THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1873.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 207, 14 February 1873, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1873.

Popular opinion is not readily attracted to any grievances, fancied* or real, belonging to the Police Department; It wiil be remembered that in the last session of the Provincial Council ait attempt was made to all the Police salaries; and an amendment was also attempted, on the failure of the original motion, at any rate to increase the travelling allowances. This also fell through, ft*jin wrtnt of svn-: pathy. The members of the Force in, Dunedin, being driven by accumulating debt and anxiety, were ill-advised; enough to strike—a measure which*, while it necessitated their dismiisalfronvthe Force, at the same time deprived the country of some capital, servants. . ' . ? It is not- so : much with the Policesalaries in general that we wish to deal* at present, but. more especial Iy wi th regard to the service as maintained orr t he Gold fields. It i3.well known that living and travelling are far dearer on the Goldfields than in Dunedin or the agricultural districts, the rates of pay aro exactly the sam!|- Bread, meat, butter, and vegetables can be got at low rates down the country atall times of the year, while, in Gold-, fields districts, vegetables are &1 together denied to the sergeant ? s or, constable's table, unless they are growii by themselves, and from th".very, rapid and constantly recurring changes of' station that take place, • few are' • ble or willing to'cultivate the smallest garden patch., The ordinary Police ara'divided into two classes, the rates of pay being l Bs. to Bs. 6J. per ditnn v whether to footmen or moiinled con- : tables. The travelling allowance is 3s. -6d. per. night while absent—if nob away ajuiglit,, -

Such <lB at the collecting of the agricultural statistics, a constable has to be away sometimes six day 3 at a time. In six days he would require at least ten meals; these, at 2s. (id.—the current price—would amount to 255., or 4s. more than his travelling allowance. His other expenses he may pay for as he can. There seems no reason, in a department where the minutest expense is tabulated and checked by two or three officers, why the police should not be allowed the real expenses incurred on Government business, on proper vouchers. It is a great hardship to the mounted constable, who has all the outside work to do, to reduce his small rate, to meet these ex- ] t nses. A horseman's expenses in clothing and boots alone are very 1 eavj ; besides which, he has to find sponges and small articles necessary to keep his appurtenances in right order. If be is away from daylight to dark he gets nothing for a meal, unless lie reduces his Bs. Jt is not generally known that the Police find themselves in everything except quarters, and this they have to do out of shillings a.day. No wonder that the men become disheartened and demoralised when, do what they will, they cannot keep out of debt, and, if t&ey have wives and children, an honest maintenance for them is impossible. Lately, a very respectable married man had to apply to be removed from Nasebv, for he could not live, nor could he even take advantage of the cheap education the district school offered to his children. It is most important that the Police Service should be kept in an efficient state,, and that can hardly be done where the men are starved, and the very accommodation provided for them is too often"' insufficient and unhealthy. It is to be hoped that some member of the Provincial Council,, will be philanthropic enough to take up the* cause of the Goldfields Police.

*Ws£did Mr. Ban*, the chief Postmaster l>unedin, an injustice last week. We conc'uded, from his silence, that he did wot intend to notice the Trade .Association's letter. It appears, ho v*ever,tbat he was so overawed by the .receipt of it, that he had to take time ; for consideration. It would have occurred to anyone but Mr. Barr that il 'Would haw been only courteous to Shave directed a clerk to make a brief of the receipt of the '^communication. 'The reply nvill be seen in another fpage ; we hope it may sat isfy the public—it certainly does not satisfy us. Natural History tells us of an animal iVfho, deprived of all ordinary uieans of •defence, yet ,is provided with a mode of diffusive warrare overwhelming to ithe enemy, find thoroughly effectual in ►securing,a safe retreat for its possessor if {suddenly .attacked. 1 f Mr. Barr belonged to the Dunedin Natural ■St-ience Association., we should hold him guilty of .plagiarism. The Post-jpiaster-General and the local Postmaster are bcth discharged at our uuf'ortuhate heads, under cover of whom Mr. Barr is to make aai effective |reto shortly reappear in the giiise .pf,a bland, only-too-willing official.

•The local Postmaster has always -done his duty: so far as we know the eccentric alterations have been always duly posted outside the office. We complained of want of knowledge as to the movements of the inaiL It is of no use for us to know that the mail irijl arrive at at a certain hour, if .we are ignorant when it leaves l)tinedin, and vice versa. As for the Post-, master-Cierifirol, uAless we had official word for it, we should find it very hard to swallow the fact that he was ever consulted in the matter. Mr. Barr •coolly tells us that it was proposed to do away with the service, only that the paving angel appeared in the form of jMr. Chaplin, and we were forgiven and provided for, and ought to be thank. Jul. It would be very interesting to 'kqpw what these tenders were that were considered so excessive, and also whether other contractors had any intimation that a tender modified af' dates would be considered.

There can be very little doubt that •the real obstacle to the proper development .of this mail has been the opposition it, has all fclong received in the

Dunedi.n poht office, together with the unwillingness of Cobb and Co. to provide for such a m ul, so lon-i as other opposition could be kept, off the line. If the mail, as run during the last contract, had been made publicly known in Dunedin in other ways than on obscure placards in some dingy post office corner, and punctuality had been insisted on, the statistics as to the use of the mail —which, no doubt, have been carefully preserved—would have shown no cause for justifying the proposed withdrawal of it. ■ It is hopeless to expect that proper consideration will be given to the matter by prejudiced officials and interested contractors The only plan will be for the Trade .Association to lay the matter before the Postmaster-General, pointinar out the public necessity, and the serious inconvenience to the carrying out n f ' the Government Works that is causer! by the present defective arrangements, and the far greater loss of money—in delays —that would occur on the same works should such mail be withdrawn It would almost appear that the Duu i edin Post Office had never heard of i Hyde, Macraes, and Hamilton, trie in i terests of which places.would be en- j ti rely shelved by such withdrawal of j service. ,

Now that the last year of the main contracts for the mait service on this road is entere 1 upon, it may not be out of place to point out hbw necessary it is that no Ions: contract, should again be permitted, without it bemo an insistence that the mails be run through to Cromwell three, times a week. The roads are im proy in <r yearly, railroads are spreading on. all sides, and there is nothiug to prevent, such a service being worked eight months out of the twelve with punctuality and profit.

The annual congregations! meet in? nf the Presbyterian .Chureh was - held Jast Mondav evening to receive the financial rjmri, and +?> elect a Committee for the ensuing year

rThe meeting was announced for Monday the 3rd inst., but had been adjourned in the ihopes of a better attendance. Committees 'that receive the fullest pnblic confi ence, generally have to-put ut> with an abearance of indifference as to the action th-y take, 'and this meeting was no exception to; .the rule, for, a't'iough tber; was an improveinent (in attendance, yet the n-imber present- in no way represented the ••After..' prayer, the Chairman called on the Secretary for the report, which was rea l, and- avi opted by the meeting. The results are satisfactory in the. extreme, ther a being a balance of some •£4O still in hand. The amo-int collected at the dor>r during the year, amounted to £127 16s. The Sustention Fund, which is permanent, shows a balance of £l4 25., aril the Building Fund, a balance of £l7 125.; the balance to October 31st, 1872, ' over ssventy pound •. However, since then, the Church foundation has been paid for, which reduces th? b ilance to abo it 640.. The work of the Committee, the Cbairman (the Rev. J. M'C. Smith) po:ntedo:it, had been onerous in the extreme. They had to face bad times, and a great consequent depression on all sides. Nevertheless, they hid never flinched in the confidence they 3 arted with, and the belief that they could carry the matter through. The Manse had been builh an.l paid for, costing in all £350. The reason why it had been tli: ught desirable that the Manse should precede Church w v?, that bv so

(loin 2, they had been able to obtain £loofrom the Synod a year sooner th in they otherwise would, owing to fc :e great number of applications that, were made to the 'mid set apart 1 y the Synod for such purposes. Mr. Br-.*m-ner put before the meeting, in a lu i I raannf, the work done by the Commi'tee, ann-pointed out, that the Cormnit v ee liad such oo'fi Jerice in their ability to complete the work, that [although resigning, they would not. sh rk reelection where it was thought advisttb-e. Mr. H. B. M'lntosh intimated that he wished to resign. It was, r.fter some conversation, proposed anc carried, that the retiring Cornmi to - be re-elected, and that M.\ de L.iutonr ifike the place rend» l,v -' 1 vacant by the resignation cf Mr. H. B. M Intosh. Votes of fhn'tiks to the Collector.®, to the Precentor' (Mr. 11. Wilson), and to the indefatigable Secretary (Mr J. S M'lntosh), terminated the meeting. Accidentally, th<; namps of .Hors well and Smith were omitted.as being--present' at the last monthly tmeting of the Hospital Committee. A MrNEH3* A. 3 80.*i vt ion is i i cf . formation at Binnoikburn. Wh-ifc arc the miners of Mount Ida about Tu.;>peka Times.'

Wjb understandthat the Energetic Q'rortz. Mining Company intend at once opening out the Rough Bilge, being sa'.iflod -with the result arrived a!, in thj experiment of raising 40 tons of stone. Mb. John ARaisTaoiiff, M.PvCV, will l>e glad to meet the el ctjra qii , the evening, of Wednesday next, at 9 g.m, The miners are specially asjjed to to form a Mining Association if possible. Mk. Ahmstbovg, the well-known, surgeondentist, may now be .couauked at his x ooms, (Mrs. Lawson's).

We understand that within seven days after the Superintendent has notifiec the acceptance of any tenders in 'he Public Worka now b'i-mg carried oat ia this di-trict, the contractor must piy into llie Provincial Treasury, the sum of ons pet* ceiit. 011 the total amount of the tender. I>i theevent of non-execusion of Lie contnie; within the time specified, such deposit • »uld be liable to. be forfeited. Ma. f. J G-fltfEtt, the new proprietor of the Mount Ida Brewery, is evidently determined to p ot'uce ales of a superior quality. A brewer •of considerable* ••. experience has been eng iged, and is now turning out beer that should command a re.idy sale, and become a popular drink in the district. The light amoer beer has a good body,_ find when improved by age will be equil to any beer imposed from Ijunediu. We wish the proprietor fciie ?access wliic'i his enterprise merits. »■..Tub usud meeting of the Waste Land i Rjard was held last week. The proceedings .were a glaring.exposure of the farcical nofipoii ioal appointment of the mernb rs. The Commissioner repeats he will not do this or that, without tiie consent of the Executive. Air. Tolmie soys he will not speak officially, without consulting his co.it-agues, !>n l lias a private opinion, but will, under his peculiar position, be passive. Mr. Strode speaks sense. Messrs Clark and Butterworih protest feeb ; y, and probably are snubbed for their pains by the otlHal dum:nies ..present. The elements of mischief, and ignorance .that characterise the Waste Lands Boar.l as at present constituted, will be ii. great, handle-for the Donald rleid Agrarian p <ri,y to imke use of in the Provincial Ooun il meeting, and, a< for the poor, patient, donkey ridden G-oldfie.ds, they wili be put of the fiying-pan into the fire. "We ~9-ppend the only extract of interest:—Messrs </»diibrand and Smith applied to purchase 1573 acres surveyed lands 111 blocks IX and XI., Waikaouaiii district, and their appli'atimslo pur«.rhise which had been refused on previous occasions ; and 1500 acres of unsurv«yed land in block IX., same district. The marter was referred to the Warden for his report:, and, on the application of Mr. Smith, the case is not. to come before the Board for tli'i'oo months. Smce the above was written, our 1 te fdes show, the discreditable proceedings that, took place at'the special meeting of the Board. It appeared l hafc the B jar .1, and the counsel employed by Messrs C>ellibrand & Smith, had overlooked a clause in the Waste Lands. Act, rendering, it ner-essary that appli cations forsurvey.-d land should be disposed of within six days, and therefore Mr. Smith pressed for a decision. Jle also intimated that he had received b.i»k his application .money,., ana that his application Jiad been marked " refused" by the Chief -Commissioner, in the face of the late decision of Com missioners. Probably this land in question should be procl-jimed a Gro'dfields ; but the attemp!-' at dictation • made by the Oommis : sioner to the Board, and their spirited s.ibm.ssion, show that no confidence can be placed in the members. The Board should be dismissed, an i a new Board appointed, consisting of men who could not "be -m ire ignorant of the requirements of ;.he country, and might. v--ry easily urnh rstand their responsible position, net as the handle of the Government oi the hour, but as an ho body, having power.

Ax iron-jrr y pony, breJ by Mr. Compbell Tnomsuu, at at-r ;tii J\iieri, was lost nearly a ye. r ago, an l is supposed to have strayed in among t';e fences on tiie Taieri. Tiie owner his been for some months in the Jvurie.iin Hospital, and is anxbus to ootain the value of the pony, to enable h m to raise funds sufficient to procure further treatment. It would b-» a truly kind deed, for anyone knowing anything of its whereabouts, ■:o send word to our e;-

Th£ lire bos;; cost £53 2s 6,1. . 'We understand tliafc'piyinent lias to be sent down todnv, and that, if subscriptions are not liberal thti sick fund, kept up by the Fire Urigade members private subscriptions, -will have to oe trenched o.u. Mess, s C.'iapm in and Stevens are apjioiiited culkclors. On i'lieadiiy ia*l, the oil Union Church wa9 removed back oil< to new piles, u dtr the able mamgemmt of Mr. Morrison. The iron from the roof wns ri moved arid a portion of thofl;>or. Twenty-four hardwoodbirs, manned by 9Sme.Ti, were used, and the building was lifted, carried, and most seieniifiealiy placed on its ntw bed.

To day is the last oppii-tuni'y for persons to object to iifiines on the Citizens' Iloli. The final Revision i.ou.-'t is to be htod on the 21th inst, jifier which the nomination d.iy will be fixed.

. Bail has been refused for ex-Sergeant Ryan. , Some enquiries are beginning to be made with regard to the contracts let, or supposed to be let, to Mr. Pearce—enquiries not altogether flattering to that gentleman's credit. However, ■-nothing is known positively by which we could infer but that the contractor is acting in all .good faith in the matter* Contractors, when they have to secure a supply of labor for works, will not find it to their advantage toshake public by injudicious delays. At the late fire in Laven-street everybody was loud in the denunciation of the Fire brigade for not having a better hose. A hose that cannot be easily improved upon has now arrived, and it was 110 fault of the Brigade that it had not arrived long ago. Now, let the critics show their appreciation, and help to pay for it. The Fire Brigade are a self constituted body, who get nothing to reward them for their zeal on behalf of the public; and however hard times may be, we are sure that no debt will be allowed to 'devolve on the too few men who have so perse-i veringly taken the matter in hand, and we! must be allowedj to add, so effectively. '

A. msktin'G of the shareholders of the Masonic Hall, is announced to; take place, in Jlorswell's Boyal Hotel, oh' the evening of Thursday next, 20th inst. 'J he rumor that Mr. ID. T. Q-eorge has rei''ed from the Mayoral contest in favor of Mr W. In tier, is, we are credibly informed, entirely without/oundat ion. We are requested to draw attention to the sales to be held at the Victoria Hall, to-mor-row, of groceries, and a .share: in the Enterprise Water race.

Wk observed two Chinamen busily engaged, on a late occasion, cradling ashes thrown out by o>e of the banks. It is to be hoped thatString reward attended the ingenious enter>P"ise.

On\ Monday, the Fire Brigade turned outin full strength, under the command of Captain Iruler, to practice with the new hose. The practice ■.made was first-rate, and with the water supply attended to, and cure, taken that, the outlet from the d:>m be not choked by a sudden demand from the pipe, a fire of" any extent cannot very well Occur." We would suggest to the Captain the advis ibility of sitr tachihg Iho young growing lad? to the Brigade, who would rake a pride in the institution, and. would, as the old originators stiffen and get less energetic, come in to take their place: There are plenty of young fellows of 16 and upwards that, we are sure, would be very gla'd to be allowed to join, and it Would be verypolitic to encourage such ari inclination.