PASSING NOTES.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume VII, Issue 269, 2 September 1896, Page 2

PASSING NOTES.

| By Mercury. ] In last Saturday's issue you gave a comparative statement of the amount spent by Government during the last 14 years in furtherance of the mining ' industry in the Counties of Coromandel, Thames and Ohinemuri. The latter County comes out with a grand average total of £487 per annum. The other two Counties secured nearly three times that amount. We do not grudge our neighbors the privilege of picking up a.few of the crumbs that fall under the Government table, but it is astounding to see how the claims of this roadless, undeveloped, and extensive County have been ignored. Speculation, however,,as to the cause of this persistent neglect is now futile, but for the future we ought to exercise careful scrutiny over the apportionment of goldfield. grants -by the Government. This can best be done by having a representative in the House, who is neither too modest to represent our claims nor too indifferent to care for them. - The general public will endorse your pertinent remarks relative to the urg«nt need of raising a loan in order to put the roads in a condition to meet the requirements of traffic. Few or none who comprehend the scope of this question would object to the \ measure. No local body in this colony ever incurred liability with better prospects of applying the money to highly remunerative purposes than our County Council in this case. In a few years if the general Government and our local authorities do their duty towards the development of our goldfields, the Ohinemuri County will have a splendid revenue. The proverbial sprat sacrificed in catching a mackerel is quite illustrative of the attitude of our local authorities in this matter. They at all ovents ought to overcome their cheese paring policy to the extent of appealing to the ratepayers in the matter, The verdict of practical people who know the importance of good roads would not be difficult to antic pate. We already , know that the value of property in these parts has .been largely enhanced by the stimulus given to the mining industry through the introduction of foreign capital. It -would, therefare, be wisdom on the part of property holders to givo capital overy opportunity to become remunerative. In our particular case good roads form the basis of reciprocity between property and capital. When wo see the * ▼Ast quantity of material awaiting transit to the mines and also the appalling state of some of the up-country roads, the conclusion is inevitable that the reproductive power of capital has been minimised, and it follows as a natural corollary that, property has suffered a diminution in value in the same ratio. It is to. be hoped that the County Council will at the earliest opportunity proceed to raise a loan wherewith the incubus that lies upon all our industries will be removed. # * " # From an incident that occurred the other day it appears that the tramway manager had forgotten to ask the Government formally for permission to put a permanent crossing over the railway line. The tram men were in' - the act of. pushing a truck full of ballast across the line when up came the railway ganger and demanded that they should cease operations at once. The contractor was standing near and ordered his men to proceed. They endeavored to obey but the . sturdy railway boss put his shoulder to the wheel and brought the truck to a standstill. Thereupon the tram boss put his shoulder to the wheel and pushed against him. The men | on both sides looked on but did not interfere, . The tram men, confident : in the herculean powers of their boss, were preparing to cheer him. For some time it was pull devil pull tailor, and fears were entertained thaj; the, bars of truck would be wrenched' from their position. As victory showed some partiality for the train boss his , tenacious antagonist by a dexterous twist succeeded in upsetting the trucks After this comicat termination to the ~*l strife they looked at each other and jj gave a hearty laugh; in which their -v, respective gangs joined. They-did .^ not go to the Royal Mail just, at that - time, but as soon as the call of duty permitted spectators and actors in this .• drama were aeon going in that diroc- , tion, . . .