PROPOSED EVENING RECEPTION OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 89, 16 April 1901, Page 2

PROPOSED EVENING RECEPTION OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Tho ' committee who have assumed the responsible duties of arranging Auckland's welcome to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York propose, 1 understand, to hold a reception at the Art Gallery on one evening of the Koyal visit. The idea is,- I presume, that the august visitors and suite shall occupy a dais and the guests shall file by, making a genuflection In passing. The proposition is one which should be fifrmly and finally squelched, and the sooner the better.

In tlie first place, our object is to entertain our Royal guests, not to make them a show to entertain us. Now* no doubt we are a fine community, interesting, lnteiiii gent, and respectable In our different trades and callings, but a long procession of as many of us as could be accommodated ' in the municipal building could scarcely be brilliantly entertaining t6 the Koyal pair, more especially as good manners would, force them to. dissemble any amusement the spectacle might provoke. 13ut this is not the most serfotts objection. The feature which utterly damns the proposal is that such a reception must be limited In number. The "liinitlntf must, moreover, be fairly severe. The Governor has spoken definitely and wisely on, this point. He has said in effect, "If you must hate a municipal reception, you must, but thus far shalt thou bore him and no further." A free scramble at the AM: Gallery is out of the question. A selection must be made, and it must be a selection not of thousands but of a few hundreds. In the words of the rhynister, "I wouldn't be the swab Vox to undertake the job;*' and I should wonder who would. A committee one supposes, then! Who is to compose that committee, What are the qualification!! its members must possess, and who nmougst the.executive can be tittlnglj entrusted find wouid undertime so delicate and onerous a duty? It must be confessed here Is a rather tough nut to crack. But the next is worse; Upon what principle would the committee proceed in making their selection? It is obvious that theoretically (and perhaps legally) one cltl*. Zen has as good a right to an invitation as another, and that to invite "Tom or Dick and leare out Harry would be a monstrous injustice. How, then, set out in discriminating? Subscribers may urge that they have an extra claim, but". Jf five shillings will procure an Invitation ticket, why, everj'ohe will "pay to See>" and a swamp equal to ft free show draw upon ÜB'the veto of the Governor. Nor can tne amount ot a subscription be allowed to count, since the live shillings' of l*om and the ten shillings of Diet may mean more to them than the £25 of wealthy fiarfy-dofe.* to thai lavoure.l Individual. Obviously (and a«|H>itf) Uio selection will not be from the class whica calls itself Society, since many Councillors and Gommlttee'men are hot privileged to move in its cirelea. The possibilities are it will be seen narrowing down, and one must now ask if Wealth will be the guiding factor. Shall the rich lawyer receive attention and his clerk be slighted? Will the wealthy bookseller be asked and his humbler brothertradesman the news agent be left otit? win the wholesale spirit merchant be honoured, and the distributing publicans ignored. Will the soft or hard goods warehousemen be bidden, and not the tailors andcahdle-Btlck-makers who patronise them? Will the large timber merchant secure ah entry, and will Mrs Carpenter and her lord sit and wonder why they were not asked? In short, will worldly prosperity and so-called posir tion decide the committee ■ and prove the open sesame? It Is the common rule* but on this occasion It can scarcely be followed. Of coursie, a large gathering of "our best people" might be" obtained By selecting only those who have been through the bankruptcy- court tfhis would really Interest the Duke, and. would afford the Governor much food for reflection on going over his own invitation lists. If those invited should wear a ticket showing the number of times they have failed, the amounts thereof, and the . dividend declared—the Interest would be increased.

Seriously, though, I hope I have In this somewhat long-winded screed said enough to show that It Is utterly Impossible to attempt to successfully select say six Or seven hundred guests for. such a function as the general proposed reception. A keen student of society in the Old Country has said that it conslats of hobs and snobs. We have no nobs in Auckland, and though we have plenty of the other lot we do not want to parade them, the reception at Government House will cause heartburning enough in such "hunger suceies" as we possess. The community at large escape from this, but if we go on with this reception there wlll'be such a breeding.of envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness as we have never seen before. All tM pettiness, all the sordid selfishness, all that is smallest and meanest will be aronsed amongst us, and the Royal visit, insteadof being an enjoyable1- tithe for all, will De the-taiuse pJ.toflHlte jobbery, bickering, andgeneral cdntemptibleness,— I .am, etc., B. W. G. RATHBONE. -