The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3709, 5 June 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 1883.

Shortly after the arrival of the ships Wcstmeath and Rangitikci at Auckland if may be remembered that telegrams from that place gave what purported to be accounts of the ill-treatment of the immigrants at the depot at Plymouth. These accounts were iirst published by the Thames Advertiser, who had lent an ear to dissatisfied immigrants, whoso story was that there had been ;i system of Tiliick mail levied on them, that they wore not allowed out of the depot buildings, that a " truck shop " was set tip within the walls from which they were obliged to purchase their requirements, that their luggage was overhauled, that little creature comforts were taken out of their boxes, and they were thus deprived of many treats which would have alleviated the tedium of their long voyage. In point of fact the allegations are all true with the exception of the ''black mail" theory, which is only the exaggerated fancy of the informant. If there is one portion of the immigration machinery (says the Now i Zealand Herald) that approaches in the I direction of perfection it is probably the same depot at Plymouth. Large, roomy, and healthily situated on a cliff, it is the model of a reception establishment ; but being , in a garrison town, for various obvious reasons the emigrants, especially the young women, once entering arc permitted on no account to leave again, pave in the tender that takes them to the ship. We have generally a dread of introducing infectious diseases into the colony, and it may with considerable certainty be said that if the immigrants have the free run of the town in Plymouth scarlet fever, small-pox, and other objectionable ailments which are common enough in that seaport will no longer be uuusual concomitants of emigrant ships. To avoid this, and at the same time to meet the reasonable requirements of the voyagers, a very excellent and well appointed store is conducted within the premises, at which goods are sold exactly at Plymouth prices. Tho examination of passengers' luggage is invariably and properly made, and not infrequently the results show that the precaution was not unnceded. Creature comforts are supplied on board under medical advice, and though such things sis supplies of butter, eggs, &«., with which the kindness of friends very frequently supplies the boxes of passengers, might seem very innocuous, it was found that the possession of such " delicacies" was productive.of unpleasantness and heart-burnings among passengers not similarly supplied. When passengers are taken out to the colony at the expense of the Government, it is not too much to claim that they should bo held amenable to the discipline which experience has proved necessary, and it is not from arbitrary action on the part of the officers of the depot, but in accordance with regulations that have for many years been in existence and well known, and which have always been enforced de rUjmnr that emigrants are obliged to dispense with superfluous victualling. There is nothing to compel emigrants to enter the depot before the proper time, but they arc met on their arrival at the railway station or at the coasting steamers, and they and their boxes taken to the depot by tho officers of the institution, and as far as possible contact with tho town or its people is avoided. Thif may seem very particular, but it is a thing o£ which neither parents nor colonists, nor the young- women themselves, if they are wise, should complain.

It is reported that the Edcnham station (Messrs "Williams') ha* boon sold for £120,000. Warder James ]3catty lias boon appointed keeper of the police gaol, Gi.sborne, rive Sergeant Donnelly. MvW. Parker, jun., lias been appointed Kcgistrar of Electors for Napier, Ilawko's 13ay, and "Waipawa. Cγ Monteith Las resigned his scat in the Municipal Council, the letter tendering his resignation being dated June 1. The Hinemoa, conveying His Excellency the Governor from here, had a long passage to ■Wellington, not arriving there till Ip.m. yesterday. Mr 11. D. Monk has requested us to .state that having received considerable support, he has determined to remain in town until Friday afternoon, until which time he can be consulted at the Criterion Hotel. In the last Gazette to hand the Sheriff's district of Hawke's Bay i.s defined as comprising the whole of the Provincial District of Hawkc'fi Bay and the County of AVairon, together with the adjacent islands. The Patangata Licensing Committee held their annual meeting at Kaikora on Friday last. The only business conducted was the granting of a new license to J. Pcttit for the Kaikora Hotel, and a renewal license to J. Ashton, Patangata Hotel. The police had no complaints to make respecting either house. The altered terms under whjch the Corporation desire to leaso the 2000 aero rsaprye in the Seventy-mile-Bush, and which wore recommended at last night's committco meeting for adoption by the Council, include an improvement allowance to the J

amount of £2000. In our opinion the amount to be allowed for improvement is not sufficient to attract a tenant. Whatever people may think of the nationalisation of land, it is very clear that no one will rent when they can buy.

The annual meeting- cf the liuataniwha Licensing Committee was held at "Waipukurau yesterday. Renewals of liraies were granted to P. Gow, Tavistock Hotel, Waipukurau, and TV. O'Connor, Takapau Hotel, Takapau. A temporary transfer from J. S. Andrew, licensee of the Sandford Hotel, Onga Onga, was granted to W. Ritchie. The police reported favorably oil all the abovenamed hotel?.

In the Resident Magistrate's Court today, Anno Crowley, under a charge of lunacy, was remanded for eight days to the asylum for medical report on the case. An unusually large number of civil cases Avero on the causo list for hearing, about twenty of which came before the Court and were adjudicated upon, but in tho majority of them the matters in dispute between the parties concerned were of no public interest. A case of disputed accounts, Barry v. To Whnfcu, in which Mr Lascelles and Mr Lee wei'c for plaintiff and defendant respectively, occupied the attention of tho Court until the adjournment at 2 I'-rn., and was to be resumed during the afternoon.

A committee meeting of tho Hawko'j Bay Jockey Club was held to-day. Tho disqualification of Mr Murtag'h was removed. A letter was read from Mr Drake, bookmaker, asking for an explanation why ho was posted through the club as a defaulter. The secretary was instructed to acknowledge receipt of the letter, and refer Mr Drake to Mr Gorman for particulars. A letter, bearing Mr H. Handysidc's resignation as starter to the club, was read, Mr Handyside stating that he anticipated a visit to England. Mr James Lyon was requested and consented to accept tho position as starter for tho club. A fonco committee was appointed, consisting , of Messrs Wellwood Bishop, and Murray, to prepare for the coming steeplechase meeting.

At Hawera, a Mercantile Union has been .started for the purpose of watching the interests of the trade of the borough and district., and devising means for checking the present abnormal credit system, us it is felt that, under the garb of credit, unprincipled persons are literally robbing the storekeepers and tradesmen throughout the district A similar society might, with advantage to themselves, be formed by the tradesmen in these districts.

Sir William Fox, tho Royal Commissioner for West Coast Native Affairs (says tho Wellington Post) has just completed his plans and recommendations for the Parihaka. reserves, six in number. Tliis completes the whole work of all kinds, large and small, south of Waitara. On the comparatively small portion north of Waitara, the Royal Commissioner has no fewer than ten parties of surveyors at work, which, he hoped, will enable him very shortly Iβ '' wind up the whole affair, and bring hie Commission to an end.

We hear, says tho Wakatip Mail, that. landholders and the Government are very busy just now poisoning rabbits throughout the district, and, as a consequence, tho rabbit-skin industry is thriving remarkably well, and many hands are employed collecting skins. Amongst others occupied in destroying the pest, we arc informed that eighteen men are employed by Government on the Upper Shotover country (but they will be removed to Bushy Creek next week), at Mount Nicholas there, arc 11, on another run at Wanaka there are thirty-four, and at Mount Pisa station no less than forty hands are in full work.

The Mayor of Dimudiu (says an exchange) is a gentleman and a carpenter, every square inch of him. The lion. Mr Oliver, of Duncdin, is a member of the Upper House ■ —and wears frills—rather. When the Mayor and Mr Oliver were showing the new Governor round the town, His Exsellcncy took advantage of a quiet tete.-a-tcle with the Mayor to ask him:—"Mr Thompson, how long have you known the Hon. Mr Oliver!-" "About twenty years." " What was Mr O's position when you first knew him h" "Well, the first time I saw the Hon. Mr Oliver, ho woro a black apron and 1 wore a white one. He was behind a counter weighing sixpence worth of nails which I was. buying to repair a client's pigstvo with."

Tho JJunedin Star thus sums Mr Pykc, M.H.R., who has recently been addressing his constituents : —•MrPyke, if wo maybe allowed to use a Latin expression generally understood, is " sui/jciwrh'. ,. Ho has a rooted objection to all Ministries in which he docs not himself hold a portfolio ; we therefore find him during his whole Parliamentary career always in tho ranks of tho Opposition, except during , the few months when he was in office as Commissioner of Customs in Victoria. He is a good speaker, ready in debate, and possessed of a fund of humor, which in tho present day seems a rare quality. There is, however, one thing wanting" in his political character, and that unfortunately bars tlio path to success. He is not thorough in his convictions, and consequently fails to inspire with confidence even the party in which ho may bo allied.

A man and his wife who some timo ago were employed in one of tho Wanganui hotels have rid themselves of encumbrances by selling their two children to the Maoris. One of these youngsters, a flaxen-headed boy of four, was thus disposed of by his affectionate parents to Aperahaiua, the well known chief, and the promising , young European investment is now running about happy and contented, wnll-fed and clothed, amongst the natives at Mataara. The child now talks Maori fluently, and in material comforts is a great deal better oft , tli an when he enjoyed the advantage of European parents. The other child was disposed of in a similar , way to the natives in the Wairary.pa. The amount of tho purchase money lias not transpired, but in Aperahama's case wo are inclined to think that '' natural love and affection " had a good deal to do with the matter.

(( Wo all know by experience that the elective Licensing Benches won't work a Lit." So (reports tho Times) said Sir Williiim Fox tit the Athenaeum ou Saturday night. He added: "They have done a little good hi one way, by compelling publicans to have wide staircases to let tho drunkards out more easily. (Laughter.) And they havo perhaps prevented tho issue of a new license here and there. But where have they ever .so much as taken away one license benause there were already too nany in the iihco? Not one. Such a case did occur at the Thamos under the old system, and ,'i brewer who got the breath knocked out of him by seven of his licensed houses being- .struck oft' the list, then came to Wellington and made a great fuss in and about Parliament. These blessed elective Licensing Benches, which are supposed to have been put in to carry out the public wish, havo not soon their way to take away one license. That won't satisfy the temperance party. What wo want is the actual public veto given to tho people in a particular district or township or ward, to say whether intoxicating , liquor shall be sold in that place at all. (Applause.) And when we have got that, if you don't see one-half of the publichouses snuft'ed out, I shall be disappointed."

The Italian papers give the programme of the Congress of Freethinkers which is to assemble this year in Rome early in the autumn. Six topics will be brought before the congress for discussion: 1. The scientific foundations of morality. 2. The influence of new scientific theories (especially of Darwinism and Positivism) upon the future' organisation of societies of Freethinkers. 3. The scientific methods of instruction as applied to the popular schools. ■1. The relations of the Church and State in modern society, with special application to the Papal Guarantee Law in Italy. 5. The influence of Freethinkers in the alteration of the laws which justify social unrighteousness, particularly in the relations between husband and wife and the differentiation of legitimate and illegitimate children. G. The influence of Freethinkers upon international questions.

Herbert Spencer writes to the St. James Gazette to object to being held responsible for views advanced by him thirty-two years ago on the land question, which he has since repudiated and strickon from his published works. Even those views were expressed tentatively, but they were quoted by Henry George in his book, " which I closed after a few minutes," says Spencer, ." on finding how visionary wore its ideas." A recent -writer has_ reviewed Spoucer severely for his early views.

The first attempt to colonise New Guinea wjis a diggers' expedition, and proved a failure, TJiis was in 1878, and a dozen horses left by the disappointed miners have multiplied into a herd of fifty,