The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1887. CARELESSNESS SOMEWHERE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1581, 10 June 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1887. CARELESSNESS SOMEWHERE.

In connection with the late fire at the Wellington Post Office, stories are current of a rather uncomfortable nature. It appears that a large number of copies of telegrams, and other documents which were supposed to have been destroyed m the fire, were not so, * but being buried beneath masses of debris, were to some extent protected from the devouring element, and m many cases are practically intact. These heaps of documents have been unearthed and brought to the light of day by persons exploring among the ruins. It appears that these papers were suffered by the authorities to lie about, the result being that the curious of the Empire City have ample opportunity of 1 gratifying their desires to pry into the affairs of others. As the Post and Telegraph Department is supposed to 1 not divulge the contents of telegrams or documents entrusted to its care, persons interested have naturally a right to expect that the authorities should take steps to effectually destroy the old copies of teiegrams etc., which escaped the flames at the burning of the ' Post Office buildings, or to remove them from a place which is practically as open to all as the public street. 1 The "N.Z. Times" says that large - numbers of telegrams have been dis- > persed through the city, " presumably for public information," and that every day for the past few weeks knots of people have been seen on the waste land between the Government Buildings and the Railway Whan perusing documents which the senders mistakenly suppose to be protected by the inviolable secrecy of the Telegraph Department. As our Wellington contemporary says, it is monstrous that so little care has been taken to destroy beyond recognition this refuse of the late fire. Mild attempts have been made to cover with earth sjrae of the mass of private papers, but the wind, rain and boys will continually bring it to light again unless some better means be adopted to ensure its destruction or effective concealment.