OUR PRESENT NATIVE POLICY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 748, 30 December 1869, Page 2

OUR PRESENT NATIVE POLICY.

(From the Wanganui Chronicle, 9th December.) The old proverb tells us how ad van? tageous it is to obtain a character for early rising, for then the fort innate possessor may lie a-bed half the day and no one would think of blaming him. The present Government has got the credit of doing things and especially native things well, and on the strength of it they may go any length. Mr M'Lean has pardoned the murdeiers of Fill-? loon; Mr Fox, within the last few days, has permitted men who were act and part in the slaughter (if we may not say murder) and plunder of our countiymen at Kai-Iwi and Turangaika to walk the streets of Wanganui with impunity. Had these things been done or permitted by the Stafford Ministry, there would have been a shout of disapproval, and very properly so; mercy apart from justice is a mere weak sentimentality, and for the life of lis we are unable to see wherein consists the difference between the sauce for the goose and that for the gander. Of course, there are some people in the world so very mild that, like the Clown's sister Betty, " they would lie down and let the pigs eat them without resistance." There are others who are sure to go with the winning side no matter what that side may be saying or doing, We do not belong to either of these classes; we would rather grumble and get on; and believing that this clemency to native criminals is not only misplaced but unjust—short-sighted as well as wrong—we record our protest against it, however much the unjust thing may flaunt itself as popular and triumphant.

INTER-PROVINCIAL ITEMS,

GREAT FIRES AT WESTPORT.

{From the Westport Times, 7tli December.) The most serious and disastrous elemental visitation as yet recorded in the history of Westport, occurred iu Gladstone street on Saturday night. At ten o'clock, when the town was in its usual condition of quietude, though perhaps a trifle brisker than on ordi- ( nary Saturday evenings, from the presence in the streets of a few strangers from the Terraces, and of a number of the townspeople taking an evening saunter before returning to their homes, the often dreaded alarm of " Fire " was heard in the main street, and shortly afterwards the cry was echoed over all parts of the town. A rush from the four points of the compass was made towards the place where the alarm originated, and it was discovered that a fire had broken out in the shop of Mr Anslow, draper and general storekeeper, whose premises occupied a central position in the main block of buildings on the west or seaward side of Gladstone-street. From the geueral account given of the origin of the occurrence, it appears that Mr Anslow, previous to closing his mises for the night, was in the act of .extinguishing one of the kerosine lamps by turning down the wick. As he did so, the burning wick came in contact with the body of kerosine in the lamp, causing the latter almost instantly to explode. For a few minutes Mr Anslow strove hard to extinguish the extending flames, but several articles of drapery and two cases of kerosine which happened to be standing close to where the lamp burst, having caught, it soon exceeded the powers of Mr Anslow, and the few neighbors who had then congregated, to diminish or extinguish the fire. Barely time was left to remove half-a dozeu articles when the flames, with one grasp, seemed to seize the whole of the roof, and envelop the premises in a cloud of smoke. The alarm was then more loudly reverberated from one street to another, and crowds of people rushed to the scene, but scarcely three minutes had eiapsep from the time MrpAnslow's roof had caught until Cito's Golden Age Hotel, on the left, and Trimble's Theatre ftoyal on the right were enveloped in smoke and flame. Only a few minutes passed wheu any attempt to allay the fierce flames, which then spread along " like a itbing of life," was seen to be hopeless, and the fire, so far as coucerned the one block of buildings, was deemed beyond human subjection. It is difficult to arrive at anything, like an approximation of the total loss or indeed of individual losses, but the following, in rough figures, is as near au estimate of the value of the buildings and goods lost and destroyed as we are able to glean so soon after the event: —

Cowley, Anslow's 5h0p...., £ 200 Anslow, stock, total loss 1,000 Golden Age Hotel, M'Cole, owner 200 Golden Age Hotel, Cato's stock and furniture, total loss 250 Fleming aud Murray, properties 800 Fleming and Murray, stock, partially lost and destroyed 1,500 Pitt', solicitor, office, furniture, &c 250 Tramway Hotel, Smyrk, hotel, furniture, and stock 500 Theatre Royal, Trimble, hotel, furniture, and stock 4-00 Horn, tobacconist, two shops and part of stock 1,000 Sportsman's Arms, Mrs Austin, hotel, furniture, and stock 300 Imperial Hotel, Tasner, owner 300 Imperial Hotel, stock, &c, Derung's 200 White, chemist, shop and stock GOO Prince Alfred Hotel, Tasker 150 Prince Alfred Hotel, stock and furniture, Mrs Braithwaite 70 Shulloff, tobacconist, part stock 150 J. Southern, part stock destroyed 500 Smith and M'Dowell, draper's shop 800 Smith and M'Dowell, tobacconist's shop... 200 G. Jarvis, Freetb and Falla's stores 5:0 Freeth and Greig, stores, &c 200 G. Falla, stock , 400 Dr. Rockstrow, house, furniture, &c 300 Jiobeat and Simpson, new shop, and part of stock , 500 £11,420 The above may bo deemed the principal losers. There were many minor losses, such as broken glasses, torn down fences, and other properties borrowed and not returned, but the above list comprises the chief losses on the bluck in which the fire occurred. In the space of two hours nineteen buildings were consumed. No accident of any serious nature occurred, though there was a large number of bruises and slight scalds. Mr M'Kinley, tailor, fell from the roof of his shop in attempting to secure it from the scorch qI thQ opposite burning premises, but

the injury sustained was, fortunately, slight. So far as we have been able to ascertain, there was not a penny of insurance on any of the buildings or stocks.

ANOTHER FIRE. Westport, Dec. 12. Another fire took place here last night. It occurred on the same block as the fire of the 4th December. The following buildings were destroyed : Old House at Home, Ship, and Q.C.E. Hotels. Falla's and Organ's stores in jeopardy, but were saved. The cause of the fire is unknown.

ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO POISON A WHOLE FAMILY. (From the Tuapeka Times, 11th December.) Some excitement was caused in Lawrence on Wednesday, Dec. 8, by the intelligence that Inspector Perry and Constable Purdue had arrived in charge of a man and woman accused of the serious offence of an attempt to poison a whole family. From what we can learn, the facts of tho case are as follows: —Jane Doigh, the female prisoner, and her husband, have been for some time engaged as servants at the Spylaw Station. Mrs Doigh is a very passionate woman, and has repeatedly quarrelled with Mr Cameron, the manager of the station, and his wife. On the occasion of one of these quarrels, she said to Mr Cameron, " I hope I will yet see you a corpse in your boots.'* She also threatened Mr Cameron on the day of the alleged attempt, and expressed regret to a boy, named M'Grath, at the non success of the poison. It appears that facility for the crime of poisoning was offered at the Spylaw Station. In the woolshed a barrel of arsenic was stored, without any precautions to prevent it being at the disposal of every one about the place. Mrs Doigh had repeatedly asked both Mrs Cameron and her husband to fetch her some of this arsenic, stating that she wished to poison rats ; but both declined to gratify her. She has, however, frequently been seen near the woolshed after dusk. About six weeks ago Mrs Doigh got a tin of soda from some fencers. Part of this she gave to Mrs Cameron, who used it! for baking purposes without any ill results following, until Saturday, the 27th ult., when she used it in some flour to make scones. Mr Cameron, Mrs Cameron, and their child, ate some of these about 5 p m., and were almost immediately taken ill, and continued sick until midnight. The symptoms were violent headache and excessive thirst, and were equally marked in the case of the boy M'Grath, who had also eaten of the scones. On the same evening, previous to the family having tea, Mrs Doigh fed the fowls with some stale home-made bread soaked in water, and next morning four large turkies and eight other fowls were found to have perished. The arresting constable has in his possession two of the scones left over, and a quantity of the powder left after baking. No doubt an analysis of these will show whether arsenic was introduced into them or not. As it is, the case is undoubtedly one of strong suspicion, and thoroughly justifies the police for arresting the accused. The female prisoner is described as about 40 years of age, and is said to have the appearance of au old hand. She vvill be examined here on Tuesday next. The most remarkable feature is the culpable carelessness which left a quantity of one of the most deadly poisons at the mercy of every passer-

The Wellington correspondent of the Wairarapa Mercury says:—Dr. Featherston and Mr Dillon Bell sailed by the Avoca on the 7th Dec. The latter, who is known as a great connoisseur, is said to be the terror of stewards in making them turn out all sorts of rechereM and hitherto unknown dishes.

The Evening Post, 16th Dec, says: —-The sugar which we mentioned yesterday as having been sent to Mr Skey for analysis, has been tested and found to contain a considerable quantity of arsenic. The parcel, which was imported from Melbourne by Mr Yates, consisted of 13 large bags, (which he retained), and half a ton (which he sold to Mr Cemino). It is described as No. % pieces Victoria Co.'s sugar, and was procured from David Masterton & Co., 75, William* street, Melbourne, Mi* Cemiuo sold

five bags to the convent, but, nearly every one who partook of it having become ill, it was returned. The families which have purchased the sugar from Mr Yates, as far as we can learn, are those of Messrs. Watson, Styles, Webster, O'Neill, and Dowsett. Wat son first discovered it, and, on informing Mrs Yates, the remainder of the parcel was at once removed from the shop and stowed away. The police have taken charge of all that is left of the parcel, so that no further danger need be apprehended; of course not the slightest blame can attach to either Mr Yates or Mr Cemino, and in fact they are likely to prove the greatest sufferers. The Evening Post, Dec. 16, contains the following:—The thunderstorm which occurred here yesterday seems to have been one of the most severe that ever visited Wellington, and in some neighboring parts of the country it was felt with even greater severity than in town. At Karori a flash of lightning, described as a ball of fire, was seen to strike the ground, then pass through Campbell's fence, throwing out some palings quite across the road; keeping on it struck Parnell's fence, throwing out some palings, and a short time afterwards a tree in a direct line, some 800 yards distant, was observed to be on fire. Hailstones upwards of half an inch in diameter fell at the Hutt! The Dunedin Echo, Dec. 18, contains the following :—" The wretch John Smyth, convicted of the brutal murder of iris wife at Christchurch, has found sympathisers. A petition for a commutation of his sentence is being handed round for signature. No doubt it will be numerously and influentially signed, but, if it has the least effect, we shall blush for the Govern ment which will hang a Maori for rebellion and let a monster Pakeha live. This is all the felon Smyth did: — ' The evidence showed that the most revolting cruelty had been practised upon the deceased at intervals for a considerable time. She had been repeatedly tied hand and foot, thrown into and confined in a cellar, beaten, kicked, dragged through the house by the hair of the head, gagged, &c, &c. The marks of the cords were indented on the wrists and ankles, the body was a mass of bruises, the angles of the mouth showed ragged cuts, and the upper and lower gums were divested of their covering, or the skia rasped off with the gag. The medical witnesses were of opinion that death resulted from suffocation, caused by the gag having forced the tongue backwards so as to press the epiglottis against the opening of the windpipe.' We sincerely trust that before this paper is printed * the marks of the cords' will have rid the world of the amiable object of the sympathy we have deprecated."

The New Zealand Herald mentions as a confirmation of the truth of the saying that drunken men often escape where sober ones would lose life or limb, the fact that during a recent thunderstorm in Aucklandau inebriated man was leading a horse harnessed to a dray. The horse bolted, the man was thrown down, the dray passed over him, one wheel grazing his head, and the other taking the sole off his boot —truly about as marvellous an escape as we ever heard of.

WOOLLEN CLOTH MANUFACTORIES. (Evening Post.) For many years past, woollen tweeds of excellent quality and almost everlasting wear have been made at Nelson; not only in sufficient quantities for the supply of the local demand there, but so as to sell a considerable quantity in other parts of this colony. We are informed on very good authority that the present manufacturer, Mr Webley, who arrived from England about eleven or twelve years ago with a large family, and no capital, has, by means ol aid from an enterprising merchant ol Nelson in the commencement of his undertaking, and of the steady and skilled industry of himself and his family accumulated a very handsome property. "We understand that he has, for a long time past, received orders to a far greater amount than he can supply, and that he is in consequence enlarging his premises so as to be enabled to produce a much larger quantity. A Welsh Company has been formed

for the establishment of a factory of flannel and tweeds ab home spot near Christchurch, and the workers are soon to arrive there. The wool-len-manufacturing company estab lished at Geelong in Victoria, has been recently providing itself in England with so extensive a stock of the most improved machinery, as to claim special mention in the home newspapers. Why should not Wellington, Porirua, Manawatu, Wanganui, Wairarapa, and JNapier, also have their cloth manufactories? Likefl ax dressing machinery, that for making wool into various fabrics may be either on a small or extensive scale. Every runholding district, as well as the towns, ought to have its own cloth mill. It would be most profitable to make use of the waterpower so abundant in every part of New Zealand for such a purpose. The adoption of such a pursuit generally would accomplish a great economy of wealth, now needlessly spent in land and water carriage of the raw material across the world, and of mostly inferior woollen fabric back from the old country. In many paits of America both in the States and in the British dominions, the families of leading settlers, including the ladies, make it a point to wear home-spun cloth. What can be nicer in every way for a riding habit or walking dress than such tweeds as are made at Nelson? For laboring men, especially when liable to be exposed to wet and cold in their work, garments of sound unmixed woollen texture would be very much healthier and more comfortable than fustians and moleskins. There is a large demand in the Colony for flannels, Crimean shirts, drawers, etockings, &c. Will no one try an experiment, the successful result of which has been proved by daily practice, and can be inspected within a few hours' steam of this almost stagnant city ? Will no one employ the capital, in encouraging the immigration of labor that is skilled, in this most useful and profitable pursuit? The founder of woollen cloth manufactories in this Province, no matter on what scale within reason, would not only reap a large and certain profit, but would deserve and obtain the esteem and gratitude of his fellowcolonists, as well as that of many additions to our population, in no common degree.

THE CASE OF WALTER THICKER. Great disgust is felt in "Wellington at the apathy shown by the General Government regarding this case. The Independent is very quiet on the subject; its present editor, Mr Halcombe, is one of the few believers in Tricker's guilt, but does not wish to incur the unpopularity which would result from too open a profession of his opinions. The rest of the press is, we believe, unanimous in demanding the prisoner's release. We quote a few of the paragraphs which daily appear on the subject:— Wanganui Chronicle, December 9. —Regarding this case—a most important one—in which Walter Thicker is kept in jail under a charge proved to be false, and which has caused much excitement in the Rangitikei district, a correspondent writes us to say that as nothing has as yet come of the meetings and memorials on the subject, the matter is again being taken up there. Ttis to be hoped that other places may now show more than sympathy, as funds are likely to be required to obtain the release of Tricker. At a meeting h<?ld in Marton last July (continues our coirespondent) it was resolved " that it is the bounden duty of the Government to take legal steps to prosecute the half-caste Hamilton for the wilful perjury which the commissioners consider to be clearly established." Although the resolution was duly forwarded to the Government no notice was deigned, nor its receipt duly acknowledged. As such is the case it is clearly the duty of the settlers to move in t.'ie matter. A charge of wilful perjury—of which there is plenty of proof—against Hamilton might bring out some startling facts and prove to the most prejudiced the innocence of the unfortunate and much-persecuted Tricker.

Evening Post, 18th December.One of the very best commentaries that has ever appeared on Tricker's case is contained in a letter in this morning's Independent. The writer j whoever he may be,, displays- a remarkable power of clear concentration, and has placed the whole state of the case before the public in a few concise words. The points put forward are—without Hamilton'** evidence, no jury would have convicted Tricker, and, that evidence being demolished, why is he kept in jail 1 H the Judge had given an opinion that Tricker ought to be released, would he not have been ? and if the Judge refused to give that opinion, or gave one the other way, he is the cause of Tricker being kepi in jail and no one else. ** One who does not believe Tricker guilty "

is evidently well acquainted with his subject, and competent to advocate his views ably. "Wanganui Chronicle, Dec. 18.— The Wellington Independent, in an article on the above case, devotes a great deal of special pleading against the poor prisoner, but quietly ignores the important admission that thePremier has stated his conviction that the sentence passed upon Tricker was not in accordance with the facts as they hw,e now been ascertained, and are known to all who have bestov ed any attention on the subject. Mr Fox has further stated, as we are informed, that there is legal or just reason for the detention of Tricker in jail Why then is henot released? We ask this question, and it must be asked again and again, and pressed upon public attention until it is answered, and answered satisfactorily.—We had just written so far, when there was put into our hands the copy of a letter addressed to Mr H. Lyon of Marton, from the private* Secretary of Mr Fox, on this very subject. It summarily dismisses the matter in the following manner :...." and am to inform you that the case has been referred to Judge Johnston, in accordance with Royal Instructions, and been fully considered by the Government, but' they cannot recommend his Excellency to pardon the convict." Our first impression was that this letter must be a hoax, that after what Mr Fox had stated it was nob possible he could have authorised such a s tatement. Bat it is. even so, and our wonder almost equals our disappointment. The leiter sets at rest any further expectation that Mr Fox is disposed to carry oud what amounted to a positive assurance on his part that Tricker should be released,

Evening Post, 23rd December. — Our contemporary the Independent, in its iVsue of tli's morning, publishes a letter from Mr Henry Lyon, the chairman of the Tricker Committee, calling on the public for subscriptions for the purpose of prosecuting the boy Hamilton for perjury, as the Government do not feel inclined to move in the matter. We shall be glad indeed to see the question of Hamilton's perjury decided by a jury in a Court of Law, and hope the public of Wellington will heartily respond to the call of the committee. If any portion of our readers think that thus Tricker's innocence can be established, by all means let no time be lost; let us not any longer bear the odium of keeping one innocent man in goal, wbile a guilty one is at liberty. We can ■ nor, however, agree with our contemporary in thinking that the question of Tricker's guilt or innocence requires settling. That is at rest in the minds of most residents in this Province. But be Tricker deserving of death or release, thtre can be nodoubt that Hamilton at least deserves to be put on his trial for perjury of the barest kind--he having sworn falsely in order to bring a fellow man to a shameful death,

Daek Houus.—To every man there are many, many dark hours —hours when ho feels inclined to abandon his best enterprise ; hours when his heart's dearest; hopes seem delusive j hours when he feels himself unequal to the burden, —when all his aspirations seem worthless. Let no one think that he alone has dark hours. They are the common lot of humanity. They are the touchstone to try whether we be Btev« ling coin or uofc»