LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7002, 26 April 1884, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

"Lot me have audience for a word or two." "; — Shaktpere. When I read in the Press Association telegram from Port Chalmers that the passengers by the Tongariro were well satisfied with their treatment during the passage, and that they had no complaints to make, I confess that I had my doubts about the matter. The statement was too transparently an official interpolation. It now turns out that far from having no complaints to make the passengers were full of them. One who is now in Auckland, and who travelled second saloon, says that their treatment was disgraceful. He declares that the food which they had frequently 3et before them was—not to put too fine a point upon it— the reverse of tempting. Breakfast was served at eight o'clock, yet it was only by "tipping "the stewards, or the next thing to tipping them, that you could get a miserable biscuit to eat at eleven. He contrasts this state of things with his experience on board the Wairarapa. On the Union boat, says he, if you asked for a biscuit they brought you a plateful, and neither looked as if they were doing yon a lifelong service nor as if your moderately keen appetite was likely to land the company in the Bankruptcy Court.

"The Land o' the Leal" is one of the most exquisitely pathetic of the songs of Scotland, and on Monday night it was sung by Mr. Kennedy—"the auld man," as he described himself—with such genuine feeling that many a brother Scot in the audience must have felt an uncomfortable lump in the throat. "The Land o' the Leal" is, of course, the land of the blessed, or in other words, heaven. But it is_ astonishing how few people know that that is its meaning. I have seen and heard it quoted scores of times as applied to Scotland, which not even the perfervid imagination of the most patriotic of Scottish poets ever dreamt of describing as "the land o' the leal." Mr. Gladstone, who prides himßelf on being a Scotchman, but who is more familiar with the poems of Homer, and the smooth-flowing verse of "Baron Alfred Vere de Vere," than with eithor the "auld" or the new "Scotch sangs," once excited the. ridicule of all Scotland by hia ignorance of the meaning of the well-known line. It was at the time of his Midlothian campaign. When he started from Hawarden he deolared to an enthusiastic group of friends that he was " off" for "the land o' the leal," and that he was confident of yet sitting "in the House of Commons as one of the representatives of that famous country ! Almost as good was the remark of the London Daily News "Mr. Gladstone," said that journal; "has started on his chivalrous mission to woo and win the heart of Midlothian." "The heart of Midlothian" was the name of the old Tolbooth prison in Edinburgh! It was, I believe, the same journal that called attention to the fact that during Her Majesty's residence at Balmoral she was serenaded by " a hundred pipers and a' and a'," that, of course, being the name of the air that was played.

The Maori embassy, during their passage through Melbourne, visited the Melbourne Town Hall, and were entertained at a sumptuous repast by the City Council. This part of the business the Maoris could understand, but when the Council treated Tawhiao to a recital on the grand organ they rather made a mess of it. The King is reported to have soon got wearied of the lastnamed part of the programme—in fact to have shown organic weakness.

It is not often a cabby gets done out" of his "fare," but such a oase occurred the other evening when the Wairarapa was leaving for Sydney. A "swell" came down in a cab, and, after reaching the steamer's side, smartly jumped aboard with his portmanteau, informing the cabman that his hands were engaged, but as Boon as he had put down his impediments he would come up and pay the fare. Minutes passed on, the third whistle had shrieked its best; and worst, when' the cabby marched on to the gangway, but too late. The quartermasters gave him his choice of turning back or going on to Sydney with them, as they pulled in the gangway, and the steamer majestically steamed away from the wharf. The cabby ran along the side of the wharf, keeping pace with the steamer, when to his horror his swell friend tHrned up on deck, now a safe distance had been established between the vessel and the shore, and swirling his hat on the top of his cane, "bobbed up serenely," but left the cabby lamenting for his fare.

A rather singular question of. titular etiquette came before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The appeal from the District Court Judge (Tole v. Cozens) referred to "His Honor," the learned Judge of that Court below. Mr. Justice Gillies enquired whether the Judge of the Court below had a right to be so addressed or described. The answer of Sir Frederick Whitaker was very felicitous. It was as follows :—" Well, I believe not, your Honor ; but I do not make that a ground of appeal." This curioue turn of the controversy elicited muoh laughter from the Bench, as well as from the members of the Bar who were present. But what will Mr. Seth Smith say, who has always, in the Distriot Court, been styled " your Honor ?" Considering the happy event of Thursday morning, Mr. Smith will probably not give himself much trouble about the matter, for a month at all events.

The next general election should be a busy time, judging by the extensive and early preparations that are beiDg made. Prospective candidates are already busy, and are putting on the roll every man they think favourable to them. And they are not unmindful of this, that when they pat a man on the roll who might have been there long since but for his own mere carelessness, they establish a kind of claim upon him. He himself gets it into his head that he ought to vote for the man who put him on the roll, although all the prospective candidate did he might as easily have done himself had he so willed. So far as I know, there is only one combined effort to pat men on the roll by anything resembling a politioal party, and that is the movement of the Working Men's Political Association. What effect the movement will have on politics remains to be seen, but in all likelihood land questions, and immigration questions, and borrowing questions, will be viewed in the future more from the working man's point of view than they have been.

Larrikinism is an increasing nuisance. Legislators have failed, in their efforts to suppress it, philanthropists are hopelessly at sea, and in all colonial cities it is rampant, for the police are powerlesß to give any protection to law-abiding citizens. A gentleman whose name I don't know, but whoso eonduct I admire, has given a solution of the problem, and I hope to see it largely followed. He was walking down Victoriastreet with a lady, on Saturday night, past a mob of about a dozen larrikins, one or two of whom made use of filthy expressions as the couple passed. They went on for about a dozen yards, when the gentleman, quietly disengaging his arm from the lady, turned back and accosting the larrikin who used the insulting expression, told him he was going to chastise him, and told him to put np his hands. The larrikin, half terrified and half audacious, relying on the support of his comrades, shaped, but was knocked down the first blow by his opponent, who rraa evidently no novice. In the most .gentlemanly manner he then advised the ruffian to be more choice in his language in the presence of ladies for the future, and then wentto rejoin his lady friend. He, however, heard the cur who was so justly chastised upraiding his companions and issuing filthy expressions, so he returned to the scene of action to repeat the dose. No. 1 was of course scared, but a mate came to his assistance. The gentleman said, "that is what I want. I want you two at a time, but as soon as you are beaten, stand aside please." He then went for those two, and in a few minutes gave such facers'that they were glad *•<)_ get away, and none of their comrades felt inolined to repeat the dose. The gentleman, with.the greatest sang froid, rejoined his companion, and walked away, leaving these nuisances to regret the mistake they made. Twenty such men in the streets of Auckland, able and willing to proteot themselves, would be worth the whole combined police force. I don't know, "however, b"t what, had that gentleman been found punishing the larrikins, he would have been sued for a breach of the peace. Indeed, be seemed, to see this danger hit ,elf.

How to keep hoardings lighted so as to afford the greatest protection to the public has been the object of building regulations, city by-laws, and- other forma of government, but why a man should be prosecuted in order to ascertain whether or not he was liable seems hardly fair, especially when the prosecution makes use' of .the. police, and go whioh way the case will, the unfortunate defendant can recover no costs. " Mr. Jenkinaon obtained the contract for laying the concrete foundation for the new buildings of the New Zealand Insurance Company. He had, of course, to erect a hoarding. His contract expired in March—very early io March too— and a new contract for the superstructure was let to another contractor, who failed to maintain the necessary.: lights! and Mr. Jenkinaon was sued. The Magistrate very properly held that it could not be the intention of the City Council to compel a man to maintain lights on a hoarding over which he had no control. The case was dismissed, but Mr. Jenkinson finds himself in the unpleasant position of having to pay his lawyer and other costs, in order to save himself from the liability of having to maintain lights on this hoarding until the building is completed.

The Papakura Races afford few items for comment, as they were well conducted and well contested —a fact which does not .always prevail at country meetings. Betting men (1 do not mean bookmakers) inform me that they wereperfectly satisfied; that they had all the good runs for the money. But, arising out of these races come complaints of downright cheating on the part of the railway officials. They issued, it is stated, eighty, first-class tickets, and only provided sitting room for sixteen—one small carriage placed next the engine. Ticket-holders, of course, looked for the extra comfort they paid for, but it was not to be found. . There was no excuse, for there was ample plant, available. A dozen first-class carriages could have been pat on as easily as one. The persons who were thus cheated out of the : extra fare have good, reason to complain, and claim a refund of their money; for, ■if holding second-olass tickets, they had travelled in first-class carriages, and reversed the position, they would have- been sued under'the railway regulations. Mercutio.