West Coast Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1878.

West Coast Times, Issue 2917, 9 August 1878, Page 2

West Coast Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1878.

The Financial Statement delivered by the Colonial Treasurer, Mr Ballance, is one of the most important that has come before Parliament since the memorable year 1870, when the Public Works and Immigration scheme first saw the light. It is also a most hopeful one, and shows conclusively that however local duluese and depression may prevail, the Colony as a whole is sound, and is rapidly advancing in all material prosperity. A most unusual fact in colonial history, the possession of a large surplus on estimated income is announced, as well as a aiost encouraging report of the increase in the yield of gold, of wool, on customs, stamps, postal, telegraph, and land transfer receipts, and indeed on everythiug. The facts and figures quoted cuunot but have a most favorable effect on New Zealand securities in the Home market, and there cannot be a question that, although New Zealand is so heavily burdened, if a new loan be proposed, it will be readily subscribed for. The excellence of the statement is its evident truthfulness. There is no varnish needed to hide defects, the fullest details of the Colony's indebtedness, together with the resources at commaud to meet it, are given ; there is clearly nothing behind, and the genuine ring of candour that pervades the whole, must be apparent to the moat casual reader. The tariff reform is hardly equal to what wa3 expected, for the reductions made will very slightly affect the consumer, but at least they are in a right direction, and so far the Ministry have redeemed their pledgee. But the most important item in the whole statement is the proposed land tax, and it wiiJ be that, that will meet with the most violent opposition in both Houses. At the same time, it is on every ground most equitable, and let its opponents struggle as they may, it will assuredly be imposed. It may be that the exact views of Ministers may not be assented to in detail, but with the principle, the Colony as a whole will thoroughly agree, and should tke Government go to the country on it, they will secure an overwhelming majority. It must be obvious to all, and it cannot be denied by those who will most oppose the tax, that the expenditure of the loans in railway works has enormously increased the value of the property of tha chief landowners in the Colony, and it is hard to say what objections in equity they can urge. But hitherto this class has been privileged to an unheard of degree, and successive Governments have feared to provoke their hostility. This is over, and in future they will with their possessions have to bear their fair share of burdens. The mode of classification of lands, the exemptions provided for, will we certainly thiak. fulfil all that the Treasurer anticipates, and whilst protecting the struggling settler, compel those who can well afford it to pay a fair and reasonable impost. In merely glancing hastily through the statement in the condensed form we have received it, we cannot further explain the details of the proposed legislation, but as soon as we receive it in full we shall take an early opportunity of doing so. The income tax proposed on the large profits of joint stock companies will

merit on me stana uiey nave caKen. xd Will do iriuch to enhance olir credit in" the old country, and set at rest for ever the taunts and sneers that havo beeu at times aimed at this Colony in illinformed Homo papers; it will instil a fueling of thorough confidence in New Zealand stocks and colonial OMtwprise, mid the fiscal changes promised, together with those iv force will grea'Jy ease the burden of taxation, by readjusting it more equitably on the shoulders Of ;i!l. The public will watch with no small interest, the development of tlie proposals and the debates thereon, and it is most satisfactory to feel assured that, before many months have elapsed, the principles contained in them will be embodied ia the laws of the land.

It is hardly probable that his Hono»j Judge Western is prepared to become the protecting patron sniut of sly-grog .sellers, male and female, on the Coast, still, some of his bite decisions wouldj go far to favor such a preposterous idea. It would seem as though he haa Said himself out specially to upset thl decisions of Resident Magistrates, wlflj convict for sly grog selling ; for al peals from their decisions in thtfl cases are singularly and frequenM .successful. To say nothing 1 abflf reversals of their judgments in p^B cases, a most singular instance of f^fl predilection occurred at Greymouth^B Tuesday last. A woman naii^H Margaret FyiFe, who, by her o^fl admission, had been fined /flfl times by the Resident Magist^M of Greymouth during a very 9fl period, had been brought up a SB time, the cane clearly proved by H evidence of a constable whose testiro^H was undoubted, and fiued £30 flHj costs. Against this she appealed, 9H his Honor allowed the appeal. grounds on which he allowed it fIHI as insulting to the convicting cousSßß as they were incomprehensible t<aß| general public, and we certainly i^^B that a more singular decision was uflß given by auy judge, in or out o.^^fl colony, in aa iuferior or superior cflflfl The sale of the spirits was eouolusji^H proved by the constatde, but the SB defendant denied it, and his H<a^fl actually accepted the word of VH woman and disregarded the oatJ^B tlie constable. Strange but true. 9H said Margaret FytFo has beeij^B long and well-known residonlJH Greymouth — as we have been ah'cflH brought within the meshes of SB libel law for calling a spade a spflH wo will not even hint at her callflfl but content ourselves with falling iflfl on her own confession that she been four times fined in a few mc a^flj lor sly-grog selling. But even 1*99 eccentric judgment hia Honor w;ta jBIB consisteut. Ho allowed the appßfl but without costs. If the woi^H ought to have been relieved °f^H penalty at all, she should have tS^H released from the costs contingent^H it, there was no medium course i"lflB matter. But the judicial inconsiat^^H is not confined to tins case alone. (^BB a short lime a^o Judge Weston qu'tflH some grog convictions by Mr P^^B U.M., on the ground that they '^BB merely supported by the evideuc^^fl " common informers " who, be at Greymouth, according to the^rHß " for a paltry fee of 20s would ahnosflH anything." In order to remedy defect, a respectable well-conduH^B constable was told off to do the dflH the authorities at Greymoufch ver^ reasonably supposing that his evidence would be accepted as free from such imputation. What does Judgee Weston say then? In giving judgmeut in Fyffe's case, after laying down, iv a very high-falutin style, the model member of society that a constable should be, he said as reported, "As tho coustable then is no more than a common informer, his evidence must, of necessity, be received with the usual caution. Every person charged with au offence is entitled to the benefit of the doubt, and as Mrs Fyffe denies the uucorroborated statement of the informer, the appeal must be sustained, but without costs. His Honor trusted that nothing" so humiliating would again appear before him." The meaning of the last sentence is indistinct. We presume that the spectacle of a credible witness, in the person of the constable, was humiliating, but he might have meant it for Mrs Fyffe, who was let off her fifth proved offence, and have iutended to say to her iv differont language "go and sin no more." Whatever he meant, his action has given more encouragement to sly-grog-eelling than anything that has taken place for some time. No kind of cvi- | dence will suit him. In Hokitika, he quashed convictions because they were based on the testimony of commou informers j at Greymouth, when unchallengeable testimony is tendered, he preaches a homily on degrading " a noble force like the police," accepts the word of a previous quadruply convicted defendtmt, and tells a respectable witness that his oath must be accepted with caution. We should like to know what witness would he behave, and hovv he would propose to abate the curse of

sssiiisiuodiou. The Ban Francisco mail arrived last evening by the Waipara, and was sorted into the private boxea at once. At a meeting of the Literary Society Committee, held on Thursday evening, at the Society's rooms, the advisability of holding a Juvenile Industrial Exhibition was discussed. Mr Walker thought the Society should tak« some steps in this direction, and that the exhibits could, therefore, be forwarded to the Melbourne Exhibition. He thought, with a few concerts during the holidays, the affair might prove a success. Other members were of opiuiou that an art union of paintings and literature would be a readier and surer means of augmenting the funds of the Society, with less labor. Finally it was agreed that a special meeting of the fortnightly meetingtin^^^M^^^^^BWi Copies of the Transactions of last year of the New Zealand Institute have reached the Secretary of the Literary Society; and during the past month, there have been forwarded to the same institution, a report of the Havvke's Bay Institute; half a dozen copies of Mr P. Cran's work, entitled " The Hieroglyphic Interpetration of the Bible;" also from Baron Muiler, of Melbourne, a. work by Dr Wattstein, entitled " Organic constituents of plants and vegetable substances, aud their chemical analysis." The County Council will meet for business next Wednesday, at 2 p.m. At a meeting of the Waste Lands Board, held on Wednesday last, there were present — The Chief Commissioner, Messrs Chesney, Smith, and Patten. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed, and a quantity of correspondence was received and dealt with. The application of J. Burroughs, to purchase agricultural lease 13, was adjourned till next Board day. Martin Lynch purchased 25 acres in block 70, aud paid the sum of £25 by his agent, F. A. Learmonth. The Ranger paid the sura of £11 for a number of licenses. The Board approved of a form of timber licenses to be used in future. C. J. Peterson, through F. | A. Leiirmonth and Co., applied to have land thrown opeu for sale on deferred payments at the New River. Application refused. The Kanieri Road Board requested that a road reserve of 148 chains in length be made at Woodstock. The Board ordered the same to be marked upon the office map. T. Clocher was granted 25 acres land iv special settlement block, and paid the first year's rental, £3 15s. Thompson Bios, were granted a lease of 50 acres ia block 4, Okarito district. W. 11. Green paid the annual rental on 25 acres in special settlement, block 2, iv the Okarito district. J. Nicholas,

towards it atter twelve montlia.- It Will be remeinbdred that thes dflllricil iuviteu delsigiiß Eor the protection tifi plans drawn by Hits County Engineer, arid ofi any jtlier plans subtuiUed. Mr Bladier responded to the hitter invitation by forwarding three alternate designs, at a cost for No. 1 design of £500; So. 2, £600imd No. 3, £909. None of these, however, were approved; and the tender of Mr Thomson oil the Coiihty Engineer's plans and specifications was accepted at schedule prices. The land given by iiv Bladicr is about two acres. Within the last two or three daj'Sj shags have appeared on the river in unusiial numbers, and the destruction that they will effect unless steps are taken to shoot them, can easily be imagined. It may be in the recollection of our readers, that in the feloinach of one of these birds* killed some fcle time ago in Canterbury, no less than Ken salmon fry were found. Should they H equally successful in capturing this prey in the Hokitika, and other HRstland rivers, the late salmon experiments ■&!, of course, prove abortive, and the only will be that all the trouble and expense HBRirovide a dainty meal for these voracious Hft. Yesterday, several of them took up cruising grounds opposite the wharf; BKfrom their frequent headers, were cviHBfy having a good time of it. Whether Bj^sgainc was salmon or mullet, or what, H9v not know, but in a very short time BHSof them evidently secured many fish. |[9Bs'.vam about quite close to. the wharf, H^Hduced a large amount of stone throwBj^Krom bystanders, but the aims were hHß^', and the pelted ones seeme l utterly I^HRrent to such miserable marksmen. those who have already taken so in salmon acclimatisation will for the shags, and rid the river as far jj^BHtblc of the pest. ■HH| recently mentioned a slight coach that occurred when Mr M'Whirter B^^ttchristehurch, en route to the County ■^^^nnce. Our paragraph referring to it on information forwarded by Mr j^H^B' ter - We are happy to publish the fl^Hg from Mr Thomas Powei-, driver of JH^Hkh: — " Please correct local re capsizing HBBB 1 ' in issue of 3rd. Coach never capthe passengers were in no danger I^Her." H^HHre glad to say that the fire in Revellto which we briefly referred in j^^^Hay's issue, was completely got under difficulty, though not . before the of Mrs Buxton, Mr Nicholsou, HHk.e Cum bray, and Mrs Wagstafli were destroyed v/ith all their contents. HHHs Bux tons and next door there was a of valuablo furniture, including a HHB; a °d other things. Everything was consumed, and Mrs Buxton, her aud son escaped with their lives B^^P ' being rescued from the upper BBH^HpP~ : 'i 0i 0 " r wholly cutting off their The fire commenced in BH|KldlG of Mrs Button's dwelling, but WBH™ a myster) r . The inmates had gone to BHKipstairs, and left all things apparently as the fire did not break out for an jHB ami a luilf afterwards, there must 9BE:ntly have been something smouldering Hr which eventually burst into flame. ■^^■Buxtou had not a penny insurance on furniture or building ; but Madame HBbray had insured in the South British H0 a few days ago, on house, £100; and on £100. One office to whom she refused the risk, but it was taken in above office. The brigade worked and a good supply of water was from the Stafford and Hampden wells. One engine was placed JH& one side, and one on the other, both did good service. Indeed, WSk for the way they were handled, the fire must have been far more destructive, nud Messrs Kellock's aud Cameron's stables and the latter's hotel, would probably have been sacrificed. The Royal George Hotel had a narrow escape, several of the panes of glass being cracked by the heat from the burning buildings on the other side of the street. The building formerly occupied by Spieer and Murray was charred from top to bottom, and was only saved after great exertion. Thanks, however, to a wel^ directed stream of water the burning was confined to the outside, and the building proved a bulwark to those on its northern side. The stable occupied by W. Smith was pulled down, and this in a great degree checked the progress of the fire. Amongst others who were most active aud rendered valuable assistance, it is only fair to mention Mr T. Daly, who, at great personal risk, affixed the hooks and chains round portions of the blazing buildings, and so enabled them to be pulled down. Mr M. Levy also rendered good service, and deserves notice for his exertions. We have not heard whether there will be an enquiry or not, but as the fire ilid not originate in the insured building, and as there is positive evidence of it being accidental, we should not think there would be one. A case of some interest to iniiaiug mauagers was decided at tbe District Court at Queeustown recently. In the case Menzies v. The All Nations Co., Macetown, plaintiff sought to recover a sum of £105, as damages for wrongful dismissal by defendants. The evidence went to show that Meuzies had been engaged to take entire charge of the All Nations battery, at the rate of £5 10s per week, wages. He left employment at Carrick Range yieldiug him £5 per week. After a time the battery could not be kept at full work, aud plaintiff was desired to

but found, on arriving in Wellington, that his legal advisers had modestly fixed the claim at £1050. The jury found for the plaintiff £20 damages. Some practical jokers at Invercrirgill hive had the laugh turned against them with a vengeance. They endeavored, for fun, to pull down a pawnbroker's sign, but were discovered in the act. In order to prevent legal proceedings, they were compelled to pay for the damage done, and, in addition, to contribute some £7 to the local Hospital. A French gcntieirian named fliilipa De» mures was fiued 10s aud costs by the Resident- Magistrate at Dunediu for kissing a barmaid. ■ A Maori chief in the Manawatu district proclaims that he will fine auyone travelling iv his settclcmont un the Sabbath in the sum of :2s 6d, and that the penalty will be doubled ; in the cuse of persons, men woman or children who get druuk there at any time. It appeal that the public schools of Dunediu have beeu largely used as nurseries for infants. The School Committee at its last meeting resolved that instructions should be given to the head masters not to admit children under five years of age to the schools. The formation of a new county in Auckland is contemplated. Ib in to comprise districts takeu from Wnipa, Waikato, aud Piako counties, and its centre is to be the town of Cambridge. The Episcopalians are erecting a new church, to be built in concrete, at Pleasant I'oint, Canterbury. New Zealand of the past and New Zealand of the present are two very different things. tn the early days, when all was prosperity, and the denizen of the forest breathed the pure air of lleareu, the humane frame aud constitution had all the chance of robust health; but now that thickly populated cities aud towns hevc sprung up, with the attendant bad habits and worse drainage, a remedy called for that will counteract all the baneful effects of the existing and growing evils. This is to be found at G. Mee's, llevell-street. Ask for " Gholiah's Great Indian Cukes."