MR. HUTCHISON AND THE EDUCATION BOARD.

Evening Post, Volume XVIII, Issue 52, 29 August 1879, Page 2

MR. HUTCHISON AND THE EDUCATION BOARD.

It is deeply paiuful to us to have to allude so frequently to the shuffling tri ks, and mean, contemptible actions, which disfigure Mr. Hutchison's public career at every turn of its crooked, winding, perverse course. Mr. Hutchison is so ambitious, however, and so persistent in his attempts to force himself into a position, in which he might be able to inflicC a great deal of injury upon the community at large, that, repugnant as it may be to our feeSogß, our duty to the public compels us to expose to the fullest extent every one of those moral twists in his character, which render, him bo unfit to hold any important public* position. A glaring instance of Mr. Hutchison's readiness to "sel" his colleagues, and the evasions to which be is prepared to stoop, when brought to task, came to light at the meeting of the Education Board on Wednesday. It appears that at tue previous meeting Mr. Hutchison nominated for the mastership of a certain school a person whom the Ins pector, Mr. Lee, characterised as being unfit for the post. This statement being obviously a confidential communication to the Board, and calculated to do great injury to tbe person named if published, tbe two reporters present agreed, at the request of the Board, not to report it. The discussion did appear, however, in a journal not fettered with a regard for the ordinary rules of propriety, and reckless as to the mischief it might cause, the effect in this case being to compel the unfortunate man to resign a subordinate position he heid under the Board, and probably preventing him, as he said, from getting employment in future. Mr. Hutchison was charged, at the last Board meeting, with having supplied tbe information to the paper in'question. We regret to say that bis Worship the Mayor shuffled and equivocated witb the question in a most contemptible man-, ner. At rirst he denied having given the paper the information at all. Thon, attempting in a very cowardly manner to shift the responsibility on innocent shoulders, he suggested that one ot tbe reporters present might have given the information to an opposition paper while they refrained from publishing it in tbeir own! Finally, however, he had to admit tbat it was he who did supply the information to tho paper in question. It will scarcely be believed, alter all this shuffling-, that Mr. Hutchison, at the conclusion of the discussion referred to, actually stated . bis intention of having it published. This fact he communicated, in the course of conversation at the close of . the meeting, to the two reporters present, and they immediately went to the chairman, the Hou. C. J. Pharazyn, and informed him of the fact. Knowing Mr. Hutchison's relations with a certain journal in the town, which he has managed to make subservient to his ends, they stated their impression tbat the report would appear in that paper on tho following evening, aud as it had no reporter present, they pointed out that in •that case it must be supplied by Mr. Hutchison. They a:so urged that it wojild be grossly unfair to them if a member of the Board were to supply to a rival journal information which tboy, at tho request of the Boar.', agreed not to publish. The chairman concurred witb them, but was of course powerless to interfere in the matter, and -Mr. Hutchison's breach of. faith with his colleagues became an accomplished fact the next evening. These facts require no comment. We will simply repeat that Mr. Hutchison's conduct on this occasion is only another instance of his lamentable moral perversity, and total unitness to take an active part in public life.

We have to apologise to a perfect host of correspondents for the non-appearance i f letter* addressed by them to the Editor of this jcurnal. This is due to the excessive pressure on our space caused by the current elections. It is our special desire to mete out justice fairly and im partially to all the candidates, by giving as much rorm as possible to the expression of their views, and this reduces to a minimum the space available for correspondence. At the present between forty and fifty letters are in our hands awaiting publication. Some' of them, too, are of considerable length, which is also against their chance of appearing: for some time to come. We must impress upon our correspondents the absolute necessity of making their communications as brief as possible, especially until the elections are over j indeed, all but the shortest letters, unless under very exceptionable circumstances, must inevitably be held over until after the elections. The Hon. W. Gisborne was returntd unopposed to-day as M.H R. for Totara. Mr. Greenfield gave another exposition of his political views last nfght at' the Newtowm schoolroom Mr. Bayliss occupied the chair. The candidate was very attentively listened to, and at the conclusion of his address several questions were put and satisfactorily answered. One elector said he bad beard rumors that Mr, Greenfield intended to retire at the last moment, and ho thought it only fair that the candidate should tell them whether there was any truth in the report. Mr. Greenfield answered the question with an emphatic denial, which was received with cheers A unanimous vote of confidence was accorded to the candidate. Mr. Hunter will address the electors this evening at the Princess Theatre. Mr. "Worth will address tho 'ratepayers of Cook Ward at the schoolroom, Newtown, tomorrow evening. Mr Levin is to address the electors at the Primitive Methodist 'Schoolroom, Thorndon, at half-past 7 to-night. To-day the great sculling race for the Championship of the World takes plane on the Paramatta . River, New South between Trickett and Lsycock". It will be seen by the latest cablegrams tbat Trickett is a hot favorite. The result of the race will be posted on the window of our publishing office co soon as received. Wellington footballers may welj feel proud of the success achieved by the representative' team, who have been contesting for the honor of the city in the South. O'ago and Canterbury were unquestionably the crack football teams of tho colony, and when the Wellington men announced their intention of playing them, few, even of the men themselves, were sanguine enough to think that they would succeed in wresting a victory. To have beaten Otago was a great achievement, the prowess of that team being so well-known, but the victory over the Canterbury men was more creditable stilK It is well-known that since the result of tha Otago match ths Canterbury men have been scouring the entire province to bring up all the.ir best players in order to do battle with the visitors. In spite of all these efforts, however, and in spite of the fact that they themselves bad to fall back on an emergency, the Welling* ton men beat them on their own ground. This will be a reply to the sneers that hayo been current as to Wellington athletes being always beaten in their contests. It is only fair, in these remark*, to recognise the energetic manner in which the Secretary of the Wellington Football Club, Mr A. T. Bate, worked to get up the trip, and it is not too much to say tbat but for the exertions of him and Mr. Campbell it would never have taken place. An urgent special message giving the result of the match was posted up at the office of this newspaper about five o'clock yesterday afternoon, and caused considerable excitement. We are glad to hear that preparations are being made to give the team a public reception on their return to Wellington. The players leave Lyttelton in the s.s. Wakatipu this afternoon, and therefore will - probably arrive here to-morrow morning? about 9 o'clock. The time-gun will be fired on the steamer being signalled, so tbat all the friends of the team may assemble on the wharf to welcome them. It has also been arranged that the ships in the harbor shall be dressed with bunting in honor of the occasion. The s s. Waitaki with the inward San Francisco mail arrived in harbor at 6 o'clock this morning. The mail, which is a day before the due date, was sorted and delivered in town at an early hour. Captain Underwood, in a private letter, referring to the Union Steamship Company's new steamer Rotomahana, says:— "She is. 1727 tons, built of steel, very strong, and very light— a real clipper, splendidly fitted out, and magnificently furnished. She will astonish the residents of Wellington when she comes alongside the wharf." The ship Wairoa, which left London for this port in July, brings 210 passengers, namely, 20 in the saloon, 30 in the second cabin, and 160 in the steerage. Nearly all the steerage passengers are said to be people who bring out capital, and who inteni; to take up fcuti ro4

•ettle in the provincial district of Wellington. Those are tbe sort of people who are wanted in this colony. Mr. Hutchison's organ states that the Committee of Enquiry relative to his curious system of managing the Queen's Wharf, in condemning his irrfegukr appointment of a clerk without advertising for applications, "decided that applications should be called for on the understanding that the man who had been previously appointed should be re-appointed in the regular way." This statement is entirely inaccurate and unfounded. The committee arrived at no such " understanding ;" and, indeed, had no power to make any recommendation of the kind. What they did was to annul tbe appointment, and, by implication, to censure Mr. Hutchison for his irregular and illegal action in the matter. The Finance Committee of the City Council have decided, we understand, to invite tenders from all the hanks for tbe raising ef new Waterworks Loan of £130,000. It is not put ! exactly in tbat way, we believe, the committee having no authority to deal with the matter, preferring to adopt the plan of asking each bank on what terms it would be prepared to undertake the floating of the loan. It is rumored that there was a material difference of opinion in the committee — which numbers four members, including the Mayor — as to the •dvisableness of this course, and that it was ultimately resolved on by tbe Mayor giving both his deliberative and casting vote in its favor. In view of the past and present relations between the Corporation and tbe Bank of New Zealand, the step taken by the committee, however euphemistically disguised, is, to say tho least, rather a strong one to have been actually carried out without reference to the Council. The requisition to Mr. S. Brown, asking him to stand tor Cook Ward in the approaching Municipal election, ha* been responded to in the affirmative by tbat gentleman, and his reply appears to-day appended to the requisition. Creditors' meetings have their comical as well as their serious aspect. At a recent meeting held privately there were about 30 creditors present, and it was stated that the chief r«set was a small piece oi land. One of the creditors seriously proposed that they should divide it between them. The chairmn characterised the proposal as ridiculous ; even it it were possible to carry out such anidea.it wouldooly give each of them about six feet. " Justwhat I had calculated," rejoined the creditor; "if I have to attend many more of these meetings it will not be long before I shall want a grave! ' Charles Moody, of Wellington, engineer, and John Smith, settler, have filed a statement that they are unable to meet their engagements. The fiut meeting vt'U be held on Thursday, 11th September, at 12.30 p.m., at the Supreme Courthouse. Tho match which bad been arranged to take place between tbe Wellington City Rifles and the men of H.M.S. Emerald has fallen through, as that vessel is under orders to proceed to Auckland at daylight on Sunday. A scratch football match, under the Rugby Union rules, will be played on the Basin Reserve to-morrow afternoon, when a large muster of players is particularly requested. A team from Nelson is expected to play here on the 13th prox., so that all footbflers wishiog to represent Wellington on that occasion should turn up for practice. '< The Victoria Loftus Troupe of specia'ty artists, who are under engagement to Mr. R. J. De Lias, the lessee of the Theatre Royr 1 , arrived here by tbe Hawea this morning, and will appear for the first time this evening. The company consists of 17 ladies and gentlemen, nearly all of whom have made reputations for themselves in their several lines. A fu I . advertisement of the attractions ofZjred at their performances appears elsa where in our columns The Victoria Loftus Troupe have had very successful seasons in tho United Mates and at Auckland, whore they drew the largest houses of the yes*. Mr. Brandon addressed a meeting of electors at Spiers' Hotel, Karori, last evening. Mr. C. C. Graham presided. Mr. Lancaster moved, and Mr. Deverill seconded a vote of thanks and confidence. An amendment, that tbe vote be one of thanks only, was moved by Mr. Monagban, and seconded by Mr. Suisted, but was lost, the original motion being carried. The Assistant-Secretary for Telegraphs asks us to make known the fact that public telegraph offices are now open at the Pipitea and Kaitoke Railway Stations, on the Wellington and Masterton line. We have no doubt that these stations wl'l provo an immense convenience to the travelling public, and will be largely made *se ;of. The offices are conveniently situated on the platform at each station, and may be easily discovered by a conspicuous notice-board. A splendid series of 25 large photographic views of Wellington are on exhibition to-day at the Corporation Buildings. They are the work of Mr. -Bragge, the well-known photographer of Lambton Quay, and are intended for the Sydney Exhibition, where they will form an attractive feature of the New Zealand department. The views, whether considered as specimens of photography or tkilfullyarranged pictures, are, in all respects, worthy of representing New Zealand in this charming branch of art. Among them we especially notice/the Houses of Parliament, Government House, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary, the Athenaeum, the Colonial Bank and South British Insurance Buildings, the Union Bank of Australia, the Australian Mutual Provident Office, Messrs. Nathan and Co 's warehouse, Messrs. Jacob Joseph and Co 's warehouse, See., &c. Tbe adjourned annual general meeting of the Wellington Choral Society was resumed last evening, Mr. Rous Marten in the chair. The chairman explained that it would ba necessary to adjourn the meeting further until after the coming concert, the date of which had been fixed for the 9th proximo, in order that the committee might be able to present their report and balance-sheet. On tbe motion 'of Mr. Widdop, seconded by Mr. Plimpton, the meeting was adjourned to Monday, the 15th September. The final rehearsal lor Mr. Angelo Forrest's concert was held last evening at the Athenaeum, where the concert takes place this evening. It was most successful, and a rare musical treat will be enjoyed by all who attend to-Bight's concert. Mr. Forrest ia a pianist of extraordinary ability, marvellous alike in execution and expression. Competent judges who have bad the privilege of bearing him play in private, doclare that his equal has not yet been heard m thacolony. Ihe tickots have gone off very i«apidly, and a crowded house is expected. Colonel Pearce and the Misses Pearce are passengers from EDgland by the Orient steamer John Elder, which reached Adel ide yesterday. It will be seen from an advertisement that Mr. Thomas Cotter, in compliance with a requisition of the ratepayers, has consented to allow himself to be nominated for the office of Warden for tbe No. 6 District of the Wellington Highway Board, The Young Men's Wesleyan Mutual Improvement Society met last night at St. John's Schoolroom. Mr. Helyer delivered a lecture on the " Properties of Oxygen," illustrated by experiments. Next week an essay upon " The Works of Lord Byron" is to be read. Mr. Geo. A. Beere, surveyor, wishes us to slate that he is not tbe G. Beere against whom judgment was given in the Resident Magistrates Court yestorday. Mr. Jtmes Smith, of Te Aro House, bas sent for our inspection a beautifully executed photographic view of his drapery establishment, as it appeared on tbe night of the fire of the 15th June. The picture is irom the studio of Mr. Bragge, and is an excellent specimen of photographic skill. The Hudson Surprise Party will entertain our citizens only two more nights. They are very amusing, and tho^e who have not seen tbenr should -not miss the remaining opportunities. A -football match will be played in Mr. Sbeehan J 8 paddock, Hobson-street, to-morrow by the Reform Football Club. Sides will be chosen from players representing New Zealand against those of the World ; play to commence at half-past two o'clock.

" As the neodle to the pole," so does reputation steadily torn to Udolpho Wolfe's Schxedajx Abomatio Schnapps. Every now and then some new preparation is flaunted before the public, in. the shape ot a wonderful antidyspeptic, a powerful alterative, an nnffl.iiing stimulant, or a potent invigorant, and before it has had time to gain even notoriety, it is withdrawn from tbe markets, a failure and a fraud. The splendid virtues of the Schiedam Schnapps however, grow in celebrity, and the increasing demand for this incomparable cordial shows the atrong hold it has taken on popular esteem.— [Advt.l