MANGY MEANNESS.

NZ Truth, Issue 90, 9 March 1907, Page 5

MANGY MEANNESS.

BROWN'S BIG BUONO-TROVA.

Collins Measly Conduct.

A Direct Incentive to Dishonesty.

."•Honesty is the best policy" is a text which looks very nice at the head of a copy book, but events occur from time to time which seem to indicate that honesty is not by any means always the best policy, and that to be right well dishonest is often the surest path to fortune. Honesty is not always rewarded as it should be. That is perhaps the reason why honest people are generals ly poor, while those who have no qualms of conscience get on amazingly. Perhaps it is m accordance with llcly Writ that the good and just suffer m this world, while the wicked . and unjust prosper, presumably because they're clever enough ' not to be found out, and the ; Devil is layIng for them" m the next, anyway. However that may be, it infrequently happens that to be honest and just m, your dealings with your fellow creatures is to mark you an idiot;receivings more cuffs and "cusses" than coppers. As an example of what is meant it is here proposed to give the experiences of a young man named Brown, who tried, to be, . and m" faxrfe ' jvas , too ' honest arid the r er vsrard' his honesty was requited -with-.' Bif own is a haid-working carpenter, living m Pirie-street, and a couple of months ago, ; "while trudging through the Ell ice-street reserve on a workseeking 'expedition to' Kilbirnie, he made a find. ; ' ' ' : . fiE KICKED A TIN, andr hearing, a peculiar rattle he picked it up and found /that it^con 1 tamed : a large a^sorijmeiit of jewellery of a value of. over £1,00. A-miOngst-its' contents- were a, .'gent's massive gold .watch, two ladies gold watches, gold bracelets, bangles, pendants,. brooches, pins,. etc. ' There were silver watches- and twbfgold w,atch cases, which had been heated and flattened out. , Brown had! unconsbipusly lighted on a thieves' plant, and he .promptly went home, and on the advice of his brother-in-law; Mr W. Usmar, who is employed by the Harbor Board, .the plant was taken to Inspector Ellison at the Lambton Quay Police Station. There is not the scintilla of a doubt that what Brown so fortunately found, and so honestly handed over to', the police was the proceeds of NUMEROUS JEWELLERY ROB- ■ :.. ' BERIES , • m ■ Wellington. Sometime prior to Brotfri's discover^ a considerable and valuable quantity of jewellery had been' stolen from the premises of a R. T, Collins, ''a 1 gentleman of independent means." of Pirie-street. There had also been a robbery from the Girls' Friendly Society's' Lodge, m Vivian-street, • arid it is a pleasant fact to record ; jbhat" some of the •jfewels stolen were 1 amongst Brown's treasure' find, and the young ladies had 'their trinkets . restored to them. But by.' far the most and valuable part 'of the plant was identified, claimed and restored to Colliris,- the -. of independent irieans,".and he received the MASSIVE. GOLD WATCH, ladies' gold watch, a silver rams<headt shaped match-box and other, articles of more or less value. Collins share Of the: plant was at the lowest estimate wortli £50. Being what he is, ; \ either a 'retired' ship-wright or publican, a land-owner and well-blessed with worldly "goods, it seemed only right and reasonable that Collins should be asked for a reward. In fa'ctn the police advised Collins to recognise Brown's honesty ; which after all is only an encouragement of hdriestv m others, arid Mr Usmar wrote the following letter to Collins : ' _•■■■., Dear Sir,— . . . , Oh behalf of my brother-in-law, Mr T. . Brown, of No. 67 Piriestreefr, I beg to ask for any re-, ward that may, have been offered for :the return of your stolen jewellery,, which was recently found by him. m the plantation and handed over to the-, pblice.— l am, Yours, . etc.,. •-.'•• • . W. H. USMAR. THE EX-SHYPOO SELLER / did not have the decency to acknowledge the receipt of the letter, which shows : Him fa) be a n-i gnorant boor m any case, and ; Brown and his brother-in-law next ' waited on the < surly old "gent of independent/, means" .tp lay before him Brown's claiih for. a reward. "Collins then came, to light 'm his true colors. He pooh-poohed the idea of rewardingBrown, and said that what was re-: turned was - . . -A MERE FLEA-BITE compared to what had not been recovered, ; and more than that the, ungracious boor, roundly rated Brown for not restoring the jewellery to him instead of to the police. Curious to relate- wrapped .round the "•find" was a newspaper containing an account of the robbery from Collins premises. What this ex-beer purveyor and ex-boat-bottom scraper meant was not left long m doubt. After indirectly accusing the police of not having restored to him all his property, Collins had - THE DIRTY, INPUDENT IMPERTINENCE to turn to Brown and ask him straight out, "Where is my gold Albert guard and ring." After such a direct accusation that Brown knew more of the robbery, or the proceeds •of the robbery > Brown's claim for a reward vanished into thin, air, but it was only Collins advanced age that restrained Mr Usmar from promptly knocking the old ignoramus down and kicking him for falling. The police, however, showed some better regard for Brown's disinterested and honorable action by handing over to him some of the. unclaimed goods ; there are yet some articles of value to be v identified, . and, • failing identification, they will be handed back to Brown, who naturally enough is sore and resentful -at COLLINS CUB-LIKE CONDUCT. That is how honesty was rewarded m Brown's case, and such mean, contemptible misers of the Collins kidney deserve to be. robbed. Brown is a respectable, hard-working young man, against whom, or his family, the breath of slander has never been raised, arid that at anyrate, is more than Collins can say of his. He should remember the old adage that people who live m glass houses 1 shouldn't throw stones.