THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1875.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 343, 1 October 1875, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1875.

Majob Atkinson has given us his opinion of the Gold Duty tax, viz., that its repeal would be a serious injnry to the Groldfields. We confess the idea is so peculiar and so striking that we unhesitatingly accept it as the word ofa far-seeing {Statesman. No doubt if

2s. per ounce charged.' on gold is a benefit to the miners 4s. .would be a blessing, while Bs. would. - cause the Goldfields to blossom like the rose. Major Atkinson has been excused of looking at every question from a local point of view-. We "can easily understand how it might appear reasonable to one whose ideas of Goldfields was gathered at the Thames—perhaps at a pecuniary personal loss—that the benefit of the repeal would be reaped by companies only. In Otago at anyrate the wages men are the exception and not the rule—the greater number of those who are engaged on wages- being employed in "alluvial, claims, where the value of'the plant is small. In all such claims. 2s. added to the price of gold could not fail to affeict the rate, of daily vf age. At present mining wages are pretty generally 10s. per day.. In this New Zealand is exceptional. The wages on the Goldfields, even for skilled reefers, in the other colonies, are now rarely above 40s. per. week. If adroit Colonial Treasurers become as plentiful as the frogs, in Egypt they cannot prevent the price of wages falling throughout New Zealand. Capital is laying itself out , with that special end in view. It is to be expected that, in a very short time the current wage will be barely sufficient to pay for the purchase of the few necessaries of life. It will take some time bef()re prices of provisions will generally adjust themselves to the price paid for labor. > The Major also wanted to know, if the Gold Duty were repealed, " Where " would the money come from for " roads, bush-tracks, bridges,. &c., in " the Goldfields ?'Well, it may appear extremely unreasonable, hut the truth is wb would rather want the roads, bridges, and the like, than have them made'out of taxation unjustly and unequally levied. Supposing that Goldfield districts could be defined as to include gold-workings and Goldfield townships only, why should the taxation for bridges, roads, &c., be placed on the miners, while those who live on the profits of their industry—the publicans, the storekeepers, and the general population of loafers, go untouched? If the position taken up the Treasurer is correct, a poll tax, such as the dog tax, is the only justifiable way of carrying it out. We have before pointed out the fallacy of levying taxation for the sake df returning it. In this special case we are told that the governing bodies of Goldfields districts (whatever that may mean) would receive £2 to every £1 raised by Gold Duty. In other words £1 is collected and given back again, accompanied by a douceur of another £1 if there is any oil in the cruse. Suppose £SOO is the amount of duty raised in one district £SOO is given, while £IOOO is compulsorily taken for roads and works that may be quite unnecessary. If the Government have surplus revenues to give away Jet them content themselves with giving the £SOO, and leave the unfortunate districts alone. If districts want more money for works they have to pay for let them have rating powers to get it as they like and when they like. The whole system of subsidy is -rotten* to the core. "

As ideas seem to be the order of the day, and those who object to what the Centralists —of every things not excepting wisdom—propose to shower upon us, are twitted with not attempting to show what can he done, we do not; mind pointing out what would, in the rough at least; satisfy us. Let there be a Central Mining Board in each Provincial. District containing Goldfields, with certain defined powers of minor legislation, subject to the Central Boards;—let 1 local Boards be elected by the -miners, with limited' powers of governance by regulation let classes be put on the same footing by the removal of all Goldfields taxation, except what is considered a fair equivalent for the ground destroyed.;— abolish all special departments connected with the Goldfields. There is, so far as we can see, ,no need for "Wardens, Gold Eeceivers, or State escorts ; —nor do we see any necessity for record of applications on old-established Goldfields. With well framed and elasticregulations,firstpos'session would be the.. best application. The onlycases of difficulty with regard to forfeitures could be decided in the District Court. There is no reason whatever why air the business of the Goldfields should not resolve itself simply into Courts presided over by Justices of r the Peace, with an appeal iD certain cases to the District Judge. .As it is now the Wardens' time is not taken up by Goldfields duties, but-in their multitudinous engagements as Land Officers, Licensing Commissioners, Coroners, and Magistrates. It is unfair that these local general Courts should be. made a charge upon miners, who only partially benefit from them. The Wardens' administration on the Goldfields has been excellent, but if it is unnecessary it then becomes in its best shape but vexatious. All the Goldfields require is to be let alone, and the only department that it would be politic for the State to maintain would be a Mines Department, not confined to goldmining, and hot presided over by a political head,- but by a practie&lorie.WehavehadQuite .enough of political- vampires, ruining the prospects of, the . Goldfields _by. their 'ei-i treme'ailiidty 'tO'shine as heads of de-> partments. •

Me. W. C.AEEW, brother of one of our Wardens, has received the appointment under the Fiji Government of Stipendiary Magistrate.

The only Haseby business at the meeting of the Waste Lands Board in Dunedin on Wednesday last waß Mr. Geo. Clarke's application to purchase his residence area in Killarney-street, which is to await'the report of the Chief Surveyor. ;

That well-known Hotel at Blackstone : Hill—the Jockey Club—is at present in the market. See advertisement. Wb understand that the Ark of Safety Lodgn, 1.0.G-.T., have resolved to institute a juvenile Lodge, in connection with the branch of the Order in Naseby. An entertainment of a most attractive nature is being rehearsed, to take place in the * Town Hall on Wednesday, 13th instant. Aa announced by advertisement in another column, the Christy Minstrels, or the Naseby Colored Opera Troupe, with a good drawing progranijflp, will make their first appearance. The peifft-mance will be for the benefit of ■ that useful institution, the Naseby Athenssum. We are given to understand that there is a strong probability that the District Surveyor will be instructed to layoff sections on the selected agricultural lease block on the Kyeburn. The Provincial Government are anxious to get the Kyeburn Hundred surveyed as soon as possible, but the vexatious delays that are now being persevered with by the Crown Lands Office in Wellington, preliminary to proclamation, make the date of ultimate survey somewhat problematical. _ Ik reference to the delay in the proclamation'of the Hundreds in this Province, on account of the ignorant objections beinw raised by the Colonial Government, tice that—"ln reply to Mr. Reid, the Treasurer said that when he,- as Secretary for Lands, had received the necessary and accurate information respecting certain new Hundreds in the Province, he would advise tho Governor to proclaim the said Hundreds. On the motion of Mr. Maeandrew, the correspondence on the above subject was ordered to be laid on the table. Our auctioneers, Messrs. Inder and George, seem from a reference to their advertising column—to have plenty on hand at present. On Saturday, 2nd instant, the household furniture of Mr. M. N. Cooper, and several shares in the Undaunted Water Race will be disposed of by public competition j on the 13th instant will also be sold, by public auction, the household furniture and effects of Mr. J. G. Bremner, with dwelling house and business premises in Earn-street; and on the 28th a sale of stock and farming implements will be held at the Rev. Mr. Plamank's farm ■ - at Hyde. " The following are the entries for the Canterbury Cup: R. Campbell's Castaway; Walter's ch c by Towton, dam Phoebe; O'Brien's Tambounm; Redwood's br c The Chief, b c Kauri, br c Guy Fawkes, br c by Towton, dam Certainty; Nosworthy's br c Tattler' P. CampeU's Daniel O'Rorke; Shand's Blair Atnol, by Ravensworth, dam Moss Rose* Delamain s Templeton and Pungawerewerei Yeend's Rory O'More and KW Phillip Canterbury Jockey Club Handicap: Camphell's Castaway and Castilian; Malloch's ch c by Towton; O'Brien's Tambourini; Lann's • Nectar; Redwood's .Guy Fawkes, ch c by Towton, dam Certainty, Hercules, Kauri and The Chief; Ray's Tadmor; Delamain's Templeton and Pungawerewere; Yeend's Rory O'More and King Phillip; Morton's Satanella. A whiter in the ' New Zealand Times . says.—"Mr. T. L. Shepherd has made a statement which, I feel certain, will excite pity for a respectable body of men. Mr, Shepherd assured the committee on the Abol- ' ition Bill that his style of oratoiy in Parliaxnent was identical with, liia style of oratory when he was before his constituents. This should excite universal commiseration for his constituents." Mr. Reader Wood, speaking in Committee upon a clause of the Abolition . Bill, was also very hard on Mr. Shepherd. He is reported to have said" Tha horu member for Dunstan says that he wishes to go to sleep. I will sing him a lullaby. He told me on one occasion that I was a disap* pointed man. I tell that he is an expectantman. He experiences that lively sense ,of gratitude which arises from the expectation of: favors to come. On another occasion he told ■me that X was a possible Colonial ■ Treasurer. I tell him that he is an impossible Minister of Mines; that the party who are using him are fooling him ; and that, even if they did put him on those benches, the House would throw " them oat the next day in consequence."

The bridge over the Taieri on the road to Hamilton is fast approaching a state of completion. When we last referred to it, about a month ago, the abutments were completed;, and the girders thrown across. Since then the sills and horizontal and vertical braces—- . consisting of timbers 9 x 8, 6 x 6, and 4 x 4 have been built, which form the support and stays to the girders on which the bridga rests. To the eye of the novice the bridge, viewed from underneath, presents the appearance of an unintelligible labyrinth of thick, tarred timbers, crossing and re-cross* ing each other. The stays are firmly bolted at every joining, and strong iron straps, traversing the sides of the stays on which there will be extra pressure, are pretty thickly studded over the structure. The whole of the railings of the bridge are put up, and painted. About half of the planking is also nailed down; sufficient, with the aid of one or two planks laid lengthways, for ladies to cross, a facility which has been availed of in two cases from Hamilton, and in one casei from Naseby. The finishing touches of masonry on the abutments have been given, and all .that now remains for the fulfilment of the present contract is, the nailing down of about half the planking* putting in somo iron bolts and straps; erecting a few undersills; laying on two coats of paint to the tip per part of the (the timbers underneath being tarred); and sloping down the ends of the abutments. The whole will be finished in about a fortnight. ■ Mr. Kiach, the Government inspector (who has been most obliging in giving whatever information and assistance lay in his power), informed our reporter that he considered there would be some seventy tons of timber in the bridge, and that the iron—consisting chiefly of bolts and straps—would weigh over three tons. Progress has been delayed on account of the non-arrival of timber, occasioned by the miserable state of the roads. We understand that a timber waggon arrived at the bridge last week with half the load it started from Dune din with, being through the condition of the roads, to leave the other half at Waihemo. Tenders have not yet been called for making the approaches to the bridge. As the work will be completed in so short a time, the calling for tenders should no longer be delayed—in order that the construction of the approaches may be proceeded. with as soon as the present contract is completed. We hope the satisfactory characteristic of the work so far—rapid progresswill be perpetuated in the completion of what work yet. remains to be done. The proclamation of lands set apart and reserved for endowments for purposes was published in last week's ' (Gazette It by no means follows that the ordinary land laws of the Province will be suspended in the case of such land, but merely by that the proceeds obtained under those laws will be vested in trustees for educational purposes. The following is the description of the Strathtaien portion of the reserves:—" All that parcel of land in the Province of Otago, containing by estimation forty thousand (40,000) acres, more or less, situate in the north-eas-tern and south-eastern Pastoral Districts, be* ing runs numbered 213 a, and part of run numbered 205 on the map of the districts, bounded towards the north-east by section 19, block VII., Heck and Pillar District, section 5, block, VI, said district, and other part of run 205, thirty-four thousand (34,000) links; towards the north-west by parts of runs numbered 248 ' and 204, one hundred and eighteen thousand-" (118,000) links; south-

West by tho Strath Taieri (Hundred, forty - '<four thousand (44,000) links j the southeast by tho Taieri Rive?, one hundred and seventy - three thousand (173,000) links, bo all tho aforesaid linkages, moro or less, excepting from the.above description tho following areas -On run 205, preemptive right marked A, containing by admeasurement ninoty two (92) acres, and on run 213 a., pre-emptive right marked .section 1, block "V", Strath Taieri District, containing by admeasurement six hundred and forty (640) acres, as the whole of the , above are delineated on the plan's of the survey Department of the aforesaid Province at Dnnedin.