Among other recrea tions arose th§Klof JaßsaultingJ aBsaulting the police and unoffending oWizeA^, and', the committal of thoseoffenceßcltyftffied under the generic head of larrikinisrn.' These pleasant characteris tics of society have spread from what might be called the 'wealthy uneducated, down- Ward, and, it was noticed, had extended to New Zealand, before the great flood which sent hitherward the refuse of British cities had set in for our shores. The recent out break here, and the salutary manner in which Mr Bathgate dealt with the second and third cases, shows that such ofTennes w ill meet repression from the strong hand of 1h« law. No more fines, which can be paid, for kicking a policeman— imprisonment is the magiste rial determination. The only pity ie, that to suoh scoundrels to whom the lash is no degradation, that a Magistrate cannot order ! corporal punishment in addition to imprison^ J ment. The only way to reach their non* I sciences is through their hides,

The coming of Sir George Grey into the strife and turmoil of political life marks an era in the histcry of New Zealand. Our public men here have always had some of the more objectionable features of the American way of doing business about them. I don't say there has been barefaced robbery of pub lic funds, bnt there has been plenty of " Claw me, and I'll claw thee," and intriguing for billets. And since the borrowed money be gan to fly about freely, and the abandonment of any regularly organised opposition to the Government, matters have not tended to m provement — the sole actuating ideas are, not the achievement of power for the sake of gratifying a noble ambition, but place and pay. Nothing can give a healthier tone to the public life of this Colony than the deter mination of Sir George Grey at the present juncture of affairs to come forward. 