The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1869. " Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 66, 15 May 1869, Page 2

The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1869. " Measures, not Men."

The cry for retrenchment has been raised in several influential quarters, and the new Government are supposed to be anxiously searching for places where the pruning-knife, may be freely used without lessening the efficiency of the public service. As long as the police force continue to keep^themselves prominently before the public eye, the search should neither be difficult nor of long duration. The present Commissioner, however ornamental he may be on occasions like the recent processions in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh, can hardly be called an absolutely indespensible portion of the state machine. In spite of what unsophisticated persons might suppose to be the duties of a head of police, he only permits the citizens of Dunedin to bask in the sunshine of his smiles, and never gladdens the country districts by a tour of inspection. Now that the Duke of. Edinburgh has come and gone, and no more guards of honour are likely I to be required, the present Commissioner might safely be allowed to retire on his laurels, and a practical man, who would pay more attention to his work, and less to the dignity of his office, be. appointed in his place. Even were the salary continued as at present — j and good men could be got for half the amount — an energetic Commissioner might save a large sum yearly by doing away with the necessity for the present plethora of officers. Indeed, the present state of the police force of Otago may be compared to the celebrated army of Mhic Mac Methusaleh — " Five and forty fighting men And ninety Dunnie wassals."

A TAX on long-handled shovels; on carpenters' benches, -on compositors' sticks, or editorial pens, would cause no slight indignation ; yet, a tax as unjust is permitted to pass without comment, or, at any rate, with very faint opposition. Two years ago, Mr. Reynolds attempted to have the tax on shepherds' dogs repealed, but his efforts failed, and his mantle seems to have fallen on no successor. Yet, when we consider the much smaller wages now paid to shepherds, the injustice of the tax is more flagrant .now than ever it was before. A man with only £5Q a year cannot afford to pay 10s. a head for his dogs ; nor can he dispense with their assistance any more than the miner can with the shovel or the carpenter with his bench. The whole revenue derived from the tax is so trifling, that its abolition can cause no difficulty, and an industrious and respectable body of the community merit this trivial concession. If a tax must be levied, let it be on the masters— say" £1 .a head for every shepherd they keep; they are certainly better able to pay such a sum than the- ill-paid and hard-working class* who are at present the sufferers.

During this month, the Strand will be crowded with white-neckcloth and swallow-tail wearing crowds. In fixeter Hall, the cause of dear, interesting Heathens will be advocated by brazen-lunged speakers to

sympathetic audiences. No doubt those special pets the dear Maories will engross a considerable share of sympathy, and the brulalised and ignorant colonists, who/ actually* i object to be pickled, incur a proportionate amouut of indignation. For a time, Borriobdolagha will be forgotten, and the entire energies of the. Mesdames Jelly bies and the Messrs. Chadbands and Stiggins devoted to the cause of their oppressed brethren in New Zealand: Special committees will be appointed for the supply of those interesting Cannibals with moral toothpicks and improved cooking apparatus, specially adapted for Hauhau requirements. As a matter of course,a deputation will wait on the Colonial Secretary, and that witty and courteous nobleman, after a few remarks on varieties of tastes and on^ hippophagy, after hinting thai it is proposed to give the colonists of New Zealand not equal, bui equine rights, will assure the deputation that Her Majesty's Government propose to leave the colonists to their own resources, and only to interfere if, any injustice is threatened to her Maori subjects. With this highly satisfactory reply, the Hallites will disperse; but"- what will the great body of the English people think of so cowardly and ungenerous a policy? The Peace Society, by their ill-timed negotiations, precipitated jfche, Crimean War. Perhaps the frequenters of Exeter Hall may disgust Jdin Bull into punishing cannibals and murderers.