Our Auckland Letter.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3824, 31 March 1881, Page 2

Our Auckland Letter.

(fbom ovb own cobbesponeent.)

AUCKLAND

Yesterday. AN AMUSING INCIDENT.

Zealousness in a public official is muck io be prized, but there are instances where the ending is not iv accordance with his wishes. Our local constabulary hare always had the reputation of being a very useful aud intelligent body of men, well and impartially officered, but now and again an amusing circumstance follows which does not end in the proper delinquent being run in. Mr Pardy who has the reputation of being a very strict officer novs and again has causo to give some of the _".^n a talking to in vase any breaches of £::?■ Uity bye-laws are contravened, but not v :puni out and reported and information lodged. Recently one of the men it i ia stated had a paucity of reports and cases ! in this respect and got a wigging for his conduct. The offender tried to do better, and in a day or two after the reprimand, was on duty near the corner of one of our main thoroughfares when he espied a well known medico driving very quickly. The constable as well as others witnessed the rapid pace and the medical gentlemen was requested to stop. The policeman knew the surname of the doctor, but was at sea as to his first name, so taking out his note book the man of law commenced to question thereof, aud ultimately got the information he required. At a convenient time he made his report to his superior. Meantime, it is supposed, the practitioner had a " confab " with the subInspector and no proceedings followed. It is reported that after the constable's report he was sent for and a strong lecture for interfering with wellknown' citizens, in matters which did not concern him, and subsequently those who witnessed the furious driving got impatient that nothing was done. The curious part, however, has to be told. The gentleman who got canght was a terror in the city and suburbs, and whenever he saw an unfortunate driver on the wrong side he invariably got his name, had him summoned and fined ; but di rectly this influential person breaks the law, his offenoe is shielded and the matter glossed over. How long will this mode of procedure be countenanced, when the favored are let off. The Auckland Borough, or perhaps Goldsboro', can satisfactorily answer. majoe Atkinson's sayings, Fancy the Colonial Treasurer telling his enlightened constituents on a recent occasion that his Government had saved £50,000 weekly, or, rather, reduced expenditure by that amount—why, that is something like two and a-half million annually. The Hou Major Atkinson has the credit of drawing the long bow, but that he would make such a bold statement is only a par with a Ministry who, through ita Premier, entered into a solemn compact with fqur "honorable" members to honorably carry out certain fixed matters whereby their votes secured the Government being kept in office, and whose existence is a living example of one of the most wretched instances on record where members holding portfolios as Ministers of the Crown have not only unfulfilled in part what they undertook to do, yat have absolutely, for nearly twelve calendar months, entirely ignored or for got the famous compact, the original of which is warranted to be in the possession of the Hon John Hall and Co. To my mind the end of the world is approaching, when such lunatic assertions as have been uttered by the Taranaki bumpkin are not only not ridiculed by the press, but scouted by all readers or thinkers having any knowledge of the present extravagant advisers of His Excellency. Recent telegrams show that a youngster of Colonel Trimble's, M H.R.-, has been gazetted to a Government appointment at Hawera. I understood first preference was to be given in all cases when vacancies in the public service took place to those who were obliged to resign owing to curtailment of the number of civil servants. This billet is no doubt one of those sops which may tend, politically of course, to keep even a line Colonel sweet during the coming session. If it is not, I am a Dutchman, especially as it is asserted that the official is the son of the Colonel. Eeally it is about time some bold front was shown by members of all shades of thinking and a stop put to these friendly appointments. A member of a well-known firm here had occasion to go to the property assessment office a few days ago to contribute his quota to this class of the public revenue and was met by one ot the understrappers, who was just coming out. The gentleman, desiring to pay wished to get in, but this officious and impertinent official gruffly said " We do not take any inouey here after three o'clock." The taxpayer naturally asked who are " we," knowing as he did that the individual in question had been thrust into this office to please " Wully " but no sooner was the question put than I the high and mighty public servant commenced to use his educated tongue, and wound up by telling the contributor to the tax that were it not for his position he would go for the questioner. The temporary clerk however got a bint to come on, but strange to say although he bears a. titled name, something akin to a dukedom, he left, Uriah Heap-like, and quickly disappeared. I understand a, formal complaint has been lodged against the offender to the Deputy Property Tax Commissioner-

Messrs Batkiu and Seed, I understand, have made a wonderful discovery. They are reported as having found out that one messenger should do for both the Public WorMff and Native Lands Court. The respective heads of the local departments have warmly taken the matter up, and after all there wonderful savings may and probal'y will not be brought about. As is usual jn suph cases, the small fry suffer, whilst the big ones, with their enormous salaries, allowances, aud extras, pull all the chestnuts out of the fire.

The wretohed lot of Ministers who now rule the destinies of the colony have offered Mr Tyler the munificent sum of teu guineas for defending the J&ussiau now awaiting trial iv our eouiniou gaol for the murder of ihe native at Ohiuemuri. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr Brooktield, has just returned from the locus in quo where the alleged murder was committed, by order no doubt of the AttorneyGeneral, and. I feel ppi'tain Ljs trayelljug expenses and professional fee for the visit will amount to over four times the sum which has been offered to defend the unfortunate accused. Can anything be more preposterous, and well may the writer exclaim—readers of the Stab, look on both pictures.

Mr E. W. Puckey is to be forthwith gazetted another additional Judge of the Native Lands Court. I believe Mr Puckey is a gentleman who will impartially discharge his onerous duties, but looking at the principle of creating numerous offices for which no appropriations have been sanctioned by the Assembly, it, is unconstitutional, vicious, and should not be tolerated from a money point of .view even by that honorable official the Comptroller-General, Mr James* Edward Fitzgerald, or his colleague, Mr Batkin.