THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1869.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 39, 29 October 1869, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1869.

That the mail coach now passes (as it saould have done some yens back) through, this town-ship must not reduce us to .silence, or cause us to lose sigat of tae fact taat tnere is yet fmotuer and no less important task to be accomplished'before; ifc can be fairly asserted that the communication' between iNaseby and the other centres of population throughout the Province is complete, and such as we have a full rigiit to expect. We allude to the establishment of telegraphic communication be.ween tuis place andDunedm. Mr. J. C. jßrown, tae' indefatigable (ioldlields Member, made himself extremely active in May last (if we remember correctly) on'tiiis matter, and obtained a promise from the uovernment that, as soon as possible, a line should be "established Oca Palmerston. A sum for extension of telegraphic communication was accordingly. placed.upon the .Estimates, and an assurance given that, if assented to, the iirst extension should be to xNaseby. So fully indeed was it understood that the work would be proceeded witn, without...,delay, taat tne 'jJaily Times,' in a local at the time, to wiiica we refer, spoke of the matter as being hnallv settled, and even went into tiie •f ' matter of cost and material. It was also stated by his Honor tue Superintendentto the deputation of the iNaseby Improvement Committeethat iron posts were either on their way, or had been ordered, from Britain, and that, upon their arrival, the work should oa proceeded with 'forthwith. This promise was given over six months back, and t ie necessary sum was duly appropriated by the Provincial Council, and we are, we think, jusiitied in seeking to know, what (if any) steps have been taken to give effect to his Honor's promise and the vote of the Council, and why this important work has not yet been -.initiated ? Whether the iron posts were actually on their way, or whether they had merely been ordered, auiiicient time has eiapsed since the promise referred to lor their arriva', and also to lead us to expect that we should at least hear that some action was being taken in the matter. There appears, however, to be a fatality banging over everything connected with this place. The Government cannot' be blind to its importance —the fortnightly escort returns, and the duty accruing to the Treasury therefrom, bringing the fact constantly- before their eyes, and under their cognisance in a veryforcible and agreeable manner. In spite, however, of these irrefutable facts, the Government seem desirous to ignore, as tar as possible, the very existence of this to.vn, 'and to do all- in their power to prejudice its" interests, aiid retard its progress. Why such an unfortunate, and incomprehensible state of affairs should exist we confess puzzle 3 us not a little; still, we

camibt'be blind to the fart that it floes exist, to the manifest injury and injustice alike of this town and district. Is it to be, we would ask, with the proraised telegraphic communication, what it has been of the Sludge C lannel, the Agricultural Area, and the Commonage questions?—a case of mere empty and idle words, signifying nothing. Will the people submit to bet 1 ins fooled and insulted. by mere "jacks in office" " armed with a little brief authority," but only men, and men no better, if so U'ood as themselves? We trust not. The summer is fast approaching, the proper—nay, the only—season of the year when such work can be prosecuted with propriety and economy, and immediate steps should be taken to brim; the matter before the Government in j a manner which. will admit of neither j subterfuge, evasion, nor denial. Our member, Mr. Main, is now back from attending the General Assembly, and h iving discharged that duty, it now behoves him to consider the interests of the district which he represents in the Provincial Council. The collapse of the Naseby Improvement Committee, leaves us for a time Avithoufc a channel of communication either with Government or with our representative; still Mr, Main is so fully acquainted with the facts of the case, knows so well the importance of this-district, an 1 t ie justice of the demand for the fulfilment of the promise made bv the Government on the subject of tel graphic communication, that we trust that even in the absence of any fresh or further application upon the subject, he will at once remind the Government of their engagement, and insist upon its immediate fulfilment. We were in hopes that the absurd and dishonest- practice of placing sums upon the Estimates for works which the Government, had no intention whatever of undertaking, would have been abondoned when such men as Donald Reid and Geo. M'Lean became members of the Executive Council of his Honor the Superintendent. Unless, however, we speedily hear of some action bein_j taken in the matter referred to, we shall to fear that we are airain reverting to those acts of political intnVue so much in vogue during the Trea urership of a gentleman who, on the present occasion, shall be n imeless—acts alike contemptible and detestable in the extreme, and which reflect nothing but discredit and disgrace upon all who lend themselves to their perpetration.