CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS.

At the amiual meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Consmtree the Auckland chairman gave some interesting chamber of particulars concerning the procojimbrce. gress of the colony — more particularly Auckland, — and thesa are worthy of more than local attention. He said tbab although at Ihe pi&jent moineut ifc was somewhat tUa Sa*liion to dtcfy everything relating to the go! tl mining industry of New Zealand, a cuiaory glance at the actual results would convince everyone of its importance. From April 1, 1880, to March 31, 1897, 1,287,999 tons of stone were crushed in the Auckland district, yiolding 1,567,0750z of bullion, or an average yield o? loz 4dwt Bgr per ton. The total output for the year ended December 31, 1897, was £402,501. The present number of stamps in the district was 680, with 415 in course of erection. The total amount of gold enrared for export from New Zealand between 1857 anil 1897 was valued at £52.668,246, and for the year ended March 31, 1897, £1,015,742 was exported. This output would be materially incrfcssad when tbe 415 stamps now in cout?e of erection were in operation. Daring the yostr 1897, 6634tons of kauri gum had been exported, of the value of £397,514. Of that £172.697 worth went to the United Kingdom, £216,217 to the United States, eaii; coass, and £2221 to tbe west coast. The sum of £4678 went to Germany. As showing the viewß held by prominent commercial men on the subject of colonial defence MiKent may be, further quoted. He" said that " the disturbed and highly-strung condition of affaira in Europe and the East made it absolutely essential to our common safety that every possible means of defence should be encouraged. By means of training ships the material for navy work could ba established, and if to that were added enthusiastic encouragement of the various volunteer forces of the colony, something of great value to the public safety would be effected. In a rich country like New Zealand we could not afford any longer to live in the present; fool's paradise of insecurity, and the chamber should exerfc ! every lever ib possessed, in combination with every other chamber of commerce throughout ' the colony, in urging upon those to whose hands rested the public safety to nee every means in thtir power for the public good, so that in the event of a foreign Power attacking us it might be met with well-trained troops and a wall of fire from shore to shore.

I The interpretations by magistrates of the < ' licenfciag laws bid fair to couthb stituta a bulky record, and ona ■ licensing that will be as confusing as it ; act. is large. Mr Eyre Kenny, I _ stipendiary magistrate at Wellington, has just decided that a publican vnusfc not " treat" a friend if the liquor is to be consumed on the premises after hours. If this decision be a correct one a publican has disabilities thrust upon him that no other individual in the community labours under. A person in any capacity sinks into a private position the moment he ceases from duty. When the policeman doffs his uniform he becomes as others, and mayhap at the domestic fireside his offspring pull his whiskers uudeterred by visions of the watchouae. The custom-house officer dons his private coat and ceases to be suspicions of smugglers, and we dare say even Mr Kenny himself sometimes forgets that he is a magistrate aud remembers that he is a man. But if Mr Kenny's law be correct, a publican can know no respite from responsibility. He may close his door and hermetically seal his bar, but he may not close his eyes. He may not furnish a private friend with refreshment, for that, according to Mr 'Kenny, is exposing liquor for sale, and the law says he shall not allow any liquor to be consumed on the premises during unlawful hours. Therefore the publican cannot even take a driuk himself daring those hours. Surely the law never intended that ! Common senae and a hoßt of previous decisions are repugnant to tbe idea. Ib is only reasonable that a publican should be free from this disability. When the house is closed for public business it becomes the publican's private dwelling, and it is contrary to all the principles of British freedom to ssy that a man's house is not his castle.

After much deliberation the Government have decided how much and how scope op little shall be entrusted to the the police commission appointed to incommission, quire into the condition of the police force. The commission, which held its ficsb sitting yeßterday, is to inquire iuto:

1. The general organisation, distribution, control, and enrolment of the police force of the colony as it now exists in its several branches, and the discipline and efficiency thereof, and in what respect the said force, or any part thereof, could be better recruited, organised, controlled, or made more efficient. j 2. The pay, emoluments, and rewards of the I said force, including any provision for euper annuation or retirement therefrom, and the allowance of compensation thereon ; and to make suggestions as to all or any of these matters, or in respect of allowances to be made to members of the said force in case of illness or accident while in such force, or by way of compassionate allowance to their wives or families in cage of death. 3. As to the general conduct, sobriety, and morality of the members of the' said force, and 1 the alleged failure of the said police force to maintain order and enforce the laws of the colony. The commission consist* of Messrs Wardell and Poyntoc, stipendiary magistrates, and Colonel Pit!;, a nfcroug supporter of the Govtrameufc. It is considered improbable that such a cocaruissioa will inquire too minutely into tho fundamental cause of the dissatisfaction that exists among the police if that fundamental cause should ba, as is generally believed, the personal interference of members of the GovernoaeHt with the routine of the police administration. The Lytfcslton Times, though it has been' characterised as being "neicher one thing nor the other" by fcha Minister for Lands, gives « geusral support to the Government, and ifc says :—": — " A commission of whom two-thirds are Government servants and the remaining third a political partisan would hardly be treated fairly by haying cast upon it the onus of interpreting its instructions in a matter so momentous as that dealing with the relations of MiDiaters and members of Parliament towards the undoubted evils which have cwpfc into our polios force. We hope, therefore, to find that Ministers have leifc no doubt as to iha scope of the commission, so that if inquiry into political interference is debarred, they will noS have the power to interposo the cooamitsioners as • buffers ' between themselves and the public. . . . Tfce elaborate machinery of & Royal eommiugioa was not required to flod out 6hs weak ftpofc3 in the organisation of the force or the complaints of its members ie matters of emolument. To justify its existence the commission must make a deeper quest, and discover, if possible, the ca,use of discontent; and demoralisation. It has ample power to do this, and we trust that a broad conception of its duty will cause ib to conduct tbe inquiry ia such a. way rb will result in valuable suggestions for reform."

The case of the man Amos Burr, referred to in our local columns recently, [ A curious presented several pscu!iariMe3 case. ofchor than those relating to Vis ■ mutilation. He was oimgad with having forged three receipts foe puvm^pS of the purchase uoocey of larid from fcbrre Maoriß. Some months ago one Native brought an aefcion against another in the Suprema Court at Wellington for the possession ol a piece of land at Foxfcon. A cros6-action wa>j brought; against two other Native* and Burr, in which ie was claimed that the conveyance 'finch ib was alleged was given to Burr was fargsd and should be set aside*. Burr produopd * n ceipii in the Maori language, aud said it was fo? tba purchase by him of the land. The receipt was dated 1872, and was ostensibly signed by Kenata Hika and witnessed by Francis Robinson, JP. Mr Bell was crosa-examining Burr, aud observed chat the stamp on the document was of a kind nob ia existence in 1872. It transpired in evidence that the stamp on the document was not issued until 1882. In tipits of this the accused was defended wibh great pertinacity by Mr Young,, who several times draw down upon himself sharp rejoinders from Judge Edwards. For example : In response to a remark of Mr Young aboat his Honor's opinion of the facts, his Honor said that very great judges had constantly put their opinion of the facts before the jury. He was not a great judge, but that was also hirf practice. Ifc was the jury's duty to find the facts according to their own consciences. Mr Young : Then may I pub it to the jury that their opinion of the facts may contravene the opinion of your Honor P His Honor : Of course. Ib is their duty to find the facts iv contravention of the opinions of the judge if they come to that conclusion. His Honor, in summing up, characterised tho case as an exceedingly important one. The prosecution had been instituted by Mr Bell solely from a feeling that the ends of justice impera. tively demanded suoh action. The shrewdnesa with which Mr Bell detected the age of the stamp had a parallel recently in Southland, and both cases are reminiscent of that famous one where a forgery was detected by means o£ a watermark,

Think it over, ladies { do nob buy miserable imitations when the genuine is procurable. No medicine introduced to the New Zealand publi* has ever deserved success so much as Bonnino* ton's Carrageen Irish Moss. It does all \ihxA is claimed for it. and elves satisfaction^