NOTES BY THE WAY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 167, 20 April 1871, Page 5

NOTES BY THE WAY.

(By our Vagabond Reporter.) It would be too long a story to tell you how 1 got from Mount Ida to the Teviot; suffice it to say that I have visited that most delightful and beautiful spot, and by no manner of means intend to repeat the experiment ; I would, further, strongly recommend persons with a taste for humour, agreeable society, and strong drinks, to avoid this paradise of pumpists. The township proper, known on the map by the exalted title of Roxburgh, is situated on the banks of the Clutha, some twenty-eiuht miles from Alexandra, and consists of some dozen or so wooden buildings, two stone ditto, a pretentious (oh, how pretentious !) looking hotel, one flower garden, one cabbage ditto, and a nondescript sort of Bruramagen villa, which, I was informed, is the seat of government. Cows, children, and the porcine horde pervade space ; nor is the cackling of the goose silent, nor the quacking duek — rural felicity with a vengeance ! Law and order are preserved by two resident J.P.s — made so, say the evil-minded, upon the recommendation of a soi disant captain, who looked at the time to the loaves and fishes of chairman nf nef'v se-V'.iu, and thought to secure I.i7u s-ifo voics ; and one police ser^crait, who, in order to be as useful as possible, is quartered upon the othor side of the river, and in case of a murder, would probably arrive in time for the funeral. There are many diggers about — at least they appear at elections. I must confess not to have been favoured during my short stay with the sight of more than three or four ; ypf, at the whistle of the Man in the Moon, they roll up from some unknown depths by fifties. These are the band of patriots who have honoured the Legislature by adding to its roll the name of Shepherd, and who gallantly, without beer, oppospd the despot Macandrew. The twin Justice Shallows are great politicians ; they have fine and cc ncise articles of faith in the exploded country party, and hate Mac. and his " squatting friends " (as they call them) like poison. They are strong for land for settlement, with just an eye for a good piece of cattle country for themselves. They have a grievance of the most satisfactory character ; they are never tired of dilating upon it, and it seems likely to last them their lives. This is known as the Island Block question — the merits of which, b^ing Greek to me, I will not bother to discuss. One of these local Hampdens is tall, grim, and silent ; the other short, stout, and loquacious. I will back him, when started on the Island Block, to talk for three hours at a stretch, occasionally getting excited to the abusive pitch, when he will exhaust the vocabulary for adjectives suitable to his sentiments as regards the Mac. ; while the grim one sits by, occasionally moves his head in approbation, but never a word says he. They do say that his eloquence is warmed by a disappointment somewhat personal, and that in the whole story of the Island Block there are incidents not favourable to the presumption that our friend's hands are quite milk white, and that in reality he cares just as much about " settlement " and the interests of the miners as he does about the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. Almost every place has its idiosyncrasies ; in Roxburgh the indigenes drink milk with their dinners ! Now, I daresay they like it, and it is clearly nothing to me ; but I submit the idea and practice are to say the least of it novel I ordered, "as is my custom of an afternoon" (Shakespeare) beer, and was stared at. They drank milk with hot beefsteak pie ! Naturally of an enquiring mind, and looking to my duty to you, I managed to glean some information as to this cognate habit. Every goldfields township passes through a certain number of phases in its brief j career, which succeed each other as regular as the seasons. First, the rowdy place ; then the collapsed place ; then the i resigned place, when the remnant of tKe population settle down with their families ; then the " teetotal-go-to-meeting " place. Roxburgh seems to me at present suffering under the latter, and the result to travellers is anything but cheerful. My experience tells me this blissful state will not last long ; there will be a relapse, and tilings will glide into the municipal [ agitation and mayor-aspiring place, which generally comes next.