ACROSS THE STRAIT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 106, 3 May 1909, Page 7

ACROSS THE STRAIT.

GOSSIP FROM THE EMPIRE CITY.

[from our correspondent.] Saturday. •Tfe nßxr Minister coming out in- a new role, ■*«* « leoJ +nrer being announced to lecture ®v lonSs o? the Rotorua region. Mr MackSie has a'fine presence ad a fine Woe! and as his lectures are to Si ilWrated by lantern slides and kineSgraph Pictures, should Sot? very entertaining. You. ought S get him over at Ble.nhe.im for an Talking of lectures, we have an excellent system in Wellington by which free public lectures on -scienitahc, literary and other subjects are delivered at the Town' Hall dinning the winter months. These lectures are -arranged for by the library Committee of .the City Council, and are a great success. The first lecture of the present season is to be given next wee^ by Mr R. McNab, the ex-Minister's subject being the early history of _ the Dominion. Lectures have, also been arranged for by Professor Marshall, of the University of Otago r the Horn. Dr. Findlay, Ma- Hamilton of the Museum, the new Rector of "St. Pat's" College, the Rev. Father Kennedy, and other gentlemen. . 7 Our legislators are, it is stated, to make an earlier start than usual this year. Instead of meeting at the very end of June as is generally the case, the 10th and 15th have been mentioned as probable dates for the opemang. This is a step in the right direction, and would be in every way commendable were it likely that the sesision would close a little earlier. The probability 'is, however, that the usual torrent of useless tamcee-talkee will be poured forth during the first few weeks of the session, and the real work left to be scrambled for later on. One thing, at least, is cea-tain, and that is that there will be no start made with the projected new Parliament House for the next three oir four yeaffs to come; indeed, I question very much if the start will come even- then. The alterations now being carried out at the old Government House, now Parliament Buildings, are not only of a very extensive ohairac'rer, but are of such a nature that 1 >ey, are evidently intended for use i 'or a considerable period. The accommodation! for Members, press and public will be very greatly improved, and there is a new building for the "Lords." A humane and an every way most laudable project is that of providing educational facilities for the maimed and crippled children of the city. The matter was, mentioned at the last meeting of the Wellington Education Board, and it is probable that the •Hospital Trustees and the Board will combine in dealing with, the subject. One of the Hospital,, Trustees, Mr R. C. Kirk, said there were twelve to fifteen crippled children, almost constantly in the hospital, andi the recently appointed doctor thought with Mm. that something should be done to provide these children; with education. There were several cases where crippled children of twelve years of age could neither read nor write. The trustees are willing to provide the land for a school, and to render assistance to outside children, patients to be brought to the school by the ambulances.

"Baa-gain sales" have, as every'busband knows, and most, if not jaU, wives will admit, a peculiar 'fascination for the fair sex, but a "salvage sale" which is now proceeding at a half buamt-out draper's shop on Lambixni Quay is, I fancy, beating all Wellington records. On Wednesday, the j opening day, there must have been 300 to 400 women waiting outside the seablishment long before nine a.m., and the crowd continued to be thick all day, over-lapping the pavement and ■encroaching upon the roadway right up to the tram-line. I suppose people do .sometimes get "bargains" at these sales, but I know also that it is a common practice to "unload" the contents of dusty drawers and shelves in the warehouses at these functions. As a gentleman: prominent in the "rag trade" put it to me the other day, "We could never get off our unsaleable lines were it not for these sales. When a retail linn has a big sale an it is quite a common thing for them to go round the warehouses and dear us out of our old stock—nstuff simply immovable in the ordinary course of business." But the ladies, Heaven bless their innocent souls, see the placards, "Ordinary price 6s a yard, sale price 2s Hid," and they "bite" with avidity. Why is it there are never any bargain sales of men's clothing? Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P., of Christchurch, passed through Wellington today on his way to Sydney, Where he is proceeding with his wife on a holiday trip. A victim or the idiotic "land boom" which so long ran its evil course in Wellington, was before the Magistrate's Court yesterday, being examined at some length as to his ability te meet a judgment summons. This was Mr W. G. Somerville, a weUknown local solicitor, who has got into financial deep water through unlucky land and building speculations. The debtor stated that a statement of his assets had been handed to his creditors {some of whom desire to make him a bankrupt) showing a surplus of £10,000 to £12,000, but most of the securities consist of areas of _ vacant land, and he is not in a position to make any offer until a sale is effected. To a distress warrant a return of mulla bona was made, and the debtor had no furniture. AH his mortgages were second mortgages, and there were sub-mortgages as well. No order was made on the two cases in which evidence was taken. And yet twelve months ago Mr Somea-vill© was considered by many people to have b-von and to be making a very fine thing out of his speculationis. The difference between paper and real values is evidently very great. The sad fatality reported from Rotorua, wham on Tuesday last a bright young Aucklander lost his life by drowning in the Lobster Bath, should afford a much-needed lesson to foolhardy people who go to Rotor ua and disregard the warnings about the danger of this and other pools. The Government is being blamed, I notice, for i¥ot marking out a "danger zone" in this particular bath, but when I was at Rotor ua I can remember seeing a printed notice warning visitors against venturing into the dangerous area. The Lobster Bath is down by the native village at Ohinemutu, and there have now been three drowning fatalities in the bath in two years. The depth drops very suddenly, and there is a nasty projecting shelf at one' end. A particularly distressing feature of poor Keen's death is that he was at Kotoirua on his honeymoon, tfrip. Napier is nothing if not progi-essive jwder its energetic Mayor. Me J*

Yiror Brown, who now represents the , Twn in the new Parliament. An exI tansive. new drainage scheme is to be initialed, amd the town is to have electric ligMiug and am electric tram lOwioe. There is 'not a prettier, T)!easanti-e-r "town in all New Zealand than Napier, and its splendid seawall ■ and marine promenade, together with 'the fine sunmy climate, make it one of the best places I know whereat to have a few days' spell from work. For ' some years the town was very unprogressive, its dullness being in curious ; contrast to the wonderful progress ! made by Hastings. Nowadays, how- ; ever, Napier seems to be waking up in earnest.

The weather is to-day so close to absolute perfection for this time of the year that it is simply disgusting to learn that next week we are to hare a "very serious atmospheric disturbance." For this piece of unwelcome new® we have to thank the Meteoro■logioal Department, which seems to exist mainly for the purpose of sending us bad weather!