THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 29.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2049, 29 August 1868, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 29.

The Police Offences Bill recently introduced into the House of Representatives by Mv' f Hall ought/ to be carefully read by every member of the body politic. It introduces a new system into !New Zealand, the merits of which can be decided only by experience. One question, we think, must present itself to every one who examines it; and that is, how far such a system is suited fco the pres.ent circumstances of the colony. There could be no objection to it in an old and fully populated country, where the various classes of society are toned down into some sort of resemblance with each other, where all public business is conducted on the centralised system, and where facilities of all kindsi exist, for

the publication of new laws and the enforcement of their penalties. But circumstances are so entirely different in such, a country as New Zealand, that doubt aa to the practicability of the present measure is very likely to become conviction. A glance at some of the provisions in the first Part of the Bill, wliich will be found in another column, will show that such a multitude of offences, accompanied with penalties more or less severe, is more likely to be known to policemen and magistrates than to the scattered residents of the interior. The consequence of enforcing such provisions will probably be that convictions for the violation of laws unknown to the offenders will be a matter of daily occurrence. Many, too, will probably object to the proposed law as too rigorously minute in the enumeration of offences, and too arbitraiy in the power entrusted to the lowest executive officers. It will be objected to moreover on the ground that it breathes the spirit of French, rather than of British, legislation: that it converts the peace officer into a spy, and hedges the paths of daily life with numberless restrictions. Such objections as these certainly will not tend to make Mr Hall's style of legislation a popular one. ' ■'■'•'

The Bill ia divided into Five Parts. The- first is entitled ' Police Provisions applicable to special localities'; the second is entitled ' General Police Provisions' ; the third, ' Sale and Exhibition of Obscene Books and Other Articles'; the fourth, <Gaming|:' the fifth 'Miscellaneous.' Besides the twenty-five subsections relating to the.good order of towns, the first Part enacts that builders shall not erect scaffolding or enclosures for building materials in the streets, without the permission of the local authorities ; that no person shall expose articles for sale in the streets so as to obstruct the public thoroughfare ; that the local authorities or any justice may send a constable to inspect slaughter-houses or butcher's, shambles or yards or houses or outbuildings or lanes or alleys or other places to ascertain if such places are clean, and if they prove to be not clean, the constable may then remove the filfch at the expense of the person to whom the filthy place "belongs. It also enacts that no person shall build a chimney or fireplace of timber or other combustible matter; and that the breadth of the carriage and footways in the streets and public places of every city town and borough, within reach of the Act, shall be set out anil marked by posts at the corners and inter-

sections,

The Second Part, in addition to a variety of minor enactments of a general kind, provides for penalties on persons found drunk and disorderly in the street; for prostitutes who publicly importune passengers ; for persons who sing obscene songs or ballads, or write or draw obscene words, figures, or representations, or use profane, indecent, or obscene, or threatening, or abusive, or insulting language in the streets ; for persons who sell unwholesome meat, fish, game, poultry, or fruit ; for persons who keep unregistered skittle grounds or bowling alleys; for persons who allow drunkenness or disorder or gaming in their establishments, or who suffer prostitutes to assemble on their premises ; for persons who trade on Sundays or keep open house for the purpose, with exceptions in favor of apothecaries, and of butchers, bakers, and pastrycooks within certain hours ; and finally for persons who start lotteries, with exceptions in favor of raffles for {works purely of art,' of which raffles due notice has been given to the local authorities. This Part concluded with giving summary jurisdiction to Justices of the Peace in cases of illegal detention of property not higher in value than £50 ; and with making masters liable for the transgressions of servants acting, under their

orders.

The third Part prohibits under heavy penalties the sale, or offering for sale, of any obscene books, papers, writings, prints, pictures, drawings, or other representations ; and it also enables the Resident Magistrate to instigate a search, of: premises in which such'articles are kept for sale. The fourth Part authorises any Justice, upon complaint made, to issue a "warrant for searching premises in which gaming is carried on, and for breaking doors and arresting the gamblers on the spot. It also authorises any. constable to enter any place 1 where any public table or board is kept in playing at billiards, bagatelle, bowls, fives, racket, quoits, skittles, or ninepins, or any game of the like kind, when and; so often as such constable shall tliink proper. Persons who cheat at play or at betting are to be deemed guilty of obtaining money under false pretences. All wagers are to be null and void in the eye of the law. The fifth Part authorises any.constable ' or other person' to drive vagrant cattle to the pound ; and also to arrest without warrant any one found committing an offence against the provisions of the first and' second Parts, leaving it to the discretion of the constable in charge of the 'lock-up to take bail or not. The Act, concludes with a variety of technical clauses and forms of warrants. .

The storming of the pah isTgutu o te Manu is some compensation for the re verseß which the Colonial Forces have met with since the commencement of the present war. It will serve to revive the confidence of our troops and to damp the ardour of the Maoris, who have no doubt been greatly emboldened by their recent successes. The tide has now turned. Up to the present moment, we have been defeated at every point, and under circumstances which rendered the defeat itself peculiarly annoying. From the surprise of the redoubt at Turuturu Mokai to the escape from the Chatham Islands, everything seemed to go wrong with us. A conviction was rapidly gaining ground that the Colonial Forces were disorganised, and that no reliance could be placed upon them either in camp or in the field. But the public will be re-assured on this point, not so much by any formal report on the discipline of our army, as by the

vigour and determination displayed by it in the presentdnstance. Colonel M'Donnexl evidently xmdersfcands bis work. It is only when the enemy aro taken by surprise that we can look for decisive victories. There i 3 no possibility of deciding warfare with savages by means of pitched battles ; and yet, to judge from language we sometimes hear, the impression apparently exists in some quarters that a campaign with the Maoris may be settled by one or two decisive engagements. We are told now, as we were told years ago, that there is little fear of the war being protracted ; that the struggle need only be 'short, sharp, and decisive,' and there will be an end of it. But the time for such a delusion is past. If we cannot succeed in catching the Maoris as we caught them at Pokaikai and Ngutu ote Manu, we shall make but slow progress. For triumphs of that kind we must trust to the military skill of Colonel M'DoNNEUi. v His tactics in both these instances display a genius for war which has not often been met with in New Zealand, and which remind us not a little of the achievements of ' Stonewall' Jackson in America. By a swift and secret.night march, followed by an overwhelming attack on the pah, he carried everything Before him; cut down the Maoris who resisted, burned their defences to the ground, and in a few hours began his march back to Patea. This was done with the loss of three killed and eight wounded. It was done, too, in one'hour. The affair at Pokaikai was accomplished with the same dash, and the same economy of blood. We ironically compared it the other day with the tragedy of Glencoe, in allusion to Sir George's Bowen's historical parallel between the Maoris and the Highlanders; but at Glencoe there was brutal treachery without military genius, while at Pokaikui there was military genius without treachery. We suppose however that 1 Mr George Graham will have no objections to urge against the attack on Ngiitu ote Mami.

"The Evil Genius" was repeated at the Princess Theatre,.last evening, to a veiy small audience. Mr Wilson, the.new leßsee, has not yet received anything like the support he deserves. Ee has made the Theatre a handsome, clean, and cheerful-looking place of amusement'; the company is good, as a whole, though it cannot be called a strong one; and so far, there has been a degree of attention to the details of stage properties, &c.j which has certainly never been exceeded in Dunedin—This evening, the.popular nautical drama of " My Poll and My Partner Joe," is to be followed by the farces of "Toodlea," and "A.S.S."

A meeting, at the instance of the Committee appointed to arrange for the continuance of the work of .the Moray Place Mutual Improvement Society, was held in tie Hall underneath the .Moray' Place Congregational Church last evening. There was a large attendance. Mr T. Lowe was in the chair, and a new association was organised under the name of the " Bunedin Social Improvement Association." The names of the office-8 already chosen are, Mr Lowe, Vice-president; Mr Jack, Secretary; Mr D. Wood, Treasurer ; and Messrs Jeffery, Bolt, Baird, and Thomson, members of ths: Committee. It was resolved that the Society resume its labors on Monday week, and the meeting adjourned that evening.

It iB stated that the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to Victoria cost the Government about L30,000; and there is reason to believe that the visit bo Sydney involved an expenditure of L50,000. His Royal Highness is reported to have summarised his colonial experience as follows :. "At Adelaide they Btole my jewels, at Melbourne my character, and at Sydney they tried to take my life." A number of miners are returning from the Gympie diggings. The Dandenong, on her last trip from Sydney brought a hundred to Melbourne, and the Black Swan had fifty repentamf diggers from Maryborough to Sydney. ' [ ' The Rev A. K. Fitchett will preach tomorrow morning aad evening, in Wesley: Church. I The following return shows the state of H. M. Gaol, Dunedio, for the week ending; yesterday^: — Awaiting-trial, 16 men, 1 woman; under remand, 1 man; penal servitude, 13 [men; hard labor, 85 men, 12 women ; confined in defaulb of bail, 1 man; debtors, 8; total, 124 mea, 13 women. Discharged during the week, 13 men, 2 women. Received, 23 men, 2 women. The quarterly meeting of the Otago Typographical Association, will be held at Wain's Hotel, Manse street, this evening. The annual Ball of the Dunedin Scottish. Voluntesr Company, No. 2, took place last evening, at St. George's Hall. There was a good attendance, and the ball passed off pleasantly. The room was decorated with flags and banners. Anderson's excellent band was in attendance, and there was a well ar- • ranged programme of dances, which were gone through with spirit. The officers of" the Company, Captain Tolmie, Lieut. Kirkcaldy, and Ensign Jamieson, acted as Stewards, and their 'efforts to make the evening a pleasant one were completely successful. We have received a copy "of "Leila," a poem, by Mrs Christina Fulton, who is already known as the authoress of some very pleasing poetry. " Leila "is a peep into the past—"A glimpse of the \Norfchern Island twenty year3 ago." It is tastefully printed and got up. We have not yet had time to do more than glance at the contents. , In the Resident Magistrate's Courb, Port \ Chalmers yesterday, before J. Fulton, Esq., E.M., and T. Tayler, Esq., J.P. William1 Gardner, second officer of the ship Helenslee, was charged with embezzlement of cargo. Mr Mansford appeared on behalf of the prisoner. The offence was admitted. The defence brought forward was that the offence had been condoned, and that the master had agreed to give the prisoner his discharge. A document to that effect was produced. Tho Bench, retired for some time to consider their decision. On returning to Court the Magistrates said they could not look upon the offence simply as a breach of discipline, nor could they take into consideration the liability of the captain to an action for false imprisonment. Indeed they thought the captain very much, to blame for having even attempted to condone the offence, inasmuch as the prisoner seemed to have been, the first person in the ship to commit it, and to have actually employed a lad who was now in gaol on a similar charge.

to broaoh the cargo for him. They considered they would be neglecting their duty did they not award a larger punishment to one who occupied a responsible position, and who should have known better. The prisoner was then sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment, with hard labor. Mr Mansford applied for a copy of the conviction to be sent tb the Supreme Court, as it was his intention to move that the same be quashed. At Waikouaiti, we learn from the Herald of Wednesday, that "the weather hag again set in unusually severe during the past two days. On Monday last, show and hail fell intermittently throughout the day, and everything out of doors presented a most wintry and dreary aspect. A cutting westerly wind prevailed, and the surrounding hills once more have assumed a snow-capped appearance. ¥ esterday morning, several inches of snow covered the ground. We are informed that the young lambs are dying in great numbers even in this vicinity, and i| must indeed be a hard time for them in the upper districts of the Province."

When the old Maori Chief assumed the title of " King," with little, if any, regal authority, the Colony dashed into war with the tribes, and the progress of civilisation was ruthlessly stayed, i This war for an idea Co3t us three millions sterling, and many valuable lives, as the. direct loss. Has the 'idea' been worth the sacrifice? On the other side, as the following extract shows, the Queen's representative shakes hand with a sable monarch without finding hisownrbyal authority weakened by the contact:—The Riverine Herald records the demise of King Cockey, an aboriginal monarch of : that dir. trict, who was agentlemanly oldfellowand a jovial old soul to boot, and wa? universally liked by both white fellow and.black. He di d very suddenly, and was buried by his tribe with many signs of mourning." . f On the visit of the Earl of Belmore to Moama^ Bang Billy, of Torrumbary, took occasion to introduce himself tp the Governor of New South Wales as '■'■ King all about here.?' He aknowledged His Excellency as Gpveinor of New South Walefl, a compliment which' His Excellenoy reciprocated by heartily shaking him by the hand.

The Criminal Session of the Supreme Court is to be commenced on Tuesday, before His Honor, Mr Justice Chapman. The follow-* ing is the calendar of prisoners for trial :—> Paul Brown, obtaining goods under false pretence, at Swibscrs. - Benjamin Henry Bartlott, obtaining goods under false pretence, at Switzers ' Mary Brothwick, stealing money in a dwelling house, in Dunedin ■ ; ■• ' Alfred Cliampness, obtaining money by false pretence, in Dunedin , .','..". George,Enni3, bestiality, at West Taieri" •

Thomas Edwards, stealing monoy from the person, <in Duuedin . : Alfred Horley, obtaining money by false pretence, in Dunedin . . The same, obtaining money by, false pretence,' in Dunedin ~ . James Jefferya, stealing a silver watch, at Oamarn Andrew Jaspar, sheep stealing, at Waipori The same, sheep stealing, at Waitahuna James Lemon, sheep stealing, at Waipori John M'lvor, sheep stealing, at Waipori John Hammill, sheep stealing, at Waipori John Henry, sheep stealing, at Waipori The same, sheep stealing, at Waitehuna Gilbert Mahon, sheep stealing, at Waipori The same, sheep stealing, at Waitahuna Edwin Lovol, obtaining goods under false pretence, at Tokomairiro , . : :' , •'" ■■'';'■ ' John Morrison, alias Wilson alias Moncrieff, forgery and uttering a forged cheque The same, forgery and uttering a forged cheque Thomas Shaw, housebreakirig, at Tapanni

.In the Colonial Monthly we find the following allusion to the precious stones found in Victoria. We recommend our miners to be more careful in examining the contents of the tin dish before throwing them away. It is possible, nay probable, that many precious gems may also be found in the washings in Otago :—" la Victoria, the diamond has been found for certain only in the neighborhood of Beechworth, and mainly on the Woolshed Creek ai)d streamlets flowing into it. It was frequently associated with black Band, sapphires, zircons—and in a neighborhood yielding many fine cairngorms and ! agates. The whole of this country, from Beechworth and Yackandandah, round by ! the Indigo Creek, Chiltern, and Rutherglen, j seems most likely to yield diamonds. Whenever a claim is bottomed on the ■bed-rock in these localities—especially if either sapphire or black sand be present,'or'have been observed in the course of sinking—one would be justified in keeping a sharp lookout for' diamonds when washing for a prospect of gold. In fact, any whitish, or yellowish little stones, as well as any of a blue or red color, which have held baick, with the gold, should be put aside and carefully examined'; for, on account of their specific gravity being higher than quartz and auch like rubbish, they may bp at least suspected of being something precious, though perhaps not diamonds. Owing to this obstinate tenacity ia sticking to the tin dish in the last operation of washing out the gold wepossessallj ornearly all, the diamonds yet discovered in Victoria." ' , '..-! : The attempt to establish. *« Penny Headings" in Dunedin has, on the whole, been successful, and the praiseworthy efforts of the Committee should be encouraged. To ensure continued or ultimate success, care must be taken to avoid the errors usually fallen into; and these errors are ao well pointed out in a letter recently addressed, to the Argus that we make no apology.to our readers for quoting it. " When I-ord Brougham consented, some few years ago, to become president of the "London Public ."Reading Society,'' it was on the understanding that the movement, would "induce great numbers of person^ in all parts of the United Kingdom to study the art of reading, that they might qualify (mark the word) themselves to take; part in this endeavour to provide wholesome amusement for large classes, among whom the wealth of "our literature could never be distributed but in the pleasing and attractive form of good reading." The Society having been formed, a highly intelligent secretary (the recorder of Falrnouth) and a com-: potent committee were appointed to carry out the object contemplated. The thing took, and " penny re&dinga " became the rage in town and country. What was the result? "Let Ithe report speak for itself:—" These public readings have revealed the results of the inattention with which the art of reading is treated at our schools, and the little care given to its acquirement in after life; for not only is there an astounding paucity of tolerable readers, but the vast majority read so badly j as to be unendurable to an audience ; nor is i the difficulty of procuring fit readers the only one with which the societies have had to grapple. Another trouble has attended this part of their duties, which has been found far more unmanageable, and which has proved indeed the single cause of failure with many. Equally aston shing with the I entire incapacity to read properly, is the ignorance of that incapacity on the part of the readers. The first step in knowledge is to I Learn our ignorance ; the lowest deep of i ignorance is unconsciousnessa of itself. It is a proof of the neglect into which, the art of reading has fallen, that even persons

of educated tastes may not only read execrably, but believe when they do so that they are reading wJI. This is everywhere the greatest trouble that besets the public readings." Having thus pointed out the cause of the disease, the report proceeds t© suggest a remedy :—" Let the committee, or manager, be firm in the rejection of incompetency, however respectable or influential. Thank the volunteer for the proffer of service, but tell him frankly that he must give some time to the study of the art of reading before he can be admitted to read in public; remind him, good-temperedly, that as he Would not dream of attempting to sing in public before he had learned to sing, so neither without serious- and laborious study of it should he venture upon leading, which is an art requiring education equally with the art of singing. This is what they say at home, and I hope I shall not be deemed uncharitable or presumptuousif 1 express an opinion as to the applicability of the remarks to many of the penny and popular readings which obtain in the suburbs of Melbourne and elsewhere."