THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam ant faciam." DUNEDIN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 290, 24 November 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Dail y Times. "Inveniam viam ant faciam." DUNEDIN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24.

We could not help thinking, whilst reading the charming lecture delivered by Major Richardson a few evenings ago, whether, whilst dwelling with such enthusiasm on the virtues of his hero, Captain Montagu, no thought had obtruded itself that there was room for a Captain Montagu in Otago. The. Major, during the late session of the House of Representatives, gave evidence of the possession of very considerable satirical powers; and the suspicion half forces itself on us that the whole of his lecture the other evening, was a delicately conceived and masterly treated satire on the political institutions of the Province. The rules of the Young Men's Christian Association forbid the introduction of local political subjects, but of course no objection could be made to a lecture in which, whilst wholly leaving out any reference to them, an allegory was supplied from which the hearers'or readers'own common sense could "point the moral or " adorn the tale." When dwelling on the reforms introduced by Captain Montagu in the administration of justice, was it possible that the lecturer had no though.t for the faulty system which experience has proved to prevail in Otago? In referring to the land regulations of the Cape, did the commentator not remember the land regulations of the Province, by which the obtaining of land is rendered so difficult to the purchaser that thousands of pounds of, capital, anl hundreds of sturdy labourers, are annually driven across the borders to the neighboring; Provinces ? Then we had a truly eloquent description of the sanitary station at Robben Island. Who when reading or listening to it, could fail to feel the faithful picture of an extended and far seeing philanthropy. Contrnst the. poor broken down invalids and incurable lunatics of Robben Island, enjoying every alleviation that* medical skill or humanity could conceive to gild their passage to the grave, with the wretched inmates of the crowded Prorincial institution, which one can never pa s without a shudder, and conceive whether no thought of the distinction must have found place in the mind of the lecturer. And then we have a description of the public works effected by Captain Montagu's indomiable energy—of roads made, of passes hewed in the solid rocks, of the desert reclaimed, in short, of the worse obstacles of nature overcome. Was not this the climax of the satire—the finishing feature of the figure— which only required the addition, "look at this picture and on that," to breathe into it - the spirit of life ? We thank Major Richardson for his instructive lesson. He could not have conveyed in more delicate terms a stimulus to, exertion than in describing what one master mind effected in a colony which in material resources was far behind those with which Otago is gifted. In no way could he have more effectually startled big hearers into the realisation of- the gifts they are wasting, the opportunities. they are misusing. It is quite true ; that the energy of a* Captain Montagu would not be taxed by having to construct a road through a desert, or. a pass through a Cradoch's Kloof, but there are many works which though of, less ; difficulty are of > no lessf importance.. Is it creditable thatthere ] ahould ; only be a'bridle track between the chief city and its sea port outlet, whilst, a.., neighboring ; Province, - with far less , occasion for its. use r is constructing a railway to bring its' capital town- antt its ■< port into communication ? Does it reflect much in praise of the energy of the people of Punedin that, for the want of a small expendi- • ture for dredging, steamers: can only at certain times get up to the Jetties ? '~ Can the Otagonians plume themselves bri/theroads ( they have opened up into the interior, or on having converted to their use the highways , that nature has supplied .them with in jtheir rivers ? In the Molyneux. they have a noble stream, but left in its native state it is barely usable; The South Australians thought it : worth while to expend large sums to make * the Murray available for navigation, although ' the principal purposes to which they; could put it were; only for the carriage of wool to the seaboard and of supplies to the settlers. I Tf Tor these purposes alone, we should ask f why the Molyneux is not to be rendered y navigable, and should bitterly complaint that a the wool which ought to come by the Moly- c neux to Port Chalmers, is finding its way to a Invercttrgiir for shipment. 1 But besides the wants of the settlers there is a large gold- % field populations to supply,,and'in;the course ti of a few months we may expect to see •

both - banks of the river, for nearly" a hundred miles, thickly peopled. The slightest saring in conveyance wou'.d be of material benefit to them, it would enable them to work for gold at less cost, or, in other words, to seek for it when otherwise the pursuit would not pay them. The fair lands of the Upper and Lower Clutha Valley would be converted into smiling farms, if the agriculturists could be assured of a road to convey their produce to market. • • ,■

The only obstacle to making the Molyneux navigable appears to be that the necessary works are of so easy a character that . they would not require the engineering of a Cradoch's Klooff Pass or the capital of a Canterbury railway. We say it seriously,—the satire is notours.it ia one of reality—the more difficult public works appear to be, the larger the attention devoted to them and the anxiety -to get them done. Because Melbourne was difficult to supply with water, it was rapidly blessed with a Van Yean ; because the road between Christchurch and Lyttelton was of a character that would require an enormous expense, a railway was constructed,—but Dunedin has no road, worth the name of such, to its Port; no supply of water: because both of these requirements could, have been supplied vpith comparatively little or no difficulty. But to return to the Molyneux. If the cost of £100,000 would make the river navigable, the money would be well expended. AVhat is wanted is, that the work should be done thoroughly ; the putting a few pounds on the half-yearly Estimates for the removal of the Bar, and the uprooting of snags, is a delusion and a snare. Not only is the money required, but persons to expend the money. With every, respect to the Provincial Government, we conceive that if they continue to adopt the same policy as hitherto, their labors will, in time, assume a protean character. They cannot bear the idea of parting with the control Of anything. Whether it be Education Boards, Road Boards, Hospitals, River Navigation, or public buildings,—all are so subject to Executive control that the advantages of self-government are largely lost sight °of. Where there is no responsibility, there is no inducement to individual exertion, but, however, we Avill not generalise ; on another occasion we may suggest some salutary departmental reforms. Meanwhile, touching the Molyneux, we cannot too strongly suggest the appointment by Ordinance, of a River Trust, with power to. borrow money for the purpose of making the river navigable, and carrying out the works. The repayment of the money might be provided for by dues from the shipping. So large would be the traffic, that the imposition of a small fee | would clear off' the expense in twenty years, I besides paying interest on the money. The cost to the Province would be nothing; its responsibility would simply consist in guaranteeing the loan. The works should be on an adequate scale ; we do not want a single ship passage, like the bridle road to the port. The removal of the rocky bar at the mouth would provide material for building a break - 1 water, with which to keep the sand from silting up. We have fhe testimony of Mr. Reilly — whose feat, by-the-bye, of reaching the Dunstan in an open boat, is not less meritorious than that of his discovery of the field although it has received no recognition—we have his testimony that the river might, at a not very great cost, be made navigable for a long way up its course. Following on Mr. Reilly's expedition, quite a small fleet of boats bar, proceeded up the river. ]f the Trust, whose formation we advocate, were to set themselves to their work in earnest, the entrance to the Molyneux river would soon be navigable to large ships, and the navigation of the upper waters be available to vessels capable of supplying the stores required by the settlers and inhabitants that line the banks of the noble stream. •• If we had a Captain Montagu here, the Molyneux would not he long left in its present condition. We believe the Government are not insensible to its claims to attention,, but they hesitate to take decisive and comprehensive action.