosene lamps, which was made to rise and fail by a pulley, had given way, bursting upon the floor. Mr. Neale, who was present, gave every assistance in his power, and with the assistance of others the fire was subdued, a few floor boards only having been burnt.. What the result might have been had it not been taken in time, it would be difficult to imagine. .We have always, from principle, refrained from commenting upou reefs or reef discoveries. In this matter we have been, and are perhaps to blame. We do not desire in any way when necessary, to shirk responsibility. Still, we have an utter abhorrence of a class, many of whom are willing—alas, too w lling—to sacrifice the public weal to private .advantage j who, indeed, would speculate, not upon capital, but upon a fertile and disordered brain. On this occasion, however, we feel it our duty to call public attention to what has come legitimately before us. Two specimens have, within the last week, been submitted to us for ins ection. On«j we understand to have been taken from the Eweburh, the other from the Burster; The fcrmer (weighing about 2ozs.) composed, as we believed, of dark-colored conglomerate quartz, contained many undeniable specks of gold, sufficient to make a speculation as to crushing a successful one. On the other hand that from the Burster discloses a fact somewhat astonishing. Its weight is nearly 3ozs., two-thirds of which have been proved to be absolute gold. Two our view, the specimen to which we allude would rather indicate a retention of gold by quartz than quartz by goldIn ot her words, we might 6ay that the specimen exhibits a considerable amount of quartz joined together by a still more considerable gold—in fact, that gold is the predominating element. This specimen was found by Mr. Latham, on the claim of Latham and Guffie, Clarks. Opinions differ as to its being waterworn or otherwise. We express no opinion, but invite inspection of the specimen, which may be seen in the Bank of New South Wales. If it be possible that a reef so aurife-

jiously gifted as this specimen discloses is to be found within pur reach, wbat shall we say of the business men of the town should they decline to lend a helping ?hand in its development ? It might be a success, it might be the reverse. Still, the trial is worth the risi.

,' : A. meeting of the Carew Testimonial Com-: mittee took place at George's, Victoria Hall, on .the evening of Monday last; when it was una'nimously resolved that that gentleman'should be requested to state: the time at which the presentation is to be made Fbosc Haerewhenua we hear, and hear with regret, that the same drought which has for sometime past prejudicially affected this district, has been equally felt oh these diggings: Water! water; water! as here, so there is the universal cry. Should the weather much longer continue as at present, the end. of these arid other gold sluicing districts cannot be far off.