QAMARU.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 14, 8 October 1874, Page 4

QAMARU.

, 9 ', ..... ' .■ ■. ■, ■ ■„ ; -, '-" (iROlt 008 OWN COBEEaPOKDHNI ) A more inauspicious time than tbe present I could not well have selected for to send you the current new of the place. For some time past the weather : has been wet and very cold, causipg the various, railway and other works to be stopped, and crowding the streets with dejected and gloomy men — the crowd very much swelled , by present and past occupants of the iramir grafion barracks. Amongst the latter grumbling and complaints are • the' chief topics of conversation. They reasonably complain of the overcrowded state ,of the barracks, the scarcity of employment, , and the impossibility of obtaining house accommodation; and with bitterness they .complain of the Immigration Officer * being also Barrack Master, leaving them' ho ( alternative but to put up with the injustice and illtreatment in "the" barracks (should any exist) or else be turned out and branded with defamation into the bargain, Ua.-' doubtediy these people have cause to complain, especially the married portion. The labor market is greatly overstocked *, no houses can be obtained, and what' can they do? Though they may go and hunt for employment, like the acclimatised swagmen, what is to become of their wives and families in the meantime ? This unnerves tbem for action, and makes them appear more like military prisoners on parole amoßget enemies, than free men in 8 free country. And add to this that there is no such man here as Colin Allan to look after the strangers, the present barrack master having for years previous to his appoint' ment been but a common laborer, .and .-whose appointment to tbe subordinate officer of barrack master took every one by f-urprise, and beiug also Immigration Officer, places these poor people at the mercy of one man. ' I can vouch for tbe shameful overcrowded and uncomfortable state Of the barracks. Many that have left the barracks had tp put themselves-^— two and three families together— into two-room. cottages, and having to pay from 10a to J ss per week for rent, and no work to be got, causes much dissatisfaction amongst our " coming legislators." I am very much afraid that trouble is ahead, at no great distance either. In fact, lam certain that if a resolute leader, such as Arch or Hollo way, were to turn up at the present time, Oamaru banks and stores would fare very badly. The inhabitants appear to be quite unaware of the volcano that is in their midst. Our leading men are too busy picking up tbe crumba of Vogel's borrowed millions to spare time for the attention of Buch matters. The bad weather has caused many of the small contractors working in the district to come to lown, and amongst those that work for the Road Boards I hear grave complaints that the Road Board engineers being non-residents the contractors mu^t, before commencing any work tendered for, deposit 10 per ceut,, as a guarantee for the P'oper completion of the job. , Well, when they are at work a month or two money must oe forthcoming to pay wages,. &c, and unless the Engineer is in the district on a chance visit, or that they have money by them, thfyv have to go' to 'the Clerk of the Board, who provides them with funds at the rate of Is in the £. discount, or commission, while all the time the 10 per cent, deposit is locked up. Now I am inquisitive enough to wish to know if this is the cu«tom elsewhere; and whose money the Clerks advance on such safe and uoremunerative terms ? The only other growling block that occurs to me at the present time ii tbe Oamaru Harbour Board, ita composition and Secretary. Many of tbe most shrewd' townspeople find fault that none of its members are men of practical experience in any pursuit but tbat of the pastoral interest, wi*h the exception of three, and two put of them having failed under very favorable circumstances to succeed in their respective trades. The'r secretary is also inspector of works at L 6 10? per week. Many complain, and. I think, justly,, of the appointment of the inspector to the secretaryship, asserting that the Board, in a measure; lose their power over the inspector, and consequently their supervision over works. Although several hundred men are idle in Oamaru, the Oamaru TMoeraki railway line is but very slowly progressing. :In travelling along the line one cab hardly' realise that such a thing as a railway is In in? pnade at all. Haifa dozen or so.of men sfen at miles of intervals is hardly the, indications expec'fd, considering that the Government had to initiate special works to keep quiet the unemployed in Dunedin a few days at'O, and Oamaru is i swarming with unemployed stalwart, men. s . One is led to fancy tbat Broaden jandCo;, are expecting to get men shortly to, work; for, 3s or 4s a day of 10 or 12 hours. Jam not a croaker, and I firmly believe in progressive policy, but I very much fear that our colonial sores are being poulticed with vengeance, and that new and, very much worse. sores will very soon be the result."::-:' A want that is very much felt by all classes of tbe community is that there ia no information to be obtained of the differ, rent inhabited portions of the . Province or of the. Colony. The colonial press avoids! giving any local detailed accopnt of the different industries "iri'the respective, districts in which the papers are published. Some time ago I sent a .'North Otago Times ' to, a. friend in Bombay, and shortly ago I received a letter from him asking me if amaru was a trading station, for, some inland settlement, because^e could not un. derstand the meaning of copious advertise' ,mentß and no local nCwjß or any account of places near Oamaru. I have no doubt but many people who have been fpr years in Otago are as much in ignorance of the existence of many rising .districts ih.the.Prp; vince as what the European geographers were of the distance pf America before the" birth of Columbus. L.S.D. *being represented by advertisements, newe-gatherfeg does not pay, philanthropy is not colonial; and scissprs are cheaper than reporters, so -that the public mpst remain in ignorance