QUEENSLAND IN THE OLD DAYS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 70, 11 March 1876, Page 4

QUEENSLAND IN THE OLD DAYS.

Oil! :■■'■■•:■ ' ' , .(Erom the Telegraph.) With the advent of the police a new era commenced. Smart, active Sergt. 0 • made a rapid and thorough reform. He stood no nonsense, and the lock-up Arrangements if primitive were effective. A large, heavy log lay on the floor of the verandah-room of the courthouse, which was used as a cell; a stout long chain was fastened to it, and the prisoners were secured by having their handcuffs attached to the chain. But Sergeant O could not reform the magistrates— -they were racy of the soil. Justices were plentiful enough in the district, but as they liVed atdistances varying from twenty to one hundred and fifty miles, their attendance on court days was not so regular, as might have been desired. Nor were tbey always available when in, the township. I remember watching the sergeant vainly endeavoring to get a o Dencb'for the purpose of dealing witb a drunken rowdy. " Wtiatsh man been doing, shargent?" quoth a J.P. " Drunk aim* disorderly, sir." " Cah'.t sit— 'pon h'onbr^can't do it — got fellow feeling forsh poor devil." • When the Benoh was formed the sergeant was in his glory; it was pleasant to hear the unction with whicn i'liet proclaimed " Silence in the Co-o-art." The magistrates generally confided in his counsels with touching srmplibi'tyV ■'- He used to say, "Yer Hannars" will, .do tbis, or that, and they .generally did it. Some of the magistrates used to make up for any want of originality in their decisions by a. preternatural solemnity in delivering them; after a while, a certain jealousy of the dignity of the court arose. I remember a violent storm arising on the question whether a certain "swell" who came to conduct his case, dressed in moles, a striped shirt, and a collar, committed contempt of court by omitting his coat. I forget how the dispute ended; but I imagine that, like more important controversies, it resulted in a compromise. funny scenes used to take place occasionally. A stolid looking German shepherd, who had been fined heavily fbr losing 'sheep, broke out in a voluble address' in bis own language. The Bench: listened blandly, but tbe C.P.S. — one had been appointed then — had sOtne 'imperfect knowledge of German, and broke in heartily witb a " You musn't^ this won't do, you know." A countrynaan, who had heard the speech, afterwards summarised it for my benefit in the .following manner :— "He did say, verdamt dees squatters, verdamt dees magistrat, verdamt dees country." Speaking generally, there was an Apparent desire to do justice, mixed witha certain contempt for the " letter that killeth" in rendering the text of the law. Some curious decisions were recorded. For instance, a Bench fined a man for allowing his travelling-steck to trespass, although it had been proved that he was within the allowed distance from the road. " You see, old man,"; one of the magistrates explained to the defendant, •* if we had let you off this, time, be (the plaintiff) would have gone into you tor travelling with unbranded stock, and then you would have got it a sight hotter." U. The 1 magistrates were modest, and rather shrank from the responsibility of dealing (with grave offences. On one occasion a Catholic priest visited the districtj^and an epidemic of matrimony broke 1 out in the township ; every man and woman, 1 not already mated, took advantags of his presence to find a partner for life. One happy couple consisted}^ a.; acted as town stockman, aud a Ber vont at the publicbouse, wbo said ehe was ft widow* A

short time afterwards a traveller put in an appearance, who claimed ihe woman as his wife, and she, in her confusion, Hid not deny the soft impeachment. The active sergeant immediaiely arrested her on a charge of bigamy, and tried to pet a Bench to try the charge ; but his efforts were unsuccessful. The magistracy of the " river ** did not like meddling witb bigamy ; they probably thought tbat the best way to diepose of the case would be for the two men to fight it out — the winner to stick to the woman. Meanwhile, tbe fair cause of dispute, although impounded by tbe sergeant, was out on a sort of parole, and husband No. 2 ostentatiously kept possession of her. At last, as week after week slipped by, and the magistrates with singular unanimity remained on their respective stations, the Grst husband lost heart, or was, according to popular report, "squared" by the second husbend. As a matter of fact he cleared out altogether, and there being no longer any evidence, tbe charge of bigamy against the woman dropped. Perhaps the most aotive magistrate on the river was poor B, Ali western men will remember him, his big red beard, so very full-sized fbr his stature, his natty coats, and riding gloves. He waß the greatest dandy iv the district, but a ■ thoroughly good fellow. Unusually painstaking and conscientious in the discbarge of his magisterial duties, and living at no great distance from the township, a large portion of the work fell on his shoulders. They were not all like him. I think the honorables were the most reckless, and we had about a dozen scattered through the district, with an odd embryobaronet or two, and several younger sons. On one occasion, a hawker oarrying the usual concealed keg of mixed vitriol, kerosene, and bad rum, arrived at a Btation on which the owner, a son of an English nobleman, and a J.P., resided. He camped near the men's hut, and directly after his arrival the squatter was seen slowly strolling down the slope. Arriving within hai), tbe latter accosted him in the hesitating drawl peculiar to him — his accent in speaking was all that he retained of his former life — " I say, my man, have you any grog on your dray ?" " Grog, sir," replied the man in a tone of injured innocence; he could only suppose that a magistrate would ask him the question for the purpose of enforcing the law — ■ " grog, sir, in coorse, not." "Well, then, go away; you shan't camp tere, go away," and he turned on his heel, leaving the hawker staring in mute amazement. " What made you tell him that ?" said one of the station hands wbo was standing by, "they're out of grog at the house, and the cove wanted to buy some." The hawker hurried up the ridge, and began delicately to explain his misconception. The J.P. cut bim short with "I knew you were telling me a lie — what do you want for it ?" He purchased tho man's stock fov 50 per cent above even the exorbitant figure be usually demanded ior his liquid poison. I cannot say much for the western pioneers on the score of either piety or morality. Tbey had a strong sense of a sort of honor, tbey despised meanness, and made a steadfast rule of ignoring difficulty or danger, except aB a kind of joke. Elaborately rough in manner and reckless in speech, there was no mistaking the fact that they were generally men who had received the training of gentlemen, and strange sb it may sound when speaking of men who dressed as laborers and interlarded their speech with profuse profanity, they were free from what is understood by the term "vulgarity." In their profuse hospitality, every person not a day laborer was received at the " house " as a matter of course, and was received on terms of strict equality. But they were intolerant of cadß especially of what I may term aggressive cads. If some Melbourne or Sydney Cockney, encouraged by the apparent freedom of his host, ventured on a playful repitition of what he and his friends used to consider acts of graceful cordiality; he was often greatly astonished. The re ugh manner and reckless speech of his free and easy entertainer disappeared as if by magic, and a distant, freezing civility took its place, before which poor " Arry " cowered abashed. Among themselves they were, as a rule, good friends. Woman, tbe great cause of human strife, was absent; and quarrels therefore, were rare, or, if they arose, easily settled without leaving aoy lingering bitterness. Any irredeemable blackguard wbo had got into the society, was simply tabooed, and was soon glad to clear out. There was one unpleasant specimen who used to hang about the district, and he was difficult to deal with. So small in stature as almost to be a dwarf, he presumed on bis size to insult in a most gross manner any one against whom he cherished a grudge. It seemed cowardly to punch the head of ao puny a creature; yet, when excited by liquor, his foul tongue was exceedingly exasperating. At last, a big, quiet New South Wales native settled the difficulty. The little blackguard was abusing him after his usual fashion, and he listened for 1* while in silence. At last, rising quietly, tbe much enduring man seized his tormentor by tbe waißtband of his trousers, hoisted hira, shrieking incoherent blasphemy, across his knee, and then calmly punished him alter the manner one corrects very small boys. The remedy was effectual. All the learned professions were happily absent fron .the distriot} we

bad ueitner. doctors, lawyeia, nor par sods. Nobody ever • died in- that magnificent climate, except from Effects of hard drinking, or from some, kind of accident. ' ' *g~— -«-»—— a&-»»-- J __-_s._-_____^,^_^_»_rf__»<.':