THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1875.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 317, 26 March 1875, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1875.

■ In the 'Evening tjt-ar ' oi Monday appears an intimation, by authority, that Lis Honor Judge Gray will, at the end of the month,- retire from the Bench. When Mr. Gray visited Xaseby in February it was generally understood that he was, making, hisjae#., y.isit a* District Judge, but, in'the absence of ; any official notice of his; retirement -yki did not feci justified in making auy.Te--mdrk# respecting'it.,' '.The' notice't;o which we refer in the 'Star? is so pqsitivo that we feel absolved from thjo scruples of delicacy which previously restrained us from commenting upon a matter which was nevertheless of public notoriety. .... !

it ia not often that the- retirement of an official elicits so much publilfeeling ag does that of 'Mr. Wilso6 other instance of a gentleman in an official position so much respected, or whose retirement from office would be so sincerely regretted. We but give expression to the general opinion of the people of the Goldfields when' we say that the retirement of Mr.* Wilson Gray from official life is' regarded as a public misfortune. ]t is the more painfully felt because it is well known that Mi'. Gray is not voluntarily retiring—to enjoy upon a pension the ease aud leisure to which he has so well earned the right—but that ho is compelled, by long-eontinur.d illness, reluctantly to gire up the work to which lie has fo'r pome Tfu vcttre past earnestly devoted hits energies. "Mr.'Gray wne appointed Jjiatrici

Judge 03 ,t"ho 7th .of Jane ISol, nnd was the first Judge anjjointed for fbe D : strict of the Otag<J Gold fields. Tho . duties of the office were, from the first, very onerou*. lie bad to trajfel a circuit embracing Naseby, Clvde, Queenstown, and Lawrence, holding- Court in . each' of the places a year. • 'jßusides;'thfij' iioavy' ,d'ut i yr, l be, 'hitd •'Magistrate', in' the j.uEisdjetiqjo, .pjt. : TokoiHairir6 : flnd ; Wa'ikomxlti,ah.cCfqr; a shorter "period, ad Oama'ru. How lie' discharged these varied, duties is "well .known. His unwearied patience, his strict impartiality and gentle courtesy; could be appreciated by the roughest and-least educated miner; and the name of Wilson Gray will long' fee. cherished among the mining-population" of Otago, by wbojn he. regarded as the model of an upright Judge, and kindly* gentleman. Iftt while the general public admire', and affectionately regard him for the rectitude of his character and the kindness of his heart, it was reserved fir those of higher culture to appreciate the telleetuaLqualitiesbeen no less distinguished. .It was ■especially in the hearing of appeals that these qualifications came into play. Involving,, as they 'ofteril do, 1 legal points of. ithe highest- interest; this appeals from tho Warden's Courts afforded the opportunity -for - the exercise of all the faculties' that a' high class judicial officer should "possess. Tho nice. discrimination,-the.keen insight, the large grasp of a principle, or the subtle tracing of a of these by .turns excited the admiration of those who were able to follow/ . the arguments arising out of some of the heavy appeal cases heard before him. It is much to be regret-ted that so few of his judgments have been fully reported; but those that have'been preserved will, we venture to think,, be long as lucid expositions of sound law upon a very difficult and in some cases novel class of questions. It is not* our object, to. give in th's place any detailed account of Mr. Wilson Gray's career. . But any notice of him would be very incomplete? which failed to dojjustice to the high rank which be at ; 6ne' time "held as a politician in the sister Colony "Victoria. As a uiember 'of the Yiqtoriati was long knovyn as a"bo'd and.uri'compro.tnising advocate of reform, and especially..as the -refolute. champion of the cause of ' the" settlement of the people on the land- lie - was one of the leading men in the mous Victorian "Convention, arid his stirring eloquence contributed in no small degree to pro'mote'the success of . the popular cause. Jt is difficult for us - who have ; so _ long 'known Mr. Gray as the jnost quiet and inoffen- - si ve of men—to conceive bim as a popular leader and agitator. But it is an undeniable fact that '.lie- wa3 so regarded in Victoria, and that the pojVuJar„feelingin his favor-was so strong, that a very large -subscription was' made for a testimonial , which, with-his characteristic modes'.y, he dec'.inedv.io, ' accept...,^^Nor r . should it be forgotten thai: fat a comparatively recent date his political friends in Victoria, being in"p"6vver, offered hini a very lucrative judicial appointment in that- . Colony, which, however, he refused, as he was resolved to accept no rewardfor, bis political services. :. Without going the lengtli-of asserting the principle ,-that political services should not in any-case be rewarded, we may yet admire the. consistency of One v/ho, in two striking lias-.adbered to the principle at great sacrifice of hist own personal interest. - Mr. Gray's; long and valuable service as District judge has in some measure been recognised by the Colo--. .ny,' a special : A tt-haviug been passed at the last session;in Wellington: to grant him a, retiring pension —That hemay,be long spared to enjoy it is our earnest hope. Let us hope' also--that from the-'harassing dunties which for some time past be has so painfully struggled to discharge, may to some cxtentjiegainliis .former,, health and vigor. We cannot'ex jjectto see him again-in his old position asj Distinct Judge,; but it -is. not„un"reas6»iable to look .forward to the time when, with health re-.establi.yhed, he may bo enabled ;tq employ; his. splendid talents in some congenial., but leas laborious occupation. _.. ;

It will n'ot be going far'-Wroitg to say that the waste'of money on ourpresent main road froih U.unedin isViiot under-_ •stood!' - ;j It the question of" wastes oji ..one: whether the amount .of capital eih-^ ployed'iii'bauling.goodS'upy try has been ally estiinatcfU We LuWqf Wai he-; mb for a t'alt'ulaiion of-all tlVe' traffic? which passed his: do"or,-; : up and down, between the J Oth Itecernbcr, ,1873, and .the 13fch February, 1574 This careful":observation gives us the amount of freight on the road; the pii-re paid per t>n, for carriage, and even the number of.horses engaged in the So-minute t 'a col lection of facts will stand . inucK analysis— more ' than can be undertaken in an article.;

"VVaihemo is situated. about fiftythree miles from Dune.d'm, seventeen miles from Palmerston, the commercial junctioii of north Otago. All trafficto and froui .Dunedin and points between Kyebtim and Blacks t'oj> -these two numbs must be included in this list, but their would -be a good deal of up and down, traffic for- Clyde, and points above Clyde, which would take other roads during the Rummer months. Additional traffic to and. above Cromvvell going up. the. Waitaki road from Oamaru—we. have aiHO no means of checking. Even with tijfMH otpisfuons the results shown are very startling. We &ad that to iaul

. 1201 tons from Dunedin to localities ' \Kyeburn ahd Cardrooa, ..be paid;' Engaged in were over 1500 horses, .which at JS4O' a-'piece were worth £60,000/ Addto tiiw £3750, a low valuation, fpr orer 350 waggons and sets of harness employed. And ytt again, add the j.cfcpM : repf by.^n..annual paj•fiWftt o,f .wagQft den" at; £75 pec. »-7^ft r »vapd a j?a.»fin<Ji-ibhfttvtp diaulrup ; a wdr 3 «PU»t ,p^^^X®Sr . ; <j& f loading employs"-' a. capital of over chargk-to, j consumers of nearly £59,000 per year. As it is. .well known that the carry ino"trade is not a very remunerative one',we may : ,fia/fely"say;t!)iif'ourestiaiatepf the papital engaged is uaderatated. . "This ealculatioif ia, however, extremely favprable tp.make out the "bes't case for the for December, January, and February are the best months for back loading— of which'for the re- - mainder of the. eeaaou ; there' is hardl v any, although we have allowed for the whole year tho average shown by the returns for the busy months. "This is,""perhaps not unfair, as of late years many waggoners have preferred, to lie by "during the winter, ruiddockcontracts.". ••• ° °

Those wljo hastily run down ail ideas of a railway constructed oh this road sliouli consiiier-ihese figures, and the* 6hormous waste of capital in such perishable articles as horses and waggons, •- all" of which might be so p^. llc h Ripre .advantageously employed it the unmade roads were abandoned to the irorurails. ' '

-Ib is easily seen what an enormous cost is entailed in getting 1 ; up country" 'the very least possible amount, of stuff which at such a cost must be the object. <>f. the 'consumers. "^-When-goods can be obtained >i'or an eighth, of the cost if; may-fairly be-h-oped-thjrt the object will be changed, and be rather—liow much skiff: the-consumers "could possibly put ..through their hands.: I.t is a maxim in/young under economical construction and management mafir Railways develop their own trade;' Jt is not uiiinteresting to note the nucleus,of trade that" exists a .t preseiit ; on a sirigle,..l ine. of ,' un mude main road, disregarding etffireijvi'ne future resources of the undeveloped • Crowm lands. ~ lY<zitres can be i made to prove it is said. After all, figure's are : prpsaie .facts, ,aiid; the facts shown by Mr.! Lulcs'. observations are well calculated'to arrest general at- 1 tention. , ' ' 1