Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 647, 11 March 1879, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 1879.

TtfE evening of the 11th February was the scene of a very large and destructive fire in Gisbome. Among those upon whom their losses were felt the heaviest, was Mr. Good, watchmaker. His insurance did not cover his losses by quite £1000. In short, Mr. Good, to use a commonplace phrase, was knocked off his legs. Promised support by those sympathising with a man who, by dint of industry, had worked himself into a comfortable position, Mr. Good advertised an Art Union, for the disposal of the greater portion of watches and

jewellery saved from the flames. There were to be two hundred tickets, of twenty shillings each, which represented articles of bijouterie, ornaments and watches, to the same value. The Art Union was advertised in both the local papers ; tickets were printed, and many sold ; but not a word came from the police authorities warning Mr. Good, or informing him that the drawing would not be allowed. Last night, at 8 o'clock, was the hour announced for the drawing to take place, but at half-past 7, or just one half hour before the time, a constable, called at the hotel where the affair was to take place, and informed the landlord that the drawing would not be permitted. Now, we ask, why did the police authoi'ities weeks ago, when the Art Union was first advertised, not call upon Mr. Good, and tell him he would be acting in contravention of the law. This would have saved much expense, and would have allowed Mr. Good to dispose of his salvage in some other way. An Art Union had only a few weeks previously been permitted, while another is publicly announced to come j off for the benefit of a Church fund J in a few days. Is this making fish of one, and flesh of another fair 1 We think public opinion will say it is anything but fair, and that there is something wrong, when one man may do that which another man may not. If Art Unions be illegal, and probably they are, why should those entrusted with power act so partially 1 Mi*. Good was allowed to be thrown off his guard. He had seen a brother tradesman permitted to have a drawing for the same description of goods as he himself was offering. . He saw a large Art Union about to take place for a Church fund ) and he did not imagine that a three-parts ruined tradesman would be singled out as an exception. It appears to us that in Mr. Good's case the law has been strained, and that in other cases it has been allowed to go by default. The whole thing assumes an air of oppression which indicates that there is some wrong — known only to thepolice authorities themselves. [We have just received our exchanges, and in glancing over the Napier Telegraph we take the following from its local columns : — The Art Union for the benefit of the funds of St. Joseph's Convent took place in St. Mary's School last week, and was presided over by the Mayor. Mrs. Peddie was the winner of the first prize, a harmonium, and Mrs. Limbrick became the owner of a lady's splendid gold watch. If an Art Union is illegal in the case of a burnt-out watchmaker, it is surely illegal in other cases. The question arises whether the drawings are illegal, otherwise how do they come to be permitted in a town like Napier, where one is presided over by the Mayor 1 Why are they permitted in Christchurch, the city of spires and steeples, and in Dunedin, the city of the " unco gude 1" Funds are inquired for the erection of a Church, or the enlargement of one, or to purchase an organ, or a baptismal font, when the fh-st thing suggested and immediately carried out is an Art Union, where pieces of finery, bits of wool-work, smoking caps, or paiis of slippers, each worth a few shillings at the most, are drawn for at a piice set upon them ten times their intrinsic value. We do not object to these drawings. We submit to the little impositions, and look pleasant all the time. Churches cannot be built without funds, nor Ministers live without their stipends. If an Art Union will bring these blessings about, why should they not be gone for ? And why in the name of justice should pei'secution follow on the footsteps of a poor impoverished watchmaker, who is trying his utmost to meet his liabilities, and get upon his feet again.]