RANDOM SHOTS

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 156, 4 July 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

RANDOM SHOTS

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THE half-holiday problem promises to became a difficult one. The most recenb proposition, as in pre&by generally known, is to give domestic servants a half-holiday in each week. On the face of ib, the idea seems to be a moat reasonable one, bub a discussion which took place before a Wellington institution known as the • Southern Cross Association of Women' goes bo show than considerable difficulties are likely to arise in the way of this reform. Ib seems, from the opinions expressed by these ladies, that if domestic servants are to have a weekly half-holiday, it musb be by arrangemanb, and not arbitrarily fixed by law. Ib was pointed out thab the Bill before Parliament makes ib imperative on domestic servants to be abnenb from bhe premises of their employers from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on a certain day in each week; that if the domestic baß no friends to visit during this period, she will be compelled to walk the streets ; and that if she comes in for tea, her mistress will have bo prepare the msal and wait upon her. One speaker recommended that the introducer of the Bill bo advised to mind his own business, and let the matter Bfcand over until women gob into Parliament. This '8 very rough on tha member who has been championing the cause of the young women domestics; bub there is a certain amount of truth in whab was said, and it is evident the Bill will need to be considerably amended in committee. »* * • *»• • • A now point was raised by a lady in discusaing bho quesbion of a half holiday for domestics. She said Bhe thought legislation should beenaebsd compelling wives to take a half holiday every week, the onus of carrying oub bhe law beiug upon their husbands. Next I expect fco bear it proposed tbab all employers of labour shall be compelled by Acb of Parliament to absent themselves from business on a certain afternoon each week, under severe penalties, their employees to see thab bhe law is duly observed. There is logic in bhe demand thab employers as well as employees should bo allowed time for recreation, bub tha solution of the problem is beyond me. Tha only way oub of bhe difficulty to my mind would Be to enact bbab on a certain afternoon of a certain day in every week all work shall be suspended—that we should, in facb, have a second Sunday in the middle of the week. *•* * * *• ♦ • "Divine tobacco, that from east w west Soothes tha tar's labours er the Turkman's rest," seems bo be admitted as parbner with religion in ab least one colonial church. The Sydney ' Daily Telegraph 'of a receub , date contains an accounb under the heading of 'Tobacco and the Churches,' of a •convivial evening' in Sb. Jamas' Anglican Parish, Sydney, when the Rev. Mr CarrSmiih gob up a smoke concerb for the men of his parish. This evenb came off in the parish hall, when ' some 150 men, representing all sections of the congregation, meb socially, sab round tables playing caids or chatting,' and were obhnrwiae inuocenbly convivial. * The rev. host received his gnesbs near the door, and bade them make themselves ab home, which the> did—so effectually that Boon it was difficult to ccc from one end of the chamber to the other. And the applause was hearty for each number, and the buzz of conversation when the contributions ceased showed thab the elements had ftioed.' Mr Smith explained the idea of the smoke concert. He said his object waa to get bhe men ot the parish together in social intercourse. He had, he said, been attacked fiercely by one or two people ■who thoughb there waa something very wrong and shocking aboub smoking. *** * * * * * * This parson of liberal views on bhe subjsct of tobacco went on to say:—' The alergy smoked in their houses, and some folk umoked in the streets. Why should ' 'obey nob smoke when they meb together ? They all enjoyed their pipes. Even bishops did that. There were tiwo colonial bishops since stopping with an English bishop, and nobh smoked on the sly and unknown to sach other. They used to disappear bo diobanb parts of the garden, carefully avoiding each obher, and indulging in a locreb smoke, but ono day ib rained and jhey could nob geb into the garden, and one uishop, wandering disconsolately about the palace, went for comfort to the bedroom of hia colleague. A mufßad voice said "Come in," and he was amazed to find his brobherbiahop lying on bhe hearbh with his head up bbc chimney, puffing hard at a pipe. He was so overjoyed that he threw himself beside him, and sticking his head up also, had a good smoke too. If, therefore, bishops emoked, why should nob they ? He would bo glad to raeeb any of them in hia study on Monday nights and have a chat and smoke. The churchwardens ought to bo grateful to them fpr giving tihftb. hall such a good fumigation.' It is rather refreshing to find Bach tolerance of the weed amongst the clergy. I know one or bwo minister* in Auckland who enjoy a good moke, bub who have nob the courage to smoke where they mighb be seen by any of their congregation. I like the Rev. Carr Smith's opan championship of tobacco, Ib would be well if other men of the cloth would follow his example, and extend a kindly tolerance to the smoking habib. Men will smoke in any case, and if their tastes in this direction wore consulted by tho churches, and billiard rooms, smoking rooms, reading rooms, etc., established in connection with bhe large churches in the cities, it would very likely be a step «n *ne direction of abtracting to the precincts of the fold at any rate, men who otherwise would be disgusted with the intolerant attitude often assumed by ministers towards bho habfta and customs of whab bhey are pleased to call the ' worldling.' * ■*■ * ■* * * Pity the troubles of the poor referee ! Late Sydney papers csnbain full accounts of the recenb inquiry by the Rugby Football Union iobo the sensational match boween the Oriental Club and Homebush football teams, in bhe course of which ib is stated the referee was so badly usedl thab he bad to show » revolver in self-defence. From bhe evidence adduced, ib seems thab there i« very little bhanks attached to bhe undesirable billet of referee aba New South Wales feoiball match. The referee's complaints were of rough play, foul language, disputing the decisions of bhe referee, pelting him with mud and kicking him. Nob knowing bho players parsonaliy he was unable bo Bupply the names of bhe men, who, he nlleged, kicked him and threw the 'and. One 'of the Oriental men,' he said, &fctomptad to kick a Homebush man in bhe face. •He declined to commit himself bo any statement as bo whether ho book a revolver with Mm when he went to aob aa lefereein.bhis particular match. He did nobpresenb* revolver ab anyone, 1 The in-

quirv ended in the Oriental Club beingr expelled from the Union and the players disqualified, The match in question musb have had eomo resemblance to a faction fight at Donnybrook Fair, judging from some of the evidence. One man said he 'saw players bitting one another on the jaw. The language he heard was the worst he had ever heard at a match. Id continued all through the game. He saw the umpire kicked, but nob by a player. The referee was jostled by players, but not severely. He noticed plenty of mud, throwing during the Becond half. Its was by players, but be could not say tbab it was deliberately thrown at the referee. All the Homebush players had mud soaked into their heads.' * * * . ' •*# * * * I have" before me something of a curiosiby in the nature of a begging letter, the suggestions in which, if carried out to the full, would make the hair of our chief postmaster stand on end with alarm. The 'chain letter' which is in circulation amongnb a number of benevolently inclined ladiea in Auckland, ia as follows: — • Park Road, Auckland, May, 1896. Dear I venture to send you this " chain letter " truaiing you will assist in keeping it going on. A children's ward is badly needed ab the " St. George's Cottage Hoepibal," at Kogwiat, near Sydney, New South Wales. If a million used stampa art* collected a friend will buy them aba sum which, supplemented by the Government endowment, will be sufficient to build the " ward." All you have to do is:—l. Make, three copies of this letter (as I have done) placing your own addreßS on the top, dating and signing ib yourself and changing the number to the nexb highest and numbering all three alike 2. Post) each of your copies to your friends who are requested to acb in' the same manner. 3. Send to Miss Audrey Griffin, Yaalinga, Mill-street, Hartsville, New Sooth Wales, ten or more UHod postage stamps ; and return this letter to her with addresses of three friends to whom you have senb copies. If the chain ia kepb going on, no difficulty will be experienced in oollectingthe million stamps. When No. SO is reached the chain ceases. —Yours truly——1 *** * * ■» • • ■ * The correspondent who sent me fcho above curious documenb (which roads very like a hoax), has made a calculation based on the suggestion in this benevolent epistle, ntid bas made the startling discovery tbab if the process in question were oniy repeated up to the number 10, the result would be thg production of the enormous total of 8,180,869,527,372.672,413 lettora ! When he • had worked the s&pienb suggestion out forty bim.63 he stopped in alarm, fearing that if he went on the work of caiculatiou would seriously affocb his intellect. Let my readers try ib for themselves. I dou'b know whether there are enough benevoleut imbeciles in the community to carry oub tho ' chain,' but if there are, then our Postmaster-General will probably go off his hoftd. There would not be storage room in bho poab offices of the colony for tho countless rnultibudeof letters which tho 'Kogwiab' Hospital would call forth, and instead of the'million stamps ' required, the 'used' postage stamps sent in would exesed in number the sands of the sea or tho hairs on the heads of the Matabele armies. There ia something stupendous as well as comical in the idea of the * chain letter,' aud I fear 'Misa Audrey Griffin,1 of New South Wales, will" have to take a house nbout the size of a good - sized sheep run if she seriously thinks of running tho chain up to eighty and waiting till the letters come in !By bho way, I havo never heard of ' Kogwiab' and Ita • cottage hospital' before. Ib all eoundß • very like a whale.' . •** * • * * ♦ ■ * Some curious aspects of football as she is played in N.S.W., were revealed at the inquiry. The umpire seems to have had a bad timo generally, as nob only did he get his head 'soaked' with Australian mud, but a barracker kicked his shins for him. Mud was flying frealy, and the gentle barrackors on both sides eeem to have considered it their duby to • scrng' the referee. One ingenuous witness said : • The players were swearing a bit about tho umpire, bub nob directly ab him. Itwas what he would call every day swearing, nob foul language.' i wonder what that gentleman's definition of 'everyday swearing' would be. Ib would be ueeful for the every day citizen to possess a list of ewear-terma, so tbab he would know what were appropiate for ordinary use in society and business, and whab were suitable for football matches and similar delectable entertainments. On tho whole, it is hardly to be wondered ab thab the referee should consider a revolver an indispensable part of bis oauipmeab aba football match. I should be inclined to geb a suib of armour and a Catling gun if some cruel fftbe sent me to umpire aba Now South Wales football match, it the encounter described is a typical Saturday afternoon amusement of the Cornstalks. ••• ♦ * • * ♦ ♦ Apropos of football, the Maori boys ore even greater enthusiasts on the subiecb of our national game than even bhe Ponaonby and Paraell •barrackcra.' In mosb Maori settlements up-country jusb now the rural football match on Saturday afternoon \b the event of tho week. The visiting team rides in in a sorb of feriumphanb entry from the next hianga, accompanied by a crowd of their own tribal ' barrackers,' including a bevy of Darktown ladies arrayed in all the colours of the rainbow. The lady barrackers wake the welkin with their exhortations to Timi or Wiremu or Hone to pub tho obher fellow on his back, and when an opponenb is rolled in tho mud, the glee of the Maori ladies is a sight to behold. At a native foothall match played at Rotorua the other day there were some amusing features. One of the visiting warriors wore as a jersey a flour-bag with boles cut for the arms and bearing on the bt»ck the myßbic legend, 'Northern Roller Mills.' His appearance quito took the fancy of the female barrackers, 'Go it, Fiour' waß the cry of the afternoon. Another doughty footballer, finding hie jersey in the way during the heac of the game, stripped io off and threw it to his beat girl to mind for him till the gamo was over, and pbt.ycd the reeb of bhe match attired in n o-ood coat> of clay and a portion of a pair of trousers. This match was worth a dozen Potter's Paddock encounter?, from a spectacular point of view. When the Botorua football warriors starb a campaign they do things in"style. They ftro now 'on tour' in the Bay of Plenty district), knocking out the teams ab the various settlements, with a double relay of players, in case of casualties!, and accompanied by a merry retinue of lady and genblemeD ' barrackers.' The present tour, I am informed, will last nine days, and a number of referees have been specially ordered lor bhe occasion. 1 don'b think, however, that even an excited. Maori footballer would deliberately proceed to plaster the referee with mud, after the style of the New South Wales hoodlums. • * , ♦ » *. * * • * Those who neglected to attend the mass meeting of workers in Sb. James' Hall bhis week missed a lot of fun. The novelby of gathering together to select a labour candidate appeared to have put everyone in a good humour, and whab interruptions there were bad the effecb of creating plenty of amusemenb. Ibis no easy bask for » working man to face an audience of from 1,100 to 1,200 people and deliver a maiden speech upon such a difficult snbjecb as politics in these advanced days. The audience evidently fully appreciated the difficulty of the operation, and good naturally helped the speakers by interjecting, *Go on Jack, you're getting on fine/ or, 'Well done,

Jimmy, thab'a not bad,' and other similar kindly assistance. JRhe real fan, however, set in with the questions. One candidate, who, whatever else he. may be,' ! would certainly not be likely to pose as & temperance orator, waß asked, • Are you a prohibitionist ?' which caused euch a roar of laughter that he was able to let the question paaa. The eamo candidate was also asked whether ha considered an Imperial pint sufficienb to quench a man's thirst. This was all the more to the poinb because he had already drunk two glasses of water during the time ha wad on trial. The audience appeared particularly interested in thii part of his actions, and one friend kindly inquired, ' Whab does it taste like?' To do the inquirer justice ib must: be admitted that judging from his appearance it was quite probable that he really wanted to know the flavour of water. One or bwo amusing slips were also made by a candidate. Ho was speaking upon the hardships of a man being compelled by law to close bis shop, and then added • and he might be a widow with a large family to provide for.' Of coarse this fairly fetched clown the house. What may be expected during the conning electoral campaign, may be gathered from the facb thab all three candidates spoke especially to the ladies, and one went bo far as to say he saw no reason why the Governor should nob be a woman, which caused another good laugh. In facb, there was more fun at this meeting than at many a comedy performance. * ■ * • ♦*♦• . • • I waa looking over a Napier paper the other day and came across an accounb of someinterestingreminiscencesof early Auckland. These were taken from the morning paper for October 14, 1864, and I am indebted bo the Napier writer for reproducing them in this column. The vast change in the circumstances of the colony between thab time and this is (says the Napier writer) certainly worth noting. Prominent among these is thab the colony was then ab war with the Maoris, and the leader contained a strong censure on Governor Sir George Grey for temporising with tho prisonerß who had escaped from Kawau and entrenched themselves in an almost; impregnable pah ab Omaha. No actual fiehting is recorded in this number, although news had come in that the Maoris had intercepted and captured a mob of thirty cattle on the road to Auckland. Tho policy of the Governor' was satirized in a comic song, of which the following was the chorus. (It appears that Sir George having itnplicib faith in the Maoris, liberated them ab Kawau on their parole of honour, with the reiulo spoken of in the Sines): —

TCakine Hori Grey,

You have let us run away. And you'll never »cc our faces any more. Muck obliged to you we are. And you'll find na in our pa. Safely riflo pitted on tho Taranakl shore. A very attractivo programme of an outdoor concerb by bhe 50th Hand in published. Six vessels from Great Britain were in pori>, all aailers, and one of them, the Lochnagar, is, 1 think, still trading fco New Zealand. In the prina lists there is nothing very noticeable, except in kerosene, which ruled ab aboub 22s per tin. Matters theatrical were booming ab tbab time. Ab the Theatre Royal there was an Opera Company, tho opera that nighb being 'Rob Roy,' and ab the Princess Theatre a company was performing • The Will and The Way.' Bosidee, readings from Charles Dickens were to bo given ab St. Matthew's schoolroom. Anothor Bubjecb, that) of buahrangera, now happily a thing of the past, is spoken of. An Recount is given of various robberieß by Ben Ball, who, however, politely handed back to the victims bhe odd silver money; no violence was recorded in them. Another great difference is the entire absence of telegrams, except such aa came by post from Australia. The Alambra took from Ofcafio to Melbourne 16,000 ounces of gold. A parade of firsb class militia is called, another burden we are ab present free from. A large space ia devoted to the Provincial Council, some of the members soundly rating the Superintendent for finding fab billets for his friends and relations. One name in the Council is a familiar one, that of Mr Sheehan, father of tho well-known politician • Johnny Sheehan,' now deceased. The Aucklanders had been treated to a froe show the previous day. An old pensioner sold his horse and trup for £33, receiving £5 deposit. The old woman indignantly refußed to ratify the contract and drove away with the concern, the pensioner meanwhile refusing to give up the £5. There was a " mnsa' aboub ib, but how ib ended if nob stated. A man in delirium tretnens stabbed himself in six places near the hearb and was still living at the date of publication. The officer engaged in this case was Constable Harnett, who I think must be the same man who was killed ab the Chatham Inlands with a tomahawk by To Kooti. The facb thab this paper contained eight pages, and waa published daily, is a proof bhab even ab bhab distanb dabe newspaper enterprise was well patronised.