OPERATION OF THE STAMP ACT.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 349, 12 September 1868, Page 2

OPERATION OF THE STAMP ACT.

"We presume that at times for the good -of society, it is necessary to make examples, and in accordance with this principle it is incumbent on the Gov- • erntnent to use extraordinary efforts to ensure the conviction of persons who innocently offend against laws, the very existence of which they are ignorant of. The latest example ' of--this kind was afforded in the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, when James O'Donnell was lined <£so, for not putting a penny stamp on an order he had given for £2, as required by the 14th section of that most odious enactment, the Stamp Act. The activity of the police, the -singular energy of the Postmaster, Mr Winstanley, in his capacity of Distributor of Stamps, and the appearance of the Crown prosecutor to push matters to an extremity, would seem to denote that some offence had beencommitted greater than theissueofanorderofthekind,onwhich the Government had unintentionally • been defrauded of onepenny, but as far as the case went,'there was nothing whatever shown in evidence to justify such a conclusion. Really if this was all, the fuss is significant of dull times, and would imply that the authorities are delighted to have some apology for - activity in very trivial matters. The defendant did not attempt to deny an ■ obvious fact, but stated, and there is little doubt with truth, that he was perfectly unaware of the legal necessity for affixing a stamp on the document in question, and that he had erred entirely through ignorance. There was every reason to believe his statement to be correct, still, notwithstanding, the Magistrate said -that he had no alternative but to inflict a fine of £SO. As the law at present stands no _ discretionary power is left in magisterial hands, and whether an accidental infringement, as the present, takes place, or an organised and systematic evasion to U the tune of hundreds is discovered, the offenders all share alike, and are impartially, if not justly fined £SO. Can anything be mnch more monstrous than that, and could there be a law -. ever in the peculiar code of New Zeaknd that more urgently requires immediate amendment, even if abolition in' our present financial condition is impossible. At present an ignorant . man in the most simple, and easy manner, can be ensnared by those who : have revenge to satisfy, or hope to succeed in extorting money. Just let them inveigle their intended victim into signing a cheque, or other order of any kind without it being stamped, and the fate that befell O'Donnell yesterday must be theirs', if Dr Giles' ruling is ' correct. On this head there appears to be a doubt, for if the issue of an unstamped document is so peremptorily punishable as that judgment would decide, how comes it that provision is made for subsepuently stamping instruments of one kind and another, on paying penalties of double the amount, and going through other formalities. It cannot surely be a far graver crime to give a cheque or order for the payment of money without a . stamp attached, than to write out a deed or an agreement, and have it executed. If there was any difference in the degree of wrongdoing, it surely would be in favour of the evasion whereby the revenue w as least mulcted and if so, a cheque or order that only needs a penny stamp to be within the Act, when issued without such attachment, can scarcely be as grave an infringement as deeds or documents that require possiblytwenty shillings worth of permits. Yet we find that the issue of an unstamped document, legally chargeable with a penny, involves a fine of fifty pounds with we know not how many months imprisonment, as an alternative, whilst the execution of leases, agreements, conveyances, &c, involves only a paltry fine, and liberty to pay it for some months after they may actually have come into effect. On these grounds then, we repeat, that there may be a doubt whether Dr Giles' ruling was correct. If it was, there is all the more reason to put an rend to such an anomalous state of things. The Stamp Duty may possibly be a necessity in the involved financial condition of the Colony, but it could never have been intended as the means of persecuting the poor, or least informed portion of the community, and allowing greater offenders to escape scot free. This however, judging from the most recent example of its operation, is actually the case!

A correspondent oT the Colonist writing from Blenheim, on August 17th states :—" We have been visited with a worse plague than the floods, I allude to the diptheria ; it has been, and indeed, is still making sad havoc here; and not a few families have suffered greatly. One of the worst cases is

that of Mr Bagge,'the Postmaster, who has buried ; four children, and whose wife was ill at the same time with the complaint; but lam glad to be.able to state that she is progressing favorably. Mr Bagge is at present in a very-low state of health, from fretting. There was one very sad feature in this case, the parents buried one child first, then two others died shortly after, both on the same day, and while the afflicted father was at the cemetery, putting these two little ones under ground, news was brought him that another of his children had departed from this world of sorrow. If this was not sufficient to prostrate a man's energies, I do not know what is." ; Besides this sad case mentioned by our corres- . pondent there is another, still more heartrending, seeing that a lady has been left to mourn over the deaths of her husband and three children ; we allude to the demise of Mr H. Godfrey, of Woodbume, Wairau Plain. "Within the short space of about three weeks, the father, two daughters, and a son died of diptheria; and sad to relate, the father and son both died on the same day. We mingle our sympathies with those of the community for the bereaved ones, and pray that the terrible disease may soon disappear from their midst, and be swept off the face of our adopted land." The Melbourne Argus of a recent date says :—" A correspondent informs us of a case in which the use of sulphurous acid was of service in the treatment of diptheria. •On the evening of the 12th ult. attention was directed to a boy, (a member of our correspondent's family), who was suffering from sore throat and difficulty in swallowing. He was examined, and found to have a patch of false membrane on each side of the throat, with a large tending forward on the roof of the mouth, and a peculiar smelling breath. Another boy (a brother), who had been complaining in the morning, was also examine' l , and was found to have a bad throat and foul breath, but the growths were situated at the back of the uvula. The parts were at once painted with sulphurous acid, a gargle of the acid applied, and sulphur burnt in their room, and throughout the house. Six to eight drops of acid were also given internally, and about every two hours a small doss of carbonate of ammonia (say six grains) administered. This treatment was continued up to two o'clock on Monday morning, when the disease appeared to be greatly checked; but at half past six o'clock on the same morning it was ascertained that the false membrane had increased much more than when first noticed. Constant application of the sulphurous acid was then resorted to, and a small piece of sponge was firmly Becured to the end of a strong quill, and the throat well spunged with the acid. By unremitting attention to this process, the boys were recovered on., the following Tuesday evening, and the false membrane was removed with a handkerchief put over a dry camel's hair brush. During the same week other children, aged between three and twelve years, were attacked with similar "symptoms, but by prompt application of the above-mentioned remedies they recovered."

The « Otago Argus' of the 29th ult says:—" In our issue of the 22nd inst. we stated that applications had been made to the G-overninent for passages to the West Coast of this Province by miners, who had given information to the effect that a payable goldfield could be developed there. Their request was complied with, and we are now in a position to state that they have been requested by the Government to delay their departure from the Arrow, in consequence of the s.s. Airedale, which had been engaged by the Government to call in at the point indicated and leave them, having been detained in the North. The first steamer available for the purpose will, doubless, convey these pioneers to what we are sanguine will prove to be one of the richest goldfields in Otago." The Baker's and Miller's Bill recently passed, contains twenty-two clauses, and provides that all bread shall be made of "pure and sound" meal of *' wheat, barley, rye, oats, buck wheat, Indian corn, peas, beans, rice or any of them, and with any of them, and with and any common salt, pure water, eggs, milk, barm, leaven, potato, or yeast, and mixed in such proportions as may be thought fit, and with no other ingredient or matter whatsoever." Household wheaten bread is to be marked with a Boman H; mixed bread is to be marked M ; penalty for-not marking 10s. French rolls and fancy bread are exempt. Using any other weights than avoirdupois will subject the baker to a penalty not exceeding £5, not less than ss. Also, bakers are to provide their shops with weights and scales. False weights subject the baker to a penalty of £5.

It was stated that all the mails of the Taranaki had been saved previous to her foundering, but there is reason to fear that mail is lost, for some official letters that were known to have been posted, and would be very unlikely to be miscarried in any way, have not been received by those for whom they were intended. Any persons expecting, and not having received letters from Wellington, may iherefore attribute the non-receipt of letters to this accident, rather than the the negligence of their*correspondents

We understand that the residents on Addison's Flat, are about to apply to the Board of Education for some assistance in the maintenance of a school in that locality. Their request is most reasonable, and we should think there would be no hesitation whatever in it being granted, as the people there are quite willing to comply with all the usual conditions required under such circumstances. The population there is large, and a large number of children through the absence of the assistance asked for, are growing up totally uneducated and neglected. On this being properly represented, we have no doubt the application will be successful. On Saturday last Dr Giles and Mr Lowe, district engineer, paid a visit to Giles' Terrace, and carefully examined the claims of Davis and party, Luke and party, and Perry, Nicholls and party, in order to allow the Warden to arrive at a more satisfactory conclusion, before deciding in reference to the injunction applied for by Luke and party to restrain Perry and party from working. What ..the result of their inspection was, is of course at present unknown. They afterwards visited Deadman's Creek terrace, and made themselves thoroughly acquainted with that locality before returning. Our Charleston correspondent says: ' A telegram from Brighton, received on Tuesday evening states, that two more claims at the new rush have bottomed on gold, though the prospects are not near so rich as the claims referred to, being on the side of the spur. The prospector's ground is estimated to run about £4O per week per man. About 150 or 200 men are about the rush, looking out for a continuation of the lead."

There can be but one opinion as to the justice of Westport having the same privileges, as far as shipping telegrams go, that are accorded to other places, and we cannot think that any objection will be made to their being posted here as elsewhere, on proper representations being made to the Government. A memorial is being prepared to the Superintendent, personally asking him to represent our case in the fitting quarter in order to obtain this boon, and we have no doubt whatever that his mediation will be successful. It will be brought round for signature to-day, and may very likely be prepared in time for transmission per Kennedy. It will be addressed to Mr Curtis, at Wellington, so no delay need take place in obtaining an early reply, as he will be on the spot where those who exercise authority over the telegraph are located.

Whether through the financial mistake by which the Nelson province has lost £14,000, or through some other reason, the Provincial Executive are getting remarkably stingy, and close in their transactions. Notice has recently been given to the authorities here that no work of any description, however trifling, is to be undertaken, before plans and specifications for the same have ben sent up to the Superintendent. The earliest example of the effects of this economy has already arisen. A closet for the gaol is needed, and was about to be erected, but under the latest instructions, plans and specifications have to be forwarded, and in the course of time, no doubt an order for the work, if the design is approved of, will be sent down. Truly there is no room for a provincial Joseph Hume, under these circumstances. The now celebrated Giles' Terrace case took another step on Tuesday, the warden agreeing to grant the injunction prayed for, on equitable terms. These are that two assessors should value the probable and reasonable damage sustained by Perry and party by the delay of their appeal, and that, either the sum be paid into court, to. abide the issue, or that satisfactory security be lodged. If therefore Perry and. party win the case, and the Warden's decision is upheld, they will be fairly compensated for their loss of time. If, on the contrary, the Warden's judgment is reversed, they will lift the money again, and have the ground they are seeking. This arrangement is clearly based on the strictest principles of justice, and should meet the views of all concerned.