The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1890.

Timaru Herald, Volume L, Issue 4738, 8 January 1890, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1890.

The case of the boy Hill, who on Friday last was committed for trial on a charge of forgery of a cheque for £1, appears to us to be very pitiable. It is clear enough from his own statement to the detective that he is guilty, and that the offence was planned and carried out j with deliberation and cunning. It also came out m the evidence that when taxed with the forgery he denied it several times, and bad a story ready about bis having cashed the oheqne for another boy whom he did not know. All that was very bad, and may perhaps bo taken by some as proof of plenty of original sin with a large access of subsequent depravity. On the other hand it should be remembered that the boy is vary young, and that his previous character was good. It is not an unreasonable assumption, aud it is certainly the more charitable one, that he did not recognise the full gravity of what he waa about to do. Will any one venture to say that the lad is past reformation ; that m tbe interests of society the reformation of youthful offenders is nob worth striving for earnestly ; or that the course avhieh haß been pursued m tbis case affords the best chance of attaining that object ? Very likely this boy will live for the next fifty or sixty years, and it can hardly be said that a committal for forgery and an appearance m the dock of tbe Supreme Court is a good beginning of the pilgrimage. He may get over it m the course of time, but if so it cau be only after a very cavern struggle m which a weak-kneed mortal is likely to be worsted. In our opinion tho law, m sending him for trial, has inflicted a much graver wrong on him than he committed by making a bad imitation of Mr Warren's name and obtaining a fraudulent pound from Mr Hutton. We really cannot see why Buch alacrity should have been displayed m sending for tbe police, or indeed why they should have been sent for at all. The boy's lies did not constitute an adequate reason, for sucb extreme measures. The best of boys, at leaofc tbe best that we have come across m our travels, will sometimes tell a lie and also sometimes stick to it after its manufacture. We don't defend them, but neither do we regard' them as utter outcasts for occasionally building up a little edifice of falsehood. " The faot is that m the particular case under discussion the boy's guardian should have 6tood'in the placo of the Supreme Court, and the trial should have been held m tho back parlour. A plea of not guilty need not have stayed the proceedings, and an adverse verdict sHould have been promptly followed by execution m tbe shape of a good wholesome thrashing. Mr Warren's business would have gone on just as well, Mr Hutton would have had quite aa fair a chance of getting back his money, and the lad would have escaped the ugly stigma of the dock. We do not blamo either tho police or tbe magistrate. In taking the steps towards securing the boy's utter ruin and branding biru as a gaol-bird, everything was done strictly m accordance with law. Yet the police, even m Timaru, have not invariably had such an astonishingly keen scent for forgery and kindred crimes ; and we have known magistrates -who have suggested the dropping of tbe proceedings and the punishment of the youthful offender by his parent or guardian. There is a deal of humbug m this charitable nineteenth century, and m this colony of New Zealand. Society ravea about tbe necessity for secular education, and yet m the case of a hoy-forger, who will need ,1 stool m the dock to enable tbe j jury to see him, sanctions a course ! which can benefit no one, but which may effectually damn him m this world and diminish his chances for the next.

Some days ago .out columns contained a few remarks upon the eccentricities and absurdities displayed iv the cablegrama furnished by tbe United Press Association. We see by our exchanges that several of our northern contemporaries have been turning their attention to the same subject m the bopo tbot tbe directors o£ tho association may bestir themselves to bring about a change for the better. In an article m the Hawera Slay occur the following sentences which rjeeui to us well worthy of consideration by, these gentlemen : — • " The most idiotic and irritating telegrams which come through the wires aro those which require the nowspaper proprietors to print and publish messages which convey no information. Thus tho Press Association has London correspondents who wiro such stuff as the ' wheat market has an upward tendency, the Continental steady, American * unchanged.' It means nothing and tells nothing. Who among tho colonial readers carries tho quotation!! of threo seta of markets aent, perhaps, a fortnight ago, m. his bead? Frozen meal prices, colonial markets, und wool markets are ull alike. If tbe Aesociution would direct pll

agents to cable actual or approximate! ruling prices m each case for New Zenland wool, meat, wheat, and sugar, and to drop sending wives about markets steady, unchanged, firm, and so on, the public and the press would feel truly grateful. A correspondent who haß never looked at a price list or been near a market could fill a column with that sort of rubbish, and no one be any the wiser. Perhapß some day instructions to this effect will be issued ; m the meantime it is hoped that constant importunity may bring about the desired result. A cable message which reported New Zealand merino wool, good, lid ; medium, 9d to lOd ; inferior, 8d ; crossbred and longwool from 9d to 10_d, and the same items as to prices ruling for New Zealand meat, tallow, wheat, and lias, is what is wanted." We fully endorse every word which our southern contemporary says on tbis matter, and we confess that we are quite unable to understand why the directors do not insist on an improvement. Thero used to be many complaints as to the manner m which Router's Agency did the work o£ supplying the newspapers with cable intelligence, and no doubt there was ample cause for grumbling. For some time after the present arrangements came into force there was very considerable improvement m many respects, but we do not think that it extended to the monetary and commercial department. Reuter was bad enough, but the United Preas Association's messages, as garbled and distorted by the agent m Australia, are iv our judgment worse. We do certainly hope that, m the interests of the public, the directors will make every effort to obtain a more satisfactory supply of commercial intelligence, even if tbey continue to tolerate a superfluity of sporting and pugilistic items.