NOTES FROM THE LADIES' GALLERY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 239, 11 October 1869, Page 2

NOTES FROM THE LADIES' GALLERY.

(BT rOLLT TIX.) After a great deal of coaxing I got Mama to let me go to the nomination the other day. She hesitated for some time because she said girls had no business to trouble about politics, but I said, Bother the politics, it's the fun I care for — and so I went. As soon as ihe hall was full, a gentleman who was sitting on the stage got up and spoke a few words, and when he sat down another gentleman took his -place, and after praising Mr. Curtis up to the skies he proposed him as a very proper man, ami then another one with a jolly round face, which reminded me of the song " Simon the Cellarer," that my brother Tom used to sing, said he thought so too, and would second him, after which somebody else jumped up and said Mr. Gibbs was the cleverest man in theCouncil, in fact that he was far superior to any one lie ever knew— l shouldn't think he knew many people — and then Mr. Platform, (at least I thiuk that was his name because all the people called out Platform, Platform, when he rose) who was such a nice white haired old gentleman, and looked so kind and goodtempered that I should like to have kissed him, sprung up, whispered something, and then sat down again, when the gentlenum who liked Mr. Gibbs so much went back to the stage and told the audience that, at first he had forgotten what he went there for. but he wished to say that it was to propose Mr. Gibbs. Then two others spoke u;i for Mr. Horn, and afterwards a gentleman, who was so hit that he had to take his coat oif, rushed on to the stage in a tremendous hurry, and said, •' I propose Mr. Akersten," and then ran back again, after which another one said something about Mr. Akersten and the West Coast, which I didn't hear, and this ended the first part of the performance. Mr. Curtis than rose, as the newspapers say and made such a stunning little speech, and he told us a little anecdote about something that had taken place at Westport. It seems that once npon a time there was a schoolhou.se there, and one night he got a message to say that it wanted to go off to sea, and please might the people stop it ? So, as it was too late "that night, he sent hack word next morning to say he would give them leave to do so, but in the meantime he got another message to say that it wouldn't wait any longer but had gone off in the night. Aud ail the ladies in the gallery wondered why the people down there didn't stop it without asking leave, and we supposed it was because they were so fond of Mr. Curtis that they didn't like to do anything without his permission He didn't make alonu speech, because lie said he hid -t>dd them quite as much as they wanted to know a few nights before, but when he sat down I couid see that almost everybody there liked him better than anybody else because they cheered so much, and if I had been a man I should have done so too. A little gentleman with a big black beard, who wa* a wee bit taller than Mr. Curtis, but who, I could see at a glance, had not nearly so many good bumps, as Dr. Carr would call them, as the little Super, then got up. I did not know at first who it was, but I soon discovered it must be Mr. Gibbs because he was so evidently of the same opinion as his proposer, that he was the best, and cleverest, and nicest man in the whole world, but I didn't think so from what I saw of him then. He began by telling us what he should do if he should ever happen to be Super iutendent, how he would go about and superintend everything himself, railroads, and docks, and education, and flax, and roads, and gold, and surveys, and coals, and all sorts of things, and then I said to myself— l didn't like to say it out loud but I whispered it quite low* — " I say old boy, if all these things have to trust to your superintendence, either you must be much cleverer than you look, or else they will come to most tremendous grief." Well, then he said that he would be Superintendent for a smaller price than Mr Curtis. This reminded me of what I used to do when I was a little girl in England — I know it was very wrong of me but I could'nt help it. We used to live close to a market-town and whenever there was a fair 1 used to get Tom to take me to it without Mama knowing anything at all about it. When we had seen Punch and Judy, and the Giant, and the Learned Pig, we always used to look out for a Cheap Jack for I enjoyed that more than anything. It was such fun — he would stand on a stage in front of his carfc and hold up something for sa'e, for perhaps, half-a-crown, aud then he would shout out "I asks no more and I'll take no less," bui if nobody would give so much for it he always came down iu his price until at last he found someone stupid enough to buy it It used to make me laugh to watch them, because I knew, and so did everybody who was up to his tricks, that it was only rubbish, but the poor fellow who bought it always looked as though he thought he had done a clever thing. But I have nearly forgotten all about Mr. Gibbs' speech. After speaking for a long time he made room for Mr. Horn who bejian by saying that Diogenes had come to li'e again and had told him that he was the sort of man he had been looking for for a long time, and I thought if this was true Diogenes must have been very easily pleased. Then he talked about Mr. Mackay's stockings, after which he told us that he had been a great studier of political economy for a long time, and he also proved to us that lie knew something of Dr. Watts' hymns because he repeated so much of that pretty little one that begins : — How doth the little busy bee Delight to bark andbite, And gather honey all the day, To gobble it up at night. And he said that he was going to make a great change among the bees— instead of going to great big flowers and trying to get the honey all iu a lump , he should make them travel about among the little flowers. Then he didn'nt like to see the hospital empty, and if he could'nt find enough sick people to occupy it, he was going to^ fill it up with soap, and somehow or other this was going to make the province quite prosperous. One more thing he should do. He had observed there were no Saturday nights out here, and as soon as ever he was Superintendent he should set to and make a few of them, aa without them, the placa' could'nt prosper. I asked Tom when I got hoirie what he could hava

meant by this, and he said he supposed it was something to do with " Sweethearts and Wives " which left me as wise aR ever. And now Mr. Akersten appeared on the stage, with a whole lot of slips of paper in his hand, which he said lie would read to us, as he had taken the precaution to write his speech because he would be able to catch the newspapers if they didn't report him fairly, which was'nt very complimentary to the newspaper people.' Then ha read that he knew all about the mysteries of, office, which pen pie tried to frighten him about, and that they were all quite simple and easy, and there was no fear of his making a mistake. " That man their," and he pointed to somebody who was writing at a table close to him, had said that he wasn't able to conduct a correspondence, hut just to show how little " that man " knew about it, h.; would tell the people that he hal written ever so many thousands of letters, and that was no lie. After this pretty little speech he said that he thought that Mr. Curtis was well fitted for a Member of the Assembly, and that he should vote for him — but ten minutes afterwards he said he had changed his mind, and would not do anything of the kind. Then he told us that he had made no arrangements with the people, and, to prove it, referred to the time when he was proposed, when they kept us waiting ever so long because nobody would come forward, and we all thought that that was nothing to be proud about, because - t if, when he was Superintendent, he put everything off to the last moment there would sure to be some blunders. He said he was determined to go to the poll, and had no doubt of what the result would be, and then I and the lady who was sitting next to me winked at one another as much as to say we h>id no ifoubt either, but I don't think we meant the same as Mr Akersten. Well, after this he talked about what he was going to do with the Executive, the whole of whom he should turn out of office, particularly that "slow coach" Mr. Henry Adams. Of course it wasn't very good taste to talk in this way, but as he had once commenced, he might have gone on and told us who he was going to put in their places, we should all like to have heard that. What a funny sight the Government Buildings would be with all these new brco.ns; they would s t to work brushing away tremendously hard like all new brooms do, but then as none of them would know anything about it. it is very likely thnt as fast as one cleaned a place out, another would go and brush the dust all back again, and so they would make plenty of work for one another, but it wouldn't be the sort of work that would do anyone much good. When Molly is as good as her mistress there's sure to be confusion somewhere. Mr. Akersten went on reading for a tremendous long time, but I can never listen to a speech that is read, it is always stupid, and dull, and monotonous, so I was verv glad when he came to the end. I couldn't help laughing though at one thing. He saH the Superintendent ought to be the father of the people, that's what he wonld be. Wouldn't he make us a nice Papa ! After Mr. Akersten had finished, a gentleman came on to the stage and wanted to ask Mr. Curtis a question, so Mr. Curtis got up too, but he was so small that the gentleman couldn't see him, and they had a regular game at hide-and-s^eek all round the table. At last the gentleman caught him and asked him why he paid any money to the owner of the Lady Barkly, and Mr. Curtis said he thought it was the best sort of road they could get over to Massacre B*y, and then the gentleman asked another question or two, to which he got hi3 answer, and at last he crot quite erp?s, and he looked at Mr. Curtis and said " Well, your'e not the man for me," and then he jumped off the stage and disappeared. After this little scene was over, all the people who wantel to have different Superintendents were told to hold up their hands, and there were ever so many more for Mr. Curtis than for all the rest of them put together, and I was so delighted and excited about this that I clapped my hands until I burst the buttons off my gloves, and if it is proved next Friday night that " Woman's Place in Creation " is at the polling place, I shall be there on the Ist of November, and no mistake, and don't I jnst know who I will vote for ?