THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1872.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 154, 16 February 1872, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1872.

It will be within the recollection of our readers that'in replv to a question put by Mr. John Bremner to Mr. James Macandrew upon the occasion of t'> a t gentleman's address in the Mason c Mall prior to the last election, the then > candidate and present stated that h© entirely concurred in the

remarks of Mr. Bremner with regard to money to" be expended upon l^u i>| >ly on GoMfields being in certain rases devoted to other purposes, such as .Sludge Channels, &c. Mr. Macandrew further promised that, if elected, lie would use his best endeavors to obtain the insertion of a clause to that effect-.into t-he Act which would have to be passed to authorise the necessary expenditure. It* our memory serves us correctly, a similar question, producing a. similar "reply, was put to Mr. Me'rvyn during.- one of his election meetings. ■'Subsequent upon and consequent to t «is, a.numerously signed petition, got up, we believe, at the instance of Mr. Mervyn himself, with a view of strengthening his hands in the matter, was for- | warded-.--to that gentleman for presentation to the House of Representatives. The L atter then, so far as we have reason to believe, stands thus : The prayer of the p tit ion was refused, and we are compelled to receive advances for increused Water Supply (evenif there be no water to bring in) or nothing, and that under regulations so stringent and absurd as will, in our opinion, render the entire scheme abortive. We have heard from good authority that the number of applications for the advance of m >ney for the construction and completion of works for an increased supp y of water already amount to many hundreds, there be.ng no less than 4-K) from one Province (Nelson) only. When, therefore, we. look upon the scheme in a 1 its bearings-^—when we call to mind the fact that the total amount to be expended under the Act for Water Supply is £300,000 (such ex; enditure to extend over a term of . ten years)—when we reflect also that, * upon the ipse dixit of the great Mr. V ogel, £50,000 of this sum has been already allocated, to the Thames District for the purpose of a race being brought in by the Government. When we consider these things, we cannot fail to arnve at the following conclusion. namely, that the total annual sura available is £30,000, less the £SOOO per annum allocated to Auckland through the instrumentality of Mr VQ^, e l~t'bat the total annual amount s |y^i] for .each Paovin.ce .is* a mere bagatelle when- the number of Goldfields is taken into consideration, and quite inadequate to initiate, construct,. a,nd carry to a successful issue any water schemes of sufficient magnitude; to be of any public importance. "When,, moreover, we catl to mind the number | o' a 'plications already received, the rei g'lhitrons under which alone advances can be obtained, and the legion of blood-suckers which the Act has created, wir h the, power of increasing their number if they deem it desirable, we feel' sure that little advantage will eventual i v be taken cf the scheme, and that it is totally unsuited to the-wants and requirements of this place; What we want here is a Sludge Channel, andi without it—we express not only our own opinion, but also that of the oldest and most practical miners in the place—this portion of the Mount Ida Gold, field mu*t, ere long, decline and fall. It would be unnecessary here to recapitulate the causes which must lead ; if remedial measures aren*»t ado ted to prevent it. They have often discussed, and are patent to. and have beep time after time adtrirttedi by all whose opinion is worthy attent on or respect.

Such bi-inrr the case, as we declare it to ho, it behoves us, if we have anv regard for our own interest and the in- [ terest of the district which we have made our home, to cast about and seek aid and assistance towards the accomplishment of the object we have in view from another quarter than the Supply of Water on GoldfieldsActthe greatest sham and the greatest e oh the numerous shams and swindles which were enacted by the Co mim! Legislature- of Xew Zealand °£ i ß7l ' u ? d ® p 3s unscrupulous rule of the grvat Julius Yo«el. It is time that this question was taken up and agitated' in real earnJt by every member of the <•».„ mmity. Our members talke l Sludge Channel enouwn during their electioneering tour and made promises suilicient upon t l m Let these gentlemen no * prove themselves remindful not only of their promises, but at the same time deserving of the triwt which the dis!

strict has reposed in them, by urging its claimsin the matter of ; the Sludge Channel upon the attention of the Provincial Government and the Provincial : Council. We feel sure that if this were done at oni e, done .with a will, and supported as it would be by the voice of the entire district, the Coverninent would not refuse their attention and consiileraten to a subject, the necessity and justice of which has already in various ways and by various actions been already admitted by themselves.

The Eng'ish mail, via .Wan Francisco, may

-be expected by to-morrow's mail. From tele-- , grains received there would appear to be little news of importance, with the exception of the convalescence of his" Royal Highness the Prince - .of Wales. - A sirriN"G of the District Court will take place on Wednesday, the 13th prox. ; There are, we understand, three cases —oVie in original jurisdiction, one of appeal, and one in insolvency. • . We- understand that the : application for an advance of m>ney -from the Government, urider .the'W.iter Supply Loan, to complete the Ben Lomond rac*\ .VI lere'whenua, h is been refused, or is, at leiw*", o itainable only upon < terms which amount: to an absolute refusal. It will; we (ear, be yet seen that our views with . regard to the Water Supply .Loan being no other than an expensive hoax upen thepubhc, ■will be fully borne out by fact. Thu District Surveyor (Air. Barron), who » has been for some days past'engaged 011 a survey on the other side of the Mount Ida range, reports the country .in th.it locality to be looking fresh and green compared to that in this neighborhood. Water, however, in the creeks is nevertheless scarce. This town has been for some time past so engaged in adding to her personal ap-. , pearance and beauty, that it. seems a wonder that n» effort has been made to get rid of that ug'y rattletrap hut formerly glorying in the name of " oailiff's quarters" The hut is no longer in use, an I is n such a dilapidated state .as to render its appearance -a perfect disgrace. We should fancy that an,, application in the proper quarter would be followed by au order ' for its immediate removal. For some time past there has existed a con-

•aiderable amount of curiosity in this town- in

. -consequence of an eceent ric advertisement - -which. appeared,, in. our" last issue, by Afev, Frank West-.m, styling himself the " Wizard Oil Prince." in this advertisement Mr. Wesson intimated, among other original announce-ments,-to" the effect tliat—lie would talk— lie would sing—He would banjoize—rEU* would ... transact- business—the most .unusual part of "the notice being *hat admission would be puer. An announcement so original n;itjirallv brought '"together a lull" house 'oh• WfeffAVsUtiy. evening, when the Wizard Oil-Prince, J the wiy, . is a lepublii an American;.can>e>up6n the stage in all the eccentric costume of that na? ion of •freedom and eccentricity. Dressed in a vvellfitting whit e frock coat, with hiit on head, Mr. "Weston took possession of the platform, and in the most cool and nonchalant manner, with hat

von head, and wit h a confident and self reliant i tone, explained the object, of his calling the, •audience toget her to be—Lst, a desire to afford •them amusement; 2nd, to advertise personal ly his invaluable wizard oil; and last but not "least, to get as much of their money as he could legitimately do by the introduction of - Jiis incomparab'e and invaluable wizard oil, intimating, howev« r, that- though a specific in .certain cases which he enumerated, ir.'did not pretend to be, as some quack compoun Is''did, a panacea for all the ills to which flesh is heirMr. Weston's entertainment fully .proved'that he could talk, and talk well and amusingly—sing, and s'"ng with taste and pathos —play the banjo, and play it in a style which we have seldom heard excelled—and transact business in a manner at once novel and to the purpose, | neter losing sight of the main chance—the sale of the wizard oil. We mu9t not omit to add that- .Mr. Frank Weston's powers of mimicry were unusually true and good,, and that his delineations bot h of (Jerman arid Irish character frequently carried__ttig...house with him. We are unable to spare space more fully to enter into the peculiarities of this novel and original " Walking but in our opinion Mr. Weston honestly deserved the success which he undoubtedly achieved, and -we think, if his " wizard oil " turn out to be half as efficacious as his entertainment was in- . teresting and amusing, that gentleman stan Is ■well to be on the highroad to fortune. Were there nothing else in -Mr. Weston's entertain-

ment to recommend it, its novelty and origis nality could not fail to gain tor it a hearty and if cordial welcome anywhere and everywhere. |We notice with p.ensure that great progress is being made in the erection of the Hospital, and we trust that, ere many weeks elapse, we shall be in a position to congratulate the residents of Mount Ida upon the completion of a building, the want of which has been long and painfully felt in the district. It may not be generally known that there are at the present time no less than three patients suffering from broken leg in this place, two of whom are being necessarily treated at. public houses. The tender of Mr. Joseph Gtason, for the removal and enlargement of the school, has been accepted. The amount of tender was £l*o, winch was the lowest sent in. We call attention to the lecture which will be delivered by his Honor Judge. Chapman, in the Masonic Hall, this evening. We earnestly hope and fully expect to see a bumper house. Weather the same as reported iu our last and previous issues. The leeture delivered by Mr. Justice Chapman. at the Masonic Hall, on: the evening of

Monday last, fully bore out-all we had ventured to anticipite regarding it, jindL it is not. too much to say that there wa-t hot one of a large audience who did not leave the Hall-instructed, as,well.as.amused...with, his Honor's explana.l ion of u Myths " an.l " Popular Errors about Low." Kor otir own pirt, we confess that we were, con si terably. enlightened upon various subjects which, though we knew them to be popular errors, we were, until we heard Mr. Justice Chapman's lecture, unable to explain. The origin of the fallacy of wile selling, of saving from death a criminal by an off«*'r of marriage at the foot of the-gallows, of a funeral paosing over a road constituting a right-of-way, of gleaning and gathering sticks -from a /wood forming a right, of the appeal of murder, and numerous other popular errors were fully an 1 ably explained by his Ifonur. To attempt anything like a report of the lecture is, we admit, beyond our power. Suffice it to ;s,-iy that the announcement given by the. lecturer at the termination of the proceedings, that he would this evening deliver a second lecture in aid of the funds of the Hospital Committee, was enthusiastically received. The subject selected is " Karly Recollections. of the Present Century," a subject which we feel will, in the hands of his Honor, afford an evening .of amusing as well as of instructive enjoyment; We doubt not. that the hope expressed by Mr. Justice Chapman, that in so good a cause a humper house would be afforded him, will be fully realised.

Ma HoßitfSoy rohurne 1 from town'on Tuesdayi whither lie ha I been summoned by Mr. C. tfi. Haughton, to consult on the.-. subject of Water Supply for this district. It would seem, however, that there is no prospect of any mo? difi<*ation btiing male in the recently printed rules an.l regulations, and that no application will be e itertained which is not strictly iu accor lance therewith. We are informed that the applications already sent, in are very, numerous. especially from the Province of Nel-on, from which Province it. is reported there are already no less than 40 ). We understand that-1 lie particular object for .which. Mr. Robinson's presence was require I was a consultation in reference to thepeculiar ances of the district w.irrinting t he Government, undertaking any special wo"ks on tsown nccount. vVe are.not in a position to give any details, but we understand rhat there is a prohabilty of surveys beitig made to set :it rest the question as 10 the practicability of bringing in the Ma.nuherikia river at a high level, and of ob-

taimnga useful supply ol flushing water from the Little Kveburri, an 1 streams. From what we are able, to gather their, not seem the. slightest probability of anything being done for the provision, of a -sludge channel out of the Water Supply Lo in, thou-zluthe matter wei have reason to know, uvge I by in the strongest possible terms upon Mr. £Tu lei , --Secrdfcary Ilaughton. Mil James Samson", for m iny,years resident, iri this town, arrived here, on the evening of Vlonday lash from D:ineoliu, whither he.

had proceeded to become a Benedick. Mr. Sa'Tis »n, who wl3 accompanied by. his bride, was met between this place <uid Kyeburn and warmly welcomed by a large number of old. friends ami acquaintances.' ■We call the attention of such persons as may be desirous of. investing in a real 1 s bo>'a. fide

mini»g speculation, to the sale by auction of the Ben LVinond water race and valuable water . rights af. the I iVLierewheiuia Diggings. The a Ivertisemeut speaks lot* itself. Further puriic d:irs cin, however, be obtained by application to the auction i-ers, Messrs. luder and l>eorge of t his town.