Oar Wellington Letter

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 116, 25 March 1890, Page 3

Oar Wellington Letter

(from our own correspondent.) , ..<■■} i Wellington, March 20 The wrangling :that is continually taking place between counsel engaged in the various cases which occupy the attention : of the Resident Magistrate's Court; is becoming intolerable. Scarcely a day passes now without one or. other of the " learned gentleman" forgetting even common courtesy. Mr Jellicoe has earned quite a notoriety in respect, and his junior brother, Mr Skerrett, Beems to be following fast in his footsteps. A few days since Messrs Skerrett and Haselden; who were the opposing counsel in a case before the ■court, had a. wordy, warfare of not a very •elevating character for some time, until His Worship intimated that matters were going too far. This, of course, brought forth the usual apologies and business once more resumed its. normal sway. The question, naturally crosses ones mind, "' Have lawyers a special license in this respect? Or. is it merely a cheap advertisement? Any ordinary individual dare not speak above bis breath whilst within the sacred-precincts " of the court of justice, then why this thusness. Constable Doyle, who is recognised as the Hercules' of the police force, which is saying a good, deal, had quite a merry time of it a night or two ago' when some of the firemen belonging to the mail steamer Ruapehu, who had been indulging ""not wisely bat too* well" at a public house near the; wharf and, us a natural •consequence, were soon engaged in a free ' fight intermixed with language not exactly* Parliamentary, which was taken objection to by the representative of law anJ or It r on duty in the vicinity, and on his endeavoring to convince one of their number that he would be better out of such •company, and gave the inebriated individual glowing accounts of a quiet and retired room provided by Her Majesty, free of cost, where he could spend the remainder of the night in repose, the invitation -was resisted not only by the man himself, hut by a dozen of his chums, who came to. his rescue, and,. strong as Constable Doyle is, he soon, found twelve to one rather long odds, and so he' summoned to his aid two of his brother officers, who soon bora off three of the " pugilists " in triumph, and had' the satisfaction of seeing them receive their reward the next morning. It does not do to be " chicken hearted ".. in " the .".foorce ". nowadays, when such rough individuals as the ocean going steamers' firemen are about. Some people have queer ideas' of revenge, as was shown on opening St. Peter's •church last evening, when it was found that some evil, spirited person, evidently jealous of the appointment of the new Organist to that place of worship, had "wantonly damaged the fine organ -in the church, and torn up several pieces of music belonging to Mr TrimnejU, who has lately been appointed organist and choirmaster there. It is said that some clue has been found which may lead to the detection of the culprit. The tollgate trouble still causes some stir, and stormy meetings are of nightly occurrence, where' compliments are exchanged very freely between the antagonistic parties. It is a great pity that these bugbears cannot be abolished altogether. The unfairness of the tax is shown when a person like your correspondent, who does not use .the road very often, wishes some holiday to take his family out for a drive and has not driven half a mile outside the smokey, dingy, city before he is brought to a full stop and has to part with eighteen penoe before he can sniff the balmy (?) tax of Kaiwarra, another short spin and again his passage is barred with a second request for a Colonial Robert, so that he thmks, twice on another- occasion before venturing outßide the " walls " of the city. What an example the Wellington-Man-ftwatn Bail way Company have Bet the Government. Another prosperous year, J12.000 worth more business than the previous year, whilst the working ex- ( '9ta*6Si despite ihe steep line, are only tii per cent, against 68 per cent on the Government lines. ,- . -