THE 'FRISCO SERVICE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1927, 24 August 1888, Page 3

THE 'FRISCO SERVICE

A HARD KNOCK TO AUCKLAND It is difficult to see on what grounds the Auckland merabern of the Legislature can justify their determined support of the Ban FrancißCO mail sorvico They have pised m tbe Hour© during the present session like men possessed with a demon of retren hment. They and their frionde earned undying fame for thomsoiv. a as the "Hturvation Ariry " and the''Skinflints" by their eagerness to reduce the wnges of the very smallest fry m the public service, but when they had an opportunity of voting the discontinuance of a costly and ÜBele?s luxury, they t wallowed their principles at a gulp and clamoured for reckless waste, because the money would benefit Auckland. Ab fi>o tl reformers and retrenching patriots, they were tranaported at the thought that a penny a day nvght be taken from the wages of workmen ; but when the 'Frisco service was m danger they tried to prove, by a vicious arithmetic, that if New Zealand threw bo many thousands annually into the Pacific, it was jist the same as receiving that amount. A return has U'ely been presented to the Honse, however, whioh, In the eyes of every discerning man, will stamp the eoonomlo professions of the Aaotdand members who endeavored to perpetuate the 'Frisco mall f»roa hb the poorest political shoddy. The return shows that for tbe twnlre months i ending 31st of December, JBB7, the New Zealtnd Shipping Company's steamers brought oargo Inwards to tho amount of I 19 687 tons, and took away 16.854 tons. The Sbaw-Savll and Albion Company's steamers brought 23,101 toDs, and took 21,300 — a tonage of imports and exports by tho direct steamers of over 81,003 tons. On the other hand, the total amount of oargo brought by the 'Frisco s f earners was 1335, and they took 569 I outwards, both inwards and outwards not being a single freight one way for the whole twelre mor.ths. This costly experiment has proved that, m spite of all the nooflet se talked about the manufacturing supremacy of America, she can sell us nothing that we onnnot get cheaper from Home, and that she will take nothing from v«, and with these faots before us the Auckland mombera will need to clothe themselves In eaokoloth and sit m ashes bef >re we can aocept their professions of priitioal faith again. All through the ha'tie of retrenchment the Auckland members were m the lead. There is a Flnanohl Reform Asaoolatlon m that city, too, which seems to glory m the good work of worrying A'klnoon to de»tb, and it is saddening to dlicover that those loudtODgued pitrlota are built on tho usual pattern,—" RaDgltikei Advocate." Members of the Caledonian Sooieties of Canterbury willno doubt remember, about three or four yearß Bgo, the excellent bagpipe playing of Piper Donald MncDonald. They will hear with regret that the unfortunate man whose body was brought m from the Port Hills last Sunday was no other than poor Donald. A rumour has gone abroad that deoeased was driven to take refuge m a flax bush lair on the Port Hills beoauso dire poverty was pursuing him and he was famishing from hunger. We are m a position to say that this was not the case. Donald MacDonald was the owner of considerable landed propetry m the Timaru district, baa relatives living both m that district and m Ohriatohurch who would only have been too glad to have assisted him if he had required aid ; but the simple explanation of tbe whole thing is that the poor fellow was suffering from mental affliction, and while tbe dark oloud was hanging over his mind, he isolated himself from mankind altogether, and met death from exposure. The coin found m his pookotbook was an old copper coin of a Continental ooinage, and had boon oarried by him as a "luck penny." The 'deceased was not buried at the expense of Government, but by bis relatives m Ohristchuroh.— "Lyttelton Times."