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Evening Star, Issue 5170, 30 September 1879, Page 4

It is evidently a case of the wish being father to the thought with the Ministerial organs in Christchurch, which declare that Mr Pyke has telegraphed that he will vote for Ministers. At the conclusion of his Clyde speech Mr Pyke ia reported to have said: "Mr Pyke proceeded to discuss the personnel of the Ministry, some of which he described as harmless when out of office but injurious when in. More capable men, he said, were required at the helm than Messrs Gisborne, Thomson, and Fisher. As for Sir George Grey he entertained great respect for him oa account of his past gervices, and he admired his indomitable pluck and energy. Still he considered that the veteran would better serve his party and advance the principles he advocated if he would relieve himself of the toil and worry of office, and take the position »f adviser and mentor. Holding these views, Mr Pyke continued, you will probably be desirous of knowing what course I propose to pursue. You know that I am n"t a party man. I have always told you that I would not be a blind follower of any Ministry. I shall de in the future as I have done in the past. I shall support any Ministry the members of which are possessed of a fair share of ability, liberal in politics, and willing to govern ia accordance with the wish of the Parliament. And I shall oppose any Ministry which attempts to subvert the constitution by substituting personal for Parliamentary Government. In all things I shall consider the interests of my constituents and those of the country at Urge as of primary importance, and I will never consent to subordinate these for the sake of the maintenance in place and power of any man or set of men. And whatever course I may take in the House you may always rest assured that this will be my guiding principle."

At Bristol the other day, two boys were brought before the county Justices charged with theft. They were declared by the police to be respectably connected, and nothing had been previously known against them. The offence of which they had been guilty was that of stealing two eggs which they had found in a ploughed field into which they had wandered in the country. The crime was not a very heinous one, yet it appears to have been considered somewhat serious by the Bench, for the boys were ordered to pay a fine of SOa each or go to prison for a month. Their father pleaded that a short time might be given him in which to find the money, but the request was peremptorily refused, and the boys were sent to jail until the necessary sum could be procured. Dishonesty should doubtless be promptly suppressed, but considering the stigma which always attaches to a lad who has once been sent to prison, it seems altogether questionable in the present instance whether the punishment has not exceeded the offence. Letters by the mail state that at the Wimbledon meeting Volunteer E. R. Smith, of the City Guards, Dunedin, secured a prize in the St. George's vase in the shape of a very handsome badge. The match was open to all-comers, and ia sure to have attracted a large number of entries.