CROMWELL.
March N i2. — During the past month or. two . Cromwell has passed, through a_n exciting time for so remote and usually quiet town. The first thing v/ai the raising of 'funds for the "more men" fund. Then came the work of enlisting and sending away oitr contingent-. The send-off was a glorious affair, the hall, being packed, and next morning the open-air farewell was a scene of wild enthusiasm. This town has' no reason, to be other than proud of its recruits. it has got two into the Fourth Contingent, and two into the reserve — four out of the six offering ; the other two were rejected on account of being a fraction of an inch under height, though they were in all other respects well fitted to make splendid troopers. The lesson of the war seems to be in favour of light mounted men, not men of the heavy dragoon style, and I do not see why the" Hussar standard (sft 2in) should not be adopted. Three, strong, wiry, active recruits fiom Bannockburn were rejected on the height test. A man of sft 4in or so may be as hard as nails, with muscles of piano wire, and be able to stand anything;, but at present his part in helping on the war is confined to smgmg "'Soldiers of the Queen," and dropping miscellaneous "bobs" into the collection tambourine that goes round so frequently. Dredging. — The construction of dredges goes on all around us. The Central Electric pontoons arc well forward, the Richards's Beach will have the machinery put on in a few weeks, the Alpine No. II and 'Alpine Consols are inak--ing good headway with the pontoon building, as is the Halfway House. The Queenstown road is quite a street of dredge camps. Mr Bain is getting on splendidly with the Upper Magnetic, and should have the pontoons ready for launching by now. In about a fortnight, Sutherland and Nelson should be able_to laiinch the Second Magnetic pontoons. Mr Knewstubh is getting on well with the Meg and Amiie, while at G-ibbston Mr Morrison is making rapid progress with both the Metallic and the Galvanic.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Issue 2402, 15 March 1900, Page 38
Word Count
357CROMWELL. Otago Witness, Issue 2402, 15 March 1900, Page 38
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