The Clutha Leader. WEDNESDAY, OCT 8, 1874.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 14, 8 October 1874, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. WEDNESDAY, OCT 8, 1874.

We think the ..time i fyas^npw, .arrived when the Clutha people, should agitate seriously in tie matter of getting tlje requirements of their Port attended to. •- l The township of Port Molyneux was at, • -one ! time cbnsidered a pltfee of Some' importance, and we trust the time is not' Jar distant when it will -again * assert, itself, and take its* pla.ce as' one of the rising and : gb-a-tiead townships of Otego. : i lts : history . during' the > last .;. eighty ,niqe Tears* has been' a melancholy chropicle of inaqtiyity and ? retrogression. iFojr tlie, f^rst year^r ; two pf ! its existence as a port and J^wnjbip it took, what is , r colbnially^7^rmed, a f ' spvtri? 1 and*' fotf Vbnef peH<>4 there" was not perhaps a cheerier little/jjftace in New Zealand/ fe&d •Wd r %he e "effb'rts "of .1 the ifi^inhabitantebebnat all stipple-.: mented by a fair and equable portion of . 6overnmeht r^«Bsist»hce; '~we h are , ofppinion that the t&wnShiff^-aiid-QMfetriiJj; , —would- by this time-be^ among the-most flourishing in vGfngo; is. -theij -„-i;*-:— -- > <■■■■■ '- ; J " .3.,...-' :{^a,k-;.i '

speetable rf*f^j£^"^d^ed .MmdMga falling" into jmins mrjyaulof ojcupiersrat-is tmfy jad .to.see \ place of l such tpfotilise/ andlwliich has J evii , beer& intend^ for/; a thriving maritime community, neglected by the Government for so many yearl, while other places iless fayored^by? fNature,--s'aird-'wfiiohs-Nature" certmitry'iiever injtended.for £ea por^, h^ve|Mnbqlstere^d ."Pp'i by., dae, (expenditure: -oi enormous :sums ofmbney in the<erecfion> of breakwaters , and , other, ,pqor Substitutes fpr i *!?$ . P|?tectipli wcK papabllities' ofiihis place", amply . provide against storms^ and tempests; Had a 'iraetiOnalpartbf th^mbhey wnicu has been lavished oh Oamaru for instance, and'-as 1 °gbbd as f ; throwk. into, the .sea, been devoted to the clearance of a £ew rocks from the mouthof the Molyheux, we- Should : now have a oort in the south of Otago, where shirjs and stea,mers of considerably tonnage r <#uid find ready access, and. the< 'Capabilities of the district; £ great as they : already are, would have been developed a hundred-fold, while the trade >of;the Province, as well as the revenues of the Government, would participate in ' the general prosperity.;. • v Were thistdojap, the settlers of Inch Clutha and Kaitangata, instead of having their produce, frequently lying rotting on the banks of the river, would have reasonable freights and a ready sale^ for it in , one or, r other ,of our neighboring colonies; ' The freight which now only suffices to carry their grain to a limited and usually overstocked market in Dunedin would be amply sufficient to cover the cost of direct shipment to Melbourne or Sydney, and the result would be a much larger return to the settler, a much .largey area of laud under , cultivation, a prosperous and numerous rural and town. population, and a vast increase of all the t . social, material, , and spiritual blessings of civilization. Why this {>ort should have been so long neglected by the Government, -when a very small expenditure would have sufficed for its requirements, while all sorts of Utopian schemes have been patronised and fostered, we are at some loss to imagine. We are sure that the members who have represented the district hitherto have not failed in their duty in the matter. No doubt they have on different occasions brought the case under the consideration of the Government. Unfortunately, however, for Port Molyneux, and the district generally, our respected members for the Provincial Council, and also the member who kindly looks after our interests in the House of' Representatives, have been for many years past constantly and steadfastly on the losing side in the political arena, and no doubt this has had very much to do with, and to a considerable extent explains, the apathy with which the various Executives have all along treated the wants of our port. Lately, however, we have noticed with considerable satisfaction a change for the better— in fact, a veritable gleam of sunshine— in our political atmosphere. -The i members foi* Clutha no longer sit . in the cold shade of opposition in our Provincial Hallj -arid' we even do not despair of yet living to see the happy. day-wheii the Lion nnd the ; Lamb (Mr Thomson and Mr Yogel) will lie down together, and be at peace in the House of Representatives. When that consummation" is arrived at, np doubt we may reckon with a little certainty bf some little reparation being made for the neglect of past years. In the meantime, however, it might not be out of place to hint to honorable members that ip future a liberal allowance of soft sawder and a few occasional blandishments — "And the same with intent to deceive," (innocently of pOurse)" should be employed by them for the purpose of seasoning any opposition, they may feel compelled to offer to the chiefs of our Government. It is therefore to be hoped that in future a few drops of the golden showers that annually descend on suoh places.^ as 'Oamaru and PortChalmers may be wafted by the political breezes as far as Port Molyneux. ,Unfp£tu,nateJy, that, place, and similar places, will always suffer from the selfish jealousy of Dunedin, which has all along soughl; to aggrandisa itself at the expense of outlying districts. The proposal for transmitting the produce of the district direct to the best colonial markets withqut first passing through t^ir imills, will ,%; regarded with no favor -byt the, of that proud city- ,-.. We^re, of. opinion, thatif a motion..w§r§>byqu.gb i t- intq the Provincial :. Council for, the purpose of placing any snm from ,19s Hd Sd upwards on the estimates for the- improvement of the entrance to Poit 'Molyhehx, the seven .wj^e'&eni- .q(- . Buneqiu[ s would vote against it to .a man/ Let, however, any crazy proposal! W l^rougbt • forward, having) 'Dunedin f -ft?? !i its ioqale —say a railway to the top of Mount Cargill, -a .submarine^ stejgnpr /.to run. between Dunedin and* Vauxhall " Gardens, a monument to the memory of J. G. S. XJrantJ oriad-ei^ibifebn buildihg-on a /^ tn f. purpqse. of exhibiting jpe^efc'sl^Oto^ dried, spratis '*^TO B^H§d parraqputasj flien;- Jndeed' thp iunanimity , of ithe seyen wiselmen, backed up by the i collected wisdom of 1 ■ tbe Dunedin -Press, wiU n be most w:onderful to beholdl ''" '■■ ■• -'- ■