THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1872.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 177, 26 July 1872, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1872.

The Viceregal speech delivered by his Excellency the .Governor, upon the occasion of the opening,of the Parliament. is of a more than ordinarily dull and meagre character. It commences with an allusion to the f elings of profound regret with which the report of the alarming illness of the Prince of Wales was received in this Dolony and in other parts of the Empire, and the universal rejoicings which greeted the announcement of his restoration to health, intimating, at the same time, that an Address, expressive

of sympathy wtli her Majesty and tlie Royal Family, would be submitted to Parliament for their approval. His Excellency next alludes to the satisfactory state of the relations between the European and .Aborignal races, and notices with pleasure the friendly disposition now manifested by tribes hitherto disaffected—evidencing, as it does, the progress made towards the permanent settlement of the '' Maori difficulty. Reference is next made to his Excellency's late tour through the districts recently # " disaffected to the hospitality which he received from all the Native tribes; and to the pleasure with, which he viewed the progress of the roads in course of construction by Maori labcr. He then proceeds to congratulate the Parliament on the prosperous condition of the agricultural, irining, and pastoral indus-, tries. Honorable members are then told that during the recess the Grovernment has been actiyelv employed in-giving effect to the various legislative measures passed during the last session for the construction of rail ways that contracts ha.ve been entered, into for certain sections of certain lines and that the survey of others is approaching completion. Papers are promised, having reference to Immigration. Congratulations are offered upon the satisfactory working of the Government system of Annuities and Lite Insurance ; and promise is made of economy in the Estimates, and satisfaction expressed at the increased and increasing prosperity of the Coas evidenced by its improved revenue. The introduction of small-pox into the Colony is made an occasion for reminding hon. members of the necessity for sanitary laws, and a Bill is promised which will have for its object the improvement of the laws relative to vaccination and quarantine, and the repression of epidemic diseases. Measures are also announced to consolidate " and amend the laws relating -to " gold mining ;- to reduce postage on "newspapers within the* Colony; to " enable Municipalities and Road Districts to enter into arrangements or " grant subsidies for the construction " of tramways ; to make more liberal V terms on which drawbacks are granted; " to encourage fisheries ; to amend t'he " law relating to . the Public Revenue ; " to amend the law of Bankruptcy ; to " provide for the appointment of a " Public Trustee ; and to consolidate " the laws relative to Elections."

Such is, in substance, the address of his Excellency the Governor at the opening of the Parliament of 1872, i and a " dainty dish " it is, both retrospectively and prospectively. It is I well known how fond of sentiment and I romance, and how full of conceit and [vanity is his Excellency Sir George Ferguson Bo wen, K.G-.C. But, with all his conceit and vanity, we fail to see that he had much occasion to congratulate the Parliament upon the past, present, or future prosperity of the Colony. The shallowness, the hollowness, which pervades the whole address, though hidden to the eye of egotism, is plainly perceptible to the vision of those desirous of seeking after and find-int; truth. Heavily indebted as is the country, and heavily taxed as are its inhabitants, his Excellency made allusion to neither the one nor the other of these important subjects, but carefullv avoided them as a skilful pilot avoids; the shoals and shallows which threaten danger and destruction to the ship, under his command. But it is not for a moment +o be supposed-that the Parliament will allow subjects like these, fraught with the first and. best interests of the Colony, to be passed over in silence. A vigorous effort will be made to extract from the Government a full, clear, and, 'if possible, a fair statement of the affairs of the country, and of their own proceedings during the recess - With regard to the prosecution of the works authorised to be constructed out of the Loan, the Government will also be required to show that there has been neither favor nor favoritism in the selection of the works already initiated or in contemplation, and why certain works have been chosen in preference to others! A rigorous account will be demanded upon them and _ other, matters, and if the explanation be not satisfactory, the Fox-cum-Yogiel Minis try-r-the worst

the weakest, the most venal and corrupt which. New Zealand has yet known —will soon become a thing of of the past. Already are there rumors abroad that the constituent parts of the Ministry (like the members of a certain class which shall be nameless) cannot agree—that the machinery is entirely out of order, and the whole fabric likely to crumble to pieces from effeteness and inanition—and whether the addition of the Hon. Mr. John Hall and the Hon. Mr. H. J. Miller will strengthen their hands by re-in-troducing union and new blood into their ranks, is a problem which time alone can solve. Mr. Hall is well and favorably known as an able <tnd honest politician, and though little is known of Mr. Miller as a politician, that little is favorable, while he is admitted to be a man of ability, integrity, and a gentleman —qualities, we fear, rarely to be met with in our coloniallv constituted Parliaments.

The almost entire omission of any allusion to the principal interest in this and other Provinces —namely, gold mining - —we look upon as a very noticeable feature in the Governor's speech. But, though no reference was made by his Excellency to the subject, there is little doubt that strong efforts will be made by the Goldfields members. not only to increase to a very large extent the amount allocated to "Water Supply on the Goldfields but at the same time to get the Public Works Act,so amended as to allow of the construction of Sludge Channels and [Reservoirs wherever necessary for the public good,, and in localities in which they are likely to prove of a reproductive naturs. No Ministry which

will decline to accede to these fair and just demands need, for a moment expect, nor will it deserve, the support of the Goldfields members, who, united,

would form a phalanx which no Ministry would be able to withstand. The __ Opposition is on the alert, and eager for the fray, and a sharp session may be expected. Should the Ministry suffer defeat, there will be nothing for it but the return to power of the Staf-

ford party, for it is hardly to be imagined that Mr. Vogel, with his conv summate audacity, would venture~to consent or even hint at another appeal to the country.

This place has. since our last issue, been subjected to risits from those nocturnal tlrieves —tail race robbers—and more than the race of one honest man ha« been defrauded to satisfy those lazy vagabonds who, unwilling to work for their own living, are mean enough and base enough to rob those who do so work. There have been in all three robberies—one on the west side of the Main Gully, opposite Surface Hill, and other two some distance down the Gully, below Mr. Warden Eobinson's residence. The principal robbery was that of Mr. John Creighton's box, estimated to contain fully one pound weight of gold, and which •was taken from it on the night of Friday last —in anticipation, no doubt, of the usual washup on Saturday. Ko reliable clue has yet been found as to the perpetrator or perpetrators of this d-istar :Jy act, bat universal disgust and indignation is felt throughout the whole community. Sorry as we are to say so, we must in justice admit that, in this instance, nobody seems to suspect the Chinese—the general impression being that the robbers are Europeans It is to bo hoped that the fellows will be discovered and punished according to their deserts. There is a general feeling that the punishment attached to this crime—the most heinous in the eye of the miners nest to murder —is insufficient, and should be increased, though it is doubtful if the fear of punishment, unless, indeed, it were the lush, would put a stop to tliis most disgraceful class of crime. Of the other two cases no particulars have reached us, but we hear that in both * cases the amount of gold stolen was not large. x Mb, K. A. Stbatpord has been gazetted a Resident- Magistrate and Warden. We understand that lie will leave in a few days to take charge of his district. Chables M'Dermot,. the first patient received into the Hospital, was discharged on Sunday last. It will be remembered that he was suffering from a comminuted fracture of the leg, a timber track having passed over and crashed it severely. We are glad to hear that M'Dermot speaks highly of t he Institution, and of the kindness and attention which he received from Dr. Dick and the other officers while there. M'Dermot was a paying patient. We are glad to hear that the Rev. Father Royer, Catholic pastor, has consented to give a lecture in aid of the funds of the Mount Ida District Hospital, on the evening of Sunday next. The lecture will be delivered m the Catholic Chapel, at vespers. An advertisement in another column requests the inhabitants of Naseby, residing within certain boundaries therein set forth, to attend a public meeting to be held in the

Union Church, on Wednps-l -.y evening next, 31st instant, to take into consideration the desirability of having the area comprised within such boundaries declared into a Municipality. As will be seen by reference to the advertisement, the meeting is called by the Trade Association.

Thjs English in-inail, via San Francisco, may be expected by to-morrow's coach. • It is also notified that the out-mail by the same route will close here on Monday, at the usual hour. The swollen state of the rivers in this district, consequent upon the late heavy rains, has been productive of great inconvenience, and in some cases of accidents and mishaps—for! unately, so far as we are reliably, informed, without fatal result. In the Kyeburn, a son of Mr. Preston, a squatter whose station is near the Swinebum Gorge, whale attempting to swim liis horse across the river, was washed off, and had a very narrow escape of being drowned; fortunately an eddy carried him to the shore, and enabled him to escape a watery grave. On Saturday last Cobb's coach crossed the same river, all the horses swimming. Had there been any passengers the driver (Mr. H. Nettlefold) would not, we hear, have made the attempt. Luckily, no accident occurred, and the coa.h arrived shortly after the usual time. In attempting to cross the Taieri with the up mail, Daniel's coach and horses nearly coming to grief, both horses and vehicle being afloat and carried down the stream. After some struggling, the horses and coach reached terra jirma again without mishap, when the mail-man, in the most plucky manner, took one horse from the vehicle, and, swimming him across the river, arrived here safely and' delivered his mails. In connection with this subject, we may mention that the greater part of the witnesses from Hyde, who attended the District Court on Wednesday the 17th, were unable to*return to then* homes until the following Tuesday, though several abortive efforts were m»de to cross the Taieri River. Mr. Warden Robinson, who was holding Court at Macraes, was compelled to return over the Highlay Range to avoid the swollen torrents. In fact, from all quarters we hear of nothing but flood, flood, flood, with contretemps of a greater or lesser kind. A rumor has been abroad that a man was drowned in the Manuherikia, but at present it lacks confirmation.

The infusion of new blood into any system is generally regarded as an absolute necessity, and we think that we are, therefore, justified in congratulating 'he district upon the arrival of that well known and well bred Clydesdale entire horse Lord Lovat, which has recently become the property of Mr. Joseph. Packman of this town. From what we have heard from Mr. Charles M'Dermot, a well-known and highly respected carrier, trading between this place and Dunedin, the sum of £56 has been offered for a three-year old colt of Lord Lovat's getting and refused, nothing under £7O being looked at. This should, we think, speak well of the reputation which. Lord Lovat bears as a first-class Clydesdale entire. NoTHKra is yet known as to the probable result of the petition for a free pardon to Ewing. The petition was, we understand, forwarded to his Honor Judge Chapman, on Thursday last, tlie 18th inst., who will no doubt transm.t it with his report to his Excellency the Governor "without delay. We trust that his Honor's recommendation may be a favorable one. E understand that Mr. R. E. Field, who has been appointed Receiver of Gold Revenue at Naseby is expected here on Monday next.^ The old manse and furniture were disposed °f by public auction, by Messrs. Inder and j George, on Friday last, when the former, with residence area, was knocked down to Mr. R. Webber for the sum of £39. The proceeds of the sale realised about £75. !

Tkbottgh the courtesy of the Postmaster, we received our files, after the arrival of'the nihil, at a late hour Inst evening. '1 he adjourned meeting appointed to determine the maimer in which the proceeds of the manse property should be devoted took place at the Union Church on the evening of Thursday last. Mr. E. T. George in the chair. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. Atter a long and desultory conversation, the folio whig resolution by Mr. Jt>usch, seconded by Mr. Morrison, was put and carried: —" That six gentlemen be appointed by this meeting to consult with the Trustees, and call a meeting in a fortnight; and the money to remain in. the bank for a month." The gentlemen nominated were Messrs. James Brown, J. S. M'lntosh, W". J. Cooper, W. Grumitt, A. Craig, and Patrick Greer.