THE MINISTERIAL TOUR.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XVII, Issue 834, 8 April 1885, Page 3

THE MINISTERIAL TOUR.

MR LARNACH AT CROMWELL. Mr Larnach, Minister of Mines, accompanied by Mr V. Pyke, M.H.R., arrived in Cromwell on Tuesday evening la3t from Pembroke, where the party had spent the previous day. Nothing, however,-was done during the evening, and"the party enjoyed a muchneeded rest. The following morning a deputation from the Borough Council, consisting of Mr Mayor Marsh, Councillors Solomon, Brownj MacKellar, Murrell, and the town clerk, Mr Marshall, interviewed the Hon. Minister in to several matters of importance to the town and district. :_ ./J'he Mayor expressed his great pleasure in -jitfsk feting a member of the Executive, and said was sure that the Hon. Minister would be a great support to any Ministry. He was also sure that he would have full power in dealing with all matters the deputation had to bring before him, and if he thought their demands reasonable he would do his best to give effect to them. . ;. Mr Larnach thanked the Mayor for fiis - flattering remarks, and said that while he should always, have : the interests of this districtin his mind, and do as much as he could for it, as well as other parts of the Colony, they must bear in mind that he could not of his own accord do all he might wish to do. At the same time he would do his best, and /give his support hot only to Cromwell but to all parts of the Colony. " \ . The first matter brought up for consideration was the re-construction of the Cromwell Bridge. The-deputation pointed out the unsatisfactory condition of the bridge, and Referred to the report sent in by the assistant engineer on the matter. r-: -The report, assubmitted, showed the bridge to be altogether unfit for traffic, and recommended its re-construction as soon [as. possible. , Mr Larnach explained that this was [ a matter that did not altogether come within his capacity as Minister of Mines, but he had made a note on the subject, and would give it all the support :he possibly could. j The desirableness of having the Warden's .quarters at Cromwell was then brought under the Hon. Minister's notice. The deputation; expressed the opinion that the district had -specific claims to have Cromwell made bead quarters, both from-its geographical position and also from the amount of gold obtained in d istrict. ; Similar representations ■ ' might be made at other centres, but the; deputation hoped for the greatest good for the greatest number. ;; The deputation received the. promise that the; matter would be brought under the • notice of the Minister of Justice. j The recent injustice felt through the impounding of weights and measures Iwas brought under the Hon. Minister's notice, V who acknowledged that there had been good cause for complaint, and promised the matter : -his attention. I Thp question of having, the lock-up proclaimed a gaol was next considered. The / deputation pointed out the inconvenience of "<:, having to take short sentenced ; prisoners ftqthe gaol at Clyde, and also the saving; that',. : , would be effected in travelling expenses in having the lock-up here proclaimed a gaol. The Hon; Minister recognised .the factsjof; the case, but gave it as his opinion that there were already too many gaols in the colony. Railway'extension was the next item brought under notice, but the deputation ex;r presseditself satisfied with,the progress being ,';.; made with the Otago Central under the present Government. ;.'..'; -;;,., i Mr Larnach assured the deputation, that Government would- continue to push: for ward this work, as they wero fully alive to the importance of its constructibm Personally, he did not 1 know any reason why the way should not be formed at the upper end. ; The assistance of Government in enabling ;n the recently-formed Prospecting Association '; in carrying out its works was then asked for. The Hon. Minister explained that at present there was no money available for assistance in this direction, as any that remained * of the vote set aside for these purposes laps;ed on the 31st March. He, however, recognised the great want of, assistance in such work, and gave it as his opinion that without G6i.jiverhmeht aid it 'would be impossible [to , <.}m: thoroughly develope.the mineral resources jof the colony. The movement had his entire sympathy, and he promised the Associatibn. a subsidy of at least £ for £, and should he find on investigation that 'on any previous. :i "occasionthe Government aid to similar work had been £2 for £1 he would use his T utmost endeavor to secure the same.assistance for this company. ;. lii; the matter of the Athensenm endowment the Minister promised to attend to any 1 correspondence that might bo forwarded him '".[l on thesubject. .■ :i- ; : - .••.■.•;.■.;•..: _.■.- j The; deputation directed the attention; of . ; , theMinisteritd the posfcoflicej, which was re- !; presented;as being quite inadequate l to the requirements of the district. i j ;:> -Thei Minister promised to ing, f, ahd' : made anbte of the requisition. | This concluded the business of the depufa- ; tion, and the Mayor, on behalf of the other] members of the Council, thanked the H<J>n. "'• Minister for his patient hearing, and also for his liberal! promises to attend to their requirements. ! A deputation then waited upon the Hon. : Minister consisting' of MessrsW; T; Talboys ■ '■: i and Thomas M'Cracken, respect'vely ihe chairman and;legalmanagei;;of the New Pipeclay Channel Company, and after being intro- [% duced by the Mayor proceeded to explain the nature of the work the 'company had uuder- ... taken. The following..is.an epitome of the position of the undertaking to date, as explained by the deputation. Up to the present istii time nearly 50 chains had been constructed, ; i several claimholders to commence work, leaving about 24 chains unfinished, ''-■' ' wbiClv when completed would. permit of a large'tract of country being opened but. The cost of construction of-.the channel to date aggregated £3,800, and this< amOuntviikd, with ;the exception of the sura of £2lO Government subsidy, all come out of the pockets ' of the shareholders of the two former companies. The present company, which jin- ~ eludes many of the shareholders of the ir>)d companies, had a capital of £IOOO available, to complete the work, but as this was deemed insufficient, and as the work was purely a public one, the deputation sought -assistance from the Government to an extent further than that already made provision for. The amount carried forward on the Estimates of '"'V: : last year as still available for the company was £IBO, or equal to £8 per chain on the work unconstructed, but considering that each chain cost from £6O to £BO the deputa- ,.., -,-tipnr was of opinion that the. Government should assist at the rate of £2O per chain, The Hon. Minister before giving any cided .answer informed the deputation that he would first like to see the works to judge of the likelihood of its permanancy or otherwise, and stated that he would be happy to meet them on the ground. I * ! ; at Bannockburn,M r Larnach lost time in inspecting the work, ? which it is to say spoke volumes in its own favor, and so far commended itself to'the favorbf the Minister that while promising no definite sum by way of help he distinctly , promised additional help to the amount ,Y- already voted, and withihat view requested j the legal manager of the company to cpmliaunicate with him .thereanent in the course . , ,«f afewweeks.i t -;■,.■;;.}., v- [ : v An adjournment was then made to Angel's vr; .Hotel, where [several other matters iyere - brought under the.Minister's notice. These "included the abolition of the gold duty, which ; the Hon. Minister; gave it as his opinion ! ' ,;{ '%buld be . struck 1 off during the;,coming session,—-A reduction in miners' rights [was

also advocated, but Mr Larnach explained that this was a question that would be left entirely in the hands of the County Councils to deal with.—The injustice done the K:> warau licensing district through the County Council refusing to appoint a returning officer was laid before the Minister, who promised that the grievance would be brought under the notice of the Minister of Justice.—A representative of the Heart of Oak Quartzraining Company asked that Government aid might be given them in their undertaking. It Was explained that already the main drive was in 1065 feet and two cross drives of 45 and 67 feet respectively. The work had all been done by private enterprise, and now that the funds were nearly exhausted an appeal was made for assistance to continue the prospecting work. No definite promise of aid was given by the Minister, but the matter was promised his attention. This concluded the interview, and the party returned to Cromwell. After a short stay they took their departure en route for Clyde. At Cardrona the Minister was interviewed by a representative of the Cardrona Mining Association with reference to a further subsidy for certain prospecting works they had been engaged in. Some years ago the sum of £2OO had been granted them, and a great deal of work had been accomplished with the money, but : the Association was now at a standstill for want of funds. Mr Larnach eventually agreed to grant a further subsidy of L2OO upon the usual conditions. On the road to Pembroke the Minister visited the Lake County nursery, and expressed himself much surprised and pleased with its appearance. . . On WednesdaymdrningtheMinistervisited Criffeli Hill diggings, which are' situated about ten' miles from Pembroke. There are about 50 at work on this new field, most of whom are said to be doing exceedingly well, the prospecting party has commenced the construction Of a water-race, and Mr Larnach promised to consider the question of Government assistance in this work, and also the improvement of the road up the hill. The party then left for' Crom well.