Correspondence.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 737, 8 March 1877, Page 3

Correspondence.

(SfOur Correspondence columns being impartially open to all matters of public interest, toe cannot . be identified, with ' the opinions therein expressed.

Sub,— l have been axed to ax you a mighty "quare question. It i 3 what ought to be the weight of a two poun loaf of bread. An this how it comes for me to az you. You see a lot of us get bread m Hamilton, an seem it looked very poor m side we begin to spake about what its weight wus. Wan sed two poun for fippenoei another ses not by any manes, when the stuf s good. At any rate, we thfied its weight, an some made beta what it wits, and come what it wusent. Howsome ver whin we, puj; il m the scale the two poiin : loaf was only twentyaight ounces, as Barney, our lamed man towlcl ustwasjust four Jounces under what it shud. That same sot all our tungs agoin. Wan sed it was all right, another says its allT the other ; way,' Ml we heaw Barney

.beginnin to Bay^fouivinto a« hunner -goes tvrerity fife "times. " We axed him what he wus saying. _ : Se B he, luok here boys, this loaf ehud be thurty two ounces. How do know,, sea Jack, for sure a ton |here ia more than too hunner less than m the ould counthry. Be that as, it may, ses Barney, the poun ought to ba sixteen punoes iverywhere. Mabby, sea I, this -baker's weights may be new and fresh out from home, and the heat of the tropic < ÜB,tuck aomethin off tber weight; I know Host twelve pouns meaelf m them ,hd(i quaiters. Bied \d liavk omadtion, says Barney; ( an Til 1 tell ye I'm nojfool, acs r li for you see he had ' tbwld me m lifiah to howld my tnnge for a fool. Wait, says he ; apouh is a poun all over thef wprJ, at laist where; we hive British' law. Hive we it heer? sea Jim. We hive, scs he, an how I'll show ye. Sup. pose this loaf ia four ounces short mizure, 'an this baker as a hunner loaves m ivry batsh, that's twinty fire pouns at the same rate, an will give him abowt fourteen loaves over what he shud hive ; an fourteen loaves at fippence cornea to fire an tinpence; tbin if hes siven batshes a week, that oums to too poun and tinpence. Thats a good weeks wages, ees he, over Irs riglar profit ' Hurrah, sea Bill, Barney youre a jarius. Howld on, ses he, an I'll go farther; Too poun and tinpence a week is wan hunnei* an bix poun /three ahillin an fourpince a year ; thats not a bad thing for the. daceht man, but ugly fur us. ' Be the Bock of Cashil, says Ned, boys, Barney ahud be m VogilY place, he cud tickle them afhter that! .ffe'&ll* aed the aamo, but he w.ouldent ;heer ov it ;: riot, but, acs he, if. the peo l pie of Auckland City Bast would do me a turn, 1 hive no feer but 1 wud be a betthor number than that pirapatethick igaapmiter ßees. Stop boys, acs I, thats far enuf (fur you see we hstve a rdol that none of us is to spake abowt King' Willianij the Eope, or New Za'land politicks) but whats to be done ? Do this, sswari, an do this, ses another ; at last some wan axed Jim what wis the rool abowt bakers ■ weight m bis' part of the worl, as.ho .hadent spoke durin the whole talk. -Well, 'ses he, it grately depinded on the sason of the yeer. How ou*l that be, ses I. : Well, ses he, if it wis Lent, the Prodes'an and the Catholick bakers, if they were konsenshuSj always give full weight j the Presbetharian did the same twice a yeer, an that wus always a munth afther Sakraraent Sunday. But thare wur others i who wur no grate shakes all the yeer roun. Who wur they, sea all of as m a breth ? ' Well, seß he, they wur a kin of people who called themselres unco igude. But, says Barney, what had that to do 1 - with tho weight of their loaf ? Every thingi aesliej bekase you see they hed a rool to always give what they called a tinth to the Lord j that is, to sen out misshioners and tacbers to the ha thin. Now, as most of ther customers give but a thrifle for 'that purpose; ; these good people take it out iv thim m the bread bo they had the more to give at the end of the yeer. I see, ses Barney, it wia indirect taxaßhun for a good purpose. I auppose Soj sea Jim ; out I know two magisthrates who thought otherwise and got prayed for some of these people bakase they hud been made fork but five poun a piece for lightweight. Well, as we wur talkin abowt it, Jim, who had been readin a paper, calls out : By the hokey, boys, I hive it. Hive what, ses we. ' Why, Sea he, the razon of the light loavee (I forgot to say we had! weighed fore more loaves, after the first and foun thim all sufferiu from the same (iizase as it) see heer, it is m black an white. So, with that, he. begun to read about a feller that had winfc to the Waitoa along with anuther an seen fluds an Mpwrees an eels an hot springs an such like things, Whata that to doi with it, ses I. Look heer, ses he, I seen these clups goin, . an the man that wus 'with him is the wan that lucks afther the weight of the bread m this disthriot, and m%y be bakers seen him goin and tuck a slant afther his back wus turned. With that Jack sthruck 1 him on the mug with a rotten peach. May be, ses he, that wul stop your slandtherous tung, an so it did. What do you say, Barney, ses I. Well, ses he, write to the Buster, an ax what the rool is, bekase if we loss a quarter of a poun m iyery too, its mighty little I'll give away, Be gob, ses Pat, I was goin to give tin shillings to Father Gooldin for the new chapel, .but I'll hive to see more abowt it now. The. aame heer, . ses Bill, for Mr, Calder's new church. Be the livin jingo, aays Jim,, its worse than the eddikation rate entirely. At this we all laffed, and so agreed to ax you if you wild be so condiaendin as to let us know what your opinyon is on the matter. You ace we're all new hana heer an like the counthry well, and while willin to pay owr way, dorit like to be itn> pozed on if ther es any nnfareness m the case, and Barney is shure the poun ahud be sixteen and not fourteen ounces. — lam, &c, Tbbby DBisboMi.