THE Thames Advertiser. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1874.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1785, 10 April 1874, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1874.

lathe course of kia remarks at the Police Court on Wednesday, Captain- Eraser said that when he allowed his feelings to my him, he always got into trouble, in which we are inclined to concur, and to remark that it would Have been better had he not so freely expressed his feelings as to the conduct of the police. We may make a few remarks on the facts. It is suspected that a man crushes specimens without making any entries in his book, How are the police to reach him except by sending some one with specimens to try Mm ? If a detective goes there and finds gold that heis morally certain was obtained from specimens, and sees no entry in the book, he still can do nothing, for the owner of the establishment can say at once that it is gold he got from the tailings he . is constantly [grinding. Then supposing the detective goes in when hev sees a man enter the premises concerning whom he has bis auspi* cions, there is nothing to hinder the suspected man from keeping the specimens in Ms pocket or throwing them on to a heap of quartz. It is nonsense to ' of this - case being an entrapping of a man into crime. When a native is got to go to a European, and endeavW to persuade him to sell him a small quantity of powder, that is an attempt to entrap into crime, and when that . native informs, and his information is used to . convict, then hard words may be used. But in this case there was nothing of the kind. Cm went to Manning and asked him to crush some specimens. Manning consented to do' n, About this there was no crime. The offence was not the crushing of the specimens, but the not entering them on the book. Manning asked if Cass would give his name, in words which meant, "If these specimens are stolen, I can manage for you." There is no hesitation on Manning's part. Ee needs no persuasion. It is such as he who tempt to crime, and who deserve to be reprobated, and for whom we should have no sympathy at all. Be falsified his - books upon no temptation at all, for the purpose of aiding in what he believed to be a robbery. And yet, forsooth, we are to spmpathiaa with him, and to condemn the police. We cannot 1 do any snch thing, and we think that those who do are misled by a nonsensically' Quixotic feel« ing. This case is widely to be distinguished from a class of cases which are common, In carrying out the excise and licensing laws, men' have frequently been sent to obtain liquors on

various pleas. That is bad enough,' as a. direct temptation to commit crime; but in this case there was no temptation; Manning volunteered to commit the crime. Let people reflect upon the circumstances, and they will come to the conclusion that Manning does not deserve sympathy any more than those do whomsuch persons tempt to criuio by offering facilities for it. And when the alternative seems to be" that we must either resort to such measures or have a vast amount of specimen-stealing, can any person of sense hesitate ?

• Grahamstown was quite lively last evening : •with the march out of Scottish and' Naval companies of yolunteers .with their, respective' ; bands. Prior'to the march out the Thimes Scottish had a dress, parade, and went through drill at their own hall, and onmarching out the corps, of which there was a large muster, were headed by their fine brass band and the company'B piper. The Naval Brigade had also a large master at parade, and marched out ' headed by their own band, but through some inadvertence the companies did not meet until their lespective marohes were nearly con* pleted, at the- corner of Brown and Albert' streets. What appeared to be a slight breach of military etiquette occurred here. The' Thames Scottish, on passing their comrades iu arms, gave the usual military salute, but it not returned by the Navals. No doubt the . .darkuess of tho night, couplod with the unexpected manner in which the companies met, was the cause o£ the - oversight on the parts o£ the officer commanding the Navals. After the Thames Scottish returned to their . hall, a meeting was held, at which several new members were proposed and admitted Captain Murray announced that Mr Spencer, of Parawai, , had kindly promised a handsomely-ornamented drum-major's staff as a present to the corps, ■' The Naval Brigade also held a meeting after [ returniug to their hall, whoa four working

members were elected to the corps, and Mr E. T. Wildman was elected an hon. member. The No. 2 Hauraki Rifles also met for drill last evening, preparatory to the annual inspection, which is shortly to take place. There was a fair muster. After drill, a meeting was held, at which Dr.'Payne was elected hon, surgeon of the company. In reference, to a paragraph which appeared , in our issue of yesterday respecting the alleged purohase of 200,000 acres of land in the Upper Thames district, on behalf of a number of Canterbury capitalists, we are informed that no such purchase could legally have taken place. It seems that the agent referred to is Lieut., ' Young, who has lately been through the Upper Thames district, and it is understood that he claims to have made the purchase alluded to, but those who know the district assert that no / legal purchase ha 3 been made. We had very grave doubts on the subject when'we men- ; tionedthe report, and we believe it will turn out to be incorrect., • For several weeks past, # large fire has been burning on the swamps beyond the Piako, showing by day in columns and, wreaths of / smoke, and by night in bright lines of flames. We have these fires every summer, the stuff! consumed being the tall toetoe grass, which : tjrowa up again rap ; .dly when the wet weather, comes. Should the weather prove fine- on Saturday next, there will be a military-display-at the cricket-ground.The Thames Scottish and Naval Brigade Companies will march out there . forexercise in drill, so as to be more fully prepared for' Colonel Gordon's annual inspection. At a meeting of the Waiotahi Education Committee, held last evening, Mr B. K. Tyler expressed his intention of resigning. This is, to regretted. Mr Tyler has occupied the position of chairman of the committee siuce the Act first came into operation in this district, and has been one of the principal causes of its •lucceas at the Thames. ; V A We regret to learn that the Rev. Father Norris is suffering from a severe indisposition of a nervous character. We hope the rev; gentleman will soon-recover from this illness, which has in a great measure been brought on by' . over-exertion during the past week. His Honor the Superintendent was to have left Wellington yesterday by the s.s. 'Mongol, 1 and'will probably arrive in Auckland on Saturday or Sunday next. It is proposed to present an address to Sir William Martin before his departure to Europe, sin the 'Mongol,' on Monday.! Copies of tho • address lie at the different banks In Auckland for signature, and persons wishing to testify ' their respect of the late Chief Justice, are invited forthwith to append their names to the . address. ( ' r Yesterday's Cross says:— I "We understand that arrangements have been made between the General Government and his Honor the Superintendent for a .temporary assistance in .the shape of a loan for the extension of deep sinking at the Thames. The aid is only to be temporary so far as the Government is concerned; pending the meeting of. Parliament, to which the whole subject will be submitted with a view i . to obtaining its consent to the proposal. Meanwhile an advance for a period of four months is to be given, and with' that means at command, ' the work of deep sinking will be prosecuted until Parliament meets in July." This gives - no information as, to whether assistance is to be given for the whole scheme as originally proposed, or only for the . Pumping Association. It will be a pity if his Honoris limited. The aid.is granted for the prospecting of the deep levels, and if it is only given to one spot, besides being unfair, the object i will not be accomplished so completely as it would be by carrying out a scheme by which the main part of the goldfield would be dealt with. If the aid ia confined to one spot, the money may be spent, and yet the question will not be settled, We hops that his Honor will 1 • be bo empowered as to enabls him to set all the; - works going at once for the carrying out of the , whole scheme. There was not so large an attendanqe at the Academy of Music last evening as the merits of the entertainment deserved. pro- . gramme of the previous evening wa3 repeated with a few alterations. There will be no performance to-night, as the troupe are making preparations-for a grand Christy Minstrel performance,, which is to be given on Saturday evening, assisted by the Cornish Gflee Club and several gentlemen amateurs. The members of the Oxford Troupo have, during their stay amongst us, done their best to cater for the public amusement byintroducing fresh. novelties, , and are deserving of support. 1 We have no, doubt , a full house will crown their efforts on ' this occasion. A telegram from Cambridge to an Auckland contemporary' dated. Wednesday says:— "Maoris have threatened the Stubbidg'a survey party, aud Mackay has ordered the party in by telegram." ACoromandel contemporary says:—"From , a party returned from the Palmer River goldfield, or. which he had been working four ■ months, we learn the following particulars The gold is very patchy but 'coarse, and the ground'is. easily worked, being scarcely to be called even shallow sinking, but mere scraping. The climate is intolerable, and though our informant says he may possibly return there, it will only .be in the event of his being unable to secure permanent employment as a miner at the current rate of wages on this or the Thames gbldfield." , At the coroner's inquest on the youth Joseph Garty, of the Cadet corps, in Auckland, who was accidentally shot by a comrade's carbine when out for a shooting excursion, H. A.;. Collins deposed:—Deceased went up to the burnt stump of a tree and marked a . target on it. Having marked it, I asked ,him to come out of the way, He turned round to do so, and tripped and fell on myself and the rifle which 1 was holding at the" ready"{pbsition. His fall nearly knocked . me over, and, the carbine discharged itself ' while I held it in my.hand. The shot lodged in the right side of the deceased, just below the ahoulder. I believe that the rifle was at half cook; .(,.it may, however, have been at full oock. It is certain that I did not pull the trigger, as my . right hand was round the cock. 1 believe the discharge was occasioned by the jerk. Deceased staggered several paces groaning, and fell'to the'ground. Deceased gasped several times and . then expired. I was never on a shooting excursion before, and have had the rifle in my / possession for -about'two years and a half. When I first received it I was twelve years of age. The ammunition was supplied to be used at the rifle range, but there was no charge given to us not to use it at any other time.— < To Sergeant-Major Pardy: We have not to ' account for what we do- 'with t the ammunition given to us to fire at the ;range when we do -not lire it there.—. The jary retired for three-quarters of an hour, and returned a verdict to the effect—"That the death of Joseph Garty was caused by the accidental discharge of a carbine by Henry Arthur Collins." The jury also added as a rider -'\That arms should not be allowed to be in the possession Of any of the Cadets except at such times as they are at drill or practice under an experienced officer; and also, that the jury consider that the careless manner in "which ammunition is supplied to the Cadets by their officers is extremely reprehensible."