Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. GISBORNE : THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1883.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1349, 30 August 1883, Page 2

Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. GISBORNE : THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1883.

Cerebehus has sent forth a howl! Hercules is in sight. The false Oracle has spoken—spoken and Heralded its own shame. Instead of attempting to reply to oft made accusations of falsehood, toadying, corruption, incompetence, and deceit, what has it done ? Why these journalists (save the mark) like all windy, witless old women, go entirely out of the beaten track of legi imate attack and defence, and accuse us with, —what is no doubt in their eyes the greatest crime in this world, —being poor. Welcome poverty, if that is the only way of securing honour. It miyht have been otherwise with us had we resorted to some of the following ingenious methods of increasing our capital, such as running a totalisator, erecting so-called co: - tages upon Government ground, and basely and craftily cheating the poor and needy sons of toil out of their hard earned pittances by charging them exorbitant rents to live in the same —we refer to the “ Pilot station trick,” working the Motu Road contract so as to scheme some bloodmoney (called per centage) out of the poor working men ; making a fictitious transfer of a contract, so as to be in a position to assist m squandering the ratepayers money for our own benefit and greed ; assuming the title of Captain after having been unable to navigate the old Coomerang, which was successfully done by a passenger ; or appearing in Court as a defaulter for night soil dues ; truckling, cringing, and fawning and making ourselves the pliant tool for any body, any thing, no matter how low, how degrading, so long as the chink of pelf could be heard. If a “ little knot of brazen young adventurers ” (we prefer this term to some of the foregoing) had done all these things and far more, perhaps they could boast of greater means. Again we say “ the time is fast approaching when our town shall be purged of a print which would disgrace the dark ages,” for there can be little doubt but what the corrupt ring, of which that precious sheet is the exponent, is surely and gradually being ‘es’roved, and it is one of ourespecial duties to the public to assist, by all means in our power, to reform, or failing this, to destroy this vampire.

Some time ago we had occasion to call the | attention of the Government to certain transactions in connection with the payments for the Motu road contract, in which the proprietors of the “Herald” were concerned. A Government officer was sent up to enquire into the matter, and conferred with the gentleman who was then editing our journal, lhe result of the conference was that the nefarious practices above referred to were put a quick stop to by the official. But not long ago one of the proprietors of the “ Herald ” boasted that we had made a row about nothing, and nothing came of it. Well, we can tell that gentleman that what came of it was this. The gentleman sent up by the Government, Mr Kensington, came to the Standard office and told the editor what he had come up for. and asked to be furnished with the names of the complaining parties, and to be brought face to face with them. Unfortunately, one of them happened to be at Napier, on a Supreme Court, trial, and the other was away on business up the East Coast. Mr KexslsgTuN agreed that this was unfortunate, and said, “ I have “ taken each steps as will effectually prevent “a recurrence of these transactions, and if “ that satisfies the complainants, well and “ good, but if they are desirous of having a “further impartial investigation made, the “Government are willing and desirous to “do so to that end, and will do so on your “so informing me.” On the return of the complainants, the Editor laid the matter before them, and their only aim in exposing

the iniquity being to suppress it, they considered that Mr Kensington’s action having had that effect was sufficient for their purpose, and therefore and therefore only no further steps were taken. What passed between Mr Kensington and the officials, whose complicity in these money transactions called for our notice, we know as well as they do, and if the proprietors of the “ Herald” do not know, their memory must be either very bad or very convenient. Suffice it to say that the discount business on the Motu road contracts was stopped by our action, and hence the kindly feeling observed towards us by Dufaur and Co.