ACROSS THE STRAIT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 100, 26 April 1909, Page 2

ACROSS THE STRAIT.

fiOSSIP FBOM THE EMPIRE CITY.

[FKOM OUR COHRESPONDENT.j Saturday. People talk about hard times and depression, but I can never remember a rime when more New Zealanders were travelling to the Old Country. The Corinthic, which left on xnursday, took over 200 passengers, and yesterday the Moeraki sailed for Sydney with close upon 300 more. A very large proportion of the Moeraki's passengers were bound for Europe, and even now, although the season is getting on, it is difficult to get a good berth in any of the big Australian liners leaving for England, even ;up ' till the end of June. x'eople can t travel on nothing, and- the average cost of a six months' trip to the Old Country cannot well be less than v£2oo, so you see this migration, temporary though it be, means that a vary large sum of money is being spent. Things can't be so bad a» they're sometimes made out to be. Mr Wragge, the "Wet Wragge" of the Bulletin, evidently doesn't intend to let the Rev. Mr Bates, the Government meteorologist, have an unchallenged field in the weather prophecy business. He has just been kind enough to inform us that a very bad southerly buster is approaching Wellington, and christens the disturbance "Hogg." This,is rather unkind to the Member for Masterton. lr the coming southerly be any worse than the howling northerly we had on Thursday night and BViday morning it must be pretty, bad, for a worse "buster" J 'can hardly remember, ev-en in Wellington. It is a most disloyal and unpatriotic action on the part of the Clerk of the Weather to send along .such a stormy introduction to St. George's Day. However, as only bank, clerks and Government servants had a holiday, it did not do much .harm in the way of stopping picnics etc. -, , /. Electricity "is a very useful thing, but when anyone is unfortunate , enough or stupid enough to lay hold of a • 'naked" electric wire which the .wind has dislodged from its proper place he is apt to curse Edison and all his works.- A poor lad had an experience of this kind in Hill Street yesterday. A wire "was lying loose on the .pathway, and the lad picked it up, being instantly thrown to the ground, receiving a blow on the head. jde> couldn't release his hold, and passers by were very naturally afraid of the contact. One of them,'however, more daring than the test, kicked the wire out of the lad's hands, but the boy had a very, severe shock. ■ " As the civic elections come near— next Wednesday is the fateful day— we are gradually getting • a little excited—only mildly excited. ■ , The Mayoral candidates are putting on an extra spurt, and there is a good deal of quiet speculation going on. The moralists who would fain abolish the totalisator and dream of driving the gambling spirit out of the community should note the fact that people can gamble on other things than the relative speed of "gee-gees" (and the honesty of owners, trainers and jockeys). At present the odds are about 2 to 1 against Wilford and Newman, 3 to 1 against Fisher,, 4 or 5 to 1 against Rigg, and Bolton "any price." The Fisherites 'are, I believey very confident, and have great hopes of their man winning over a big lot "of "doubtfuls" by the speech their champion is to deliver at the Town Hall, on Tuesday evening next, the eve of the election. The "Bible in School" advocates are busying themselves once more, and it behoves all who wish to see sectarianism with all its accompaniment of "envy, hatred and all uncharitableness" kept out of: our State schools to vote only for school committees pledgedi^to the maintenance of the existing secular sjstemv One has only to read the English, papers to see what a wretched state of affairs can happen as a result of allowing the sectarian element to gain an entrance into our schools. England seems to be just as far away as ever from a settlement of her education problem, and the bitterness with which the various sects assail, each other and try to ""beat" each other in their mad struggle to "capture. the schools" should be an object lesson for us which it would be folly to ignore. Wlierefor, and for many other rear sons don't vote for any one who is not solid on the subject of secular education. lam told that the Bible-in-Schools people here in Wellington are trusting to the sual apathy of the public to be able to pack the committees. Be warned in time'; perhaps the same game may be' tried on over your way. The' Hon. T. Mackenzie is to be banquetted at Mosgiel next Wednesday, and as the Prime Minister is going to attend the function it is thought likely that Sir Joseph will seize the'opportunity to give more detailed information than has hitherto been available concerning the civil service retrenchment scheme. A good many anxious ones in Wellington would feel relieved if they only knew j

exactly what is or what is not going to happen in the various departments through which the broom of reform is to sweep. An Auckland rumour affecting the Native Minister has reached Wellington. It is said that Mr Carroll will shortly retire, being succeeded by Mr Ngata. The rumour has been denied, but from a well informed source I gather that within the next twelve months ; probably after next session, Mr Carroll may give up Ministerial office and go to the Upper House. He will, so this new story goes, take over the management of the affairs of the Ngatiporau and other great East Coast tribes, to both of which he is related. 'Such a position, entailing residence at Gisborne, would be one of great importance, and would' bring with it, so I am told, an annual emolument much larger than; the salary the honourable gentleman now receive. I give the rumour for what it is worth. , Bread to go up, up, ud. next week. Sevenpenc© halfpenny for the four pound loaf. This is a downright s swindle on the public, and if _ there were any "go" in the community we should soon have a co-operative bakery. A rise in the price of wheat, however slight, is always made the excuse for a rise in bread, but when the price falls, it takes Mr Doush • Hanger a few months to discover the fact and bring his bread back to the . old price again. But we are a longsuffering community, and beyond growling fathers of families never think of combining and running a Oakery of their own. The villainously cruel assault on a middle aged lady on the Moeraki< is tne subject of various comment this morning. The impudence of the ■criminal is only equalled by the curious fact that he was able to roam about the ship, apparently unnoticed Jby stewards. The crime will probably

cause the Union Company to draft and put into operation seme more sensible rules for the -admittance of people on their vessels wKen lying at the wharf. It is no unusual thing for small articles to be stolen from passengers' cabins when the vessels ate in port, but for a poor old lady to 1 c brutally assaulted and robbed on board a vessel at two o'clock in the afternoon is altogether too bad. There was a large congregation at St. Paul's last night, when a special service was held to commemorate the Selwyn centenary, . but I am rfithoc surprised that the; local papers have not given good biographical articles on the famous missionary bishop, one of the ."whitest" men New Zealand has even known. In the history vi New Zealand the. name of George Augustus Selwyn should always be greatly honoured. He did not always see eye to eye with the settlers, but many of those who at. one time were very bitter towards ; him lived Ion? enough to revise, and alter their opinions. I don't know whether tiie thing has been done, but I can't help thinking that every schoolmaster in the Dominion ought to have given a Sj>ecial address on Selwyn to his older scholars. It is astonishing and grevious, how small is the knowledge possessed by our young people of. the men who did yeoman's service to the country in the "good old days."