TOPICS OF TALK.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 266, 10 April 1874, Page 3

TOPICS OF TALK.

If there; is no, agricultural land on the Plain, why should the of blocks;on deferred payments be op;p.osed ? Unless such blocks are taken up, the pastoral tenant enjnys, as heretofore, the grazing right. If, then, those who wish to see things as they are, are honesc in 1 their cry that'the ! land is unfit, why should they oppose it ?—why say the miners are to be in- ' terfered with, as if settlement on Ewe- I burn flat«could possibly .interfere, with' mining, so long as the lines of .creeks and their beds were reserved ? Any auriferous spurs with' a fall, however small, to the channel sliould be, most strictly reserved until prospected. To pretend that large flats like the Eweburn, Eden Creek-,- and Wetberburn, where a fall for tailings is impossible, should be indefinitely locked up because gold-workings ; are some miles away,'is.ii,bsnrd in the extreme. We are glad to know that the land in all the localities' we mention is adapted for agricultural settlement. The ploughed furrows.on each side of the wire fences attest the quality of the ground. 'J he banks of the terraces, where exposed by floods and other natural agencies, show no,- shingle, but any. 'amount of good, friable clay. land. is there in abundance—land enough,' on> the three 1 flats we' mention, to keep 1,000 families in 'comfort, and a fast-increasing prosperity" dependent' only upon the opening up of the country."

A Da.'Rosenthal has been getting l famous in the North for cu ring diseases of the eye. ,' Miraculous stories have, indeed,-been put in-circulation regarding these cures, which, of course, are very difficult to judge correctly. It is generally'a safe rule'to'doubt the accuracy of empiric treatment. pondent to the ' TTawke's "Bay Herald,' however, appears to have some faith in the doctor's specific, whatever it may be. He says:—"lt seems clear enough that-Dr. or-Mr. Rosenthal -'has milly cured not a few people of blindness, and that-in some'cases the blindnesshad lasted.fpr years more or Jess. The other day I was 'talking to'a friend—a chemistTT-whenjan elderly,.gentleman.! "came in. He wore an eye ; shade, and my friend asked him how he had profited by Rosenthal.' This was the re-' ply, in effect—'.Well, you know, I have been blind.of. my right eye, for a long time, and .you will -be £>l«d to know that I can see pretty plainly with it now; bat 1 have-to keep it-covered a little, ns it is, yet rather weak. . It js seven miles from my, place to town, and J am sorry it is so far • were it nearer,. 1 think RosenthaTVouM have,' effected a perfe'ei Vur-e before this.' I have also heard of several remarkable j cures/ where tliere' could be nb motive for deception. Tam convinced that ' Dr. Rosenthal is'doing much good. He certainly did bring, sight back to one man who was undoubtedly 'altogether blind' for many years ; and we hear on very reliable authority of several deaf people who are no longer deaf. Dr. Rosenthal deserves most honorable mention for his goodness in practising his skill for the benefit of many people who cannot afford to remunerate him except with _ blessings and heartfelt' thanks; He is a handsome, fair-haired, middle-aged, and benevolent-looking gentleman."

■A correspondent 'to the "-' Otago Guardian,'' from Queenstown; telegraphs a queer apology for the miners not becoming Good Templars. ' The telegram runs thus •-" The'' th'iriers have rejected, Good Temnlarism, after serious consideration. They' plead the severity of the climate in winter, as a b;ir to its practicability.','- Oh, model miners ! Ts it believable that von at' Queenstown are so filled with brotherly love as to meet and seriously consider whether you shall take .up Good Templarism or not; and then regret your f inability, apparently with grief, deterred only by'.the winter,: :storms • and' consequent strain ■ upon nervous systems? "We do not believe a word of it; rather do we'reckon " our own correspondent" to be, in this case, a humbug. If miners \yere_ thus united what mountains of difficulty .could they not move. The.Miners' Associations would then have at : once-.the weight they will assuredly gather in the course of a year or two, when, in self-defence, they have to. unite. The policy- of New-Zealanders is—Every man' for himself .and for his own.- The - gold-miners need not think that any other interest is goinjr out of its way to protect them and theirs.