THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1872.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 169, 31 May 1872, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1872.

It is one of tfce well understood privi leges of public journals to grumble at the powers that be and their actions. Indeed,, it is a well recognised fact that without agitation there would be little or no progression. Press agitation has acted as a sort of safety-valve for public opinion, and has on several occasions saved the Home Country, from serious disturbances, if not from actual revolution. There are, however, occasions when the Press has a more pleasant duty to perform, and praise the Government for their efforts on behalf of the public. These occasions are, however, of themselves, seldom; and, as a rule, the result or effect of the agitation to which we have above alluded. On the present occasion our duty is of the former rather than of the latter kind—of a painful rather than of a pleasurable .nature. Still, feeling it to be our duty, we shall not shrink from its performance, though the object may be said to be selfish and personal, and the language we feel called upon to use somewhat strong. The matter to which we desire to draw attention is the present system of letting contracts for roads and other publie works, and when we have stated the case as shortly as possible, we are convinced that the public will hold our censure to be alike just and merited. . The facts are as follow : —There appeared on the 22nd instant, in the (to vera men t Abortion, an advertisement calling for tenders for three dif- j ferent portions of the road between Palmerstou and Eweburn, a distance of between fifty and sixty miles. This • Gazette' did not reach this place until the 25th, and the latest date for receiving tenders in Ounedin was the 11th June prox.—a sufficiently short time when the distance and the calculations, taking out quantities, &c, &c, necessary in such cases are taken into consideration. Strange, however, upon tho very same day upon which the 1 Gazette' arrived intimating that tenders would be received in Dunedin up to the 11th, an advertisement in tho * Daily Times ' notified the shortening or" the time, for the reception of tenders by an entire, week—making the day the 4th Juiie instead of the 11th of June—thus virtually depriving all persons in this locality from putting in a tender had they been so minded. We

could mention no less than six persons here possessed of carts, horses, drays, stout; hearts, and strong arms who would have been only too happy to have taken the job, bad a fair opportunity been given them so to do. Apart, however, from.the shortness of time to which we have alluded, there is another and very important consideration—namely, that among the bulk of the working public the 'Gazette' is seldom seen, and still less seldom read, and consequently their chance of seeing what i» goinr ou in the way of contracts is small indeed. Hence it arises that whereas in localities such as this, when public works of any kind are to. be constructed, the matter is not known until after the tenders have been ac -epted, or the time has become too short for making the necessary calculations and putting in the necessary applications in Dunedin. There can be no doubt that "the result of such a system is to cause a much larger sum to be paid for works than would have to be done were persons in the locality made aware of the fact of any contemplated works. This could be avoided were the columns of the local journals put into requisition, and the fact notified to the public through its columns. But no; the Government prefer in their wisdom to squander hundreds of pounds in accepting excessive tenders rather than devote a few shillings for advertising in the districts within which the works are to be constructed. When cine looks this matter ?tiliy in the face one can hardly bring oneself to any other belief than that the tender system as practised by the Government is absolutely rotten, and that the intention is to keep the possibility of tendering within the radius of the Dunedin contractors. There mi<*ht also be some perquisites, or, as the Yankees have it, " stealings," in the way of commission, which, though probably obtainable from the large contractors in Bunedin, might not be forthcoming were the contracts to fall into the hands of up-couutry and local contractors. The present instance is so complete au illustration of the case in .point and of the obnoxious system to which we have referred, that we have no hesitation in drawing public attention to it in the hope that for shame's sake, if fir no other, such a disgraceful state of affairs may be reformed, if not absolutely abolished.

In our issue of April 19, we published a "Return showing the amount of Goldfields' Revenue accruing from the different fields of the Province for the three years ended the 30th June, 1871. "We at the same time took the opportunity of pointing out that, setting aside the receipts from agricultural leases, head money, or depasturing fees within Hundreds," and rents ancf royalties, the Mount Ida District has continued to-- hold the most prominent position of any Goldfield in the Province. This district is not, nor ever can become, an agricultural one, at least to any great extent; neither are there Hundreds wherein depasturing fees are chargeable. It is not, fore, surprising that in these particular items our revenue is nil. With regard, however, to revenue from really mining sources, with which the exceptional items to which we have alluded have no real connection, Mount Ida from first to last has stood at the head of the list as a gold-producing and revenue-producing district. Since the publication of the Return of Revenue to which we have referred a Return of Expenditure upon the various Goldfields, for three years ended 31st March, has been published. While publishing the former Revenue Return we place, for the sake of convenience and reference, by its side the Expenditure Return published in last week's * Times,' and a single glance will at once show the principle of favoritism by which the Government have been in all matters of Goldfields expenditure actuated. The details are sufficiently explicit to render explanation or comment on this occasion unnecessary, showing, as they do, truly yet silently the injustice to which this district has been subjected, arid the favoritism which has been lavished, if not' squandered, upon other districts

witt much less claims to the attention arid consideration of th« authorities. Though we do not enter into the question of these Returns to-day, other than to submit them to the eye and for the opinion of the public, we shall take an early opportunity of returning to the subject. The following are the Returns referred to aboTe:—

.Expenditure. Revenue. a . £ 8. D. £ 3. D. Switzers ... 4,180 3 0 ... 2,171 16 0 Mountßenger. 6,984 6 4*... 1,53 als 0 Lawrence ...20,509 10 2 ... 5,616 5 8 Queenstown ...23,433 14 0 ... 2,281 1 3 Dunstan 19,566 4 3 ... 1,702 15 10 Mount Ida ... 7,202 19 11 ...*4,961 H 6 *The revenue of St. Bathans, in the Mount Ida District, amounts to £1345 19s. 6d., which, added to the. above, gives a total revenue of £6307 14s. or considerably more than anv other Otago Goldfield.