ST. BATHANS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 341, 17 September 1875, Page 3

ST. BATHANS.

(From a correspondent.) I have no doubt but- oar Government (long may it rcigu in spite of the Abolitionists), is a truly paternal one, and as suck raay bo v. oil inclined to pay equal attention to all its subjecu;. no mactey how far distant some of them may be from Dun edit), But good intentions ofteu nsisrarry and it too often happens that, owing to the great influence wielded by largo communities, such as that of Dunodin, ouv little GoldSeids populations, .ivs apt to bo lost sight, of, *or left out in the cold, when,tliere chances to be some money available for public improvements. St. Uathaus is an instance in point, here they have a Progress Comniir.tee, and it takes that body all its tune, supported by the energetic craving of the district members, to obtain from £IOO to ;£159 yearly to keep about twenty miles of road (Becks to Kills Ci-eet) from becoming impassible; and, when at last they get a promise of such a miserable sum, Lord, bless you I it lakes as many letters'of application to bring the money to hand as would cover the whole of the distance. During last session there was a sum of £2oG passed for c-reetion of footbridge across the ManuUerikia, between St. }3atha;:is and Black-stone Hill (as memorialised for by residents) and I believe £2OO for repairs of the twenty miles road above mentioned. I believe the indefatigable Progress Committee have asked the Secretary for Laud and Works, that those improvements shall coininer.c-e at once, but of course it is almost too much to hope that the request of the Commit!ee will be attended to (if at ali) without the waste of valuable time and about the usual length of rod tape. They should however keep linocking until they get the footbridge erected, and the roads improved to the extent cjf the trifling amount voted them for that, purpose, otherwise the money promispcl in good faith for Use essential improvements may, probably be spent on works in or about Dunedin. The Progress Committee have also asked the Chief-Postmaster that, when tenders would again be called for carrying mails from St Bafchans to Blackstor.e Hill, &c., a wheeled vehicle rhouldbe substituted for the present mode of taking them on horseback ; but although that request was forwarded over two months ago, on behalf of the public at large, the Chief-Postmaster has given no reply as yet. I will say little more on this subject, only give my opinion that, with the aid of a small subsidy, the parcel and passenger traffic would pay Cobb and Co. to come through hero with the St. jßatlians and Cambrian mails, instead of passing us by as at present. The Government'have been asked for a donation of young trees and shrubs for planting the St. Bathans public cemetery. The Art Union in aid of the Catholic Church and School, St. Bathans has been postponed until the Ist. November nest.