Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1872.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 156, 5 November 1872, Page 5

Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1872.

A meeting of Committee of the Cromwell Jockey Club was held at the Kawarau Hotel 011 Thursday evening. The members present wre—Mr Preshaw, president; Mr Hawkins, rj vice-president ;Mr Jolly, treasurer ; and Messrß Pierce, Harding, Colclough, Taylor, and Cowan. The treasurer read a statement of accounts, 3 1 aWing a balance in hand, after paying all e- (jollities, of £2S. This was regarded as very lc. Satisfactory, it having been mentioned by the „ President that the Club had never before been er ia such a, prosperous condition financially. On the motion of Mr Cowan, seconded by Mr Dawtins, it was agreed to offer at the ensuing Race "' Meeting stakes to the amount of £420, including 8- the £SO prize for the Cromwell Derby. [The ns mount actually paid in stakes last year was ffii l"s. Gd.] The sum agreed upon was then apportioned as follows : First Day : Cromwell Ddiy, £SO ; Hack Hurdle Race, £1"); Grand, Stand Handicap, £GO ; Miners' lurse, £ls ; Flying Handicap, £4O. Second Day : Maiden Plate, £3O ; Handicap Hurdle llace, £6O; Jockey Club Handicap, £IOO ; Hack Selling Race, £2O ; Consolation Handicap, £3O. The Committee rested that the privileges connected with the at jf»ml stand, he, should be sold by auction on ne ffednesd&y, 11th Depcmber ; and that Mr J. C. on Chappie be invited to conduct the sale. For the post of Handicappcr, Mr A. R. B. Thomson Ws almost unanimously chosen, and a hope was generally expressed that he would consent to act - m that capacity. Messrs Colclough, Cowan, ID Digg, Jolly, Kidd, Lake, Longhnan, and Taylor I Preappointed Stewards ; and Messrs Harding, I ia3 Hawkins, and Pierce, were re-elected as Judged I G, r rter ' and (Jlerk of tlie bourse respectively. J 'he undermentioned gentlemen were appointed j ir ' wllectors for the Club :-Cromwell-Messrs! he m, Pierce, and Preshaw; Bannockburn—! in lessrs Stuart, Jolly, and Taylor ; Rendigo— Mr I jj. '■ Mitchhison; Lowburn—Mr J. Werner; Gorge nil -Mr J. Wrightson ; Dunstau—Mr J. Hazlett. be betters received at the post-office, Cromj *D, in July, and remaining unclaimed at the the Octobe r:-Robert Batty; J. E. Gum»er; James M'Donald ; Christina Ledingham • t fae "*■ M-Guiuess ; Henry Pierce; Daniel Ross. ' tf 3 The Escort loft Clyde for Dunedin yes- *•% morning, with the undermentioned quan*ea of gold : Queenstown . . . oqo.-> 1q Arrowtown - . . 18 <,g X '* Kndr/ " " ' m 0 W " * 664 4 dei " * " • _540_2 Total . . 773 l 3

On Friday and Saturday evenings last, the Royal Dramatic Troupe played to excellent houses iu Kidd's Concert-hall. The company on their upward journey to Queenstown created a very favourable impression, which was most decidedly strengthened by their performances on the nights mentioned. On the latter evening, each member seemed determined to do his and her " level best" in the matter of providing fun, and the result was aching sides to the audience. The company intend to spend the Christmas week in Cromwell, and there can be no doubt that they will be heartily welcomed. . They have promised to present as enjoyable an entertainment, in their particular line, as could be found in Dunedin. and certainly, judging by what has been seen of them in Cromwell, they are likely to fully carry it out.

We learn that Mr J. Harding, of the Junction Commercial Hotel, intends shortly to relinquish his present business, and to embark in a new undertaking,—one which it is to be hoped will prove more lucrative than that he has now in hand. Mr Harding possesses in an eminent degree all the essential qualifications of a business man, besides having the advantage of a large and varied experience of American and Colonial life; and it is much to be regretted that, since the period of his arrival in Cromwell, a succession of uufortuitous circumstances has kept him struggling in a sea of adversity. Ever anxious to assist in developing the resources of the district, he was one of the foremost to aid in prospecting the Carrick Reefs ; and was also, we believe, one of the two originators of the scheme which led to the formation of the Carrick Range Water Supply Company. We feel sure his many friends will unite in wishing that the "turn of the tide," for which he has so long waited, may be close at hand, and that his future career will be one of uninterrupted prosperity.

Plans and specifications for the proposed bridle-track between Cromwell and Quartz Reef Point, along the east bank of the Clutha, were received yesterday morning, and can be seen, on application to .Sergeant Casseis, at the Police Camp, where forms of tenders may be had. The total length of the propose.] track is 116 chains. The cuttings are to be not less than six feet in width in the solid, with a dip of four inches. Tne contract is to be paid ;"or either in land or cash, at the option of the Government, ami contractors are required to give separate tenders for either mode of payment. If tayment be made in land, a certificate will 1« given, on completion of the work, entitling the contractor to credit for the amount at any land sale under the Regulations presently in force.

" Spangles and Sawdust," a collection of Colonial stories written b» a Colonial author, is the title of an attractive little work which has just reached us, and of wheh the fifth edition is now published. Mr It. P. Whitworth, the author, has achieve 1 the mtst unqualified success in this description of literature, and has been highly complimented thereon by a large section of the Australian an I Sev Zealand Press. The stories are well told, and nany of them possess special interest for Otajan readers. Mr Joseph Braithwaite, of Fleet-street, Dunedin, supplies copies to any address at tie moderate price of a shilling each.

Our public Rending Room has been well patronised during the pas. week. This has been owing to the fact that the English papers, which for the last three or four nonths failed to make their appearance, diave all come in a bunch by the San Franeiico mail. So magazines have yet arrived, however. The cause of the delay in forwarding is not known. A very sudden deatl occurred in Tokomairiro on Wednesday, th< 23rd ult. Mr Edward H. Grey, formerly landlord of the Camp Hotel there, was sitting by the ireside after tea, talking to his wife, when he vas observed to give a slight spasmodic start, aid fell over. He expired in a few moments. At the last meetinj of the Waste Land Boxrd in Dunedin, the fallowing matters are reported :- Warden Carey reported on the application of Mr R. E. l)ag< for a coal lease at the Bannockburn : " The ody tenable objection is, that it might encroach o an inchoate right of the Bridge Company to in agricultural lease of 20 acres." It was realved that a lease be granted on the usual tenns—the price at the pit's mouth to be 20s p<r ton.—Messrs Gillies! and Street, as agents for Mr Thomas Anderson, I 19-Mile Creek, near Cromvell, applied to pur-! chase an acre of groun I « which his business premises were erected. Tie application was adjourned in order to allow oi further information being obtained.—Messrs CiHies and Street, for Messrs Jesse Geer and Antlon* Farquisson, applied for the approval of the survey of a coal i lease area that had been applied for by them ! and that a lease be granted to them. The application was postponed, pairing the Warden's report being received, and dther information be- ! ing obtained. The Provincial Government will shortly | call for tenders for the cuting of the reniamin'r i portion of the track hetwecj Lake Wakatipand Lake M'Kerrow. The track is to be made passable by horses, ami the Government will also : erect shelter-sheds, and span the Holly ford r.vor ! with a wire rope. Mr Bradihaw, the Secretary for Works, has promised todo all in his power I to have the whole of the work completed before next winter. . j

It is rumoured that a new line of fourj borse coaches, to run between Tuapeka and the j Dunstan, is about to be established. There is no doubt if well-apoinred and comfortable coaches were placed on this road, it would be the favourite one for passengers travelling from Dunedin to the Dunstan and the Lakes. —Tuapeka Times. The Tuaqxlm Times believes that the article which appeared in a late Dunstan Times, in favour of the Waipahi line of railway to Cromwell, and in disfavour of that by way of Tuapeka, was not written by any member of the staff of the Dunstan paper, "because the sentences are grammatically constructed, and some decent English is used in its composition." The article,.however, is declared to be "a tissue of misrepresentation and falsehood from beginning to end, and iu this respect bears the stamp of the newspaper in which it was published."

The most sensible speech reported in Hansard this session, to our minds, is that of Mr Swanson, upon the motion proposed by Sir D. Monro,—as follows:—"That the House of Ue- | presentatives, having observed His Excellency, | in his recent correspondence with the Hon. Mr I Stafford, appears to have entertained doubts of | its willingness to vote supplies in the face of an- | nounced dissolution, begs to assure His Excel- , lency that this House will at all times be pre- | pared to adopt those proceedings which are in | accordance with well-established parliamentary j practice and a due regard for the prerogatives of j the Crown," The report of the discussion upon I this matter occupies exactly forty pages of Han- | sard, and after all the mover asked leave to i withdraw.it. Such was not given, however, and j the motion was negatived by 31 to 2. We make | the following extract from the speech of Mr Swan- ! son upon the matter :-" It strikes me that we , do not know our own minds, and I will tell you what 1 think of this institution itself. J think, as a law-making machine, it-is an immense failure.' I hope I am not infringing the privileges of the House, but I am quite satislicd there is not a Provincial Council in the Colony that does not pay enormously greater attention to its affairs, | and lias not a thousand times more knowledge o f the subjects it discusses, than this House. Take the Conduct of the House last night, when there were nieasu es involving hundreds of thousands of pounds rushed through the House-actually bundled tlnough it. There were about fifty . orders of the day and very nearly thirty notices | | of motion disposed of, regardless of their impor- i j tance or whether they were right orwrong. The ' whole electoral business of the country" which lis of enormous importance- 1 think there were three Bills on the subject, what became of it? |lt was thrown out without debate. Away with ;it ! Never mind it ! But look at this matter, i j which is a purely personal one ; we have all the oratorical talent holding forth by the yard i There are unlimited sup, lies of that, when the ! matter under consideration is a purely personal oue between the 'outs' and 'ins.' But when I the interests of the people arc concerned—when money is concerned—where are all these gentlemen ? There are not more than half a dozen : members in the House when *uoh things are un- j der discussion, and Bills are passed through without honorable members hardly knowing; what they contain. 1 consider it a disgrace and ' a sham. Good laws never can be passed in that way. lam satisfied in my own mind that honorable members do not read one-half of the Bills that are now brought forward, and yet the people are to be amused until the end of the session with discussions such as the present. We are amused with want of confidence motions on one side, and want of confidence motions on the other side, and with such a matter as the present, which brings out all the talent and all the ability which should be devoted to the affairs of the country."

"Shibad," the sporting contributor of | the Canterbury p nMt writes as follows regarding the two principal events of the race meeting to be held at Christchurdi on the 7th, Bth, and 11th i inst. :—" Fur the lirst time for seme years the | annual match in the Cup between old Knot and Peeress will be dispensed with. That Peeress is l being bached for even money against the Held, j the odds being 3 and 4 to 1 about the rest, in' ! duces the belief that the public fancy the marc as much as ever. There arc those, however, who cling to the belief that there are as good (ish in the sea as ever came out of it, and who think Mr lledwood's mare is not a positive certainty. . . . As matters stand at present, I should say the performers who face the starter for the Cup will be limited to a quartette, or possibly a trio Ifc is suppose.l to be the correct thing m making a handicap to give an untried horse the credit of being more or less a good | 'nn. I think Brunette Lnot the Dunstan mare] j and Batsman have subWl by this principle as I regards the weights allotted to them in the 1 Jockey Club Handicap. As to the rest, I consider Tambourini, Malice, Detractor, No Name, and Barbarian, especially the latter, well in, so much so that if Peeress repeats her double victory of last year, her owner had Letter add the letter ' / after the /•, and some of the rest had re- I sign galloping for some ether useful sphere " The following are the weights for th" llan Heap : Peeress, lOst 71bs ; YaUerina, "Ist Wilis(Jazelle, J)st; Queen Bee, Sst <>ll,s ; Brunette, Sst Gibs ; Tamb.airini, Sst sibs ; Talisman, Sst oibs ; Malice, 7st 12!bs ; Detractor, 7st 7JU • Batsman, 7st 71bs ; No Name, 7st 21bs ; Barbarian, 6st P2lbs ; Diagon, 6st 21bs ; Adonis 6st 21bs. ' '