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Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 209, 2 September 1911, Page 15

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it. n neighbour's name to lash. a r "ln thnu,-bt-for neecif. ; l ensh. *"* write to lilcase the country clash, « m *" And mise a din. „« nn aim I never fash—f«rffle'ai write for fun. I have received a note from an old «hlue jacket," thanbing me for tak.ng up 1 cudgels 0 n behalf oi the sailors who » excluded from certain skating rinks T" t correspondent wants to know Si the people of Auckland will have r,vtoV-boysin blue" whenthe hi eW and the Japanese come down ! „ I like a wolf on the fold-always "'posing that they do come: and hesugL£ that "the dainty women of Auck, Li" may have cause to appreciate the Et.lftle better then. Well, I think Z i being a little hard on the nnking I So far we have onlv the word <>i proprietors of the rinks that the ol>£ion to sailor, comes from the ladies iio skate. Of course when the question was put to them officially, the rink to say something, and 1 :; n p a ;,e that was the first thing they thoupht of. But it isn t a part.cula.rly ,„o4"excuse; that is to say, it doesn t £rr any conviction to me. 1 believe ,h*t" most girls would be quite willing that sailors should be allowed to use the L<: and I don't believe that there is nnv danger of the privilege being a-bused. Mv experience of sailors is that, generallv' speaking, they behave better not ; or ,e than th.» average man. As to sohrietv. nobody can pretend that all lailore'get drunk, or want to rink in that ftatc: a:id surely the fact that an ordinary civilian sometimes gets drunk isn't accepted as an excuse for shutting all other civilians out of public places lest thev shouldn't be quite sober. The fart is, the ri-ik managers have made a bi ? mistake, ?nd the less they talk about iUhe better for >,hem. What a funny scene that was at Wellington last Sunday when the Premier and the Attorney-General finally got kick tooer hospitable shores! Generally nheu a listin fuished statesman or a Minister conies back home after a trip j abroad he is so delighted to see his own country and his friends again that he simply overflows with cheerfulness | and geniality. But Sir Joseph Ward was by no means genial—in fact, he ■was extremely angry, and showed it in the most unmistakable way by pouring forth anathemas on his public and private enemies, and telling everybody what he ■would do to them if they really roused him. Sir John Findlay had a lot of grievances, too, and he aired them in his usual grimly s.irdonie fashion. Altowas a very gloomy and depressing home-coming; and the wailing and gnashing of tect.'i scenic to have deleterioas/r affected even Sir James Carroll. You liave only to see "Timi Kara" smile to know that under ordinary circumstances he is at peace with all the world. Ent with Sir Joseph loudly wallowing in the gore of his foes on one ride of him, and Sir John pouring out wormwood and vitriol on the other, the Native Minister, for once in his life, ceased to be cheerful, and indulged in what was for him quite remarkably aggressive and ferocious language. It teems to me a pity that the distinguished voyagers couldn't have waited till the niuminations were put out. so to speak, before they began invitiri all and sundry to tread on the tails of their respective coats. Of course. Sir James will get over it in an hour or ro—he eouldn't 'be angry Ion?; but 1 am more than doubtful about Sir Joseph and Sir John. One of the stanching objections to democrats as statesmen and diplomatists used to be that they had no tact, aa.l that their lack of experience in elevated social circles might get tbem into trouble, if ever mat was true, it doesn'i. seem to apply to Australian deinoera'cy—as witness the following story concerning Mr Fisher. When the Federal Premier was being feted in Scotland, it fell to the lot of a noble lord to propose the guest's health at oue of the numerous banquets.. This hereditary legislator had only the vaguest ideas" about "the colonies," and he seems to have contracted the notion that New Zealand is a Commonwealth, and that Mr Fisher is it* Enme Minister. So he spoke to that effect, mixing up moas and .Mr FisJior, end the pink terrace and Mr Fisher, an.l the All Black team and Mr Fisher, and fcir Joseph Ward and Mr Fisher, till the fidieme didn't quite know which way to look. Then Mr Fisher rose to reply, ■M this is the point that 1 wanted particularly to notice. He responded to the joast quite coherently and decorously, «it heworded his remarks so skilfully tout there was absolutely nothing in Worn to disconcert the noble lord or to usabuse his mind of the l«lief that Mr from New Zealand, and that in some mysterious way it was his Sr fi° Jf SWer for the Commonwealth mo. tag Dominion in one. Now, I call m genume tactful courtesy, worthy of ZJt ? gJme " that Homp People 'still Wm S> D re " rPt - P ' ut - °v the way, Jw many Peers are there at" Home who Zaknrt n °V H: diff ™e between New «aiand and Australia? ?sfvT-l-K?? The latest development of the "Femin- * Forward Movement" is notified from ™. A mass meeting of women in «* city has resolved that the diste^r^ the tities ' " Mrs -" ™* tZ „, i" mten <W to indicate some de!ab'eL?X lnfL ' riorit y-" ft is, therefore, a£ h ; y . ,mmoral ''' and OU S ht to XeT™ W Ol Clcar t0 rae whefher *£*? " lf " ,o . rit y to " Mra " " conS tn Ut tlus ? emand ceitililli y doea tin* . }° " le that w °™en are getJg ha , rd T er a "d harder to satisfy. And «?r all I don't believe that most voung Sir hjT nt U ,' bC CaUe " " Mrs -" i)efor « rdeH ' e What We Uave *l™y* repded as a rightful claim on the title. Which l° th ™" in The £S °% f n u plUh Paper Ventures to in! <=a'.e that "unmarried, but marriageare willing to have it known. aomestic blessings Utev are still unappropriated, and that the lists of killed I i ™ o UQded are still lengthening J tha^ ee .. S -°" U ;* Wng in tho "g.imcnc b„t t ' "^P' l " "rieriority to "Mr."; «lr, i T \ a y dnn,t undc what his to complain of, anyway