FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 120, 16 November 1929, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

POLITICAL SENSATIONS

•-IJSB..OF-TELEGEA3IS

SUMMARY JUSTICE

. 'The political sensations'of the second woek of-November' half a century ago •were charges of favouritism in the allocation of State advertising by the late Grey-Ballanee Government, and charges against Sir George Grey and Mr. ■ Sheehan, M.P., of sending out a large number of private electioneering telegrams at the public expense. The returns of public money* paid to the various New Zealand journals for advertising from Ist July, 1878, to 30th September, 1879, showed that > the "New Zealander," described as "the subsidised Greyite organ," received nearly £200 more than the "Evening Post," notwithstanding the fact that the circulation of "The Post" greatly exceeded that of the Government paper; and-that.it received more than twice as much as the "New Zealand Times." The actual figures were: "New Zc .lander," £75 10s; "Evening Post," £556 Gs 7d; "New Zealand Times," £363 Cs lid. "This," commented "The Post," "entirely bears out what we have always stated, and affords a convincing illustration alike of the unscrupulous means adopted by the Grey Ministry to purchase journalistic support, and of the true motive power which directed our contemporary's fulsome adulation of Sir George Grey, and frantic reviling of all papers, which, like "The Post," criticised his actions with unspari lg justice and fairness. With these figures before them, nobody can bo surprised that the 'New Zealander' should abuse 'The Post,' and we sincerely sympathise with our contemporary in the misfortune it has sustained in its patrons being turned out of office." It was alleged that the £752 represented only a small portion of the Government advertising received by the "New Zealander," and that "On some days half the 'Gazette' appears to be 'copied out into the 'New Zealander,' without reference to what part of the colony these notifications relate to." "GROSS ABUSE OF POWER." The telegram scandal had to do with "a telegram addressed individually to | , numerous electors of the Collingwood district, signed 'G. Grey,' and received on the day of the election." An acrimonious debate on the matter took place in the House of RepresentativesJ on 13th November, 1879, and a Select Committee was set up to investigate it. The Premier, Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Hall, declared that "they were simply election telegrams, which had been sent at the public expense, and the late- Government in using the telegraph as they had done were guilty of a gross abuse of power.-' Sir George Grey said that "it had rested with his private secretary to determine whether a telegram should be sent as a private or as a public one.^.' The telegrams in question were private'ones; they had not been paid for owing to "a mistake. The following day Mr. Sheehan raised..a"-question of privilege, complaining that a. private telegram which had been sent and paid for by him x had been copied in the telegraph office, and a copy furnished to the Government. He stated that he had taken legal advice with a view, to prosecuting | the persons who had divulged the secrets of the Telegraph Department. After a lengthy and at times heated debate,: ;thp .matter was, however, al-lowed':"to--drop without- the question being put. ~- ■ - - Ore 13th November, Sir George Grey introduced his Elective Legislative Council Bill, the first forerunner of the Bill eventually passed by the late Mr Massey, but never yet brought into' ±oree. - In the same week the Premier announced that a Bill for the payment of members of Parliament, at the rate of £300 a year, would be introduced at an early date. NEW ZEALAND COAL ON ' ; RAILWAYS. .Even in those days the question of using New Zealand coal on the railways was a burning one. On 11th November, 1879, Mr. Barron asked the Government, as an . urgent question Whether, as a repdrt furnished to the Commissioner of Railways on the 28th May, 1878, shows that Green Island, Walton Park, and other native coata can be used for locomotive purposes at less cost than, imported coal, the Government intends to encourage the use of such native coals?" The Hon. Mr Oliver replied that the Government was giving a bonus of 6d per day to engine drivers with the object of inducing them to use native coal, and the consequence was that the coal was now being nsed largely. ■ ■ s : NEWTOWN'S FIRST TEAMS. ; The Wellington steam tramway had been extended to Newtown during, the winter months of 1879, and on 10th ■November Newtown's first trams were 11?; v "Io«al" in "The -Post" of 11th. November, 1879, records: "The Wellington- City Tramway did 'a roaring_i;rade' yesterday:. The extension to was opened for public traffic; and a double service of trams was run, one being from the Eailway station to the Sussex square siding, the other from Sussex square to Newtown. ~u > and eight cars were told off for-the former service, and two for the latter. The cars were crowded throughout the day, especially those on the Newtown line, which appeared to be = very popular. . The length of the extension is about three-quarters of a, mile, 'and -the distance was run in each case in three to four minutes. The roaa ia well laid, and the trams ran "with admirable smoothness. No mishap occurred during the day, and the arrangements were in all respects excellent." . • VERY SUMMARY JUSTICE. In those early days, apparently, justice was at times very summarily executed. In "The Post" of 15th No vember,; 1879, we .read: "About eleven o clock last night some man, in passing down Courtenay place, broke the window of Mr. Lottkowitz's shoe-shop. A policeman witnessed the occurrence and promptly interfered. Acting in a very sensible manner, the officer made the offender there and then pay for the damage he had done. Mrs. Lottkowitz who was in the shop at the time, was much alarmed, and was very glad to receive such timely assistance, which -Mr. .Lottkowitz desires us to acknowledge on his behalf." BARBER SUMMARILY EJECTED. Another "local" in the same issue states: .A large crowd of persons assembled :in .Cuba street yesterday-to witness a lively scene which was being enacted at a barber's shop in that Jocahty, It appears that the barber (who is a man of colour) had been served by his landlady, a widow, with notice.to quit. He set her at defiance, however, and said-he would stay there as long-as he liked. A number of r£p n« °t tho, l»ndl»ajr.-(-who has only recently been deprived of her husband) thereupon undertook to remove the recalcitrant barber. The latter locked himself .up-in the premises, but the attacking force speedily smashed in a back-door. The barber was then found armed with a couple of large bottles and apparently bent on showing fight. He vras speedily overpowered, however, and. summanljr ejected*