South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Saturday 6 February 1869, page 3


THE POLICE.

TO THE EDITOR

Sir— 1 Inpe you will be good enough to allow me space to olfer a few remarks respecting the management of the present metropolitan police force, including tho remnant of the defunct detectives.

[he case of Detective -pinks against myself in the : Police Court for hawking without a liceace. some i hree weeks since, and incarcerating me in the jolice cell for 24 hours, although ray nime and esidence were known to him and his superiors ; mdthe only offence that could he proved befo:e :he Magi-trate was that 1 asked a citizen if he ?ranted a pair of Brazilian pebble spectacles. But i discreet and impartial Magistrate saw through the snare, ambet the intended victim fre*. Amore recent :ase against Master Durieu for letting off crackers is another instance of the uncontrol ed a d iiceutio s m.ni.er in which the liberty of the , subject is outr:ged by the present p-lice sys em. 1'his Master Durieu is a child about eight years old, ;-nd the son of a well-known and re*nected civ c officer, whose residence was well known to the police; yet he could only be rescuH m.m a - milar incarceration to what was inflicted on mvselt by bail, which I was refused to have. Sir, ; these are only isolated cases out of the hundreds ! which the last published official police returns ! show to have either been dismissed or discharged [ by the Court within the last 12 months. When | a case is either dismissed or discharged it j is a clear proof that the accused u un- , justly troubled, and in fairness should get , redress from some person ; but nobody is respon- , Bible. The apprehending consrable ia excused on j the grounds of misjudged zeal; the non-com- i missioned officer who takes the charge at the Station has no power to question the detective as to the reason which induces him to lock up any person at will. He has a right to question an ordinary constable, and use his discretion as to whether he entertains the charge or not: but the police returns show evidently how negligently that discretion has been exercised. How long will this s; stem, if it can be called one, be permitted to exist? It got its priucioal impetus from the so-called reorganization of the police force. I hope it will soon cease. I am Sir, &c, MARTIN BRENNAN. Grenfell-street, February 3, 18«9. South Australian Wines in London.— Mr. P. Auld writes to the Australasian as under:— 'Sir —You will remember the sample of Sweet Auldana which you tasted in Melbourne and gave so favourable an account of in the columns of the Australasian. Allow me to say. in proof of the correctness of your judgment in the matter, that if I had had 20 times the quantity I brought with me her, I could have sold it readily, and at a higher price than what I named in Melbourne. I paid the duty on the whole of my shipment of red and white wines, and had them removed to my own cellars under Walbrook-house, the most central and convenient situation in London for all the purposes of my business. The wine is only about a month landed, and though not quite fit to sample, yet the few connoisseurs who have already tasted the wines pronounce them 'very good, and such as will take a high place in the London market when known, being of a fine delicate quality and flavour.' I am speaking now of the red and white dry wines, not of the sweet Auldana, for that is all sold, and I am waiting a fresh supply. No one could possibly commit a greater mistake than to send anything but a first-class wine, pure and clean, to this market; and as it is much more convenient and easy to keep the commandments than to break them, so it is much more easy, agreeable, and profitable to make good wine than to make bad. I have little doubt a market will be found in Victoria for all the fine wines made there for some time to come, otherwise I should be most happy to aid in every possible manner in my power to find sale for them in this magnificent country, where there is plenty of room for far more than we can all produce.— Patrick Auld. Auldana Vineyard Office, Walbrook-house, E.C., London, November 25.' Price's Wentvvobth Almanac.— We have received a copy of the above excellent and handyBized almanac, containing a large amount of postal, statistical, telegraphic, conveyance, and Governmental information, with the usual items found in similar work?, concenina IVictoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, the first-mentioned haviuj: in this instance the largest 6hare of space assigned. There is a neat and clear map of New S«utb Wales attached to the book, likely to be of great service. We give elsewhere an extract, which will be read with interest. Miss Grace Egebton.— We observe from our C.'ylon exchanges that Mr. and Mrs. Case have been performing in Colombo with great success.— A.uslra.(wan.