Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1299, 15 April 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1872.

We have received from Mr Beyer, Port Aliuriri, a letter complaing of the manner in which his letters go astray. Mr B. indulges in some strong language —rather too strong for om columns; "but he states the following particular as facts ; —(1) " A letter from Christchurch, addressed * Oskar Bej or, Napier,' went to Waipukurau, and was there opened, as written on, by the Postmaster, in the presence of one Oscar Bryer. I have never been to Waipukurau, and I at last received the letter lit the Port Ahuriri Office." (2) •* Only the other day I received a letter addressed ' O. Beyers,' which had been delivered to and opened by A. Peters, and by him sent through the post to me." (3) "An Auckland letter of the 22nd March, bearing Napier and Port Ahuriri postmarks of April 6, 1 only received on the 12th April, though I went twice to the Post office on the 6th, Both these last letters were of importance,'' Mr Beyer complains also of extreme irregularity in the receipt of his Maori correspondence. He says that in reply to complaints he has made lie has been told thrtt particular care would he taken of his correspondence, but that no improvement has taken place.—We cannot feel surprised at irregularities such as those complained of, as the local Post office staff is numerical I.)' 1 .)' so very inadequate for the heavy work of the department. In Maori correspondence, the work of decyphering the addresses must often bo attended with special difficulty. Mr Beyer suggests that a regular delivery would be a great public convenience. In this we quite coincide with hi in. In the Resident Magistrate's Court *his morning, one civil case came on for hearing —Nikara v. Chaundy. This was a claim for balance of account Some of the items on both sides were disputed, and a task of disentanglement was laid out for the Resident Magistrate, Among the items wa<- - a watch plaintiff had received from defendant, valued at £o t and which defendant wished to have returned. —Judgment was given for the plaintiff for £% 4-s 4d provided the watch was returned; if iho waloh was retained, plaintiff to jmv defendant X'2 15s Bd. The costs of Court (225) were equallv divided betvtJeu the uaru.ea,.

We are sorry to have to record the death of Mrs. E. Withers, the wife of Major Withers, of this town. Most of the shops in Napier to-day had their shutters half-closed as a mark of respect to the deceased lady. The bad habit of furious riding through the streets of Napier appears to be on the increase, especially among the natives. Twice on .Saturday we saw pedestrians scattered to both sides of the way to " clear the course " for a pair of Maori youths who tore through the streets at a reckless gallop, evidently racing with each other. One of those gallops was from the steam mill (or beyond) to the Spit, there being at the time many foot passengers, including women and children, on the road. The riders did not attempt to check their speed till they arrived at one of the public-houses, where they fastened their horses to the fence, an<l went inside, leaving the poor animals reeking with perspiration and trembling with vhe violent exertion they had undergone. Maories have little consideration for animals. It is nothing uncommon to see two strapping natives on a little pony, urging it to a canter, though half-exhausted, up the steepest part* ot Shakespeare-road. This is bad enough, but the habit of racing through the streets is worse; and in the m terests of public safety it should be checked. Apples are very plentiful in Canterbury this year. At Sandhurst (Victoiia), Judge Skinner has decided that the doctor of a benefit society is only called upon to attend a member gratuitously when the illness has resulted from natural causes. The Geelong Advertiser states that several cases of lunacy have occurred recently in that town, solely from the intense heat of the weather. The coal mine at Collingwood, Nelson, is not now being worked. The coal was very much liked, and about 3,G00 tons of it were disponed of it, but the undertaking, nevertheless, did not pay. The Evening Post, Ist April, say<: — Hope told a nattering tale that Nelson, Marlborough and Hawke's Bay would soon see their various railways in process of construction. The nattering tale is likely, as far as we can gather, to be one of those told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Our own railway is in so languishing a condition that we regard it as a very visionary scheme. " The survey i- still being proceeded with " is the stereotvped answer to all questions concerning it, and we regard the actual commencement of the line- the turning of the first sod—as a contingent event as probable as the conversion of Mr. Glad stone to Jndaism, or the return of Mr. Haughtou's salary to the public treasury. Mr. Brogden, accompanied by Mr. Henderson, has gone south to look at the coal fields on the Grey and Builer, and with intention of proceeding overland from Hokitika to Christchurch, and thence to Dunedin, inspecting the routes of the Otago railway*, with a view to saving time when, at some remole date in the dim nud hazy future, the contracts for these line* may be submitted to him. Mr. Brogden apparently has been entirely unsuccessful in coming to any definite arrangements with the Government, and affairs in the railway world are at a standstill. What is the hitch 1 Is there no mou ey 1 Js it impossible to get on without the assistance of the Colonial Treasurer? Whose duty is it to confer with Messrs. Brogden's representative 1 ? When may we expect to hear that Mr. Brogden has concluded satisfactory ar rangements with the Government 1 ? Not until the Greek kalends, w e fear, at the present rate of progress. Perhaps our " well-informed " contemporary can give us some reliable information. The Melbourne Age says : *' One meets with some strange people now and then. A few days ago an Irishman was seen knocking very vigorously at one of the pillar letter receiving posts in Collins-st. A lady happening to pass by, Pat addressed her, and asked her whether he could get a letter from there, and complained that he had been knocking for half an hour without get ting any answer. The lady directed the enquiring Irishman to the General Post Olfice a* the nlacc where he might

obtain a letter. His reply to this was that he had been there, and the spalpeens of clerks would not give him one. The above is touched for by unimpeachable testimony." The Geelong Advertiser gives a story almost as good as the above. Our contemporary states that a "few mornings ago an elderly female who had just arrived by train from Meredith rushed up in frantic haste to the telegraph office, knocked loudly at the receiving box and upon a clerk answering her summons she pulled a big key out of her pocket and excitedly asked what it would cost to send it along the lino to Meredith. She had, she said, left after her old man had gone to his work, and had unwittingly put the house door key into her pocket, and he would not be able to get in for his dinner. This is no canard —it is a simple iact." The teachers of the various public schools in Sydney have formed a Bine Volunteer Corps. It is reported that a case of smallpox has occurred in Sun Francisco On the arrival of the steamer Constitution, in San Francisco, for Panama, she was placed in quarantine in consequence of one of the passengers having died of small-pox on the passage. The man died twelve days after he was seized with the disease. No other case had occurred.