“HERE’S A HOW-DO-YOUDO!”

Evening Star, Issue 7233, 8 June 1887, Page 3

“HERE’S A HOW-DO-YOU-DO!”

[Prom Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, JuNE 8 - Much indignation has been caused hero by the discovery that among the debris of the late post office fire are large numbers of telegrams, money order books, and other records, all of which wore supposed to have been destroyed, but which have really been deposited with other debris almost unmutilated on the reclaimed land, the same being very thinly covered with earth, and some not at all. They have been exposed to the public gaze for some time, and many people have found much amusement in reading the public and private secrets thus placed at their disposal. There has been given to me, by credible and responsible witnesses, information of a very startling character, and some confidential communications between banks have been freely circulated and talked over. A telegram to a gentleman in a good social and public position warning him that his credit balance at the bank was only L 5 has become public property, and has brought upon him a frightful amount of chaff. Another telegram from a wife to her husband pathetically complaining that she has no money and imploring for some to be sent has not proved an agreeable exposure for the persons concerned, who are well known. A batch of Government telegrams has proved a mine of wealth to the curious in Government secrets. Some office secrets under the head of communications between the Native Minister and certain Defence officers have betrayed much that was not meant for public information. Some correspondence between the

Minister of Justice and the thiiicdin Harbor Board about placing Dunedin prison labor at the disposal of the Board at the rate of two (2) shillings per man has excited much envy and jealousy here, when prison labor on such terms would be very acceptable to the local authorities, but I doubt if the unemployed, or the laboring class generally will appreciate this Government liberality to the Board. Again some remarkable telegraphic correspondence between the Government and certain of its West Coast supporters is highly interesting in character, if not specially edifying. It is, of course, not merely or chiefly Wellington telegrams that are thus made public, but those to and from all parts of the Colony. I anticipate that there will be a nice little row over the matter yeti