AN OFFICIAL MUDDLE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7719, 16 April 1887, Page 2

AN OFFICIAL MUDDLE.

In ISBS a grant of £3000 was placed upon the estimates for the construction of a road from AVaiinarino to Tokauo, on the southern side of Lake Taupo. The idea was to allbrd facilities for persons visiting Taupo by way of the route chosen for the North Island trunk railway, ami may bo fairly regarded as a commendable project. Shortly after tho grant was made work was commenced on the road, which was actually .completed to. a point some miles beyond Tokano at a eont of £4800. In' carrying out the work £ ISoo from the first grant was expended, aiid in ISS3 another grant of £3000 was made, bringing up the cost of tho road to -the sum stated. A short ■ distance beyond tlio point to which the road has been taken is the Tongariro river, from the opposite bank of which there commences a fair road running right into Taupo. Were the Tongariro bridged, and if the short distance of road not yet formed on itho Tokano side were completed, there would be a good road all tlie wuy from near

Waiiriaiino to, Taupo. More than;seven months ago a number of residents in the Taupo district, through Mr L. Grace, M.H.K., applied to the Government to bridge the Tpngarivo river. About a month afterwards Mr Ball.ince replied to .the application, arid a funny reply ..it was. . We publish the lettor'ert cxtonso.-T-^ I bavo the honor to acknowledge tho receipt of your lotter of tho loth Sopf.cmbor, enclosing a letter from IVfr John Stevors, bf Rrtngittkci, urging tho ncccssily for erecting a bridge across tho Tongariro river, at the, south end., of tho lnke. In roply I havo-lo state thnt the question o£ bridging the Wuikalo river on the' road Taupo to Totmno Ims beon several times; under consideration, as it. is admitted that it. would bo a dcsirablo work to accomplish; butrj tho vote tor opening tho road through to Hurimotu hndWaimarino is so.small, havingregard to the work to bo done that it waß tlcoided to have the road and track formation ■ completed throughout before undertaking the 1 expensive bridge, estimated to cost £1500. 0r moro. • The river cannot always bo safely forded in a buggy, but for horscmon or stock there is a good ford whom it dmufls in, branches, 'flip proposed work will no doubt bo roquired urgontly, as tho country gets ljotlor opened out, but it will require, tq ,'po delayed for the present, •, , : The a^siixeaiy 6f "the statements in! the letter is apparent. It is admitted that the bridge is " urgently required," yet its construction . is to be delayed until the road has been completely formed. At present there is hut little voad formation required to onable the people at Tok'auo, to utilise what has already been Made, what is really w'anlfld being the bridge. Eesidauts of th*j district would then be able to cross the river in perfect safety, whereas now -it is absolutely dahgeroiis, and after a fresh otlen quite impossible, even lor horsemen to attempt the passage.. The ford spoken of by Mr Ballancej is only practicable to vehicles when tile riven is low, and then only if the driver has good horses and has a thorough knowedge of tho road. On the west bank there is. absolutely no approach whatever, except what has been made by passing vehicles. The bank is about ten Ifcot high, and town residents would be inclined to shut their eyes and breatlleUt player for safety preparatory to taking : the plunge— tor it is literally a plunge— down into the river. Should tins dive into the depths.be accomplished ..without the spill-' ing of the passengers into the water, or the snapping of an axle, there still remains the eastern am of ; tUo. river, and jliere even those-jwho -are: not' naturally timid might be' pardoned for doubting the possibility of crossing, for the water reaches to the floor of a 'buggy, and the current runs so strongly at times as to sweep horses, buggy, and occupants down the stream. This has occurred on several occasions, Mr Gallagher, of Lake Hotel, Taupo, . having been swept down stream with his buggy and three horses',' and Mr Blake, of the Tokano Hotel, has suffered a similar mishap. It is idle to say that, people should not .'attempt the passage, for they must' cross or' often go without the necessaries of, life. Mr Ballance may, reply that.: his, .letter/ admits tho ford to.be impassable.o nly '"at times" for buggies, but it is. often quite as impassable ' for the most 'experienced horseman mounted on the best of horses'. In 1885 promises were made to have the bridge completed ' forthwith,; but when £1800 of this sum was spent. on the formation of. the road, the bridge was forgotten. Similar promises were made in relation to the' bridge last session,, , but jallj the' money spent but of the vote.has been devoted to forming a road not yet completed and that must be practically,' useless till the bridge is constructed. '.It is, absurd ■for. Mr ßallance tohbld out the prospect of the completion, of; the t work ''as the country, gets better .opened," put.," This statement looks like an attempt to cover lup by words -an intention ' to indefinitely 'shelve the work. "What are' the means usually: employed : for, "opening out" a ■ country if- not roads ■ and bridges » , Docs Mr Ballance expect that;the large' district .iuteres'ted will be sufllciently;f v , opened out" by the formation of a road which is practically, useless- till' the : bridge,is built ? There is plenty,, of .gqojd *sburid' ; totara, suitable for. bnilding: the. rb'ridgej to be found in the neighborhood, and this could be rafted down the stream to the site bf the proposed bridge. One objection to using this timber is that the Maoris demand 5s per 100 ft royalty as against Is 6d fper lOOft.ordinarily asked . by them: jßut by going a" few miles further another good snpply of suitable totara can be obtained,' to which . the above objection- does, not apply. '• If this. -work .were completed so ■as to give a saf° crossing,'-residents of the district' would, if necessary, themselves 'make a road sufUcientfor their immediate requirements. In its present '<■ state I the passage of a : dray 'or waggon ' across j_tlio riv;er .wpuld be quite'p'n't of '■tiio question, and if ', Mr ... Ballance -really,: ■ desires; to

"open-out" the country 'he 'will causo : the' ! bridge to be.^coristructed/.witliout delay. ..,..'.:- ':";';:■. r...tr'-\,'i

In our supplement to-day will be fohndi a report, of a lecture on. the scouring of wool, 'ftp., delivered, .by Professor Hummel, of. the Yorkshire' College:' The supplement also contains articles on " The Greville Memoiis," " ComVnodore Vanderbilt," "Gleanings about Dickens," "Equality," " A Pompoiian House," &c;', and 'the, continuation '.of. .NV. Olark'/Russell's interesting novel „"The Golden Hope;" "■■.'" ' ; , On the fourth page will, he fcmmV an article entitled " Horrible Lynching. "|

There was nobusiness at the Residen Magistrate's Court yesterday. j .

The Havelbck school committee have' voted in favor .of Mr G. H. Swan as a member of the Education Board, in the • placdof Mr E. A. Haggen, resigned. '■ r Mr Young, ex-Mayor' of Sydney, pidMi's Young, who are now on a tour through New Zealand, will leave Napier for Taupo, this morning in one of Griffiths' special coaches. ' : '■ '■'"•[-' ■".';;•- .. V, j'v,'!.. '//'"' j '' ;1 „ ' , The 1 subject [of : the' Rev.' • ' JV G. Pater" sou's sermon, to-riiorro>v morning will be , " Honey, but of the skeleton' of a lipnl-'r Thesubjeetof tlie eveninglecture will be," "Wanted^aniari."-/: -\. ''■:'■ ■ \

.„ The.s.s. Wairarapa has boon' detained at Wellington and will not ieaclx liere until to-morrow. The Boojum will take oil" her. passengers for. North at 5 p.in, Intehdinj* passengers arb 'requestcrlj to book to-day. ' < '

The" members .'of . the Scincle" Harriers Footbair Club are particularly requested to muster on the Itecreation fvound at 2.30 o'clock this afternoon to play in a scratch match, the result of which will greatly -influence the club committee in selecting a representative team for the forthcoming cup matches.

At the conclusion of the resent libel case' at Wellington, Rowberry v. Harris, a witness named. AY indust, contractor for the removal of rubbish, applied for his costs. "-What is your, name?" inquired his Houor, Judge Richmond. "William John Windust," replied the witness. "Is that really your' name ?" asked his Honor, doubtfully. ."Yes, sir," was the reply. "Dear me," said his Honor; " why, you were born to the occupation." Our. Hampden correspondent writes under yesterday's date,:—" The usual monthly, meeting of the school committee was held in. the schoolroom last Wednesday evening. -Present— rMessrs Buchanan (chairman), Hallasy, Parkinson, andScarrott (secretary). . The committee decided to vote for Mr Wilding to fill the vacancy on the. Education Board caused by the resignation ot Mr Haggcu. The master reported tlie average attendance to be 59-13." „ ' ,

Our 'Hastings correspondent wrote yesterday : — "I 1 understand ' that Mr Jillis, aided by some other energetic friends of progress here, purposes getting up an entertainment next week in aid of one of the local institutions of this borough, and that Messrs Smith and Muuro have promised to perform without fail. Major Greene has volunteered his services and Mr Peter Ramsay will dauco the sword dance" Gillie Callum." As the affair is in good hands and will have attractions for all who like Scotch music and dancing (and who does not ?) it ought to draw a good house. — Heavy showers falling."

The Wellington Post is a Ministerial organ, and sees nothing wrong in working oil' the following : — " The Minister ot Public Works has gone South to address his Kaiapoi constituents, when it is understood ho will unfold the details of an entirely now Bill regarding railway mii.iiiigemont by means of a Board or Boards, ltumo'rhas it that Mr Richardson's colleagues do not share in his admiration of the now measure, and hesitate as to adopting it as a Government Hill.Perhaps- if the electors of Kaiapoi endorse it tlio Cabinet may come to look more favorably on the measure." It isquitc a delicious idea that Ministers who do not believe in a measure should sink their convictions in order to keep a colleague's constituents " sweet."

Our Waipawa correspondent wired last night:— "At the Police Court to-dayi before Mr G. A. Prceco, R.M., Rebecca Braham and Ernest George Stalham Biaham were charged with maliciously burning a dwelling-house with intent to defraud. Mr Lascolles and Mr Gould appeared for tho prisoners, Detective Grace prosecuted. The evidence was virtually the same as that adduced at the inquest, with the addition of that of J, A. Turner, who deposed to having advanced money to Mrs Urahain tor purchasing her husband's stock when he filed. The dobt was secured by a bill of sale on Mrs Braham's furniture. A case of goods had been sent to him from Waipawn. Ho had no advice that the goods taken to the Waipawa station were consigned to him. Ho gave no authority to remove the goods. The case is still proceeding."

A very romarkable feal was performed on Tuesday evening lust by 0110 of the large tender-engines (Class V.) of Llio Wellington and Manawatu railway. It drew from Longlmrn to Faikakariki the following enormous (.rain:- 5 long liogio carriages, 6 high-side waggons of good:.', 0

trucks' of sheep, ,6 trucks of horses, 7 long bogie'lrucks of cattle, 1 horse-box, 1 mail ■ van, -1 luggage van, 1 brake van, iv all 34 vehicles, 1 of which, however,. 12 were of the lonp double-bogie class, each being : equal, to two ordinary vehicles, thus 'making the train equivalent to one of 46 loaded vehicles. The total weight was 325 tons, exclusive of engine and tender. This heavy load rtas di'aWn, unassisted, by one engirio frdin Loiigbutn to faikakariki jn ..three hours, or at the average ■ratebf- 19 miles an hour, including stoppages, although an adverse grade of 1 in 100 had to lie'oncpuntered for 2J miles? -ft took three of the tank-engines tobving tlie trainon.tb Wellington.— N.Z. Times

The Napiev 'iVadesiilen's Atliietio Club aiiuouiiiio^n indst afcti'ac'tivo" jiiogi'ainme: f qr , theiiv ' ' Juhilee i spofts ," at >Faf ndon Park on the24tll'of May: There will lie 15 events, ami" a. total, of £60 .will ho given. in cash' prizes atdiie, u while there will ■ (il?o )io ' a'.yaHliible bracelet anil a ~nninVor:of ' other vnlnablo trophies in ad-dition'to-tempt competitors'.-- 'The eveut carrying the'- most money will be the .Jubileerltandicajv .three distances, the i total prize money in which amounts to the substantial aunf of £30, Such liberality as. this 'is 'certain' to' result in the' -meeting- being,, a , highly ".successful one, and in.some of. the. most.keenly; contested ; races' evel* sOefl ; in"- the district. The Biacpletjyent.'and thc'.Hui'dle -Jf amlicap ' also -carry, big -prize iiiouey, aiitt £0 is. offered in'f.tli'd -mild- rattoi -, Taken alto-, ■ gethei'-.tlie' ttr'ogramnie ls'rdhe that the club may' sell fee] pi'dud of, and- ; tllat \\<iserves tfie. niost liberal pattoiiage; The day on which tlie dpbifs are'td be' held '.will be a^publicholiday, and as eS'diivsiojh: trains at cheap rates 'will be rah there is ibound'tq.bea.large attendance at the Park."- ■-" •„::.: -■ " '- ;••'

On' ouv fourth^ page will be found rt pictorial ; announcement i,in connection' with Messrs Herbert .and .Fitzgerald's nidh'ster circus, whicli'wiirijp'enin Olivesquare 'on .'Monday. - -The-Wwtt-^edW»rf Times thus'speaks of the circus :— " The company .£>.,&/ strongfp'ne, the horses five r wo)iderfully. trained, and., the programme embodies a considerable" amount of variety/ The feature of- the circus is the drilling of horses by Mr-'Wv- Organ. At this gentle-'man's-/.command .the horses .drive carriages, do a, remarkable scG-saw, and 1 go, througha course of drill. The last nVeu- ' tioned/is'th'e'best of its kind that has been seen in "Wellington; ' •Mr Organ), standing in the centre oPthe ring,- directs by word only the of five . horses, who* pi form fours ~aiid~ two deep, and gallop', in -single-file, halt,-back- out, and -return' to, .their places jrist^as. promptly as .a human 'being wonldP'So 'well trained : ai ! f jtiieso : horses that^when Mr. Organ calls-upon one of them by name to go inside ;for inatance.-that-parfcieular animal at once, "takes' the inside. ninniug." This" act alone' >is a showiin itself, and -Mr Organ:is to be congratulated oh' the results of his training.", Our, contemporary .further, states that the' whole' of the items introduced by : the management ai'e a long way above the average, and that, some of '.theni |are 'marvellously clever, ' ( '•" '••■':'"'".[ ! " ""A Russian official report states 'that ]tb,o use of peat as- fuel in fa'c tones' is Rapidly increasing, "and from'this' circumstance tlie price of peat . bog has risen so much that a-bog is- worth more than a wfell: .timbered' forest. ,:,- .-; ■■-„, /,-. \ j

..,.-. Mr:';Hipkins; 45 years'/ironmaster, , Staffordshire,. England," . writes .^to tho , Turanahi Herald stating his opinion that even at; the;low prices' now, ruling Jin 'the ijrpn.jniannfacture, he'is 'cbn> r in co d that both" pig-iron andbars can be produced in • New-Plyinouthwith the-preseutplant at' a profit of riot lessthan'£2 per ton.' | ■ No traces have -been found of tho ihiin

Smith, who was supposed to have violated and murdered a i young girl near Sand- 1 hust, and. .then thrown, her body dowp .a! 'shaft. ;JT^urther inquiries, madeappear to make "it 'doubtful. if , the affair ;; was! as 1 , tragical as r was at first' supposed, and (the police' have "obtained information 'which niakes it doubtful if-.thejjrfrl w.as respect? able, ,but not.siiflicient.evid.once to satisfy tliom'.tnat there was no foul jrtay.._... 1 A Southero'contemppraiy says : — "'An erroneous impression prevailed in_Otago that it :was .Derrett ■(not'W.-.Y.'Deh'nbtt; of >Hawke's ,Bay)" who generously;- con-., 'tributed the amount of '.tab" stakes '.in the Hospital', .Race .to 1 .- the -local IJewett should have been equabito the Qcqasion,! when lie found himself .so highly thought 0f,. -and' .planked down his. 2s. quid fov some ;other-chavity.aß tliougli it Were"V[uite'a' v cdihmon thing with him. I "" According to tlie sliowing of an official^ cohnectcd;-Ayith^ tliCQcity sanitary departs, inent, Paris contains more rats thanc^ver' itaxecl'.tho.power of .'the PiecLPipcrj of Hamelin.i'.- This ofiicial bases his calculations 'Oirtho'numbcr of. rodents aunuallyr, destroyed irt the metropolitan slaughter,:.hbuse and markets. These amounted! .to' 1 1,720,000, and the statistician- .roughly computes the rat population of the city to -beabq'ivi2,spppO... iv^: ; -V^V:p | H „ " The spirit of trade liniohism's.fienis tobe ■ pretty 'Strong ■ in 0 the'-rieigiiboi'liopd- pf , 'Galve'stoni'U'.S. 1 ' A feniale'f.ci'ifi jiositov of > that' .city,.. a'meuiber^of^the' 'piintdra' unionV;'niari'ied' a nbii'-nhion, compositlor,, ;au(l'tlieu '■• tried ;to "get. him .' to join, the order. He refused, and the union, iin transatlantic' phraseology "■ " vbte'dr-ri.^:boy-eott,", ill ,which,.his.wife participated [by lcatiiig Juhv liusban'd' and' beuinninc pro.ceedinga.for. a r diy,orce k _. ) AYe_ - sljpul.d iiot f anc V^that.}uon;)inipn*' coin]) "- : ' wil I j be ' mucli ot aids'e'i liytlie last circuinstauce.

. ,Up, to,.the 31st I)eceinl)er, last, according tb.'a^retimi^but, 0f, 131,807 'applications received i for: the > fixture of. fair ..-vents! in 59J213 had 'been fixed ; 'dismissed iqr'sthick put; 24;695 ;'. withdrawn; 10,581 ; total' disposed' of, 124J389,. ITlierehave 'l)een,"'up:to the saiiiedate, 59.260' agree'mehts'.out'of court fixing 1 fair' rents;: 1425 .applications ; to liave ' leases declared - void were> 'disposed .of ioiit of a total of 1500. Thereiiad beeivlOSG l'niscellaneons originating notices; of Svhicli 800 were settled; ..auil; 0f,'; the' '.21,524 appeals re fair rcni ,'i6,oß3^yeV'e disposed' of; : : \

AFrench chemist, M. Kominier, has just published a new account of brandies extracted,, from , .strawberries'-' and faspTjerries^ ,-rHo has made the. latter-yield a wine with over 18 per cent. : of 'alcohol instead of the hitherto, normal ,'Sveak strength of 2 or at fclie utmost 2i'per'.cerit., and the brandy distilled therefrom issaid to possess a highly aromatic flavor.. : A still move palatable wine with over 16 per cent, of alcohol was obtained from strawberries grown near, Paris and the b.andy obtained from it also strongly- preserveel the flavor of the fruit." • ■: ' A suspected case of murder at'Stawell, Victoria, turns out to be only a tragical case of accidental shooting. /':' A' young - girl named Charlotte Morconi had at a friend's house one night,- and. as ihe, was leaving on the following" r riioniing she was accidentally shot by a little boy named John Smith, 10 years' old, 'who was engaged at the time in : the garden shooting birds that were destroying the fruit. He ran to the house of the girl's father, about a mile away, aiid-told him that his daughter had fallen down in the orchard and could not get up.' He then decamped into the mountains and 're-, niained out until night time. This pro-' ceeding gave rise to the belief /that murder, had been committed. When the unfortunate girl was found she was dead, and an examination showed that several grains of shot had pierced the brain. , '■.' Lord Salisbury has .written, a. letter to Mr Arnold' White, wherein he expresses his belief that Parliament will notinake. any advance : ' towards State- directed

colonisatiori 'until the same lias, been

proved to lie successful ; but any "conspicuous and evident success might induces Parliament to risk money in that direc-

tion. The idea of State-directed colonka- 1 tinn seems to be finding favor with tho : working classes. A large meeting iof some 3000 chainmakers at present out|ou strike was held at Scradley a day or two ago, at which ife was decided to petition Parliament in favor of State-directed colonisation. Some of the speakers ileclare that there were hundreds of families ill the Black country who would be only too glad to go ont to the colonies under the auspices of some such scheme, provided they could be supported during the first 12 months of their colonial life.

A curious story of melodramatic revenge (says the Bombay Gazette) is reported from a village nol far train Mirzapur. One Sakhawat, the agent of a local Mohammedan , landowner, while on his rounds oiio day last l ']iionth, was suddenly surrounded by a dozen or so of Rrohmins, who firmly, and by no means politely, conducted him, pony and all, to their own village.. . Then they pulled him oil" his pony, and after some preliminary beating and' beard-pulling a Pasi was brought up with a bleeding piece of p'k's ear, and tho savorymorsel was forced into the karinda's moutii. Next a Musahar, about the lowest description of rat-eating hnmanity available, ,was made to spit, in his face., After that some of the ringleaders' women folk blackened his face with soot ; and dually he was ridden out of the village on the dhobi's donkey, and lot loose in !i very damaged condition near' the Jaunpore border. Tlie assailauts are, of course, in gaol, for the times lire not in accord with dramatic revenge. But the karindn will probably confine himself strictly to business in future,' and let the female portion of tho tenantry alone.

News lias been received nt Lagos from tho French sattlement of Porto Novo of some horrible atrocities committed by King Tofa, tho reigning monarch there. A prince and his son having been accused of possessing poisons with which they intended to, kill the king were seized, and by order of the kiu;* their jaws were broken and their tongues cut out, and they were afterwards hanged. Not very long ago two boys, sons of auothei 1 prince, were murdered 'in the presences of their mother and sister. Both the latter are stilted to be now in prison. Previous to this another terrible atrocity was cornmi tied on two other subjects, a man

and S woman;. .. The torture /vehfc.-.pri for four dtsg;' 'dtfrinjf which" 'time each had an eye put tftff', tiff, woman was scalped, and the man othonvis'e ill-treated. Their bodies were afterwards cut; 'With knives, salt being put into tlie wounds, and finally dry grass was .tied .round them; and then piled and set on fire.' It is also stated that when the news of the death of one of the Lagos Government Commissioners reached King Tofa lie ordered. guns .to be lived to celebrate the., event; ~ ; , "~ '. Inform atioii was cab fed from j&elbouvne the other day. that. tlie. police J Iferejiad -. been successful in- frustrating the efforts of ji_ganjf qfjfhrgere,' ahd.arrestiing three ot. them, "f lie following particulars willjno doubtiprove interesting :— Some tiriie ago Inspector Kennedy of the detective office received information that" forgeries on a ■large scale were'c'ontemplated.ahdiri consequence snrveilknce has been kept on the stispeo'te'd persons'.-. "In .consequence', ot further information',, £ ; el.bV'w«tch waskept on the National .Baivk.'.ait-.Port .Melbourne on the 21st. The Uitfk oihcials "were" warned, of what was experiedy. ariawere on tUb.in.lcrb. At a' "quarter; .prtst twelve a ina'n'named i/.ohn ,\Yalker..went ; into the, b'aWlf and- presented a cheque for £l'4O, ])nj : p6vtmps to be signed ,by T. Hester, . who keeps a ranr'iue store, 'a(i,t.V is reported to be a wealthy m'au; -" The ledgei'-Keeper, se'eiilg ' that'the cheque ' was- • a/f orgery marked it' iii fed ink ana handed it back to . AValkor;' He presented it to tlio.teller, and in answer to a;- question. "as together .he' •would ■ like it -in ■' notes or. -gold,, replied , "gold,", At that,moment-.,.severaV(letec:, rives' rushed iii ancU arrested '.him. In a cab at the back 6( the uatik.thedetectiyeS found two" nfen— Phillips, alum Davis, ani. . Brooks, -rf?to'-Sp;euc.ef-^- whom?., they arrested. : Brooks, i'.'sV'He^ 'arteited-^Vas^ -.-•writing o.n a^parceij w)iicll'<Jo^|ained 1 10 ■ other cheques, alLforgerieS.jandiatli.OTint-o ing in all to over £1000.^, They. 1 were ;all - oii'dilTerentbankSj andyarjedin amounts! ffom £171 4s "Cd. t6"£39'.>4The. forgeries. ! were in eatli caso so cleverly executed that ■ tlie persons ■whose' • filgbatufes'Jwere' ufett' could scarcely detect .the,, qmerence from, their own wntirig.iY.All '/themenj'fltXpsted. are notorious^ criminal/ :Walker. having^ "served twdyears for forgery. The arrest. -caused a- great sensation at .Port _M4:: tjourno, where a largeconcourse of people 'asseihbled'ran'd.ehe'erfedithe officers^ they leftthe place with'theif. ; pris6ners.. j " Mock'auciioFswindlea" are stated to ,be of daily occurrence, JiJjSaß, Francisco, landrtlie : piocess .is described .ln-ttetailiby . the police' for .the- benefit- oßthe. unwary. ■ '•The; stock' of these, auction ' stores, "it is said, "consists of -a varied and brilliant. assortment) : "6f- 'braasfand:- white "metal watclies, averaging about threo'dqllars, m value. . These pmfie'^ftfe'.dperi for the, express purpose of • swl«dling strangers; whose attention's attracted by the red'auction flag attached to the door. Within Tyou- will .see the ,bpgus, auctioneer, apparently auctioning off a watchf standring • in • front, of him ' ; ai'e/.-several nien. dressed in . farmers' or working men'tf clottiesj they.ai;s^appatentty bidding, but,tlie'y 'are. tile bogii^ ailctioneerjsfcappers. A "bid, watch, is piut Up, afld.ono.ot the cappers buys if-veryf.cheati. -Another :gold -watolr -is put up, and. the: auctioneer' descants upon it until you' bid.- ! ' :jThe.capper runs your.bkLup.to.2odol, 30dol;' or 40dol, or as inucli as you will stand, when thb" "Watch is knocked down "to you. You" pay-ydflf money, and; get a • guarantee i'thatj .assures yott^lhe' /-watch', is '•? gold on.a coin Ibasis.'^ . : This ' means~tliafc 'it -is :thinly gilded. You are. then, approached by another of the ..cappers „ wh0,,...w,hi1e,':, a'drhiringv your pnrctiase,; sugsiests .that' you have 'it ■ tested, .whereupon ■ this r capper .leads the. way. tpa pqorlyAstockedrjeSvcllciy stoic in the neighborhood . „ The clerk", ; ,\y ho is' also, a confederate of; the -swiiiulers,-. asks if you'desire : tb^''hay^; ; the;'^Vatch,;;tested.' '/Upoii your, assenting. hb t takes;.tlie, watch and proceeds to test it,;witlv"acid.'f In a few minutes he informs you he has tested 1 it 'a'n'd, demands . 3dolj which. ybuMhave; to "pay to •2ettheSvatch,!.wheh;he,:iuforms l ■you it is 'brass. 'You find-that .you are swindled ; but the capper'suggests that, you return ' and; put,',tiie ;.watch'j up_ for, auction ' again aiid riot slet. on. :'that it is bra^s; -and you may get mbre<than you gave for it.- ■ You take his, advice', and pay the' auctioneer Idol fdi- selling it,! when it is promptly knocked-down ito.-.a capper for al)6ut.2dpl. , • ;Your f riend_ the capper wlicse advice you'have taken is gone, and you are swindled-again., ■ l ; o: i '.'