CROMWELL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 56, 6 March 1869, Page 5

CROMWELL.

■ (From our Own Correspondent). • ' '" " March 2, 1&69. Mo»t editor* are men possessed of an observant mind; and, therefore, I may presume that you, Kir, are in possession of that valuable existence. Has the editor of th« Tuafjbka Times noticed distinctlj hovr kaleidoscopic the laws of everj country we — that is, how they change colours according to the opinion of those who administer them 1 What is deemed sound law by one judge is often held as rotten construction by another ; and hence, I suppose, sprang the old expression "The glorious uncertainty of the law." I have heard magistrates deciding in case of a suit for damages to crop* hf e&ttle or other animals, that no compensation «an be recovered unless a fence of a certain height be erected around the crop 10 damaged. However, lately our magistrate (Vincent Pyke, Esq.) gave a decision »t Alexandra to the effect that no freeholder or leaseholder is compelled to erect any fence whatever around his crop, but that it i* the duty of cattleownera to watch their stock, and keep them from trespassing, and not the duty of the landowner or leaseholder to fence. If tuch ruling be correct, the money spent in erecting fences may therefore be spent in cultivating th» land; so a man with small meant would be able to commence farming oa very easy terms. The law ■ wpecting dy-grog selling, and also expo»in2' liquor for »aie, differs in colour according v.> the opinion of magistrates and judges ; and it sJ&o i : *?«r3 as to the right f>£ patuicaiis sc- .ccover payment for drinks supplied, lit Victoria it 13 difficult to recovfc* '^lymeui ; (or ia that Colony Judge Cop« »t »U times orders payment, and in giving judgment he generally states that he pay* promptiy for what he drinks, and that he cannot Bee why others should not do the tame. As for recovery of payment in this Province, the publicans has * mis«cabl« chance — indeed none at all, although the law in Victoria and her* art very similar. Jkz to exposing liquor tor sale, men have been fined in thia Province upoa the most trivial pretext ; but Mi. Pyke here haa set his face boldly against the police preferring trivial charge* against persons for this offence. Lately two parties were charged by the Police at the Resident Mjigiatrate's Court —one with having esposed porter for sale and the other brandy. Mr. George Humphreys appeared for the defence, and after the charges we»e hea*d both cases were dismissed— his wo*ahip, Mr. Pyke, remarking that the law never was framed or intended to punish persons for having small quantities of liquor exposed to view 5 , but only to meet cases where unmistake»ble intention to expose for sale was visible. This act of Mr. Pyke has given much satisfaction, a* if the Police were to be too much encouraged in auch matters it would be dangerous to place a decanter of sherry on one's private table lest a police constable should look through the window, and charge one with exposing sherry for sale without a license. In fact, it would be necessary ( for a person after drinking a glass of Guinness* to be careful to wipe his mouth well, wash it, and even to scrub it with a bath-brick, for if he went into the street with the least trace of porter about his lip* he would stand a good chance of being summoned, and charged gravely in tho police court with having exposed porter for sale in the public streets. "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" is a Tery apropos expression when applied to the Government of tins Province. They, can swallow the camel of useless large expenditures, and strain at a gnat too small to be anything but despicable. The police-sergeant at Cromwell is compelled to leave his duties in town, and be the mail carrier to the distant Nevis township. He is three days away each mail, and has to travel between fifty and sixty miles, and .to save how much would your readers fancy 1 £100 per annum ! ! Who would not propose three hearty cheers for Master Julius rand the Postmaster ? because at this rate of i economy the treasury will- .soon be in a-, position to afford a xnahf'&unk line of" ! railway from Dunediu to $10 Dunatan and on to Queenstown. Are there any men at Tuapeka who make themselves " useful in their day and generation 1" Whether there are x>r not, I can venture to vouch that there are at Clyde, and some of them have formed. 'Hie.mselves into' a club nomenclatnred " The G. and jP. C." What are the words such initials symbolize 1 I do not know, neither is any one else allowad to know except tie .^members of the brothajchood.

Lately the club gave a musical performance, and other performances as well, at the Forester's Hall, Clyde, to raise funds for charitable purposes in cases of extreme emergency. The performers appeared with blackened faces and hands, after the manner of Christy's minstrels, and one of the most prominent men in the province appeared as a negress, and was splendidly dressed in blue silk. The performance* were highly successful, and about sixty persona stood in the street, not able to gam admittance. Have you, Sir, ever been really what is in common parlance exp^v. -ly termed " hard up?" Have youjflM^ irao fumbled in the bottom uf^^^Hfe >oukets half a dozen times over^H|^B Dy any chance a solitary " bob" !*: behind lurking in some corner -or inside the lining of your waistcoat pocket ? Have you ever been on the tl loose" with jolly chum 3at night, and in the morning instantly after waking searched your clothes to ascertain whether all the funds had disappeared the night before or not ! ]f you have not I have been and done all that is mentioned, and Avhilst sunk in the bog of utter impecuniosity I have felt much more than describable misery, but only for an hour or two, for I could at all times see the means by which I could scramble out of the undesirable position. Well, the Christmas sports swallowed much of the loose funds of the district, and the Clyde races as well, and it was very probable last month that we could not raise funds to have races this year as well as other districts ; in fact, ie seemed almost certain that the district was "hard up.*' However, after some planning, our sporting men have succeeded in placing themselves in a position to offer between £100 and £200 to be competed for on the natal day of good St. Patrick and on the following day. Bjshop Jenner made his appearance at Clyde last Sai/urdaj' evening, and "passed muster" very creditably at a public meeting. Jn answer to questions put to him, lie distinctly said that. he would not introduce .Ritualism to tho Province, as he had found that the public are against it. He is not a very eloquent speaker, but he is considered at Clyde to be a man of much energy, and it appears "also that he is not a man of "proud spii'io."