THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1874.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 295, 24 October 1874, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1874.

:It will not.be wifciifu.it; .intercsb to note tlic posiiion oK the Pi'uvinc'iiil Ltevenue, 'htri j» c> K. its -in.tke up - a 11; i (>; vll cl ii > »V.. I'm... . .. i: • 11

j Lao orai narytow?iiu*e 1 romvall sourrcs I*l >r tho J i>t Kn.m -iah yc.ri- ua-, , ,CJ-7,n.9. t T'lin „wv.a* sv\{'ltt-d Liv la'ill 'ri'WutfU jmre/ st ode •_ asspssmtHi!:m"<T uLhur f£is7,SG'7 —uuikYiig r tue t">-

, c «il real iwenue. of-" the Province for the .y'cjir;£los,"77-7. The" balance of accreditedJivveiiue is made up of'realisation of estate,, and dues and t<dis collected for maintenance of works, and snpervi-ion though not always, unfortunately, ex t ?i leJ iti miinienance. We have, however,- credited the ordinary revenue with the amount collected as tolls on r >ads. 'I ne azures -then, reject in-.; fractions,, stand t!ui_-<: ' rci'int< from (General (xovennneir, £73-196 (about two-thirds of the ordinary I't'M'iiuc) : sab-s of land, £212,5:;2 ; •-Multi Id", £3i.S(»6 "('iluiut oiiu tiiint' of the whole Provincial K'evein.e.) ; fiarbor and -jetty du s, £53J7 ; ra Iways, £3'.Oil; the whole-inomiMim up io £192.3 'V, which is spoken of strangely as if if \\<>ro average ainu.ai ncoine for the rich Province of just as if the cake could be eaten an! \et possessed. The receipt from t\iil«avs and.harbor dues d-> nor p-iy- for the maintenance Ihe .recei'p:s, on the other Inn I, from ("r.ddri -I'h' t.txi-* lion about quadruple the eo-t of main lenance —a.-* we have fivqut-nily punned out.

As a matter of fact, localising revenue (.is should bo d'Uie now. and certainly will b'.j ilone in a c!»:itiir<""«'f system;, .there in .iTiilv, .a. trifle, over £IOO,OOO left, thu expending of 'which' is. supposed to lvnder'necess.iry rise expensi.e m lin'cn ince'of t!ie P."o\iucial Ooveruniriit and Council. We eouid very well do. wjthout the" Pro viiniai J)r.Jinai:ces, the oulv other outcoine of Provin -ialisiu. iVjiisiatmn from one. centre "woild surely be em u.;h \\>r our small Colony. Ot.iijo ;ifi iciirs; t,, t,(. alone in the pecn'ii.ir position her (Johlfi >\<W i Wynne stands in, in regard, to its overmuch coinribution to sustaimneut o* purposes, outside Gol-.lii--lds In Auckland, we learn from the" I Junedin 'Mar.' die < J.iidfi.-I.h revenue (ine!u linir duties and miners' i-iyhti-) is C 11,603. while -the charge* on sa.-h revenue amount to £il.0)0: so that Provim-i.il expenditure onlv- <r-in-» about £3JO'), which is no doubt more than return-d in constabulary & •. Otairo stau'ds-eoiispicuo-n as the only Province t ix'n j-her -(>* d<l fields four times as in ico a-Tn needed for their m linteuance. No wonder then that the.cry sijiihst the (r-d.l Outv is •not strong fro.n the X.n-die'n ,P.;o viuces ; but, ir. is a <J,reat wonder .that it is borne so q nelly in' Ot whore the continued impositioirjiasn -the poor shadow of excuse \i be thoiiif .-t 10 have in the Noit-\ We shall reap as we sow. We tax our best_ men out of the Province for a temporary yaiu, and the real ioss, Vo b; sj).'e.lily mile mini teat, id irre-' parable. * - ' *

.\VlMS'tiie n!" M>. t Ah'-inffn six 'iii.-iiii.lis o\er<lue incubation i.f his seventeen mile f'.mtrwt-l)ui-o;n'f's visllil.-,-'ii miy well he I'xjv.'i-te.-l to be jir >di - 4"iM .1 lie cmti-.ic* wa* aeeepted <wartlya.vear 1140, and ihe work" eiii-triu-tc!" for wa'-'ro h(i ivand •'!' over mi ih<> 22nd uf April last: Mi'. Ab'mtt-•-secured ihis renderara low iMlo'a/ainsl i sjjirih'd co:n;»ei.i'i >n —manv mf the enderers, naturally hearing' in iniihl • h d :h the siv months cn-uiiiir eon. famed t'le harvest tnunths, laiior ivyuM be dear. ' M>\ A!)'».)rfc knw bVir-r He knew, npjiareittl y, that" he rake lii-s own time —iho onlv li.-mt ,<<>, r:\e time. lu.-im.r the rate at which i ' .-u ted hi in t>cj;et his work-lone.- liuhn.

i ex; erietice .and as a Voiitraotor was tun dto a markchihl:: account. r Mr Abbott' deserves, everr credit! tor hi-i bu skill.

■ "Wh it cm w • say,- ho .v ever, of'a G-o----vernment -;i P.•(ivijifi.it "H-creia-y for Works—that allous', th'i* pla\i.nV;it contracting? --'At- the present'"'timT("welve months fVdiii o'i_;it).il date of contract', six months afier \* should h.ive been completed) we almost dare *ny -that not six mil's, out'o'f- a p.iltr\" seven'een, of a simple hiy ditch are as yet finished: But. fop the imbecrlitv 'displayed by the Works l-Vpartineni imbociiity that in it-* result^.am.niuts to'pjjyinjr ititu the hands of cuit fac-tors.-all i.'.ie ensu'iig suiriinei*. in spite of what may yet "••tv ur, ev-rv miner- in and around s Mst-by would he able to I'e kept in full employment, and tJnvdowii,u3cuPis of gold would-be ' doubled. , . . The ' seventeen mile cnnfricfc is a link between contracts long airo c;inipleted by other contractors. But for i',- a-p.ie.e forty-four miles loner, lapping some fine sources of' water supply now ruuniiiir to waste, could be discharging at Naseby. 7 The* general (jover imentand the district .had ;> ii dit-1o < xj < et that ere ifii* summer these works would have been completed. Kamiljes that h i.ve equated, ■ ■IT the'goud'Tiiith of'the" ( fovernmenf. S-ZySi!:'L'i.'.]..d oin g I i 111 eo p not liiiiir, being .unwilling, to.sacrifice their small properties, knowing that thev ■ would at once on the i neuing of the Head Itacn be able to earn a remunerative living, while.rt paying t l a , borrowed fur inai'-leiiance (in m inv eases on the security of the roof over theip heads), wWmi disappointed, as they-will be. vn'il have■ reason to pe-.-membep .Abbott's wilderness ■ -.ll'i w dishearten big-all tlriH. o u.premity"«if'un-' diie, influences in Executive circles must be to the engineers whose protests are disregarded, we can —,wo "cannot .tell, fop these" officers, whose reputations are freclv sacriftet \f. have to suffer 'in silence. Wis say nothing of. Abbott\ !:n*_re upper contract, so little of which is s dfino ; and ' whic.b-H ! ioiilil-all- havo be*-n done on tha 22nd inf-April lievc, stili imiue-'tly sieves five of Jack.a uj.'Lie. Beam ,-t.allc. ~. The i ruth is, we sujipose.'ifi'-i f.,un.l useful in D'Hiedi;-.-to-.sw"eti u lill a:nl'fitifTtfs'c;'iur>;.cJ"ors, „s.o that/one imii be I itt'-d aipiiist Mh/o other"top rail-

way contracts that have to be done cheap, and to be. paid out of Provincial revenues. W-h?it Lb'etter sweetener could be used than delegated General Government works for minim; ! benefit. 'Miners can always network Hie Provincial Government itself wints a few roadmen in the Mount. Ida-district, but hesitates about paying them ; and others—they can prospect ! But what about the miners' "families?. Well, rc;ill\\ they s'lould not have any; i but, if so. wcs t;ive them schools, and—five-" f»r their cemeteries.! Hitter satire; bar to'i.triio. The idea in Dunedin Provincial (xovfirnment circles of '.lie •ruldmrner Crom.vell influence may in time leaven the lump,-bub-.it'ia fjr removed, and these are as yet "no of cnvr\eseenee —i'v that" of a 1 r-jvimj fellow- whose baneful tendencies in the state social "can only be, if- at all. c->!iipens.'ited by the.taxation he can be made to pay. -..As average''so-" •Mai "units of Provincial population,, the. ij'-l linoiers and their families are. not" ivcmiiised 'it all.

If proof i* wanted of what we stated it can be easily, ft.und. .Turn to the Council Votes and Proceedings, or-the fuller p-Cpcr repot ts of Council business ; then to the Estimates of Kevonu'- and Expenditure; or. let -o.uirei'lerrf content themselves simply bv not in_' the disgraceful leniency - :;x----!n" ited' to. certain contractors on the Mount Ida Public Works, regardless entirely of the extreme hardship thus ihrown upon the.'resident population, w rose excessive credulity has been t ikeri advantage of. • / ' ',' ' * .' _ .