THE WAYS OF THE WORLD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1547, 1 February 1887, Page 2

THE WAYS OF THE WORLD.

The Tiraaru Herald of last Saturday contained the following ; “ We understand that there is a probability of an application being made to the Supreme Court for a rule calling upon Mr Twomey, the proprietor of the Temuka Leader, to show cause why he should nob be dealt with for having, in that journal, commented on the libel action now pending between Messrs J. Ivess and B. G. Kerr.”

Ihe unhappy being to whom this refers, on reading it took a fit, and ho has been going from one fit into another since 1 . His friends, however, need not be greatly alarmed—they are fits of uncontrollable laughter, that have greatly assisted in improving his appetite.

As regards my own connection with the matter I feel highly flattered. Nothing is so pleasant as to feel that you have caused confusion in the enemy’s camp. My verses, “Teddy and Joe,” completely disorganised the staff of the Herald, and the ridiculous blunders which rendered the Herald the laughing stock of the country were the result. And now (he lessee of the Herald v.ould only be too glad to find an excuse for taking the proprietor of this paper into Court und'thus put him to expense. That is the great desire of hi’i' heart, but let him wait till he gets the chance. He is fooling with the wrong man, anyhow.

And so now Teddy and Joe, according' to the above paragraph, have entered into an offensive and defensive treaty against this paper. They have done everything that their very limited ingenuity could suggest—they have published foul, libellous, and ruffianly attacks on the owner of this paper ; they have resorted to underhand, low, contemptible means to deprive him of a means of living; they have done things which it is not prudent to publish, and now when a chaffing skit is published about themselves, they are trying to invoke the law with the hope that the expenses would be sb heavy'that he would be ruined, and that the person they cannot otherwise conquer would thus be crushed. Let them try it.

I notice that several newspapers are commenting at present ou.the fact that Indies were present in large numbers at the trial of Caffrey and : Penn. I do not see why they should not, and this reminds me of a good s'ory. Once upon a. time ia France a certain judge had an unsavory case to hear, and, noticing that a large number of womeu were present, be ordered all respectable women to leave the Court. Not a woman moved ; they all sat there, just as happy, and perhaps happier than they would feel in a drawingroom. The judge after a short time noticed that none of them stirred; he turned Ip the officer in charge of the case and said : “Let the case go on, all the respectable women have left the Court now.” Probably the respectable women never went to hear the Caffrey case. It takes all sorts and conditions of people to make up a city like Auckland.

There is a peculiarity about the confessions of Caffrey and Penn. Both made confessions, and submitted them to the gaoler, and the gaoler told them they would not do as they did not agree. The gaoler then sat down and wrote confesr sions for them, and these confessions, it. is said harmonised beautifully. This is rich. Two men condemned to death make independent confessions ; the gaoler is not satisfied with them and he suggests new ideas. It is hard that wretches condemned with life to part cannot tell their story ia their own'way.

It will be remembered that iu hia speech at Dunedin Sir Julius Yogel advocated the scheme for increasing . the cusr tom's duties and lowering railway freight. It will be remembered also that the scheme was advocated in the columns of this paper, Mr Yincent Pyke is the latest convert to it. Mr Pyke has written a series of letters, to the Otago Daily Times on the subject, but of course he does not ackoowledga where’ he got it from, he makes it appear that be was the first to invent it. It did, however, appear in several Otago papers 12 months ago, but Mr Pyke must havd forgotten that. However, that ia neither here nor there. They will steal anything they get hold of, these politicians will. What 1 want to point out is that Mr Pyke has been the most ranting, roaring, raving freetrader in the colony, and that it is a sign of the times that He should be veering round to Protection. The scheme which had its origination in, this paper has converted him', and that is a feather in the cap of the originator of it.

■ Things must be brisk up Rangitikei way. The Rangitikei Advocate says that it has erected a box in its’office, into which the price of advertising births, deaths and marriages will be put, and at the end of each year it will be forwarded to some benevolent institution. Happy: Advocate. It is the first time I have heard of oharity beginning in a newspaper office. " Com O’Lanus.