The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro.

Southland Times, Issue 11673, 2 March 1891, Page 2

The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro.

Thk other day we drew attention briefly to the ?übject of the careless handling of Srearms, with special reference to a recent case of a v^-ry painful nature as to its result. Tlie London Daily "••ews, commenting upon the aame case, proposes a remedy, or a punwhrnent rather, for tliis particalar speciewof vice, or folly, or whntever it may bo called Wecannnt Bgrf»o with our Metropolitan con temp >r iry'H proposal, bu'. the subject calls for tho Rerious consideration of the public and the legislature and a few further observations here may not be oat of plar-e. A lad of 17 had shot his father atHalloway. The fatality waa in a manner accidental, but it was yet one of the worst cases of the kind. There was a deliberation or, at any rate, a persistency about it which is perfectly shocking. The youth knew that the revolver witli which he was fooling was loaded in some of the chambers, though he wan certain, or thought h» was certain, that there wa9 no cartridge in the one immediately under the hammer. And yet, knowing it to be partially loaded, he pointed it at his father It is the firftt case of 'he sort we remember in which a father was shot in this particular manner by his son, and sterns to indicate some fatuity in the lad. When the father saw him pointing the rpvolvrr at him he was in great terror, and to"k up the tongs to smash it. " The yonth made a quick movement to avoid him, aud in another moment the poor man lay weltering in his blood." These details afford some reason for the Daily Newa Asking whether playing with firearms onght not to be regarded as a form of downright lunacy. Generally speaking however we do not exactly see what wou'd be the advantage of so regarding it. If every person who killed or wonnded one of liis friends (it is nearly I always some relative or intimate friend i who is the victim) were declared ipsn facto a lunatic- there would be no respon -ibiiry for such fatalities. The blunderer* would as a matter of course be sent to tho madho'ißP. Put the people wiio | lay with firearms are not as a rule lunatics, though it, mu a t h« tlint tin- behaviour of the lad who aliot I his faf/'pr .-it Tlalioway look-i mom like the result of lunacy than of common thoughtlessness. But this, we say, is an exceptional case. People who play with firearms are however most unquestionably fools. Of that there can be no i doubt. The practice of pointing gnns I or revolvers at any one who happens to be near is, however, a very common one. Those who do it mean indeed no harm, bat the act is nevertheless as cruel as it is thoughtless — not intentionally bnt actually cruel. StraDge to say, it is done by all kinds of persons, ignorant and educated, gentle and simple ; and we really do not see what would be gained by treating such fools as if they were mad. Tbe proper thing to do would be to punish them severely, say for culpable homicide, when their folly proves disastrous ; nay tbe mere act of pointing a gun or revolver at any one should be made a punishable offence. It seems as if something of the kind were necessary to convince people of tho folly and danger of the practice. " The misery of it is " says the London paper we have quoted, " that in spite of this and a thousand otber warnings of the same nature, the same thing will be done again ana ft&ain, till some men oeaie to b« •

little more unreflecting than brutes." I The " some men " are actually a great number. We know not what it iB in hnman nature that tempt* men, for instance, to point such deadly weapons at the person* who ar« dearer to them than all the world be«ide. One of htt'ele's ruost patt't'tic HtoiicH is of a young man who shot his bride in this way the day after their marriage. Is it the same feeling that makes men gamblers ? Or what is it ? Whatever its cause or origin may be, it is a tendency or impulse which ought to be sternly checked. We imagine something might be done by education to abate the evil. If boys were taught at school that the practice in question was as unmanly as beating or maligning their friends would be, they might, come instinctively to shudder at the very , thought of it. Within the last year or two a good many casts of fatal shooting while playing with firearms have been reported in this and some of the neighbouring colonies — some of them of an exceptionally painful description. The education given in our schools is unfortunately for the most part confined to the imparting of what is called useful knowledge, the character and habits of the children being in great measure neglected. In these colonies especially, where boys are as a rule familiar with fjrearras.they should be taught to handle them with the utmfst circumnpection. ihe careless way in which many of our youths carry guns on the public roads is calculated to make timid people tremble. Indeed, the wonder is that there are not more accidents from carelessness. But the custom, as we may call it (so frequently is it done) of pointing firearms at those who happen to be near, and, worse still, of pulling the triggers is one the folly, or rather criminality, of wliich ought to be dinned into the minds of the risiug generation of boys. Playiug with firearms is really playing with murder. Cable News. — One effect of yesterday's gale was to damage the wires between here and Dunedin some time during the evening and the operator who came on duty at midnight to receive the latest messages found that he could not hold communication. Our latest ca'ole news this morning ia therefore that about the V.R.C. meeting. The Dowager Empress of Germany has lfft Paris, where her presence was distasteful to a section — a email one it is to be hoped — of the people. The German Press ia righteously indignant at so gross an insult to a lady. The (Queensland shearing trouble seems, like the English farmer who drank claret, ''not to get no furrerder." Queensland's representative at the Postal Conference has given reasons why bis Government has not joined in the cable guarantee. Mr Ward has expressed his willingness to join in the guarantee for Now Zealand for one year. Assessment Courts. — Sittings of the Assessment Courts for the various suburban municipalities will be held today. 1.0.0. F. ,M.U.— Members of this body will notice that a meeting of Past Grands is to be held in the hall, Tay street, this evening, when the Purple Lecture will be given. All entitled to degrees are requested to attend. Star Sailing Club. — Among the prizes to be competed for at the forth-coming regatta of this club, area mat bio clock presented by the president, Mr A. Cros3, and a silver cup given by Mr N. J. M. Rein. They are handsome and valuable trophies, and may be seen in Mr Rein's shop window. Fire at VVkeys Bush.— Three stocks of ryegrass, the property of Mr Thomas Power, farmer, were destroyed by fire on Friday morning. They were insured in favour of the Otago ami Southland Investment Company for Ll5O with the New Zealand Insurance Company, and Mr Power esti. nates the loss at Lot) over that amouut. Southland Hospital. — Remaining from previous week, 16 miles, 1 female; admitted during the week, i male ; discharged during the week, 4 males ; remaining.in hospital, 13 males and 1 female ; outpatients treated during the week, 3o males and 22 fsmales. — '1 he secretary desires to acknowledge receipt of a parcel of vegetables from Mr McGill of Nor:h Invercargill ; also 19s 11 £d from Club Hotel hospital box. — The visiting trustees for the week are Messrs McFarlane and Wilson. Omissios Supplied. — In our notice of the faiewell banquet to Mr VV. A. Kennedy on Friday night a part of the presentation made was not mentioned. Besides the case of cutlery there was au elegant tea and coffee service, making the gift altogether a very substantial one, and highly creditable to the subscribers. The case containing the cutlery bears a plate with this inscription — "Presented, with a tea aud coffee service, to W. A. Kennedy, Esq., by the exporters of Invercargill, 27th February, 1891." The Recent Binder Contest.— At a meeting of the directors of the Southland A. and P. Association, held in the Prince of Wales Hotel on Saturday, it was decided, after full consideration of the circumstances, to award the prize at the recent reaper and binder trial to the Hornsby machiue, it being clear to the members that a mistake had been made in detucting six instead of fonr points from the Hornsby in the maximum points to be given for " certainty of knotter." This gives the Hornsby 173 points and the Massey 172. The judges of the contest met n'rst and unanimously agreed to reverse their former decision on the grounds stated, and this decision was confirmed by the directors. , West Pla ins.— Harvesting in this district is general and the crops on the whole arc fir«;t-class. All that we want is a continuation of tine weather for carting and threshing and a paying price for the produce. Turnips are looking remarkably well. The ] attention of our country member is directed to a number of holes in our road which need filling up before winter sets in. The Revs. J. Guy and W. C. Wood preached their farewell sermons on Sunday, 22nd ult. , when the schoolhouse was crowded. Mr Guy has been preaching here for the last rive years and has made a large number of friends who wish him success in Auckland, to which place he is removing. On Wednesday evening a concert was given in the schoolhouse by the choir. The items are too numerous to mention, excepting one which w.is in my opinion the best of the performance, namely "The Baby's Debut" by Alis»- Annie Whytu, a little body of about eleven years. Mr A. Cook made an excellent chairman. Tne proceeds will be applied to choir pin poses. —The monthly meeting of the school committee was held on Friday evening. Present — Mr Young (in the chair), Bennie, and Keady. The teacher repotted Ihe average attendance for the quarter tv have bt;e» 85. The annual exanmiMiiou of the school took place on the 13th ult. Ti»e committee put on record their thanks to the teachers for the manner in which the school has passed, seeing that it is scarcely ten mouths since the last examination. The Inspector's report stated that 101 pupils were presented, of whom 6U were in tho stan.Urils. Fallowing are the details : — Stand wd I, Hi pupil.*, all passed ; Standard 11, 22 pupils*, all passed ; Standard 111, 7 pupils, all pulsed ; Standard IV, 15 pupils, 13 passed ; Standard V, b pupils, 4 passed ; Standa r d VI, 3 pupils, all passed ; percentage of standard passes, 95 b". Messrs Lumsden, Matin-son, and McXab were selected for the \ aeaueies on the Education Board. — The humble bee is getting pretty plentiful in this district, but 1 regr-pt to say that the boys of the neighbourhood evince a strong propensity for killing them. Is is a great pity t.iat this useful insect should bo thus wantonly destroyed, and parents would be studying their own interests, and teaching their children a useful lesson in natural history, and in agriculture as well, if they were to explain to them the important part the bee performs in connection with the fertilization of clover, and urge them to let the valuable little labourer alone.— Own correspondent. I

The Wkather. — Yesterday's heavy rain ] md strong gale must have done a great deal of harm to tin; ripcniug grain, fruit and lowers. There had beeu indications in the steady fall of the barometer during tin; last days of the week that something wan brew ing, but when Saturday night pa.s.sed without a. " buster" many wuru or opinion that the depression was only sympathetic Yesterday forenoon, however, the barometer dropped to a lower point than it has touched here for many years, viz., 25.70. That this is a low reading will be evident from the I fact that not since St. Patrick's Day, ISSB, has the glass touched "JB.SO here, or ten points higher than yesterday. As we go to press the wind and weather are moderating and the barometer has risen rapidly, so that it tnay be hoped that the farmers will not be delayed in their operations at this critical I juncture. Lr.vimr rst Road Board. — A meeting of this Board was held in Deschlcr's Hotel on Saturday, Messrs Kinross (chairman), Strang, Miller, Irving and Fleming being present. — A settler at (irove Bush having fenced across a dotted track it was decided to inform him that if he continued to obstruct t rathe on the track he would be prosecuted. — The Chairman read a balance-sheet prepared by the secretary which showed that, allowing for everything, there was a deficiency of L 33 7» sd. The unexpended deferred payment money amounted to LI. SO 15s. It was a question, the Chairman said, whether the County Council should be asked to take over the road district notwithstanding the small deficiency or to wait for another year. It waa too late to strike a rate during the present financial year. —It was decided to present the petition to the County Council as soon as possible. — Permission was gran ted two settlers to jut firewood from road lines, sub- j ject to the usual precautionary conditions. - Accounts amounting to L.H Gs were passed for payment. Lumsukn Sciioor. Committkk. — This body met on Friday last and in accordance with the ruling of Mr Rawson, R.M., appointed Mr Jamas Martin clerk, he also retaining the appointment of secretary to meet the provisions of the Board's regulations. It will be remembered that at the last sitting of the Lumsden Court on the I9th ult., a charge brought by Mr Martin against Mrs Fulton was dismissed. The information alleged that defendant " did wilfully disturb the Lumsden Public School, the pupils being at the time assembled," and was brought under clause 96 of the Kducalion Act. Mr Brodrick, defendant's solicitor, I argued that the information disclosed no offence ; and Mr Martin, who was under a j disadvantage through Mr Maealister's being unable to attend, could not contend against the point raised. Mr Rawson dismissed the information with costs against the informant. The public not being satisfied with this termination of the case, signed a requisition to the school committee to proceed further. Mr Macalister holds that the information | was properly laid, and did disclose an offence, and should not have been dismissed; and has taken the opinion of a leading counsel in Dunedin, which corresponds in every respect with his (Mr Macalister's) and for exactly the same reasons. On the strength of these opinions it has been decided to take the matter to the Appeal Court. — Own i correspondent. I Pn-hSMAKisG — We have pleasure in jntimating to our friends that we nave eng ged Miss Speirs to t*.k*> cfcnrge of our Dre-sm king D •parttn' l nt. Miss Spe'rs ha-< had a splendid experie cc, and comes recommenied in the ! highest term^ by people whose ta-<te as to sty c and tit in drcssmtking is lnqnetlionable New , oo^s for the Dre-s Departing t arriving by r^very steamer —Thomson <fe Bmattis. Certainly the most effective medicine in the world is bander <fe Son's Kucilpyti Extrac . Ten' its eminently powerful effort in cougbs, colds influenza ; the relief is instantaneous In aeri-uc case-- and accidents of all kinds, c th»i wounds burns, sca'din^s bruissa, Hprains, it is th« s_J-^t reined — no swelling' — ::o mfllmmattun. Lke Hurprisine eff«cts poda^ed in croup, diphtheria, bronchitis, inflammation of the lunge spellings, &c,diarrhoea,dysenterp, disease of the kidneys #od urinary organs. Ii use at all hcp'tala and medical clinics ; patronised by His Majesty the King of Italy ; cro - ned with medal and diploma at International Exhibition, *mj sterdam. Trust in thi« approved article *nd 1 reject all others. oc!6