The Cluth Leader. THURSDAY, FEB. 4, 1875.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 30, 4 February 1875, Page 5

The Cluth Leader. THURSDAY, FEB. 4, 1875.

It is a singular Goihcidenfce, that while the Clutha is the oldest, and perhaps the most thriving of our landward settlements, Balclutha, as an urban centre, is one of the most neglected townships in the province. In using the word thriving, we speak advisedly, as may be gathered from the fact that the amount of money on deposit receipt issued by the two local banks alone represents considerably over a million sterling. On the other hand, the landed estate of the district must be reckoned at something very considerable. It is not only rich as regards its . own intrinsic value, but what is equally gratifying, it is remarkably free from station agents' liens ancl money-lenders' mortgages. And yet, with these favorable conditions on our side, the case is just as we have represented it. Balclutha is the most neglected place in the whole of Otago, We have nothing whatever in the shape of a complete local public service in our midst. The Post-office and Telegraph Station, as 'they stand, are a complete parody on the word public buildings. One remonstrance after another has been forwarded to the authorities, but no attention whatever has . been paid to tbem. What makes this neglect the more galling is that these remonstrances have been treated with a species of silent contempt ; not so much as a single | word in reply having been vouchsafed. That the Chief Postmaster is a man with an eccentric notion of his own personal importance, is a circumstance which 'we believe is pretty generally acknowledged. It may nor, however, be generally known that this chronic disorder, this overwhelming idea of his own magnitude, has obliterated all trace of the common courtesies as between one man, or body of men, and another. It is persons of his stamp who bring the public service of a country into disrepute, and create a feeling of irritation with the administration of affairs which could easily be avoided. There must be some way for getting at this Great Mogul of the Post-office Department. Suppose the local Municipal Council sets about trying the experiment : suppose it forwards a complete statement of the affair, together with copies of the correspondence, to the Minister having control of the Postal Department in Wellington, we should not be at all surprised if that would have the desired effect. By following that course, we are disposed to think the Chief Postmaster might be roused to a sense of his duty as a public servant, and the obligation under which he rests to adhere to the established rules of etiquette, as a private individual. The experiment is worth trying, and we recommend it to the serious consideration of the Council. If the state of the Post-office, Balclutha, is bad, that of the Police Camp is even worse. The building doing duty in that capacity sprang into existence about the time when the long since disused ferry | service was first established. The early settlers can remember it as a sort of make-shift for a ferry-house, which, even in these primitive days, was looked upon as nothing more than a mere temporary expedient. As time rolled on, and the prospects of the Clutha brightened, a speculative publican, understood to be long since deceased, invested in the right, -of occupancy. The tenement was bought at the then market price of old lumber, and even at that rate the bargain was looked upon by many as the reverse of a profitable one. The continued progress and prosperity of the district necessitated still further changes being made upon this old river-side wreckage. Under ordinary circumstances, these changes would have suggested the propriety of the entire pile being swept away, and something commensurate with the state of affairs going on around it being substituted. Not so, however ; such well-pampered places as Tuapeka, Tokomairiro, and Oamaru demanded too much public money in satisfaction of their cravings to admit of anything but the merest beggardly pittance being doled out to Balclutha, The building in question was once more metamorphosed, and on this occasion it became what it is now — the local police camp. So moth-eaten and delapidated is it in its present state that it requires some rather nice descriminatiori to determine the exact spot at which doors and windows end, and time-worn rents, crevices, and suchlike apertures begin. It appears, from the information we have gained, that, in furtherance of its parsimonious designs, the Government has had the camp erected on Municipal property. Indeed, if we are rightly informed, it occupies the centre of a branch of the main road leading down to the river. If that be true, the Municipal Council need have no false delicacy with the Government in the affair. In its dealings with Government, the latter has shown it but scant courtesy, not to speak of even-handed justice ; and such being the case, there is not the slightest reason why the town should be inconvenienced on its behalf* The course to pursue is for the Council to Eass 'a resolution to the effect- that this uilding* must be. removed within a, specified time, failing which, recourse will be had to the' process known as that of the law of trespass. TJie build-

ing itself will not stand "the" fatigiie of a removal,: W "that Something more effective in tbe tf ay of police quarters, will have to be /provided. The third and last Vanch- of the public service having a domicile. in thie place is the local Court-house. Although, :as a , tenement, 5t holds together rather better than the camp, it is nevertheless cramped-up, ill- ventilated, and; otherwise badly „ suited to t the purpose for whicb it is used. It is true that our Tokomairiro friends have shown a disposition to relieve us of the cares of judicial atihinistration land take the responsibility of working out the system for us themselves. Jealous* minded people however, are inclined to look upon such an arrangement with suspicion j besides, other reasons exist for discountenancing this disinterested proposition on our behalf. Be that as it may, we are correct in saying that the local Court-house is not at all adapted to the purpose for which it is required, and we haye t no hesitation in indicating it as a public building badly in need of being improred upon. Although we have freely laid the blame at the door of the Government, we are not blind to the fact that the local representation has something/to answer for in the matter. The withering neglect io which we have alluded must have forced itself upon the notice of our representative men, and yet they stand calmly by, year after year, and session after session, without making the slightest effort to arrest its progress. This is not as it should be, and we hope they will take the hint we have thrown out.