Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 984, 4 April 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1871.

Amongst the first to recognise the im portance of a mail service with Europe via the American Continent, and with the northern capital of this Colony as its port of call, we have not been blind to the glaring defects of the several different schemes that have been temporarily adopted, and, satisfactory as it is to know that one of these schemes bids fair to be established, it is to be regretted that it will retain most of the faults of its predecessors. A rational postal scheme via San Francisco would be one that—discarding all ambitious aims to occupy the master position, which of necessity mu.-t be paid for at a rate the Colony in its present depressed state can ill afford—should regard the good of the Colony as a whole, both as regards economy and convenience. Such a service would have its lerminus in Melbourne, its single poi t of call at Auckland, and an interprovincial service to work in conjunction therewith from each of the two Auckland ports—that from Auckylandl}a.rbor proper to carry the mails for tlie whole of the ports on the East Coyst of both Islands, and that from the Manukau to do the same for all ports on the West Coast, returning by the same route, and bring back the out- : ward mails in time for the steamer on her return from Melbourne. It was something of this kind that we expected would be adopted when first the San Francisco route was projected, and we must say that the Colony as a whole has just grounds of complaint that its interests are postponed for those of four ports of call, even admitting that they are at present the principal ports of the Col on v.

It has been abundantly proved that the new contract will not work in the form in which it now exists. The large ocean steamers are not fitted, in fact, are totally unfitted, for the coast service, although it is not to be expected that the projectors of the service should be aware of the fact. It appears, however, that what has come before them in the way of comment on the service in the Colonial press, has caused them to suspect as much. It is confidently asserted that for the first year at least the mails will be transhipped at Auckland, and the steamer from San Francisco be sent on to Australia. But instead of the transhipment, which the convenience of the whole of the Colony would indicate, into two separate coasting steamers, one for each coasl, the enormous absurdity is to be perpetrated of a single transhipment into the large ocean steamer which will have to carry the outward mail to Honolulu. This steamer will call only at the ports be fore alluded to—Wellington, Lyttelton, and Port Chalmers, —leaving the distribution of the mails over the rest of the Colony to be accomplished in the random way it is at present done. We in Hawke's Bay know to our sorrow something of what this is like, when we to wait week after week for our home correspondence, after we know that the mails are in the Colony ; and, as it often happens, have to depend on a chance vessel to Auckland to carry our return mail, with the very probable liability of being too late at last. It will be observed that the trip of the ocean steamers along the East Coast of the Islands will not save any of the expense of the interprovincial

services. Such will .still be an actual necessity if the service is to he in anyway an efficient ona ; with this difference, however : instead of the extremely /simple services indicated above, several branch services will have to be subsidised from the different ports of call to those situated nearest to them ; so that, in whatsoever light it is regarded, it appears that the new postal system will prove much more cumbersome, unwork able, and costly than iD could and should be made to be.

We all know that it was to allay the jealousy existing in the other ports by the preference shown to Auckland that the absurd addition of the coast run was made to the original scheme, and it is perhaps probable that if Mr Yogel had succeeded in adding Hawke's Bay to the list, our community might have been reconciled to the plan. As it i«, our interest is not enlisted in its favor, and we ran view the whole scheme dispassionately, as it will affect, and as it might have been made to af feet, the numerous ports left out of the scheme; and we trust that all such will agitate the question until a remedy is provided that shall combine the two essentials of economy and efficiency.

Loyal Meanee Lodge, 1.0.0., M.U. —lt will be seen by advertisement that the above lodge will be opened by the District Grand Master in the Meanee Hall, at 6 p.m. on Monday next, 10th inst. The event will be afterwards celebrated by a ball. Resident Magistrate's Court.— This morning a drunkaid was dealt with in the usual manner. Higgins v. Knight. —A. claim of £A 9s.—Judgment foi amount claimed and 10s costs. Vesey v. Davie. A claim of £ll 15s 6d, amount of a cheque deposited with defendant, a publican at Pakipaki. Tt appeared from the evidence that the plaintiff had at first received money in exchange for his cheque; but that the defendant had afterwards borrowed a portion of the money again, and this, the plaintiff on his oath stated, had not been repaid. The defendant in his statement deposed that it had been repaid, and called evidence to prove the fact. His witness, a person named Probat, had seen the money paid to plaintiff, who was drunk, and demanded After he received it, he began treating Maoris, loafers, &c , to "glasses all round," and, according to other testimony, soon got rid of his money Judgment was given at 1 p m., when his Worship decided that the defendant had acted improperly in returning any portion of the money to the plaintiff when in the state described —Judgment for plaintiff, for MS 15 6d and 9s costs. Fire and Loss of Life.—We regret to have to record that a fire occurred last Monday morning at Mr Mallet's station at Pnketitiii, by which the homestead was destroyed, and one life lost. At the time of the tire the only inmates of the hou»e were Mr and Mrs Israel Trask, with their infant, and a young man named Dauiel Welch. The fire broke out about b* a.m, and Mr and Mrs Trask were awakened by the disturbance made by a cat in its efforts to escape. They had barely made their way out of the burning building, after calling to the other inmate, when the roof fell in, and he must have been buried in the ruins. The cause of the fire is unknown; but it conjectured that it may have arisen from the unibr tunate man's habit of reading in bed The house was injured ; but a large quantity of property was destroyed, which was totally uninsured We understand that an inquest will be held on Friday next, at the Napier Hotel.