THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1869.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 19, 11 June 1869, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1869.

The Otago Representation Bill, introduced by the. G-overnmeht for 1& consideration # the Provincial Council" appears, to up to be ano^he^attempt, to, iCafry out the doctrine oi winch we complained in our last issue, &nd intended to give to Bmiedin an undue and prepon-

deratmgiiinuence in the House. "We are unable to say whether the Bill to which wei.havejiMdedvwas a ;child of the Eeid (government, or whether they inherited it as a legacy from their Yogelian predecessors. By the provisions of this Bill it was proposed to reduce the number of members of the Provincial Council to 35; and the (xoldfields interests, instead of being provided for by special representation, were to have been amalgamated with the other interests of the Province. There can be no doubt that the entire representation of the Province requires a thorough remodelling. At the present time we have a multiplicity of Districts perfectly overwhelming and distracting. There are the Electoral Districts for the House of Bepresentatives, the Electoral Districts for the Provincial Council, the G-oldfields Districts, the Licensing Districts, and we should be afraid to say how many other Districts, each having different boundaries, though the Provincial area, which includes the whole, is exactly the same. The present system is of a verity " confusion.worse confounded," and reference to the maps of the Province will clearly show how complicated and. intricate the working of the present machinery must be. In the Bill lately before the Council it was proposed to divide the Province into twenty-three Electoral Districts, to which it was proposed.'to allot the number of members set against each:—

Dunedin; ... *r West Taieri... 1 Pt. Chalmers 1 Tokomairiro..: 2 Oamaru ... 1 Waitahuna ... 1 Waitaki ... 1 Tuapeka ... 2 Moeraki' ... 1 Clutha ... .2 Shag "Valley ... 1 Lower Mataura 1 -Waikouaiti ... 1 Upper Mataura 1 North; Harbor 1 . Teviot ... : ... 1 "Waikari ~. 1 Dunstan. ... 2 IviiriWao ... ■ 2 Lakes ... ... 1 ,Peninsula. ... 1 Mount Ida ... 1 •East iVaeri'-■.'.. 1

After p;i-?. j .in£ the second reading this Bill w.-r* rofervyd to a select Committee of the Provincial Council.

The 'i?lc't Committee appear to have dealt.;vitYt!io subject in a fair and liberal spirit, and to have done all that lay in their power, by strenuous recommendations iii their report, to do away wi%atlea«t 'some of the difficulties which the multiplicity of Districts has occasioned, and by reducing the number ■ of'raeinbors in the Council from 35, as confjraelated by the Bill, to 24, to decrease, i; is to be hoped, to a great extent i';c amount of talking,"" and shorten the duration of the Council 'sittings. After having availed themselves of the best information in their power to. obtain, the Committee pror ; cured from Mr. Hislop, Secretary to the Education Board, and, Enumerator ; for the Census, a map, dividing the Province into 14 electoral Districts, showing the holdings, the number of males under 21 years, the number of males over 21, and the total population of each District. Mr. BMop's map has been adopted by the Committee, and the Districts as recommended, together with the number proposed to be allotted to each are as follows : cDunedin ... 4 Mount Ida... 2 Tuapeka ... 2- Waikouaiti ...'■ 1 Oamaru ... 2 jSforth Harbor 1 Taieri ... . .... 2 Cavershain ... 1 Tokomairiro ... 2 Boslyn 1 Clutha' :,, . 2 Wakatip ... 1 Dunstan ... 2 Mount Benger 1 Total... ... ... 24 ° Hot having, seen the map, we are, of course unable to form a reasonable conjecture as to the boundaries of the -proposed Districts. The Committee, however, in a spirit of fairness which does them "that the proposed alterations in the Electoral Dis"tricts, and theniiinber of members to " be allotted to" jßacK^istnct,'saoiild'be "for some time before the public, with " the view to afford opportunity of giv"ing expression to public opinion on '• thegenerarsubject of representation." The Committee recommend, with a view no doubt of getting rid ; of the present cumbrous-and-complicated system of different Electoral Districts for the Genera! Assembly'and Provincial Council, " that any proposal of this " Council in respect to a re-divisibn of " the. Province, into Electoral Districts ".should, be submitted to the General " government previously to, their passim " ing into law, with the view of some arj" rangement being come to, having for :" its qbject the making ji" coincident in the event of any re-dis-."tribution of Electoral Districts for J "the Assembly." Since the report of 'the Select Committee was brought up

we notice that "The r Gtago Bepresentatiori Bill" lias been from the paper.-; The question as to an amended Bill being passed Trill,' we apprehend, depend upon whether or not the Stafford Ministry will be sufficiently strong to resist the onslaughts which will be made npon them by the Opposition during the session. It is currently reported that Mr. Stafford, in event of defeat, holds the power of dissolution in his hands, and will, if defeatee, at once appeal to the country. If so, another election must take place under the present imperfect Act, and tha whole question will have to be dealt with by the new House. Under any circumstances, however, we are of opinion that the Seleet Committee of the Otago Provincial Council have exercised a wise deseretion in the course they have recommended, and that the propositions they have submitted are entitled to due respect, and careful consideration.

The latenes3 of the hour at which the Court proceedings of yesterday "were concluded, com-* pels us to hold over our report until our next issue. - • It is notified by advertisement, in another column that the agency of the Bank of "New Zealand at St. Bathans will he "withdrawn on the 17th June inst. All current accounts, fixed deposits, deposit receipts, &c, being transferred to the Mount Ida agency. These is one feature in the Estimates submitted to the Council,.in connection -with the (3-oldfields, to which we have, up to the present time, refrained from alluding, in the expectation that, when the items came on for discussion, an intelligible explanation would have been offered with regard, thereto. "We have, however, watched with some interest the debates upon the Estimates, and have failed to obtainjjany information further than that the items were passed without explanation asked or afforded. The-feature to which we refer is the absence of any provision for more than one Warden, and the omission of provision altogether for clerks to the Courts and bailiffs. It is possible that, among the multifarious duties which have lately been saddled upon the police, it may be intended to include that of bailiffs also, but we confess our utter inabilty to understand the contemplated arrangement with regard to Wardens and Clerks of Court. A single Warden to supervise the whole of the Otago Groldfields (be the favored individual ' who he may) is not only an absurdity, but at ;-the same time a physical impossibility, while bhe office of clerk at the different Court Houses is an absolute necessity. In the Estimates of last year the sum of £2309 was voted for these officers, while in the Estimates for the present year the sum of £6OO for one Warden hasbeen appropriated. As the question is ona which affects th« enth*eQ-oldfields community, miners, storekeepers, &c, we have thought it our duty to invite attention to the subject. A xew arrangement lias been introduced, since Monday last into the branch mail service to this place. Instead of the mails being left, as has been the practice since the introduction of the police element into the question, at Eden Creek, they are now left at Amies' roadside inn, Dunstan road. By this arrangement a decided advantage has been gained, inasmuch at a less distance will have to be travelled to ] fetch and carry the mails, while they will reach this place two hours earlier, ■ and bc'despatehei two hours later, than when left at Eden Creek. • Sufficient time has surely- elapsed to receive some reply to the recommendation which his J Honor the Superintendent promised to address | to the Postmaster-G-enerai upon, the subject of the mail coach passing through this town, and we are extremely surprised that no communication upon theeubjeet has been received from his Honor. We cannot for a moment allow ourselves to believe that the present half measure is intended to shelve the question, or satisfy the just demands of this township. The sooner, therefore, that his Honor is communicated with upon the subject, the sooner shall J we know our position, and the better shall we 4 be able to judge as to what further stei?s it J may be necessary to take in the matter. I The interior fittings of the Masonic Hall are ' being rapidly proceeded with, and will, we presume, be 'completedbefore the 24th insfc., npon which day, we understand, the ceremony of dedication and installation of master and officers for thejeurrent year are to beperformed. j We have on more than one occasion alluded to the eommodioiisness and solidity of the Mount Ida Masonic Hall, and as we understand it to be the intention of the shareholders of the

Mosonie Hall Company to let the building for ■ balls, banquets, entertainments, &c.,&c., we j I think we are justified in congratulating the J residents of ISaseby upon having at-their com- U mand, when required, acconnhodation more ;. commodious andsuitable than is to be met ; with in any of the Gholdfield towns of the Pro- :, vince. J We notice, by/the speech delivered by his Honor the Superintendent, on the occasion of, the recent prorogation of the Provincial Council, that a member of the Government will shortly visit the various G-oldiields, with the object of ascertaining their respective wants an! requirements. His Honor-, in the address to which we have alluded, informed 5 the Council j "that it was j>roposed, insofar as the provisions J of the Waste Lands Act and the Goldfields Act | will admit, to give the option of acquiring nonauriferous lands within the limits of proclaimed Groldfields either by agricultural lease or by purchase on the same terms as regulate the Bale of lauds within Hundreds." We trust that the residents of Naseby will be prepared, upon the arrival of the gentleman referred to, to bring before him, in a practical manner, the various questions which affect the interests of A this District. -A Ifo - particular items of mining news have.™ come to hand during this week, though from '

I'Jarks, the Kyeburn, and m&uronbre irrunediJ>e vicinity, the accounts continue satisfactory. -crom Surface Hill, in particular, the accounts are extremely favorable, and weidor.not think w e shall be misstating, or even 1 exaggerating, we mention that many of the claims Jiave yielded i; from the sluice.. boxes, alone, at the rate of £lO per'week per ni E su PPly °f has beeii abundant in (ail the races, and, .though the weather has been at night, we of it being 'nfficiently, so to interfere with mining opera? iions. '"■' •''" °-v :

we undertand that the canvass for. contributions to the bazaar in aid of the funds to niake the proposed additions to the residence or the Kev. Ji m'es xßurchett has been very successful, and that a large collection of valuable and useful articles has been secured. We tfcrust that when-the day of the auction sale arrives good prices may be realised. 'Mr. *-nder, of the .firm of Inder and George, auctioneers, will, we have been informed, act as auctioneer on the occasion, and will give his services gratuitously. Iff the Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday there was but a single case, namely, that Pj>f John G-ormond, who was brought up charged with having been drunk and incapable on the previous Saturday. The penalty of 10s. was inflicted.

The Provincial Council was prorogued on last by his Honor the Superintendent, since which time most of the members who

have likewise seats in the House of Bepr.esentatives have taken their departure for Wellington. ■'■""■■

We are- requested to state that Monday, 21st hist., has been fixed as the auction bazaar, and. to request that all frcends who have promised • contributions, or who may be desirous of doing Iso, will be good enough to forward the same ■bo IVIr W. Inder, on or before the previous advertised contributions that the articles are numerous and valuable, at the same time we would take £Le liberty, of pointing out that, unless the attendance be good and zealous, the reasonable anticipations of the committee cannot be realised, nor the object for which the bazaar was instituted, successfully carried out. : We trust that the Victoria Hall will, on the f occasion of this, the first auction bazaar on the LHogbum, be filled to overflowing with eager ■and energetic purchasers.