THE WELLINGTON ABSCONDER.

Evening Star, Issue 10791, 28 November 1898, Page 4

THE WELLINGTON ABSCONDER.

■> The following is tho letter purporting t< '■■■ w- been wri'ten to (ho. ' New Zealand Times' '.•■■ I'':i- Wellington absconder, Joseph --Ivors: '■•• Saturday. November 19, 1898. The Kditoi • N".v Zealand Times.' Sir, —I expect by tilt lime this rea'dies you my name will be ii everybody's • moulV Well, perhaps, for th( benefit ot your rea'ljrn, a i'c.v words at tin; ium\"are will not bo amiss. Ten ycai's «go \.-\\c\\ but ait innocent boy, when I would put : ..-.. n\ ; n>- cm oil ,[ horse, being natural I >,• of : '•'i->i':l ; 'i.- disposition, those, human sharks the bookmakers, got mc into their clutches ;'•"! from that day io this I have not, had one -••unite's peace. Eight years ago my people paid off for me several hundreds of pounds 1 got into similar trouble: once again tliey helped nto out, paying up to the extent of rea'rly £I.OOO, begging of me then to give this kind of tiling up and go straight, which I promiscd to do. Once again these bookmakinej scoundrels got bold of me, besides winch I g.it inii the. power of money-lenders, some ol v.-boiii are supposed to be living a retired, inei< p-r.dont life amongst you, paying to thorn •" :■■ -.-biiant rates of interest, very often ;v r: '.:■■!'. as 100 per cent. My people, and rightly a will have nothing to do with me. Ido not b ! ''..c thrni; they have already done toi h:.-'i. ofuviug me every advantage if only 1 . onld go straight, even going so far as to olTei : ■• a 't.'all interest in the business of J My or:* and Co. in March next; but I have got i:-io ~,0 bands of rascally bookmakers, money I'-uders. and the like:'to pay them I have -.-.vindlcd my best friends. What can I dor I owe thousands upon thousands. There if ■ ;i!v one course now open, winch I shall take— I ;■■ the time this readies you I shall be where no one can harm mc. All I ask you, sir, isI i use your influence to clear Willis street of these vampires, or, before long, you may heai ■.:' m'.er cases like my own —of young fellows in good positions, with excellent prospects vho are being daily and gradually dragged to ruin bv these scorpions. If my sad ease will do any good I have not lived in vain.—l roii- ;i:i, Y"urs sincerely, Joseph Myers. If this v. •'.liiir; is nither illegible you will fully understand the reason." The outcome of a. woman's dinner Jit Bris bane on November 5 has been the initiation of a movement, under the presidency of the lady mayoress, to induce the Government of tin: colony to renew the free immigration of domestics. Mrs, A. M. Francis, who ha? returned from England lately, said that there was not the slightest likelihood of domestic sen-ants coming to Queensland as assisted emigrants, as they could not raise the money for the passage. Moreover, in mo.si parts of England, the demand was equal to the supplyj in Cornwall, however, she had seen many girls who would have come to Queensland if they cotud have got the passage money. It was also remarked that there was no difficulty in getting German .and Scandinavian girls to emigrate, and that they niitde first-rate servants.