MYSTERIES OF EVERY-DAY LIFE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 298, 16 October 1873, Page 6

MYSTERIES OF EVERY-DAY LIFE.

I can give a case which, properly cooked up, would form the groundwork for an interesting Sensational novel. A gentleman — I think I may say a merchant — in London, who married at an early age, had, by the wife of this early marriage, three children — two sons and a daughter. Very shortly after the birth of the last child, the wife was snapped from him, and he became disconsolate, the result of which was that he soon took to himself another wife, and this time his choice was unfortunate, as the lady was of such irregular temper that she rendered the home of himself and children miserable, | The children were, of necessity, paoked off to boarding schools — the two bgys j to a public school, and the girl, at 4 very tender age, was sent to Prance, to some maiden aunts, there to be edu» cated, But misfortune came upon the family^ in many shapes. One of the sons died from an accident while playing football at school. The father, from speculation, became bankrupt, which did not tend to make his life more happy- J*t home, The two maiden aunts died within a few weeks, of each pther of some ppidemic, and this young daughter, still at an early age, a little over sixteen, was so far left alone in the world, She, however, very soon procured a situation as governess in a French family at Normandy, and, for i a time, lived very happily. The father, or Mr Tomkins, as we had better call him, from various reverses, deoided to emigrate to New Zealand, his wife having relatives of property there, Two circumstances of rather a startling nature occurred during the voyage. The wife took seriously ill before she had been three weeks at sea, and died in the fourth week. Mr Tomkins was not so inconsolate at this event, but showed his happy release by becoming engaged to a widow lady before the end of the voyage. Arriving at Auckland they were married, and after a few years settled in the Auckland Province. He became somewhat prosperous. Having come out under an assumed name, he never took up his own name. The result of this third marriage was a little daughter. A few years later all the family with whom 4he eldest daughter was governess in France, also emigrated to New Zealand, and from various reverses were obliged to dispense with their governess, who, little known, found it difficult to obtain a situation as governess, and, in her emergency, took the situation of nursery governess and useful domestic in tbe family of a gentleman with a wife and one child, a few miles from Auckland. From various circumstances Mr Tomkins had almost ceased to correspond with his daughter ' while in France, and knew not what had become of her, and she had now become between 22 and 23 years of age. Thus matters went smoothly on for a time. But one day while the said domestic was at the washout) or banging out the clothes with h,er sleeves tucked up, Tomkins cast his eye upon a xnark : on her arm just above the elbow ? which he in a moment recognised as the mai*k his little daughter had when a chijd ii^ England, and ? in. an, impulse, screamed, "Sarah, my long-lost daughter, it 'is you." The daughter, having been so long separated from her parent, and from his changed appearance with beard and moustache, had never recognised him, but in a moment, upon his recognition, the voice became familiar to her, and she fell into his arms, and many happy days they afterwards spent together as she took a loving fondness to her little sister. But now she is married, and the mother of five or sur. children, her husband being a tojeratuly prosperous settler in the B,ay of Islands, district. Her father still lives, and in the Auckland Province, and |ew b,u,s myself know him by his real name. Would these curious oircumstanees he believed if in a novel ? And yet they are a part of every-day life, and I have in my note-book, which I have for many years kept, jotted down several other cases equally mysterious.— Southern Cross,

benefit might be secured to the community by granting licenses to aU applicants", public houses then ' increased immensly. Public morals, however, were not advanced by the experiment ; intemperance, profligacy, and crime greatly increased, and these gentlemen were forced to , acknowledge that drunkenness and 1 its attendant evils could not be cured by , the surfeit system, and they were afterwards glad to weed out as many of these licensed dens of dissipation as the law .'would J permit them to do. The principle of an unlimited number of public ♦ houses not answering the purpose of mitigating the evil, we are next called upon to consider attempts in the way of restriction. In course of advop&ting the principle, Mr. Fox introduced many very important facts confirmatory of the Benefits of restriction. But these we omit It in well known that towards the close of last century, and the foegilHUng of this, when Great Britain was at war with Napoleon the First, several bad harvests reduced the people to famine. Moreover, the Continental ports being closed to British bottoms, the - fcarcity within could not be relieved by supplies from without. The Government then did what at any other time would have raised a war . among the topers — they passed a )&w suppressing distillation. The yesult of that measure is described by Mr. "Forsyth in "Beauties of ffctland" (published, 1805), vol. t, p. 34, as follows :— " Towards tha floso of the Jate years of scarcity, when Qovernment found it still necessary, by way of precaution, to continue the restraint of the manufacture of whiskey, and to enforce as formerly by severe penalties, the prohibition against distillation, the peajth, the morals, and the circumstances of the common people of Edinburgh and Leith were visibly Ameliorated. Their families were better clothed, great number* of them purchased eight-day clocks, mid other costly articles by their accumulations; because their industry was uninterrupted, and no temptation to idleness was thrown in their way. The pernicious manufacture of whiskey was no sooner restored than this happy train of affairs was altered: and the soenos pf misery, too frequent among the common people of great cities, again made their appearance, aggravated by disgraceful instances of intemperance, which appeared at times in the public streets and highways of the city." It is to be observed Jn regard to that quotation that it refers to a time when temperance and teetotal societies were un&now.n, and to a measure that the hand of Providence rendered necessary. Pity it was when once enforced it was not continued ; and it is further interesting as shewing that public industries would not suffer, though all engaged in this manuiaoture were thrown idle. It is customary to speak of ""^ another repressive measure, viz., the Maine Liquor Law as a failure, because of the many ways that were adopted to evade it. This, no doubt, is an evil; but "whether a greater evil than those resulting from intemperance, may well be questioned. And it was shewn in the late debate on the Permissive Bill, that it was not barren in like benefits to those secured by the Scottish measure above referred to. Yet we are not prepared with public opinion, as it is to -advocate that law. f ndeedj it cannot take root among British institutions. /* The Forbes M'Kenaie Act which itpsed the public houses, save to ' jama fide traveller, on the Sunday, beneficially in the repression .of crime. Previous to. that -Act \cbming .intd force in EdinbU!sfh,^aocording to the statement of -Jj^rd- Provost M'LaTen, additional jail accommodation was wi^gefrtij needed, and a voteatmaney was passed by the. county far H ; but such was the result of this small respite to confirmed inebriates, that the work was countermanded after the bill came into force, Public opinion not allowing much to be done in the way of repression, and yet the crime arising from intemperance requiring somejthing ia be done, a tqfi^ssre. was passed about a' year ago, in England, curtailing the hours during* which, public iiottses shouM be open at bath ends - 'of the day, - The result is telling favorably on the quiet of our large cities during* the of midftight, and $n lessening the number ©f committals during- the same JiourjiL . Ap important testimony was fcorue to, this, fact by the London 'Correspondent of the «' Otago Guardian" in a recent issue; and ■■■pome months ago, Mr. Travis, the » Stipendiary-Magistrate of Hull, bore '•similar: testimony at the Police '• Cdttrt tee, Altogether, favorable.

results follow from restriction in the traffic, and the cases we have alluded to ought to commend the subject to consideration.. It is very well to denounce . restriction were all capable of being a law to themselves, but there are not a few who are not, and in their interests we would plead for something being done. We had hoped to finish our review on this article, but are forced to postpone the completion of the subject till next week.

We would call the attention of settlers, stockowners, and miners to a most significant notice in ouradvertisementoolumns, which also appears in the Provincial Government "Gazette." The Government intimate their intention of subdividing what they call the sheep country of the Tuapeka Depasturing District into runs of 5000 acres each, the leases of which for seven years will be sold by auction in January next. This is a startling announcement, and we should imagine will call forth a very strong expression of feeling in the district, We are at a loss to know what can be the object in view. As it cannot possibly be the means of increasing the revenue, we do not believe this new proposal emanated from the Government. It may, however, have originated — indeed in all probability it did originate— with some of those persons at present depasturing sheep on the commonage. No doubfc^ fche proposal might suit "two or fliree of them very well, but we opine that it will be a disastrous thingjfor the settlers and miners, as it will deprive them of probably one half of the commonage at present used for grazing purposes. We would ask : What and where is the sheep country of the Tuapeka Depasturing District referred to ? This is the first time we have beard of such a thing. It is~ true sheep have for some time past been depastured on the commonage, but the original purpose of that oommonage, so far as we are aware, was not to provide small runs for sheep, but to supply grazing country for the cattle of settlers and miners located on the goldfield. The bommunag&at. first set apart has been encroached upon to a large extent by settlement, and is yearly becoming more and more circumscribed ; so that instead of lessening it by lopping off a few small runs of 5000 acres each, the Government should rather add to it by throwing open the sheep runs in the vicinity. But instead of doing that they are proposing to prepetuate the present obnoxious system of long pastoral leases, and creating a class of small squatters in themidstof us tokeepour settlers and stockowners continually in hot .water. The letter of our correspondent " Wideawake," in anothercolumn, places the subjeot in what we consider to be the proper light, and we trust the settlers and others concerned will arise as one man to protect tfyis proposed infringe ment of their rights. We can see no necessity whatever for the change proposed "by the Government. It would be thoroughly unjust towards the settlers and miners who have been induced to pitch their, camp on the commonage, and who in many cases eke out a scanty livelihood by the grazing rights they enjoy, The proposed change would create endless ill-feeling, unA instead of being a source of additional revenue to the Government, we feel confident it would be a directlosa. What is really wanted— «and the settlers and stock*owner& have themselves to blame that they -have not got it now— is a Board of Wardens to fix the boundaries far cattle and sheep, and also to determine the number to be run on the commonge. Such a Board would be calculated to answer every emergency, and we strongly recommencLall concerned toatonce take the necessary steps far the appointment