CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9293, 31 August 1893, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

MR. DARGAVILLE AND THE GUM COMMISSION. TO THIS EDITOR. Sill,— should be sorry to unjustly impugn any good motives Mr. J. M. Dargaville is capable of, and would give him credit for bis alleged "honesty of purpose," but unfortunately he commences his letter with a misstatement, to the effect that I am one of Mr. E. Mitchelson'a electioneering agents. This being untrue, very little reliance can be placed on the remainder of his letter. As another reason for giving little credence to his avowal that he is prompted to do good to gumdiggers, "many of them men with families," I think I need only refer to a portion of his evidence given before the Gum Commission as reported. Mr. Dargaville wished to add to his evidence already given that he owned a large number of acres of freehold gum-bearing land, had 40 diggers thereon, made no charge for digging, nor were the diggers compelled to deal at his store ; and to place in juxtaposition an incident reported in the New Zealand Herald, 22nd instant, whereby it appeared that one Joseph Draper was charged at Dargaville with having unlawfully trespassed on Kaihu No. 2 Block by digging gum without permission. Two of the landowner's rangers proved the unlawful act. The defendant pleaded lie had a large family, but without avail, was convicted and fined £2 15s 6d in all, or in default 14 days. He asked for time to pay, but the solicitor who appeared for the owner objected, stating as a reason that " several unexecuted warrants were now lying in Court for arrest of other defendants who had been allowed time." Defendant was accordingly committed. Now if Mr. Dargaville will honestly state that he is not tlu owner of the block in question, I will undertake to try and believe he has been an ill-used man, so far as the Gum Commissioners' report, as implied to himself, is concerned, and my own comments thereon. Poor Joe Draper, the defendant gumdigger, ten years ago was in steady employment in Auckland, but was "'retrenched" out of his billet, and went to the Northern Wairoa gumtields. Previous to leaving Auckland he was persuaded by one of Mr. J. M. Dargaville's "electioneering agents" to record I)is vote, which helped to send that gentleman ts Wellington for City West.—l am, etc., E. Hadkill.

THE FEMALE FRANCHISE AND MORAL TONE. TO Till!; EDITOR.

Sir,l notice in your sub-article of yesterday when dealing with this question, you state the orators have assumed that men on the whole and in the mass were rather low in their moral tone. I tliiuk the morals of some men are very low iu tone, and should be required either by law or some othet means to be better—a great deal better than they have been hitherto. What the women want is laws that will give justice to women as well as men, laws that will purify the moral atmosphere of tins fair city, which will give us better men and women thau some are now. We have no objection for men to commence a crusade against milliners' shops. There are a few women who spend more money than they should do on dress. Buying a new bonnet or dress does not rob them of their reason and cause them to lie in the street, ifc rather improves one's appearance than otherwise. Our husbands would rather we spent our money in dress than in wines, etc., for we have some value for our mouey when we have attire but nob any when we buy drink. Women have a right to vote, we will not beg for it; we will demand it as a right, and will not cease to demand it until we obtain it. It will come, if not now, soon. —lam, etc., ' A Woman Auckland, October 29th, 1893.

PONSONBY DRAINAGE. TO THE EDITOR.

—The drainage on the main road, a little beyond the Tramway Stable.* at Ponsonby, is something disgraceful. The ward members do not appear to have eyes or noses. I suppose that bcoause Mr. Courtney is leaving the Council he has become indifferent to the requirements of the neighbourhood. About the same place is a fence of barbed wire, next the footpath, instead of being inside the posts. These barbed wires are very destructive to gentlemen's coats and ladies' dresses, and ought not to be allowed to remain as they are at present.— am, etc., Drainage,

CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO . GODLINESS. But at what cost is this cleanliness procured' by many people? Often at the cost of a bad and uncomfortable skin, the result of the use of " inferior soapa. To insure a good healthful skin Peaks' Soap should always be used,, ■■ ■ ' '-' . :■■•■--. ■.■■■'■■