THE Gray River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1585, 3 September 1873, Page 2

THE Gray River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER. 3, 1873.

|At the opening of the present session of jtbe Supreme Court, at Hokitika, on (Monday, his Honor Mr Justice Gresson 'delivered his usual charge to the Grand bury, in the course of which he confined ■hisiremarks to- two points. ... First, to the specific nature -of the charges which Iwouid be brought before the Jury > and secondly, to the throwing out of valuable buggestions as to the present system of prison management within the County. His remarks regarding the individual items on the calender were plain and to the point, and require no comment, but it appears that his Honor has visited the County Gaolj and has expressed a very strong opinion upon the manner in which the discipline of that establishment has i ' ■ . .' ■' . t . ■.'..■■■■;.'. ..'■.. lately been carried out. He says that :— j'.Qn paying my accustomed visit tor the gaol, I was pained -at observing that one of the prisoners who has made himself Adlofiousi by Sis crimes and recent escape from gaol, was, even while at hard labor, heavily ironed. Ido not complain of the 1 local . authorities for this apparently harsh proceeding, as I believe that it is necessary for the safe custody of th? prisoner, ojwing to the limited means at the gaoler's disposal, of providing ■ suitable labor for. the prisoners' within the gaol, or for , guarding them sufficiently while employed on public works outside the precincts. i rasiy mention, what I believe I have stated before from this place, that the Hokitika Gaol is not discreditable as compared with the other gaols of the dolnny. What I desire to impress upon you, and all other influential colonists to whom , my voice may reach, is the unw,isdom of neglecting to provide a penal establishment for the Colony, where prisoners could be properly classified, instructed, and usefully employed ; and that hopeless class of criminals who wage constant war with society, who know, no home but a prison, might by strict..discipline, uniformly enforced, and stimulated by a judicious system of rewards,,, be brought in time to feel that even for them life may not be without hope. Iknow that this subject, has been worn threadbare by myself and brother Judges, but L can't' help thinking, that it is still our duty to raise our voices against the inconsistency of spending money freely, I might almost say lavishly, in the cause of education, and, at the same Time, withholding the comparatively' moderate •sum required to preserve a large portion of the youth of the ; Colony from contamination. We are fully alive to the danger of allowing diseased cattle to cbriie in -contact 'with .those that are sound, but we grudge the expense of saving our youth from : contact with moral disease of the worst possible type, and yet we 'delude ourselves by passing an Act? for enforcing prison discipline, and enjoining careful classification, forgetting that such classification cannot be effected in the gaols of the Colony as.they exist at present. " These words of wisdom from one who/has had much -experience and who has given the subject much deep thought, will surely be taken into consideration the present session of the A ssembly.

On more than one occasion lately we have referred to the postponement by the Government of the construction of the railway system between Nelson and the West Coast, and the reasons which have actuated the General /Government in arriving at this decision. The results of interviews between the various parties have hitherto been stated only in telegraphic form, and have not been properly understood, and ; it : is only now, by the arrivaJof a mail from the North, that we are placed jri possession of copies of the correspondence which has passed between the Superintendent of Nelson and the premier, regarding: the construction of this line of railway. Both of these doc#_

ments are worthy of careful perusal, as they show distinctly the position a ; nd prospects of the projected railway line from Nelson to Greymouth, so far as the General Government have yet determined.

On the 27th August, the Premier wrote to the Superintendent of Nelson as follows :■—..,

Sir— T have the honor to convey to you iv writing an answer to the representations made by you and the deputation which ac-. companied you';at our interview this moruing. The Government will ask the Assembly to authorise the construction of the line between Fox Hill and theßrunner as part of the main line through the Middle Island, subject to future votes being tak«.n for the necessary cost' Tie Government on the following grounds will not ask for an appropriation this session:-—

1. They are not in a position to give adequate information. The Provincial Government have only signified within the last three or four months their willingness to become responsible for the cost of the railway. The General Government at once instituted inquiries, and it appears to them unreasonable that the Provincial Executive, which took so .long a time to make up its mind to ask for the railway on the condition of responsibility v should now complain because the General Government, while moving the Assembly to authorise the work, do not deem it advisable, in the absence of more detailed information, to invite an appropriation.

2. No delay will arise through not seftking an appropriation this session. The line is already proceeding at each end, and nothing but a survey could be made during the present year. The Government will seek authority to make a working survey, with the object of asking next year for an appropriation for some portion of the line. I have further the honor to say that the Government will recommend the Assembly to accept the general liability of the Province, without the soecific security of the land proposed to be placed at the disposal of the Colony. The land will, therefore, continue to be subject to Provincial administration. -'■■■-' I am, &c, JULTUS YOGEL. In reply to this the Superintendent of Nelson sent the following to the Premier, under date August 28 :—

Sib,— l have the honor to .acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date. I greatly regret that tbe Government bave decided not to ask Parliament for an appropriation ol funds ior the construction of any portion of the railway between Foxhill and Brunnerton during the present session. At the same time, I have to thank the Government for undertaking to ask the Assembly to authorise the construction, of the line between Foxhill and Brunner as part of the main line through the Middle Island, subject to tutnre votes being taken for the necessary cost and to seek authority to make a working survey with the object of asking next year for an appropriation for the same portion of the line. I may however be permitted to remind you that the Government have already under the Kailways Act, 1870, full and express authority to enter into contracts for the construction of the entire line, restricted only by there being no money appropriation made by Parliament for the purpose. lam the more desirous to bring this fact to the recollection of the Government, as the terms ■ in which you speak of fcbe.wanb of adequate information, would almost; lead to the inference that the subject had scarcely been under the consideration of the Government or of Parliament until recently. Your remark that the " Provincial Executive took so long a time to make up its mind to ask for- the railway on the condition of responsibility," refers, I conclude, to the long period of delay which occurred between tbe appropriation for the first twenty miles of the line by Parliameut and the commencement of its construction by the Government. During this interval ohe Provincial Executive certainly thought it would be useless to ask the Government to obtain appropriation for a further portion. Within a very few weeks after Government had entered .into contract for the formation of the first portion of the line to Fox Hill, application was made to the Government to ask for an appropriation for the remainder of the line during the present session, and after the cordial manner in which that application was responded to by the Government, I think it cannot be a matter for surprise that the limited action to which the Government have decided to confine themselves during the present session should give rise to feelings of great disappointment. The Provincial Executive did not, it is true, think it necessary iv the first instance to offer to the Colony security both over land, to the extent of 10,000 acres per mile, and upon the Provincial revenues. In this view it appears from the last paragraph of the letter before me that the Colonial Government now concur. I cannot conclude this letter without acknowledging the courtesy with which the representatives of the members for the Province have been invariably received by yourself and the other members of the Government. I am, &c, Oswald Gurus.

Owing to the length of these documents we are compelled to reserve comment until a future issue.