THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1875.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 314, 5 March 1875, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1875.

It.is time the districts'were up and doing in regard to local requirements during the year. The Provincial Coun-. . cil will probably meet about the end of April, and, before then, what .works are really necessary throughout' the district should be urged by the people themselves. ; It may, it is true, be sai'd, What use are our-. representativ.es if we ourselves require to agitate every little matter? Supposing we admit No use; what then? Is that a reason to be 'silent ? The truth is' the pres--suro-bro ugh t-to-bear-by "all ""members for.their several local requirements is so strong that the Executive generally test all members' requests by the touchstone of public pressure, on the principle that what .is- really wanted ; will be asked for by those who feel the pinch. This is not ri'ghtj'but it is the case; and, therefore, the local Committees should be-up and doing "in anticipation of the District. Engineer's recommendations.' St. Bathans never has had a fair expenditure of public moneys, as we .have repeatedly shown; and a very strong public effort should be made to have a good road made through to' Hill's Creek on the'one' side, and to Beck's on the other. A small sum voted for maintenance only is useless. ■■ A foot bridge over the- - Manuherikia is a scandalous want at a ford where the river is so rough, and there is so much foot traffic. Yet, strangely enough, we "are not aware that it has ever been asked for. No doubt othrr equally pressing requirements are known to the residents themselves, which it might be well to have ventilated. -Hamilton also requires the long-talked-of Gorge-road- completed, and, in our opinion, should try and settle its residents more permanently. We can ascribe it. to nothing other than Captain Hamilton's extreme kindness to one and all that the Sowburn swamp has not been long ago asked for as an agriculturalblock Situated on the boundary, it would be no serious loss to the. run, any more than that the cattleand horses thathave hitherto been allowed to run on the swamp unDiolo.stnd —if a«y considerable settle--ment took place —would be driven on to the higher ground, but in practice sheep can always hold their own against either cattle or horses. It would certainly be a desirable thing to settle the miners on the - Hamilton side of the river more permanently. Kyebtirn Diggings requires a bridge, which, indeed, has been repeatedly promised, but has not gone further than promises'. A foot bridge of a cheap nature at the lower tosvnship, and a permanent bridge opening up the Pass road, are very necessary. The upper bridge need not cost much over £IOO. Hyde has its promised 5000 acre block on Strath Taieri to cling to, and generally is not deficient in advocating its wants , —having nn excellent working Committee. Kenidents at terpentine and Upper Taieri also require a small block of-land, which will be no doubt granted to them.

All these requirements some of tbem vitally essential—should be kept prominently forward. Now is the time to push them. The Council will probably, in the face of a failing land fund, be bound over to departmental economy, and other districts will not be backward in pressing tber claims for a fair share of Provincial revenue. • What,above all other matters,should not be lost sight of, are the survey and

subsequent const ruction of a line of railway from Palmorslon or through Strath Taieri to Clyde, and the opening up iif the jVlaerewhemia. Pass.

The JN'aseby Recreation Reserve is in a singularly *unfortuuatt) position-. It !.-will_be remembered that this area was originally set apart and vested in the .Superintendent, in trust for Jibe people of as a Recreation Res rv<\ It lay in.tbipjstate for some time—until, indeed, the last session of the Provin.'cial Council, "when (as the Corporation could not improve it unless they had a definite trust vested in themselves) a petition that the reserve might. be. so. vested. A counter petition was also got up, praying that the ;whole reserve should be cancelled;"and /opened'for mining. The Gol'dfields ..Committee steered-a middle'course between these conflicting positions, and recommended the Government to vest tbe reserve for recreation purposes in the. Corporation/of Xasoby, le?s two chains required for mining purposes. This piece'O'f two chains, was to include a race to be constructed by Mr. J. Leys—a matter which had been 'be'ore the' Government' for a., considerable time. Upon this recommendation the Council resolved—" That' an address " be presented to his Honor the Super - " intendent, recommending that the " Naseby Becreation Reserve—less the " two chains required for mining pur- " poses—be vested in the Corporation "of Naseby for_ recreation purposes, " in compliance tvifch the report of the " Goldfields Committee " The original reserve was thus to be divided into two parts : tbe major part to be transferred from tbe Superintendent to the Corporation—while the original p7ir- ■ pose for which it was granted was adhered to—while the minor part was not to be transferred,- but its original purpose was to be changed from recreation to mining purposes the .object being to make a'ltail race reserve to prevent monopoly;. A resolution of the! Council is not law. It must l;e emb died in an Ordinance, and assented to by or on behalf of tha Governor. An Ordinance, "The Naseby Recreation " Reserve Management- Ordinance, : ' 1874,'' was accordingly introduced •by ' the Government, and. passed through the Council, dealing with the major part, while iltogether ignoring the Whether it in held that the transfer'to' the 1 Corporation of a part destroys the whole of the original reserve or not, and therefore the remainder becomes Crown lands, we do not know. It has apparently been, -held to be Crown lands/'as a residence area has been granted upon it, which has already been attacked' by a claimant desiring "to work it as an'ordinary mining claim. . ■ v -.

There can be n„ doubt that to change \ the J3urp_o.se .of- any, part,_of .jaj_eserye vested in the Superintendent* requires" a Provincial Ordinance,-duly assented to—as may be seen done in the Law- ■ rence Reseryes Sale Ordinance (Wo. 2), 1874, and many " others. The minor portion of the old JsTaseby reserve never having been so~dealfc with, wo hardly think a resolution of the Council can take the place of' his.Excellency's assent. - If, however, our Yery unprofessional opinion is wrong, and the Council's- resolution —or subsequent transfer by Ordinance of.the major part of. .the reserve—is"..sufficient to convert the minor part of a vested reserve into Crown lands, the Goldfields Committee are made to do what, wisely or foolishly, was never intended. It was represented in the miners' petition that a considerable area, extend-' ing from, the back of the Court House to a considerable distance above the old Catholic Church, would be locked i up if a tail race reserve were not i granted ; and upon this, w& believe, | the Council's resolution, was based.

The whole matter is to us very foggy, and we gladly leave it to the lawyers.