LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7824, 18 December 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

Let me havo audience for a word or two. — Sliaksptrt. I see that the Roman Catholics are about to encounter their difficulties spiritedly, and to set about re-erecting St. Benedict's Church aud the adjoining buildings. They are about to make an appeal to the general public to aid thorn. Tho Bishop, at the meeting held a few nights ago, referred to the sympathetic letter he had received from Bishop Cowio, and to the encouragement given by othor denominations. A monater meeting is to be held at the City Hall, subscription lists are to be placed at the banks and insurance offioes, &c. ; and, indeed, the restoration of the church is to ba looked upon as a public object. I should not think of making any remark on this, rejoiced as I always am to see co-operation and sympathy amongst religious bodies, except that it would be nice to feel that if a Protestant church had been burned down, our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects would have rushed to the rescue. Now, what makes me write at present is a recollection in my mind that soon after Biehop Luck oame here, either »t the Thames or in Auckland, he censured Roman Catholics for co-operating with Protestants in any purely religious effort, and told them they must not subscribe to any Protestant chursh. At the time some Catholics thought the Bishop's utterance was a foolish one, as the Roman Catholics were not much in the habit of assisting by giving subscriptions for the erection of Protestant churches. But it is spoken about in town now, and will no doubt injure the effort to rebuild St. Benedict's as " essentially an Auckland landmark," unless the Bishop comes forward, and expl»ina what ho did say on that occasion. After hearing of what took place at the Bishop's interview with his Worship the Mayor yestorday, I think it is scarcely necessary to trouble him about his former utterance, but one would like to know on what grounds of equity, or logic, or religious feeling the practice is justified.

It will not be necessary for me to argue at length with Mr. Ewington. Commenting upon the revelations at the last City North licensing meeting, I said last week that matters had rather become worse than better. Mr. J'.wington's reply is, that at first it does seem strange that matters should be so bad "in the ouly teetotal ward in the city," but that is, because in other wards, and in the old times, evils were " allowed to fester and be covered up." Thia ia a serious charge, both ; agaiost the police and the other Licensing Committees. In other wards, which are not, according to Mr. Ewington, "teetotal wards," breaches of the Licensing Act are winked at by the police and connived ac by the Licons ing Commissioners. Our remark was founded upon nothing but the report of the police, which was to the effect that a uumber of the houses in City North were unfit for their ; purposes, and were badly conducted by licensees to whom the "only teetotal " committee had granted licenses. That report wa3 either false or true. It will not be \ believed for a moment that the police make up one kind of report for the City North Committee and apply quite a different measure to other districts. Mr. Ewington's remarks on "the general question," of the evils of drunkenness are quite beside the very small point which I raised. Aβ to Mr. Newman's letter, all this pother has arisen because he made some rather bitter remarks because certain citizens chose to meet together to express their friendliness with a brewer who was about to leave the place for a time. I have never been able to see anything wrong with a brewer'a trade. It is said that Oliver Cromwell was a brewer, and it ia certain that not very long ago beer was brewed in almost every house in England. It is a great pity that the temperance agitation cannot be carried on without fixing a stigma upon businesses and classes of men. This simply leads to bitter retorts, and to other and worse evils. There are a good many unemployed still about; and they must be rejoiced to see how Sir Juliua Vogel is inclined to treat them. The precedent has now been established. Tho unemployed engaged on relief works near Christchurch aro to have a picnic on the Christchurch " Anniversary Day:" the Government are to allow them the day's leave of absence, and are to grant them full pay on the occasion. Our holidays are coming on, including our Anniversary Day, and of course we must not be worse treated than the people in Chxistchurch. I know a good many men who scarcely make the wages given to the unemployed, but who do not get any holidays at the public expense, and who have to lose their wages on the holidays that they take. But the whole business shows, what has been frequently remarked of late, that Sir Juliux Vogel means to found his new political career on the favour of the classes whom he formerly would have nothing to do with.

I can imagine how Mr. John McElwain looked when he read Mr. Vaile's letter telling him what he bad to do before he entered the lists a3 a " railway expert." He had to read, to begin with, " 1500 foolscap folioa, containing the evidence taken by the Select Committee of the Houae of Commons in 1881." Then, after ho bad digested that, he had to go on with "the writings of Herbert Spencer, Joseph Parejoe, S. L«tnp, C. Waring, Buckingham, Popo, and otherx, in England; and ttiose of Messrs. Hud sou, Ely, Sterne, and the evidence taken by the Highborn Committee iu America." Mr. Vaile goes on : " After perusing the«e writings and documents I will guarantee," &c. Prodigious! Poor John! i*o wonder that your form has been missing from the street since the publication of that letter. Perhaps you have commenced with the " 1500 foolscap folioa." It is rather hard lines for you at your time of life. Such an extent of reading could only be lightly contemplated by eorne of those gentlemen who lived before the Flood, and -who could complacently have given up a century or so to the studies prescribed by Mr. Vaile.

Bat what about my own case? I have been venturing various opinions about railway mauagement, and I have not read those "1500 foolscap folios," and as for some of those other great and indlepeneable authors, I have never heard their names before. Herbert Spencer I do know something of, and we have all frequently known of him as an author cited by Sir Kobert Stout. The Mr. Pope who is mentioned can scarcely be the illustrious translator of Homer, and the author of " An Essay on Man," neither can the Mr. Sterne be the writer of " Tristram Shandy," and yet 1 do not know any other authors of their name with whonr I am bound to be acquainted. But I am disposed to defend both Mr. Mcßlwftin and myself, and to think that we are entitled to have an opinion on railway matters, although we have not gone through that mass of erudition. We have the problems and the facts before our eyes, and these men had no more than human reason to guide them—just like Mr. McElwain and myself. And, at all events, we have this advantage, we see what is doing, and haa been done, Mr. Vaile must take care. Does he not appeal to the public against the whole judgment and experience of all the railway experts ? How are we to pronounce in his favour if no judgment on railway matters is worth anything, except after years of study ? Mr. Vaile says the present management ie about as bad asit oan well be. It has been made pretty obvious during tho last three or four yeare that even Mr. Vaile, with all his encyclopaedic knowledge, and with all his tenacity, is powerless to effect a change. And yet he will not allow anyone even to suggest that the railways should be eold so as to lighten the debt, although he must admit that the companies would work the lines as much to the advantage of the country as the Government ie deing At pteaent.

At the banquet given by the Underwriters' > Association to the city and suburban Fire Brigades, the Vice-Chairman (Mr. William Tait), in proposing the toast of "The Mayors," referred to the question of popularity :—"lt has occurred to me to make a suggestion to the Mayor (Mr. Devore), which, if acted upon, will greatly rejoice the heart* of our good friends and brave allies, the firemen. It is that he should endeavour to persuade the City Council to convey the brigade's appliances to the ecene of all fires. Not long ago, ' Morcutio, , — the hunioroue and lively contributor to the Herald—referred to this aubjeot, suggesting, ae a remedy to facilitate the abolition of the exiiting unsatisfactory state of affairs, that the city fathers and managers of insurance companies should piovide in person the needful locomotion. No doubt our worthy chairman and popular Mayor would run well together in harness, and, if necessary, do good collar-work np College Road Hill or any other hill. But, had an ineurance manager been seated at ' Merou* tio's ' elbow when he framed the paragraph referred to, it would doubtless have read somewhat thus :—' Let our city fathers imitate the laudable example of the fire under writers, aud provide swift and powerful hordes similar to those employed by the Insurance Companies' Salvage Corps. , "

The excursion givea by Captain Colbeck to the Kaipara settlements was a great success, and gave some of our Auckland business men the opportunity of knowing something about the "despised North." Tho expedition had its humorous side also. To while away the time, while going down the Awaroa, it was suggested to take a hand at "keards;" but although some of the jokers had been used all their liven to keeping the beat bower up their sleeves, to their astonishment the "young man from the country," aa usual, sailed in and scooped the pool. ■Even the night wae made joint labourer with the day in providing more amusement. Two members of the part)', after reaching the Colbeckian mansion, Tokatapu, on getting into the land of Nod, started a nasal duet which would have caused Sir Julius Vogel, even with his best enoring efforts at Waiwera, to bido his diminished head, for as one cynic put the situation sententiously, " Sir Julius was a fool to it," A well-known merchant, after wrestling, much against the graiiu, in the dark with the Pahi mosquitoes, at .last adjourned for the night in the scantiest attire to the verandah, where he wagud tha w»r on better terms in the moon light, as ho got a chance, by following Mark Twin's advice, of " hitting the spot where they once were." Another stalwart visitor, in visions of the night, managod to fall through his improvised couch, and was found at two in the morning, in his robe denuit, cavorting around with a, claw-hammer, bent on the difficult task of hitting the right nail on the head. Everything, however, comes to the man who waits, aud at last slumber rested on tho eyelids of all, but the incident shows that travel, !ike misfortune, " makes as acquainted with strange bedfellows."

Our city water supply has been subject to a good deal of criticism, but has come out unscathed. There have, of course, been such little trifles aa Ending small eels in the pipoe, bnt the worat grievance ha* been reached. One geutlemau places his "specimen " in a publishing office, and boldly complains that the water supply has given him the worms. This is out-Heroding Herod ! The other day, a village politician, who carries, like another Atlas, the world upon his back, sent a telegram to Sir Robert Stout inviting him to address an Auokland audience on the political situation. Sir Uoborfc left that telegram severely alone ; and there will be no help for it now but to approach him by requisition in the usual way. The intelligent and free and independent elector is not used to such cavalier treatment, least of all "Hodge," on whose back the Liberal Premier climbed into power. Meecotio.