Local and General News.

Marlborough Express, Volume VII, Issue 458, 21 December 1872, Page 5

Local and General News.

The Wellington races take place on the Hutt course on March 6th and 7th. We received a telegram yesterday stating that the Wellington, for Wellington and South, advertised to sail on the 23rd, had been withdrawn, on account of the Ilangitoto, which called in Picton last evening. Mr Acton Adams is about to contest the seat in the Nelson Provincial Council for Inangahua, where he has large interests, against several local candidates. An important sale of cattle is to be held next Saturday by Mr Syms, at Dodson, Fell, and Go’s yard, comprising cows in full milk, calves, and steers ready for the butcher. If there is any person among our readers who understands how to lay down asphalte pavements, there is an opening for its display to be heard of at our office. The reported coal seam at Hope, near Nelson, has turned out to be merely a shale deposit of no value whatever. A Caution. —Persons travelling over or working upon the runs ought to be very careful this dry weather in the use of matches, ns thousands of pounds worth of damage may be done very readily by a single spark from a pipe even, besides the trouble and anxiety caused to all in the neighborhood, and the penalty for the offence, whether accidental or not, is £SO. We are led to these remarks by a lire being started on Thursday evening upon the Hon. Mrs Dillon’s run at Leaf Hill, which caused a number of men who had no direct interest in the matter to be taken from their ordinary duties to beat it out. We learn that it is the intention of the Ladies’ Committee to hold A Supplementary Bazaar in Mr Tissiman’s School-room, near Sey-mour-square) on JNew d car's Tsay, contemporaneously with the Sports, in order to clear off the remainder of the goods contributed towards the erection of the parsonage. Great bargains we are informed may be expected. A quantity of goods received from distant friends will be offered. The friends of Mr Duncan Guy, who formerly resided in Picton, will be pleased to learn that he has preserved his reputation as a crack shot in the sister province, having recently won the Provincial Championship of Nelson, and a handsome Martini-Henry breech-loading rifle worth £2O. A short time ago Mr Guy also won a revolver the second prize given to the City Rifles this year by the Provincial Government. It will probably be remembered by our readers that the same gentleman represented this Province twice at the Colonial Prize Firing—once in Wellington, and again in Auckland last year, when ho won a silver medal and £42 10s. The Deputation.—Out of the twentythree persons who were appointed to go to Wellington as a deputation, the following are the gentlemen who actually went : —Messrs. H. Dodson, Henderson, Gorrie, Hutcheson, Davits, Smith, Collie, C. Redwood, and Captain Baillie. • Last evening we were informed that a telegram had been received from one of the deputation as follows: “ Immediate enquiry in Eyes’ case. Dismissal certain.” Our telegrams, however, contain a pretty lengthy report of the proceedings, which does not at present call for any reVnark at our hands. } The Bishop’s Lecture.—On Thursday evening,, the 19th instant, his Lordship the Bishop of Nelson delivered a very interesting lecture on the Manuscripts of the New Testament at the Hall of the Wairau Club, to a highly respectable and attentive audience. The- Yen. Archdeacon Butt occupied the chair. The Lecture was amply illustrated by diagrams, being enlarged Jac similes and translations of Ancient Greek Writings, also a drawing of the Egyptian Reed, or Papyrus plant, the use of which by the.. ancients was explained. The slight discrepancies of the various writers were explained, and the whole subject treated in a masterly and exhaustive manner. Mr James Hodson proposed a vote of thauks to the Bishop at the close of the lecture, which |-was carried by acclamation. His Lordship in acknowledging the compliment, said he hoped to visit Blenheim again soon, when he proposed giving a lecture on the manuscripts of the Old Testament. A vote of thauks to the Chairman closed the proceedings. A “ return of lands held under depasturing and other leases (except feFgold mining) and rents, &c., paid, in the several provinces of New Zealand for the year ending 31st December, 1871,” gives the following results : —The total amount of land let by the Crown for depasturing purposes was fifteen million acres, and of rents and assessments, £107,763, or at the rate of not quite one penny three farthings per acre ! Of this, Otago (with Southland) lots nearly seven and a-haff million acres, at a little more than 2d per acre; Canterbury, nearly five and a-half million acres at lAd ; Marlborough, a little over a million, at less than Id ; Nelson, 665,396 acres, at less than lid : Hawke’s Bay, 319,581 acres, at a little more than M ; Auckland, 58,750 acres, at less at ;fd ; Wellington, 21,350 acres, at over lAd ; Westland, 31,400 acres, at " more than 2d; mid Taranaki, 24 acres 23 perches (an extensive run !), at Is lid per acre.c2,SOlL acres are let “for mineral and other purposes, j ! viz. ; by Otago, 1889 acres, at nearly 4s per' aero ; Nelson, 701 at Is 84 ; and Auckland, 70 crcs (bimbo.- licenses), for £32 lOs.j

We learn from Auckland that Mr F, Thomas and Mr C. O’Neill have taken two large contracts for public works—one from Mr Brogden for 14J miles of railway, a portion of the 'Waikato line to Mercer, and the other for the Auckland breakwater. — lndependent. i At Mr Alfred Buckland’s wool and flax sales yesterday nearly 700 bales of wool were sold amounting to nearly £14,000, of which £12,000 worth were bought by one house on foreign account. The highest price realised was Is 9d. The flax business was dull.— Auckland ■Star. The Electra commenced loading on ’WednesdayTasfT'ahd from the manner in which the cargo is being put on board, we, should say that Captain Sellars and the ship’s agents, Messrs W. and G. Turnbull and Co., are determined to have her a full ship by the end of the month, and therefore hold her position of being the second wool ship of the season. She has now on board, and in the sheds, 850 bales of wool and flax, besides a quantity of tallow, hides and shells.— lndependent. We understand the Caledonian Society of Nelson will meet to consider the propriety of bestowing their medal on Mr Hamill, the chief mate of the City of Newcastle, whose unselfishness in standing by the wreck, and sending the captain away in the boat which was first picked up, because “the captain had a family,” and whose courage in swimming ashore ami saving life at the wreck itself, are good traits of character, deserving and receiving public recognition.—Colonist. The plan for calling for public tenders for the construction of the colonial railways is to have a test applied to it. The Wellington Independent learns that the Minister for Public Works has called for tenders for theconstruction of 20 miles of the Canterbury Southern Railway, and that the'work wiiT he absolutely thrown open to public competition. The experiment will be an interesting one, for the reason that it will enable the public to estimate with some degree of accuracy the nature of the contracts with Messrs Brogden. A most lamentable part of the spiritist business now reigning in Melbourne is (says the Courier) that a promising young man, who held a good appointment under Government, has not only lost his situation, birt gone raving mad, and is now in the Yarra Bend Asylum, where he had to be removed by his friends. It is not all plain sailing, however, with those in the inner circle, as one section of the “faithful,” under Nayler, denounces James Smith and his section as arrant humbugs and impostors whilst Mr Smith avers that his is the only true gospel, and that Nayler is a rank duffer. What a pretty lot! The Nelson Examiner notices, as an interesting event, that a light carriage drawn by four horses had arrived in Nelson, driven by Mr A. B. Monro, of Valley-field, Wairau, who was accompanied by two friends 1 . They left Blenheim on Sunday morning, and made Birch Hill the same day, a distance of about forty miles, but as the road is good that portion of the journey was easily travelled. The next day’s stage to Pox Hill, distance fifty miles, was the serious part of the undertaking, portions of the road being very hilly and rough, with a formidable river to get through. The journey was, however, made in perfect safety, and the short drive into town next day was of course over a good road. The experiment was to be repeated by another partj - from Nelson. Beauties op Melbourne. A Melbourne correspondent of the Dunedin Star gives rather a lugubrious picture of the big city. He says :—‘Let no one leave Otago to better themselves in Victoria. You are all well off, and, perhaps, don’t know it. Melbourne streets teem with fallen women seeking the wages of sin. The factory boys—called * larrikins ’ —prowl about in twenties, and duck even policemen in the tanks opposite hotels with impunity. Stabbing takes place in open day, and burglaries are so common that a man the other day, who caught a housebreaker ‘ in the very act,’ actually invited the robber to take a glass of wine. As for genteel thefts, forgeries, shop-lifting, passing bad money, &c., they are so common that such events would, if recorded, require a newspaper all to themselves.”

and Agriculture.—A humourous contributor to the Canterbury Press, who might well adopt a better name than that of “ Loafer in the Street,” gives thus a fa Artemus Ward, his ideas of.an agricultural show : I should like to go in for a pound or two of ecstacy about the Agricultural Show, but I can’t My mind is not built on an agricultural or pastoral basis. I can look at a prize bull without an approach to a tear. I can’t feel romantic at a well-grown cart horse, and sheep aretheleast bit common here. There is nothing original about sheep. Pigs are usetul though unclean ; but Pin no judge of them, or was not until the ' show day, when Slagga took me round and explained all about pigs. He took two hours at this Christian performance. I left him without a murmur. I shouldn’t mind going mad upon some respectable subject, but fancy being mad on pigs I I saw everything at the show, the prize beer especially. I had so high an opinion of this branch of colonial industry, that'l went there often during the day, until I was warned off. I saw lots of people at that show who came—not to see the show—but to show themselves. Bless’em, and quite right too. Its not every day you can exhibit yourself before 9000 people. I trust, some of these gentle folk met their affinities, and that they will live happily. I was going to the flower show, but I saw a lady close by the door with a hat, in which, so far as I could see. all the flowers and most of the fruits in the world represented, I thought the collection couldn’t be better inside, so I saved a shilling!; and we it and looked at the implements. Before concluding this really interesting paragraph, I notice in one of the reports connected with the show that the demand for bulls was very limited, the majority being purchased by the sausage makers. I didn’t eat any myself last week. Did you ; ? If so, how did ypu-liud them. ]' only ask from curiosity, for I quite believe tb-P satigage weht demundg skiUod labour, and, p "Pf th * •« 80n w8 doe *

There are 126 breweries in Victoria, and the beer brewed last year amounted to the enormous quantity of 13,061,145 gallons, or an 18-gal!on caskful for each man, woman, or child (teetotallers included) in the colony. The capital invested in plant and premises is £470.000. This is an encouraging field for the Rechabitea to work.

Coal.—Preparations are being made at the Canterbury Colliery in anticipation of the railway to Malvern causing an increased demand for coal. A shaft, seventy feet deep has just been completed, and the works underground are being considerably extended.— Lyttelton Times. A coroner’s inquest on a curious case of setting fire to a breakwater in the Wai-iti River, Waimea West, is reported in our columns this morning. An old and well-known settler has been committed for trial by the Coroner for the offence. Waimea West is not noted for affectionate regard among some of its settlers, and, doubtless, local jealousies and disputes about boundaries, and the influence of the breakwater on land opposite had something to do with this affair.

The writer of Ballarat gossip in the Eaglehawk Leader furnishes the following paragraph :—“ After writing so much about the ups and downs of colonial life, it will not surprise the readers of the Leader to know that in the Melbourne General Post Office there is employed as a letter-sorter a gentleman by birth and education, and no less a personage than Sir George Farmer, K.C.B. Also, in connection with the same department, working as mail guard, Major Hall, late of her Majesty’s service and once a resident of Ballarat, So much for the vicissitudes of the English aristocratic element in Australia.”

/""Severe Accident to Mr Dodson, oe /Suburban North. —We regret to have to mention that Mr Dodson, of Suburban North, one of our earliest settlers, met with a serious accident last Friday, by which one of his legs was fractured in two places, near the ancle. It was occasioned by his feet getting entangled in the tether of a restless cow. Dr Squires was speedily in attendance, and we are glad to learn that the sufferer is progressing as favourably as could be expected, considering his age and the nature of the accident. — Examiner.

American Attorney-Gelierals have curious questions submitted to them. Here are three from a neighbouring State :—“To the Atorny Ginral.—Dear Sur, —Please releave a perplexed colecktor : 1. If a man is assessed for a dog and won’t pay it, what shall ido ? 2. If the dog dies after it is assessed, and before it is payable, must I eoleekt it ? 3. If a man is assessed for a dog who never had a dog, how shall i get rid of it ?” A talented clerk was deputed to answer, and did so as follows, after consulting “Ram on Facts ” : 1. Make the dog pay it. 2. Yes, unless it is too far gone. 3. Tic a tin pan to its tail.— Harper's Magazine.

Tni? Government, have received a telegram from Dr Featherston, dated November 23, in answer to a telegram from Government dated November 2, in which ho states that 1,803 souls have left the United Kingdom since September 19. He states that the regulations arc working well, and he is relaxing them wherever necessary. He is in a position to send to Otago 1,720 immigrants ; to Canterbury, 1,600 ; to Marlborough, 140; Auckland, 750 ; Napier direct, 850 ; Wellington and adjacent provinces. 1,450 ; total, 6.516. Of the above, 3,750 are English, 850 Irish, 570 Scotch, and 1,340 foreigners. The Scotch agency has never been interfered with. Mr Auld will send Otago immigrants from the Clyde. Irish immigrants are flowing freely. A central office, with sub-agency, has been established under Mr Farnell, at Belfast, since June. The Government of New Zealand have received a communication from the Victorian Government enclosing copies of correspondence with other colonies regarding the proposed postal conference. A very acrimonious feeling appears to exist between Victoria and New South Wales in connection with the position assumed by the former, and it is now suggested that the conference should be held at Hobart Town, in order that the discussion may take place on neutral ground. The Victorian Government state that they will not be a party to the establishment' of any service from Galle, unless the terminus is Melbourne, but that they will give loyal consideration to other services in which other countries have a direct interest. This expression is supposed to bear favourably on the New Zealand contract for the San Francisco service. New South Wales objects to Hobart Town as the seat of the conference, hut South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria are agreeable to it. The consent of New Zealand is asked.

The “Man Eater," —Such it appears is the “deep water” cogomon of the man Murray, whose brutelike conduct in biting a fellow seaman, named Vaughan lacerating him on tho face, leg, and thigh, and subsequently attempting to stab the man when laid up from the savage attack, brought him before the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday last. What did not appear in evidence, was the fact of Murray’s threatening to stab the man Vaughan, while lying' suffering from the wounds inflicted by Murray’s teeth, and the other fact that the latter was at last fired upon by Vaughan, after cautioning him that he would shoot him if lie did not go out. The ruffian refused, still brandishing the knife, and Vaughan at last fired and prisoner retired, not knowing he was wounded, until attention was directed to the blood flowing down bis leg. The bullet had taken effect in the thigh, an eighth of an inch off the femoral artery, and the man made a narrow escape with his life. He has several times before now practised his biting propensity ; aiid people wondered that, after what he had done to Vaughan, the captain of the Tararua did not place the man in irons. It appears that some not over wise Victorian Justice of the Peace had censured the captain for placing an insubordinate seaman in irons on a former occasion, and this time he was restrained by tho remembrance of that admonition. But it is not easy to imagine a case, short of murder, more warranting irons than this ; and on board ship a captain possesses supreme authority, and sometimes requires to exercise t ,+CotonUt.-

It is reported'that a five foot seam of coal has been found at the Hope, a tributary of the Buller, distant something less than fifty miles from Nelson.

Crops in the Waikato are looking so well that the farmers are seriously talking of 40 bushels to the acre.

A Nashville (Term.) telegraphic operator has invented a device for propelling railway cars by the power of electricity. He claims that a speed of 100 miles per hour can easily be obtained, A number of scientific gentlemen have made a favorable report on his invention.

Accidents by flax machinery are still frequent in the Southern provinces. Several have occurred lately, by one of which Hubert Henry, a man employed by Messrs Dumergue and Place’s Waikuku flax works, Canterbury, while working at the scutch had two fingers of his left hand taken off by the machinery.

The extention of the railway in Canterbury seems fully to carry out the idea that railways create population. The first result of the construction of the branch Hue to the Malvern Hills is the establishment of a new township which promises to lead to the settlement of a large population in that part of the province of Canterbury.

The division in the Christchurch City Council upon the question as to voting a salary to the Mayor resulted in a tie. In giving his casting vote against the proposal, the Mayor said he did so on the ground that the ratepayers should be allowed an opportunity of expressing their opinion upon the matter prior to the amount being voted. He felt sure, however, of this, that with the calls, officially made upon the Mayor, the sum of £3OO would be insufficient for the year, as any one who occupied that cnair would have to spend more than that. Tobacco Cultivation in Victoria.— The Chinese in Victoria seem to be building up a future for themselves in that Colony, and a monopoly in certain special productions, and amongst these tobacco. Numbers of them, it seems, have engaged in tobacco cultivation about the Mitta Mitta to an extent which must seriously interfere with imports in the Colony. No fewer than five wagon loads of the leaf, each wagon containing five tons, passed through Beechworth in one day, and the loading would not be worth less than £ISOO. Independent.

A shocking occurrence (says the Lyttelton Times) took place on Tuesday night, at Salt’s Gully. A man named Nelson Bell (a labourer), and well known in the town, was discovered dead in his own house, his throat being cut in a most horrible manner. Various reports were circulated, but we gather from the best authority that there can be no doubt the unfortunate man committed the deed himself. It appears that the deceased had been ill during the day, and a neighbour named Brown went to the house about 10 p.m. to see if he required anything ; on opening the door he found the house in darkness, but having a lantern, he Saw ou the floor a large quantity of blood, and on further examination, he saw the deceased lying on a couch near the window, his head cut half off, aud on the floor near his hand was a large knife, covered with blood. It appears the deceased has been ill for some time past, and latterly had taken to drinking heavily. We regret to hear that oui> old friend Captain Peters, of the “ Malay,” and now commander of the “Helen Denny,” has had an unfortunate accident'fftrying the passage out from Glasgow to Auckland. In a tempestuous gale the vessel encountered, the decks were literally swept from stem to stern, one of the crew being washed overboard and drowned. Captain Peters was nearly sharing the same fate himself, but escaped, having, however, sustained severe fractures of the leg, besides sundry bodily bruises. Captain Peters, we are sorry to state, has not quite recovered from the effects of the accident, but is progressing favorably. Under these circumstances it is exceedingly improbable that Captain Peters’ contemplated visit to Wanganui will be made. — Wanganui Herald. We have had the pleasure of inspecting two hoggets’ fleeces, from the flock of Mr J. Rhodes, of Clive Grange, nowin Mr Dinwiddie’s shop window in this town, and we can recommend the flocokwners of this Province to have a look at them. They will repay an inspection, and we tiiiuk, for length of staple and quality of wool, they would command attention anywhere. The animals from which the fleeces were taken were two young rams, which attracted much attention at the Havelock show. The age of the sheep was, in each case, 13 months, we believe, and the fleeces 1311 b and 1411 b respectively ; much wool, however, had been taken from them previous to the show by careless clipping, and this so disfigured the animals that the judge’s eye was not attracted to them, and they only got an honorary certificate while their dams took first-class prizes as LeicesterLincolns. For fattening qualities and wool combined the Grange flock will speedily stand second to none in the .province.— Hawlx’s Bay Herald. The writer of Casual Notes in the Otago Witness cannot comprehend those letters which are intelligible to Masons. The following “note ” contains an effort at wit: —Between the advertisements of Masonic Lodges, and those of Friendly Societies and Temperance bodies, the columns of Colonial newspapers are frequently as studded with capitals as the portcullises of ancient castles are with nails. It gratifies the vanity of John Smith to see his name in print with an imposing array of capitals, such as E.W.0.P.G.M., before it. In Fiji this folly is being acclimatised along with many more, and the columns of the Levuka paper at times bristle with initials. The practice is carried occasionally to even a greater extent there than here, and the hieroglyphics are sometimes puzzling. For instance, in a late issue of the Fiji Times, I see an advertisement referring to the lodge of “Free and Accepted Masons of Polynesia,” headed with the letters “ I. T.N.O.T-G. A.O.T.U ” This is enough to frighten King Cakobau into decreeing the abolition of secret societies in his kingdom, for the letters are cabalistic enough to denote any amount of lurking mischifif.

At Christchurch, refuse fla» is being utilized in the manufacture of coarse paper. The Tokomairiro paper says that ninetysix Chinese have resumed work upon the railway near Adams Flat, this time upon contract work. Colonel McDonnell has refused the offer of the Resident Magistracy of the Chatham Islands, made to him by the Government, and the appointment still goes a-begging. The Argus says :—We would particularly refer to the fact that New Zealand wheat has realised a higher price in London than Adelaide wheat. We mention this because hitherto a difference of nearly one shilling per bushel, or eight shillings per quarter, has existed in this market between the wheats in question...a difference which may compel the New Zealanders to pass us in future with their supplies, and look for a more appreciative market elsewhere. Prejudice could scarcely go further than this. The annual installation of officers took place in the Waterloo Lodge, No. 463, S.E., recently, R. W.P.M. Gillon acting as installing officer. There was a large attendance of members and visitors, including the W.M. and officers of the Pacific Lodge, E.C. The officers of the "Waterloo Lodge for the ensuing year are— R. Bro, Powles ; P,M., Bro. ®fllon ; D.M., Bro. Toogood ; S,M., Bro. George ; Treasurer, Bro. Powles; Secretary, Bro. Lowes, S. Bro. Downes; J.W., Bro. Player; S.D.. Bro. Press; J.D., Bro. Johnston; J.G., Bro; M'Comisky ; Tyler, Bro. Buck.— lndependent. , Thu Ballarat Star reports that one of the letter-sorters in the Melbourne Post Office forgot to despatch the Hamilton mail’ by the last night train, the consequences of which were that he had to charter a special engine at his own expense and proceed on it to Ballarat, where he arrived in time to find the Hamilton - coach bad started. He therefore had to get a buggy, and, after driving eighteen miles, caiight the coach at Streatham. The cost of this little affair was £4O. Westland appears to be in a shaky condition financially, if the following remarks of the West Coast Times are to he credited :—The County is, in fact, in a state of bankruptcy, and has as good reason to file a declaration of insolvency as any poverty-stricken individual in the community. Indeed, were it a personal body instead of a body corporate, we should see it figuring in the Resident Magistrate’s Court daily as defendant in suits innumerable in number, and overwhelming in amount. If what we hear is true, even the salaries of County officers have not been paid for some months—since last August we are told—and the contributions to charitable institutions are similarly in arrear. Melbourne Steamers for Picton.— We notice, by advertisement, that the Rangitoto, on her next trip South, will call at Picton on her way to Wellington. With the growing trade of Marlborough, we shall expect to see M ‘Meehan and Blackwood’s steamers call regularly at Picton, which they will certainly do when the railway to Blenheim is opened. If such was the case at present, the Wairau sheepfarmers would gladly avail themselves of the opportunity of sending their wool home via Melbourne, and insure early delivery in London, and carriage by first-class vessels.— Examiner.

- Supreme Court. Picton.—On Wednesday last we were only able to publish a brief summary of the business of the Supreme Court, we now give the following report of his Honor Judge Richmond's address from the Pictou said it was nearly six months since he addressed a jury iu this Province. He was happy to say that very few cases were to come before him, and he had no doubt that many would join with him in the pleasure he felt at this. The cases for trial were few in number and not of great magnitude ; and such, had been his experience in neighbouringcircuits, showing that crime was not on the increase. One case to come before them was for perjury. How the proof in cases of perjury was beset with • technical difficulties ; bub they had not to trouble themselves with technicalities ; if they found there was a prima facie- case, they had better leaye the matter to the petty jury. Perjury was* held to consist of a wilful false swearing in a judicial proceeding on some material point. Another case was one of larceny, orlarceny with receiving ; these charges were usually combined, and the distinction between the two was nothing so far as punishment was concerned. A third charge of a graver character would come .before them, either in the shape of an indictment for rape or an indictment for an attempt to commit that offence. The evidence went to show that the prosecutrix was intoxicated on a Sunday afternoon, and left the public-house iu company with two men, aud not in company of her husband. Such a proceeding on the part of a female did not go to prove that she set a high, value upon her character. If the jury was satisfied that there would be no evidence on the graver charge, they would ; cut the-bill; but it might happen that the minor charge might be sustained. In the present case, suppose there was ijp proof of the graver charge, there appeared no proof that the minor offence was committed; and if the jury were satisfied that there was but little proof that the charge could be sustained, they would ignore the bill, and thus prevent a needless repetition of details that would be as well to be altogether repressed. This was only the opinion of his Honor; aud he charged the jury not to be guided entirely by what he said ; but as they would be brought face to face with the witnesses, they would be able to form their own. opinion as to the weight of evidence likely to be given before the petty jury. His Honor continued : I hope it will not belong before the splendid capabilities of your port are employed in harbouring shipping that will drain the back country of all its surplus produce, aud take it to markets where it will meet a ready sale. The Province will become developed as the public works get completed, arid the connection of such a shipping port with the large tracts of back country will work a great good to all interested in the place. I don’t know the number of hands employed upon the public works, but it appears that the influx of population has not disturbed the normal state of the district. This in itself is a matter for congratulation, as it proves that crime does not necessarily increase with poput lation.