THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 69, 21 March 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

I have recently devoted a little spare time to the perusal of the Government Gazette, and in consequence of what I there fiud, I have very nearly made up my mind, in the event of hard tirats coming and a difficulty being experienced in earning my livilihood, to commit some offence that shall be punishable by imprisonment for a few years. Convicts, I observe, are so well takeu care of, are the oljecta of so much consideration, and are generally made so comfortable that, barring the red shirt, the objectionable brand, and the absence of lilorty, prison life must be rather desirable than otherwise. I have arrived at this conclusion after reading a proclamation signed by Mr O'Rorke relative io the regulations for the Dunedin prison, which, I presume, applies to all the other gaols in the colony. It bpgins with a kind of half apology for interfering with the liberty of the bu ject to the extent of placing a murderer, or a burglar, or a sheep etealer under restraint. •'Coercive labor," the prisoners are told, "is the consequence of crime," and they must bear in mind that it is "the desire of those to whose charge they are intrustel to see them raised to a better position,' &c. Having thus excused himself for taking the liberty of placing a convicted crimiual in prison, Mr O'Rorke proceeds to inform all who are, or may be, concerned how the inmates of gaols are to be treated, and it is this that has taken my fancy, and given me a sort of longing to be one of a "hard labor " gang. All my money and other articles in- my possession, which, perhaps, I have obtained by committing the crime for which I am to be punished, are to be tukdi from me on taking up my new quarterp, and kept until the Jay of ray release, when they are to ba returned. It is not mentioned whether in the meantime the money is to be placed at interest in the Government Savings Bant. lam to wash and keep myself neat, a clean shirt will be provided for me, and a barber employed to shave me twice a week. My .bed is to be nicely aired at least three times a week. I do not profess to be thoroughly acquainted with all the little details of the domestic economy of my house as a free man, but I rather suspect that at present the luxury of having my bed aired three times a week is denied" tse. For six months in the year I am to go out to " hard labor " (Oh ! much abused term) at 7 a.m., and to return at 4 p.m., and for the other six months at eight a.m., returning at five p,m., having in the meantime beon allowed an hour for dinner, and on retching home — I suppose I mny call it so — in the evening, I am authorised to expect everything to .be in apple-pie order, clean, and comfortable, and if I am disappointed in this respect I may make complaint to the Visiting Justices. The cooks are to bo held responsible for the proper serving up of meals, and this is how I am to be ft d: — - lam to have every day, 8 ounces of oatmeal, 24 of bread, 16 of meat (with its own liquor), a few mixed vegetables, 16 ounces of potatoes, one of sugar, one of salt, and a little pepper. Having had during the day a little pleasant exercise in the shape of " hard labor," I have no doubt I shall thoroughly enjoy my meals if the cooks do their duty properly. In fact, I am not at all sure that one-half of those who earn their living honestly live nearly ae well as I shall. If ever I do become a convict I shall blame Mr O'Korke for it, for having held out eo many temptations to me to take up my residence in a gaol. But, whatever I do, I shall take care not to commit a horrid murder or anything of that kind, for by so doing, I should run the risk of being pardoned, and sent away to America, and that is not at all what I waut. So I shall confine my offence to scuttling a ship, or breaking into a jeweller's shop, or setting fire to a house or stack, and then I know I shall be ensured against all care for several years, shall be lodged comfortably, fed on wholesome, well-cooked diet, and be put to no inconvenience whatever. How are the Para Para shares going off, is a question that has frequently been asked in my hearing of late. I am in a position to state that a large number of those allotted to Nelson have been applied for here, but that a great many are still in the market. Now I have no desire whatever to be guilty of the impertinence of dictating to any single individual how he should invest his money, but I connot help thinking that scarcely sufficient attention has been paid to this compnny in Nelson. As a profitable speculation I have never yet heard it questioned, while there can be no doubt as to the boon it will confer upon the province, and more especially the town, if successfully carried out. If there be here a sufficient number of shareholders to exercise a fair amount of influence in the management, Nelson may be very beneficially affected by the operations of this Iron and Coal Company. If the entire control is allowed to pass away into other hands, we may live to regret our apathy. As I said before I would not venture to dictate, but Ido to make a suggestion, and I shall be very pleased to hear that it has been acted upon, if only to a limited extent. There was nt one time a great outcry against the Government for send ing to England for railway trucks, as it was asserted that they might be made just as well and as cheaply in the colony. But still the trucks were and are now being imported, and what is more, we

have been informed within the last day or two (hat the great contractors, the Messrs Brogden are about to send to America for railway sleepors With i: ull her mngnificcnt forests New Zealand is not in a position to compete with a country some thousands of miles away even in the small matter of sleepers. There is no question as to tha quality of our timber, so how is (his »o be accounted for ? The only feasible reason appears to be the high price to be pnid for labor. Perhaps ihis betokens a prosperous sta'o of affairs, but wlieu iJ was resolved to borrow largely for public works it was scarcely coutemplated that all, even th«» roughest, material was to come from other countries. It was hoped that some, ot leost, of the money to bo paid for it would bo expended within our own limits. But it seema that we were wrong in our calculations I am going to do a little bogging, but not for money. In walking through the town and its outskirts I cannot help noticing how well adapted are our climate and soil to the growth of the vine. Even out of doors we see in eome gardens great, rich, luscious looking clusters of grnpcs that mnke the mouth water, aud lead the mind to wander in a direction directly opposite to (hat enjoined by the eighth commandment. I sometimes pay a visit 100 to friends who own greenhouses and there the templing berries are raoie numerous, more juicy, and much larger. Now fcr the other side of the picture. A faint wail has reached my ears from the Hospital. I auo told tint in it are to be found invalids whose parched lips would shower bleesioga on the donor of only a few of thoeo beautiful clusters that hang so ornamentally from his welltrained vines. What a luxury they would be to those poor people can scarcely be nppreciated by those who are surrounded by them, and can pluck them whenever they feel so inclined, but I cau put these latter in the way of enjoying a luxury far greater. Let them cut a few bunchos — they will scarcely miss thom — and take them to the sick ward. Let them watch the glistening eyes, and listen 1o the grnttful thanks — feebly whispered they may be — of the patien's, as their lips and tongues are n oistened by the luscious juice, and then — well, then, I believe, they will be full of gratitude to me for having told them how they may experieu.ee a real pleasure at so trifling a cost to themselves. ¥.