WELLINGTON.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3160, 15 August 1881, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

(FKOM OUE OWN CORRESPONDENT.") August 13. The past week has been in sporting parlance, a " blank draw." It has proved the barren week of a barren session* >. That is, so far as ):,-rislation is concerned; In another sense it has not been quite co /" barren. It has witnessed the exposure of about as infamous a swindle as has W ever disgraced the long history of misappropriation of public money in New Zealand. It is scarcely necessary to say that I refer to the committee's report upon the New Plymouth Harbor Works. No sane man who has ever visited "the Sugarloaves, ,, the three barren rocks which form the landmark to the mariner seeking the inhospitable shores of northern Taranaki, and the scene of the so-called harbor works, can tail to be impressed with the utter impossibility of constructing there, even by the most lavish expenditure of money, a safe harbor. Even the Waitara, a few miles to the north was a more likely place. But while the natural harbor of Opunake existed— about the only natural harbor on the west coast of this island—it was worse than folly to attempt to fight a losing game with nature at New Plymouth. Happily, the disgraceful farce has been played out. The " ruling family'! of Taranaki may find some other pretext upon which successfully to plunder the public exchequer in the interests of their much beloved province; but the Taranaki Harbor Board game is, thanka to a Parliamentary Committee, inaccessible to ruling family influence, played out. The Colony has been swindled out of something like £200,000 ; but if there be no more Taranaki financing the emancipation is cheap at the price. Apart from the above the week baa been, as -I have just said, barren. The pretence of legislating for the welfare of the country is the veriest sham. mentary Procedure—l use the word its common-sense not its technical meaning—has simply been two sides of pearly equal strength playing eec-saw, each eagerly waiting for some happy accident that would let the other down in the mud. The session so far has been a * miserable history of the Government introducing measures that were not expected to pass, and of would-be opposition leaders moving want-of-confidence motions that they knew would never be carried. It has co far been a case of •% " looking for work and praying to God not to get any." And now the Kill greater farce of debating the Representation Bill is about to be played out to iti ridiculous end. On arrival of the Union Company's steamer Wakatipu from Sydney a rather interesting and amusing incident occured. Dr Johnson, the medical officer of the Health Board, went aboard, and, rnder the new quarantine regulations issued the morning before the steamer's arrival, personally inspected all the passengers and crew, and vaccinated some 50 persons. He then gave the ship a clean bill of health, and, much to the delight and astonishment of passengers and crew, the vessel left the quarantine station for the wharf. It appears not to have given quite so much satisfaction to the townspeople, they regarding the newly gazetted regulations as not being sufficienilf precautionary to ensure im- * raunity from infection. In the House of« Representatives a very warm debate ensued on the subject; and it is not unf j likely that the matter may be brought \ up in another form, and in a manner that may not be so easily disposed of as it has been by a Government inclined to look complacently on things of this sort. M'Caughan, the member for Riverton, did not hesitate to speak bis mind, but' declared the whole transaction to be an, " outrage." There is little doubt that unless some- J thing is done—and that immediately—; serious loss of life must occur on the Wellington and Masterton railway line. A question has been placed on the order paper by the Hon. Mr Richardson concerning the making up of trains, &c.,' and it is likely the enquiry into the, causes of the disaster which took place on the incline last September — the verdict of the jury notwithstanding— will again be opened. , .->>,„ Another shock of earthquake occurred here on Monday morning about twentyfive minutes past ten. It was preceded by a rumbling noise, which lasted some five or six seconds. The shock was qf**' short duration, and consisted of two distinct jerks. The direction appeared to be from N.W. to S.E. Some time ago a vagrant named Jack, who had spent many years of his life in prison for various crimes and offences, was taken before the Bench at the New Plymouth Court, and sentenced to a terra of imprisonment in Wellington gaol. Jack being removed to his new quarters and away from his old and familiar friends, "does his time," and, immediately on hia release, is again " run f in " for having no lawful visible means of support. The result is that Jack has once more to don the colored uniform and take his place in the gang, but not with his latest " chums " at Wellington gaol, but with the old familiar faces in Taranaki. Mr Shaw evidently thinks that we have quite enough of this undesirable class without receiving impor- \ tations from other districts. It now remains to be seen whether on Mr Jack's discharge from durance vile, and hia carrying on the " same old game," the Taranaki Bench will 6end him again to Wellington. This " ringing of the changes" in prison life is as novel in principle as it must be pleasant to the habitual criminal. The Wellington Racing Club opens its spring meeting on November 80th at the Hutt Park race course. It is understood there will be an attractive programme. A full meeting of the club was held at the.Empire Hotel on Wednesday evening. They unanimously resolved to uphold the decision of the Victorian Racing Club disqualifying the racehorse Mata and its rider Ray. Not a little to the surprise of Mr Plimmer, the landlord of the Tramway Hotel, Adelaide road, the " Hawkshaw" of this city made a very clever seizure of a quantity of tobacco alleged to have been smuggled, or more properly speaking of a box containing about 50lbe weight of the unstamped article. Detective Benjamin having seen an express drive away from Plimmer , s premises in a hurry, and " from information received " was induced to go into the hotel and make a few not very pleasant enquiries of the barman (who is related to Plimmer) as to where the "'stuff". x was that had just been delivered by tie expressman, the barman denied all; knowledge of anything having been left/ The landlord coming in told Benjamin he had sold tobacco at 3d per etick; tmt had lost by the transaction.;""', "A, warrant being then preduced the v tin* 1 i stamped tobacco was, found, in an.un?- ■ . tenanted house at the rear of the hotel. The Collector of Customs took charge of the " weed " and intimated; hie ictentiqjci', of proceeding against Mr« Blimnier being in possession of unstamped tobacco^ In ..September 1879 a young woman named Smith was committed M,« pfttie&t

to the Mount View Lunatic Asylum. On recovery she was engaged aa an attendant in the institution. Smith recently showed signs of the return of her malady according to Dr. Neill's statement, and labored Under the hallucination that the asylum ■would shortly be burned down. Dr ITeill requested Smith to leave the institution but she refused to obey his orders, and said she would not leave until the resurrection day. She was yesterday taken before Mr Shaw, Resident Magistrate (sitting in chambers) for the purpose of securing her re-committal. She did not appear to a lay mind to be sufferine from any abberation of intellect, and stated that ber reason for not leaving ■when told was that, being employed by the Government, she was entitled to a written, and not to an oral notice of dismissal. Drs. Diver and Kemp examined her, and stated that she was not of unsound mind. The magistrate thereupon refused the application for a re-com-mittal to the Asylum. One cannot but feel pity when a child of tender years is placed in the dock of a police court to answer a charge of larceny. A case of this description came before Mr Shaw, R.M., last Saturday, the offender being: a little girl named Jane Boon, aged 11 years. It appears she stole eleven shilling and some fancy goods from one of the stalls at a bazaar held in the Athenffium, valued at £3. From the evidence of Chief Detective Brown, the child is said to be an incorrigible thief. The father on being called said he had tried mild measures, and kind treatment as well as harsh, but without the slightest effect. He now desired the Magistrate to send her to an Industrial School with a view to reclaiming her. The Magistrate ordered her to be imprisoned for an hour and then sent to the reformatory for a period of 18 months.