LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 934, 14 April 1868, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Editor does not hold himself responsible for

opinions expressed by correspondents,

Sis, — I trust you will spare me a space in your. columns, to give an explanation of the case Dolbel v. Hague, as Mr. Lee's letter of the 10th ult. is calculated to give a false impression of it. No doubt Mr. Lee has been instructed by" defendant's wife ; but I should have thought he possessed sufficient common sense to have confined himself to proofs, and not to bring before the public a mere statement of his client.

I sued defendant for certain articles taken from my house at Give, without my authority, and for 33 weeks' rent of a room. I deny that Mrs. Hague proved that I had lent her the articles, as stated by Mr. Lee. She stated so, but did not prove it. Had my application for a postponement of the case for half-an-hour been granted, to enable me to ascertain the cause of the absence of Mrs. Elliott — an important witness of mme — I could have proved the articles to have been removed without my sanction. Mrs. Elliott has since written the following statement at my request : —

Sir,— This is my reason for not bein« present in court : one of your witnesses (my little girl) was very ill, and 1 could not absent myself that day. The following is all I know about the case :— One of the Hagues came one day, knocked down the beam and hook that were fastened to the building, and some lai-Ro hooks, and took them away ; also, a meat block. Mr. Dolbel came a short time after, and enquired of me who had taken these articles ; I told him it was Mr. Hague. He (Mr. Dolbel) was very much annoyed about it ; he took a memorandum of the articles, and told me he would make them pay for it. This is all I know about the case, I don't remember the dates.

Ann Elliott. — I need not make any comment on the above statement. As lam not a stranger in Hawke's Bay, I shall leave the public to judge whether I should be guilty of such childish doings as to lend Mrs. Hague these articles, and to enquire in a few days from Mrs. Elliott who had removed them, and to threaten that I would make them pay for it. My claim for 33 weeks' rent was for a room rented from me by Mrs. Hague, as she expected her brother (Mr. Jackson) out from England. They had not sufficient room in their house, and it would be doing them a great favour, as my house was opposite theirs. Mrs. Hague took possession of the room ; her brother made use of it for 33 weeks, lived with them as one of the family, and is still living with them. During that time I bought goods of Mrs. Hague ; she told me she would not charge me with them, as they would go as a set-off against the rent of the room, and I was not to charge the rent in their account. I complied with her request.

I sued them for balance of account, and they charged me with the goods that had been paid for by the rent of the room. I objected to this item, and was told by the magistrate that my course was to sue them for the rent. This explains why the rent was not charged in their previous account.

Mr. Lee states that I made my claim only one day before the summons. This I deny. The postmaster of Clive proved in court that he had delivered their account several days before the summons was served, and enclosed a notice that,' if not paid, they would be summoned the next court day. Mr. Lee also says that they repaired the room. This I likewise deny. The room was in a far better condition when they took possession of it than when they left it. I never asked them asked them to repair it, neither did they ever spend one penny on $, as it was not required.

In reference to the husband's liabilities, ifc is a point of law laid down by Mr. Lee, which does not seem to be founded on common sense. However, Hague has acknowledged having had possession of the room for 33 weeks ; and if, by a hitch of law, they have succeeded in getting the use of the room without paying for it, it does not show much honesty on defendant's part, and such things are not to be tolerated in a Court of Equity. As far as the husband's authority not having been implied in the transaction, it is nothing else but a trap ; it is well known how far Hague's authority goes with his wife. I do not impute to him any inability to transact business, but the fact is, she will not allow him to do it.

Let it be a warning to the settlers of Hawke's Bay who have dealings with Mrs. Hague to be sure to have the husband's authority, as, according to the new law, laid down by Mr Lee, the husband is not responsible for the wife's transactions.

The decision of the Magistrate is as follows : — The articles they had taken away without my authority are to be returned, where, I dont know ; 2nd, although, defendant acknowledged having had possession of my room, I had no claim for rent ; 3rd, I had to pay the costs ; 4th, Lee was yet so presumptuous as to ask the Magistrate 10s. for defendant's time to come one mile to defend his case for a debt he legally owed, and which, to my great astonishment, was granted. Therefore, Mr. Lee thinks the decision was not so strange as your correspondent imagined. I shall not make any comments on the decision. I leave it to the public to judge. — I am, &c,

Philip Dolbbl

Slit, — In the issue of the Herald of the 4th inst. is an extract from the Australasian, which, states "that the City Council, on the application of a ' reverend gentleman,' has determined to move the Legislature, with a view of having the sparrow declared an outlaw " — the pretence being, apparently, that the sparrows lately acclimatised in Australia have commenced the destruction of pears, plums, and other fruit. Now, surely there must be some gross mistake here. None of our books on the bird section of the creation have ever registered such an accusation. If you will allow me, I will state niy own experience upon the subject, as evidence in favour of the sparrow, and, in fact, of every other small bird, which are a benefit and material ornament to the country, and a profitable and pleasing companion to man.

My experience extends for a period of nearly 50 years, passed among orchards and gardens, which, in fruitful years, produce much more than a hundred sacks of apples and pears, and many of those of richness and quality, when ripe, far superior to any that I have seen in New Zealand. I beg to explain that, among the apples and pears (particularly the former) cultivated in the cavlypartof the eighteenth century, arc many varieties far superior in flavour and also in compactness of formation, and, consequently, in expending qualities, to any of those new varieties cultivated generally in the nineteenth century, and frequently exhibited for prizes. In these the size and appearance are only attended to ; in the others, flavour, soundness, and weight, and this particularly in the table or eating apples. I have never seen one attacked by a sparrow. Some of them were lusciously ripe when hanging on the trees. In the same way we have had frequently hauging ripe at one time in our village, bushels — nay, sacks — of plums of all varieties ; bushels of cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and strawberries ; but the sparrows never meddled with them. This, however, cannot be as-

serted of the thrush, blackbird, and many of our other warblers, which are extremely destructive to many of our best fruits, and particularly to cherries.

Bat the injury inflicted upon gardens ■&c. by small birds, especially finches and linnets, is meir destructive attacks upon seeds when ripening, as, for instance, on turnip seed, and; indeed, on all oily seeds; nor will they spare corn when ripe, and in winter time they purloin a great' deal • from the sides of barley stacks. The sparrow, also, frequently annoys the good woman of the house, by stealing the grain scattered for the fowls &c. of the poultry yard. Yet how trifling are all these depredations in comparison with the benefit rendered by the .destruction of the caterpillars and other insects, In Prance, where sparrows and small birds generally are killed and sold for food, and much relished, they have been so much destroyed that — caterpillars &c. having more numerously increased — regulations or laws have been made for the protection of the birds. The wrens are well worth the attention of the people of New Zealand, as being about the most destructive to insects of any of the bird tribes. I have myself watched and seen a pair of tom-tits— the smallest of birds in. England— catch several scores of gnats or flies in three-quarters of an hour. The pick-cheese (a species of wren) is also very destructive to insects, but he likes fruit.

However, to cut the matter short, and not going on to prove snow white, I will close with the assertion, that the acclimatisation of a carefully-selected variety of small birds, is essentially necessary to the successful prosecution of the cultivation of the produce best suited to the climate of New Zealand.

Just one recollection more. How sweet is the morning salutation of the sparrow from the eaves, or from the thick branches of a neighbouring tree — cheer-up, cheerup. — I am, &c,

An Old Cotjnteyman

Sir, — The system adopted by the Government from the commencement of a Government in New Zealand, has unfortunately been one series of mistakes. Instead of taking steps to insure the tranquility, and consequently prosperity, of the colony, they have done quite the reverse. New Zealand still remains in an unsatisfactory, if not disturbed state; such being acknowledged the case, and allmeans at present tried having failed, why not, I ask, try a new system, a system which it» self recommends itself? Why should not all Maories be compelled to take the oath of allegiance and give up all arms on peril of being outlawed and of having war proclaimed against them? and carried but too — not childs play, not sending a troop, con^ sisting chiefly of stable boys, to a disturbed district to show themselves for a few days, in the vain hope of frightning the enemy into submission and peaceful occupations, and then ordering them into winter quarters. But send men, menjn^pared, equipped, and capable of sustaining a campaign in. any, season, in any country, — men to fight and conquer, or die. Till the Maories are forced to acknowledge the supremacy of European Government — forced to admit their right to settle in the country, without fear of bloodshed murder and rapine. Once arrived at this stage, let the same law affect the Maori as the European — both answerable to the same.

Let a system of education be carried out, whereby the English language may be diffused throughout the black race as much and as quickly as possible. Let a system be adopted, giving a free, a liberal, and a useful education to the Maori race, rendering them, different to their present state, a happy and an enlightened race, an industrious a useful and a thriving population.

To attempt to christianize before civilization lias paved the way is the greatest mistake the preachers of the gospel can make, teaching to nothing but cunning and hypocracy on the one side, disappointment and despair on the other. Let the Government give up all their pet schemes on land jobbing, let them offer a fair inducement to capital and labour to Row into the colony. A guarantee that settlers will not be unnecessarily thwarted by the Government, and a guarantee of security when settled population is the one great thing which tends to the advancement, wealth, and tranquillity of a colony.

Let provincial Governments be erased from the history of Hew Zealand, and then, instead of petty states working each. against the other, consequently against the welfare of the colony, every district would be working together for the advancement and prosperity of the colony at large.

I fully believe, if such a system were carried out, we should hear no more of those too frequent heartrending accounts of murder and bloodshed, those unjustifiable seizures, those unwarrantable invasions by the Hau Haus. — I am, &c,

W.