The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1883. PROHIBITON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1271, 6 January 1883, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1883. PROHIBITON.

TnE Licensing Act of 1881 deals with the cases of persons who by excessive drinking of liquors mis-spend or wasto their estate, or who endanger their health, or interrupt the pence and happiness of their families, and it does this by prohibiting the publican from supplying them with drink, 1 he law has stepped in as it were to save the drunkard from himself, and to protect his family from ruin and degradation. So far the law is to be commended! We have no sympathy with those who would rather see a drunkard's wife, abused and his children hungry and' naked than ' rob a poor man of his' beer,' We believe in the glorious; liberty of the subject, but in tho case of an inveterate drinker we are quite certain that he is unfit to exerciso it, The law is quite right in intervening to reclaim drunkards, and the legislature in taking up the question did itself honor. But when wo come to consider the method by which the law endeavors to reclaim drunkards and protect their families, our respect for the law vanishes, and wo have to re-, grot the absolute frustration of its good intentions. Publicans ore now prohibited from supplying certain well-known inebriates with liquor, ; and we know some half-dozen instances of persons in this neighborhood who are not allowed to be : served, Still they seem to obtain, if possiblo, larger supplies of drink than, when they were free to shout at every ■ bar in the town. Everybody knows that they drinLand get drunk with persistem; regularity, and that the: peace and happiness of their families, which a benevolent legislature has endeavored to secure, is, as much disturbed as when the prohibitory clauses of. the Act were not in' existence.. A case which transpired in the Resident Magistrates' Court yesterday of a man arrested for drunkenness who had been placed under these clauses of the Act is'a scandal and disgrace, It is a sort of open defiance of the 'prohibitory clauses of the Act, and proves its utter helplessness to carry out the intentions of the Legislature. We trußt that the Assembly when it next meets will not

be deferral by: its manifest failure iix reclaiming drunkards,' but will endeavor • to find-some iiiofe uificaoionk:means of keeping the inobnato"from temptation.; threatening tho publican with pains penalties is titere child's play I It would be far better for the law to aim straight at (he offender himself! If the peace and happiness of a family circle were proved to be destroyed by the intemperate, habits of the head of the household,-the most sensible -course would be simply to lock the offender up for such a period as would wean him from his enemy. Intemperance, under certain circumstances, is virtually a crime against society, and' it would be better to deal direct with the the criminal than to attempt torestrain him indirectly through the pub-' lican. Under the Act of 1881, the publican, and not the drunkard, is prosecuted. Can we wonder if the respect paid to the law under these circumstances by some licensed victuallers is more nominal than reall

Shearing operations are now over, at the- Braucepeth siation, and as this particular property is the largest and most productive estate in the Wairarapa, we have obtained tbrpusjli the courtesy of its proprietors some particulars of llio dip for tho information of our readers. Owing lo wet weather in the early part of the season, tho shearing operations did not terminate till some days laterth.ui is usual, though.the fine December days enabled the hands to make up to a considerable extent for the time lost in the preceding month, We are glad to learn that the clip, as a whole, has turned out very guild, The wool in greaso was very light, but (lie average weight was very satisfactory, considering tliar, Messrs Beetham during the last fow years have beon breeding more crossbivda than' formerly. The total number uf sheep shorn was 60,400. These figures • include 9,500 lambs, but they do not include tho lambs on the station bred from Merino rann,a'a these are not shorn. The' yiold of the shearing pens was 922 bales' of wool, averaging within 91db of the railway tariff weight. The staff employed at. the sheds consisted of Iweniy-four' shearers and twenty-four men and boys, besides shepherds. This contingent, however, is buba small one compared to the little army of men who have been employod .by, Messrs Beetham during the winter and spring months. We are informed that no less than four, hundred hands were engaged during ihoao seasons in falling bush and clearing scmb, and that over a thousand acres, of bush, and an equally Urge atea of Benin, Ihvis been cleared. We believe that next winter the enterprising proprietors contemplate cutting down two, thousand acres of bush, We may add, too, that during the past seasou five hundred acres were ploughed on this station, and sown in oats and turnips. It is some consolation to us, when we regret tho absence of industrial enterprises on-a large scale in our principal centres of population, to Bud that they exist in our country districts.. A hundred men engaged in foiling bush on an tp country station are healthier and happier than any similar number of men can be who are oribbetl, c-ibiiied, and confined within the four walls of a factory.

Tub Musi at' on Town Lands Trust has began llio new year well by initiating two admirable mnvomoutts-lst, the substitution of an inilliuent and progressive system of leading their lauds for the unintelligent unci npu-crogressivo plan that is now in fi.rco. 2nd, the building of a Town Hall suiiod to (ho requirements of ihe town. Tho tone of the meeting last evening was favorable to a building capahlu of holdins; a thousand persons, and outing about twelvo hundred pounds. This is very satisfactory, as showing that the Town Trustees moan io do their work well and ihoroujihly. We quite auree with Mr McOahiue thai ilie proper site fur the new Town Hall is iho school aero. An immediate saving of some two hundred pounds can bo made by ttking this site, and a furtnei-'economy can be gained by using the old kchool buildings as committee ante-rooms to the Hall, and the school residence as an abode fur the custodian. It will be remembered that the old Town 1 Hall was a litilo too close to tho principal wheel traffic of the town. The school acre site being two nr three chains away from the main street would be much more eligible, and the risk of fire would be reduced materially.

: A large amount of interesting reading matter will be found on our fourth page.

The Feathorston Highway Baard meets today. Tlio uaual Church Parade of the Greytown Biflo Volunteers will be held tomorrow, when it is hoped for the credit of the town that a largo muster will be present. ; The regular monthly meeting of the Gieytuwn School Umniuiitee will be held on Tuesday evening next. To-morrow His Lordship Ihe Bishop tif Wellington will conduct both morning and evening services in St Luke's Ohurch, Greytown.

The past week has been both hut and dry, Tho thermometer' in the shade rGL'inlered on four days an average of 78-6 Fah. at 1 o'clock p.m., and the average for tho week at 8 a.m. is 67 714' inches. Rain fell on one day, givim; n rainfall for. the week of 'O9O inch. The barometer mean reading fur the week is 29.585 inches, Unless we have raiu soot), apparently there will bo little feed lefton thepasturo land forcittle. The atmosphere ; was thick with smoke from bush fires yesterday, and was anything but pleasant.

A furious lush Bro was raging all the day on Friday in Oartoiton, requiring attention from everyone in tho place. It origiiik'ed in a section on the Belvidere rod, nfiout on the border of the Town Board.'District, and fanned by the gale from the hills, soon swept up io tho railway line, and Messrs Bowles and Dawks' houses adjacent required constant watching fm- hours] On the western side of tho line were several stacks of firewood, and these catching fire, ignited several panels of the railway fence, Tho fire swept over ainon:; the long. grass and weeds on the other side; but an energetic hand of bea'ers kept the lire down there, though tho birga stack:of piles caught fire several'limes. . \J'lien the 2.30 train came down it hadji; run of ii hundred yards thrmnth' adenso smoke into the station, The gale carried the sparks far and wide, logs and.scrub datohing firo at the back of Eiliotte'a Hotel, liy the Forestuis' Hall, the back of Bowles' butchery, and in the rear of Meisrs Gallic and Hooker's premises. Lighted bush fell on the main road and wafted onwards, lighted the logs and trees on the reserve on the other side of the road in the rear of Messrs Gardener m& Gnie's dwellings, spreading onward through the bush toward* WudhaiuV, There w*s another fire towardu Olaveyillt*. .lim sweeping through, the:bush between Arnold's line and Belvidere roud, anil another in -Tomer's -bush on the Main read. Altogt'her Cartel ton,' end to eiid, was one ■mass' of slhoke, i,ml the whole of tho township was 'iii->rn'nr "tag

;< Mr Hpiybm,:)! ihi\ employ 'uf | Mr James Miwuru'jv'iind sia ioned afot Jilketolimiii|prolie(| : ; : ;i(i Wellington lip afternoon jto; relief from Mr w J i .-; ''•■'.;'' ■-..;>•; ''.'<ki}y.l ( . - '•■;, ■ ;' Messrs Lowes ft/lorna-havo' been \M atrucled jby MrG; ? M. Park, who is leaving the di«trici, to aelljlid'whole of his vain-' able furniture, mid the contents of hia conservatory.. The-,latter..Ja,,too....well, known to need auy comment;. It ii niinuuced that a luan ol i1.000.0C0,. at 4 per cent., for the .Government of New Zealand, will be placed in the market on the 11th instant, The minimum is fixed at 98^." ■'■•■*

Tunis the monthly,piy day ot the Mnsterton Investment Building Sooioty.

The Masonic Scholarship has, wo are informed, beeti 'warded" by Ify examiner, Mr Kannneth M.A., to -.Mowbray, B. Koch being n good second. These candidates were a long wayjn advance of the others.. ■■

The adjourned meeting of the Greytdwn; Borough Council called on.Thursdayevening lapted for want of a qnnrum, the next meeting will be'held on Monday evening next. *■■: ■'

Tho Maßter'ton Cricketers started to Featherslon by the first train this morning io play their first miitch vinder -M auspices of the new Club. ;,'

[ The Rev W. T. Habens,'".'lnspector.; General of Schools, is about lo. v visit England on .leave of 'absence!■' Hiasde-" partiire. will't'cftuse:uo practical inconvenience as he is merely the ornamental figure head of our school boat, and it will sail On just as well without'him'. -'"

; Tenders are at last called for (he new Post Office at Greytown, and will close on 'he 13tb inst. We.have seen the plans, and.tbo building will be a great" ornament to the town,. 'lt'<.ooiiiists of two stories; the ground floor c'optainiug'an instrument room which is] 18 .feet nqudrai >tbe : Pustmaster's room, public officß, .privntejetl er' box,andkitcheniaiid scullery, and 'the upper s'orey contains, a .commodious sitting room and. four bedroqma. ;;Tlie front of the buildup is lo face'Kurata r ivhiti road, and tho whole section is to bo tastefully fci ced off -

It must he ..those interested in sheep iii the Wairnirapa district to notice the diffehce botwoen-the returns of infected sheep at the beginning of last year and die list just published. In January 1882 there were ro'turned aB infected 177,308 Bheep. . In January, 1883 only 17,230 are 'returned., 1 The year's work of Inspector Sutton and his nffcett has therefore been of very great value, and it may reasonably be hoped that by nt-xt January scab will be entirely stamped out in this district.

Wo clip from -the Post the following record of financial distress i nd "ecclesiastical euihattasment :-Thi» regular month ly meeting of the standing committee of the Wellington Diocesan Synod-'was', held, yesterday afternoon,' Piesont-the Bishop (President), Archdeacon: Stock'. Rev E.J. Thorpe, R, Coffee, and T. Fancourt, Messrs Kenneth Wilson, and'Bou'i Marten. The secretary .reported,.that sinco las; meeting £lßßbad been received, and £lB5 paid; of the clergy stipends due on 30th September, £304 was still unpaid, and i'B97 was: owing for. the December quarter. It was resolvod that in future the societary.ahiiuld.make a monthly report of (hit parishoj failing to make their due contribution to the General Church Fund, and. that these should bo published. The President stated the results of. his recent visit to the Wairarapa, and lnetw tioned that Carterton had now agreed to contribute to tho fond. The appointment of ,v-Diocesan architect wa9 further postponed .after considerable discission. Only two. .applications were' received. The President reported tho election of Archdeacn Stock, Eev. R. J. Thorpe,;, and Rbv.-T. Fancourt, as clerical representatives in the Geneial Synod,' which is .to sit-at N»pier m April next, and of Messrs Holland,. Zohrabj and Liffiton, as lay representalhes. The Hutt-Wairarapa oleotoral district had failed to Return a member. The .Committeoi accordingly appointed Mr. W. A Fitzherbert to'fill tho vacancy. The meeting then journcd, Tho difference of charaoter between.the Prince of Wales' two'sons w.as very, remarkably evidenced atadinner.givon.in their houor in Queensland hylhe Governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy; 'Prince Albert Victor was silent and; llinughtful.Pririce. George all vivacity, the waiters were all Chinamen; and whenever:tho Gp/ernqr uas not looking, Prince George gave hard tugs at their, uigfsili. The Chinamen, with iruo Oriental politenossi'tnaintainod an iropertuibablo gwviiyi-MrVorld; f ,v. <>■■

The jablio are notified that.tbe GrcatvGift Distribution commences to-morrow;at ißafp /. Hare's Emporium. .Every cash pifroliaser of 2j (id worth of goods iwiljibeipraqnted with a Ckomo-Litho* Picture, <and<eyery purohaßor of goods to the amount of 20s will be allowed tooliuoso their own present to thevaluoof 2s Gd. For Grocery, Clothing,. Boots and Shoos, Ironmonger jya-ur Crockery, Eipp it Habe cannot be beaten.- Advt.'

The annual distribution of Christmas Gifts, is now taking place at. TeAro House, and will continue throughout the month of December. We have provided a large assortment of really artistio bhromo pictures which will be presented to every purchaser of 5s worth and upwards. Great care 1 has beou taken to provide suuh only as shall bo wortbly of acceptance by all Who may pay a visit to To Aro House. The subjects of these ohromos are many and va'iodV comprising landscapes, seascapes, copies of Laudseero most favourite and popular works, and Will bo exceedingly attractive to visitors and purchasers of Te Aro House. : The mode in which it has been determined toissuethefe gifts is of a most liberal charactorj and will during the merry Christmas'season,'bo * sonroe of gratification to tho numerous customers of James smith, Te Aro Hduso; Cubastreet, Wellington, -A»vr.'.'.'.