LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8854, 16 April 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

"Give me audience for a won! or two." THE fourteenth of April is a day which I never allow to pass without paying my rejects to Sir George (Jrev. It is the anniversary of his birthday, and each year 1 vary my congratulations, which, I pride myself, are, for originality and phraseology, entitled to take the palm, lake my learned fried, Dr. Laishley, I pass many days and nights in evolving and polishing the matter and manner of my congratulations. The doctor runs me hard for first place, but I have succeeded in holding it i-ainst all comets. My missives will, no doubt, some day be added to the literary treasures of the Public Library, when it will be found that 1 have not overestimated their merit. But although 1 am punctilious in my observance of the lith of April, I am by no means persuaded in my own mind that it is conducive to one's happiness to be reminded every year by all our friends that we arc growing older. Who is eager to grow old, to quit for ever the pleasant path-" of youth and vigorous manhood, and to become bowed down with years, weak, sickly, full of pains, a burden to ourselves and others if we be poor? Poets and philosophers and novelists may talk of the glory of a good old age, but most of us, prefer, metbinks, to believe that old age in our case is a "long way oil'. It will creep on inevitably, but there is no occasion to remind us that it is creeping on, and to offer us congratulations upon the fact. I mike these observations no! so much in the hope or expectation of abolishing all birthday greetings, but by way of a hint to thoughttvis and impulsive friends, to tone down their congratulations and increase their presents.

Talking of presents. I have not noticed that Sir Uenrgo <>rey received any on hi* SOth birthdav, excepting' a book about his life, which was like presenting a man with in epitaph on himself. Somehow or other we are not partial in the colonies to the practice of milking gifts. Personally I deeply regret this for reasons which 1 need not particularise. Bui that by the way. When England's Grand Old Man readied his SOth birthday he was overwhelmed with presents. The" Manchester Reform Club sent him a pair of silver lamps, while other admirers sent him quite a miscellaneous assortment of goods, including blankets, needlework, engravings, books, boxes of biscuits, etc. Should financial misfortune ever overtake the G.0.M., which heaven foffend, he will be able to set up a well-stocked store, and Macaulay's or somebody's New Zealander, going to London to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's, may instead be found photographing a shop in Tottenham Court Road beating the legend, "W, E. OL.u>sTONt:, General Dealer: Licensed to Sell Tobacco." After all, what is the chief end of life but to serve one's friends.

It was a happy idea of the promoters of the Grey Birthday to have the children present. .Much of Sir George (drey's labours in New Zealand has been expended in the interests of the youngsters who tilled the Jhoral Hall. Years ""and years ago, the ever-recurring phrase in all Sir George speeches was " the unborn millions." While other men worked for their own ends, or, at most, for the passing purposes _of the moment, Sir George Grey was looking into the distant future, and endeavouring to prepare for the time that he saw was coming. Herein he showed himself i great statesmen. And yet how often hive we all laughed at _ his solicitude for the " unborn millions." Poor, shallow critics as we were in those days, have we not in our foolishness believed that the unborn millions should be left to look after themselves. But we laugh no more at the grand old man's anxiety for posterity. As I surveyed the sea of upiifed children's faces in the City Hall, and thought bowSir George had toiled and fought in the faroff days for those very children, whom his prophetic ken piercing the future beheld, I confess I realised as I had not realised before, the true nobleness and greatness of the venerable statesman.

The Commissioner of Police has issued a circular, urging the police authorities to put down the nuisance, which nourishes in Auckland (and in other towns in the colony), of larrikins loitering at corners and iii doorways of a night, insulting the passers-by, more especially females. The police, it "is? pretty well known, are willing to do their duty, but complain that they ,re not backed up by the Justices and the Bench. Some gross cases occur, over and ever, and the offenders are, what is called, '•severely admonished'" —whatever that may mean—and they go out of Court with their tongue in their cheek, remarking, " Didn't the beak' gag it well!" If the Commissioner would address his circular, in the first instance, to the neglectful parents, and their name is legion, and, in the second, to the Justices and Magistracy, to make the law a terror to evil-doers, he would be doing something practical. The police may " run them in," bur. weak-kneed administrators run the larrikins out again. There is a case which occurred some years ago, which shows how larrikinism is put down. A public .-chool teacher was engaged after school hours in arranging; the lessons fur next day, when a boy yelled some offensive words through the keyhole to the master. Tip; teacher came oat, and cautioned him about his conduct, and said if he repeated it he would box his ears, and then went back to his duty at the desk. The lad deliberately repeated the objectionable language as before, and the teacher, as good as his word, came out and boxed his ears. Will it be believed that that head-teacher was brought up at the Police Court, and fined £5, It is needless to say that the tine was paid by public subscription. It takes a good many circulars from the Police Commissioner to wipe out the moral effect of such decisions as these ; and yet he wonders at the growth of larrikinism, and the lack of vigour in putting it down by the police authorities, It is the old story, "the police proposes, but the J.P. disposes," in too many cases.

The other day Mr. XV. L. Rees, in an abdress before the Liberal Association, advocated election of Justices of the Peace, while some other Liberals are in favour of making the Magistrates and District Judges elective. In America they are having a taste of how law id administered under the elective system. In San Francisco 101) murders have been committed since 1888, but nor one white man hanged. In Ohio, a "boss," an illiterate saloon-keeper, had a special scale of charges fixed, so that any aspirant for a public oflice might, without unnecessary trouble, know the co-it for running the same. .Nominees for judgeships, and for the Legislature and county offices had to pay from £200 to £-2000 each, ami pledge themselves to resign about two thirds of the patronage of their position as well. Taking the United States as a whole, there were last year 5906 murders, with thercsult that only 123 murderers were hanged, while 195 men were lynched ! The murder record of America for 1801 exceeded the loss of lifo at Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, where the! total was 5602. These figures do not commend the system of administering law in the United States to the colonists of New Zealand. if the Kew Zealand Government desire to make justice, as in America, a by-word, the gift of money and rings, and political " bosses," a nd to naturalise its inevitable sequel, Judge Lynch—they cannot do better than introduce the elective system, and give us "Liberal" justices, magistrates, and judges.

One would have thought, after the fierce diatribes against our defence force, that the gallant representatives of the P.M., who walk to and from our public schools daily, to " teach the young idea how to pjiool," would have felt like Bunthorne— '"crushed again." Instead of that, they may be seen on the school play-grounds, as bolt upright as if they had swallowed a ramrod, caue in hand, and the cap perched

on the regulation " three hairs." Verily, the Peace Society has a big contract on hand.

A curious coincidence occurred the other day at the Hospital. There was a patient in one bed named Sankey, and in another was a man named .Moody.

Quito recently there have been cases of lads of respectable parents being brought; up at the Police Court on charges of stealing or appropriating flowers out of private gardens, the object being to present them to their teachers at the public schools. 1 think that after the examples which have occurred the headmasters should prohibit scholars bringing (lowers to school for such a purpose at all. In the first place, the boy has probably plundered his father's garden without permission, and in the second place, he may have stolen the (lowers elsewhere. The aesthetic pupil teachers should decline the floral offerings, and thus avoid the appearance of evil.

The Whangarei settlers tell some funny stories about railway construction on the cooperative system at Hikurangi. It is said to be delightful to see some of the men at work, dhudoen in cheek— of the " borntired,'' class—wrestling with a shovelful of earth and beguiling the time by debating the programme of the great Liberal party. There are some good industrious men among them, however. The idea has hitherto been that the co-operative railway works were in the nature of relief work, but from what the Hon. R. Seddon said at Palmerston North lately, this is not so, bub the spoil belonging to the victors, the railway works are now the prescriptive perquisite of the proletariat. Speaking of the co-operative system, he said :—'" The system had not worked without a hitch at the time of starting, because many officers of his department had persisted in looking at the railway works as relief works. He had now given his officers to understand that the works were not at all of this nature, and if he found any otiicers in futuio refusing to give atiy information or assistance in their power, lie knew what he would do. Out, of the i'.'iJD,ooo of the property tax, £150,000 went for defence purposes. What did the digger with his swag on hi-* back want with armed cruisers and torpedo boats ?" Not much ! The latter sentences seen somewhat, curious as coming from a Defence Minister; but no doubt Mr. Seddon has the fear of Mrs. Aldis before his eyes, and speaks accordingly.

During the week there passed away, at the Cost-ley Home, a man who had seen better (.lays. He was evidently a man of location, culture, and refinement ; but was rather reticent as to his past. It is understood that ho was well-connected, and one or two gentlemen know his friends. He first went to the Hospital, with chronic heart, disease, and was afterwards transferred to the Costley Home. From what could be got out. of him, he had been in business in Queensland, and had spent the" last ten or twelve years in wandering about in search of health till hi? mentis were expended. He expressed his satisfaction at there being such an institution as the Costley Home, where ho could pass away his last days without the anguish and uncertainty of knowing where his daily bread would come from.

I got an awful scare the other morning when i read in the Hi:i:\!.t> that ().">;>:) paupers had been " run through" the books of the Charitable Aid Board in live years ! It now appears that the real number is 1700, the higher number also representing applications, etc. Well, even 1700 is bad enough, for this city, and suburb.-, and I do not wonder that Devenport vigorously protests against our rate of pauperism going on increasing in a geometrical ratio. What else can be expected when the State so frames its relief administrative legislation as simply to manufacture paupers wholesale? The 1700 only represent adult*, so that when the children are added thereto, the higher figures are not so far out after all. If that column of 1700 adults, and their children, could be paraded through Queen-street to-day, as an "object lesson " illustrative of rive years' pauperism, there would be such a thrill of horror and dismay run through this community that our system of charitable aid relief could not exist for a single day.

The W.C.T.U. Convention, at their recent session in Auckland, resolved upon a crusade against the photographic pictures in cigarette packages. " Civis," in the Otago Daily Times, rather mistakingly couples the name of a well-known Auckland lady with the " new departure," for he says :— The Women's Christian Temperance Union are about to address themselves to a new crusade, one of considerable difficulty and no small degree of delicacy. They are going to " make searching inquiry into the character of the pictures sold in cigarette packets, and exposed in tobreconists' and barbers' shops, with a view to the suppression and removal of any objectionable pictures." This praiseworthy movement originated with the Auckland branch, in which, I believe, is dominant the influence of a lady who some time ago endeavoured to rouse the colony against the University Senate for including amongst its text books for the year an immoral Latin play. lii the lively controversy that followed, one or our professors of classics admitted that he had never read this objectionable play. No so the lady; *.h<:- had read it, bless you ! —purely in the interests of the higher morality, of course. I suppose it can be no other than tins same courageous female crusader who Ims been investigating cigarette packets for studies in the nude, and inquiring into the character of the ladies in tights who are exposed in the windows of tobacconists' and barbers' shops.

If it was not that the lady referred to is a member of the Peace Society she would handle "Civis" without gloves.

No one can read the daily journals of the Australasian colonies now without seeing' that in horse-racing the average colonial " lives and moves and has his being." It affects even our national system of education, for I see that, in Napier the School Committees are " trying to keep the public schools open on race-days," and racing l and gambling has just been brought before the .Auckland Employers' Association. In New South Wales the long Australian summer day is nob long enough for the sport, and races are now run -with the attendant gambling, which is their life and soul—at night, at Lillebridge, by the electric light ! It figures not infrequently in the proceedings of the Law Court-, and the following letter, which speaks, for itself, was road from a defendant in an action heard recently in a Southern P.M. Court: —

I am .sorry to say that Iliad to dishonour the cheque I sent to you on the Slh, but the fact is we had a race meeting hero on the 10th, and I was laid on to some good things by some people who pretend to be my friends, and took their advice, and plunged in rather far, and pretty well broke myself. At least I went that far that there was no funds to pay you with, but if you will kindly burn the cheque or retain it and present theone enclosed, you will find it all right. 1 hope you will take uo offence at this action, although 1 know full well it is not the clean thing to do, but 1 thought, by what I was told, that I would make a little more money by investing (Hi the totalisator, seeing that my supposed friends were connected with the horse that I backed; but it is the first time, and I have paid dear for it, and I will guarantee it will be the last. Trusting you will think none the worse of me for it, 1 remain, yours faithfully.

When the letter was read, the magistrate who occupied the Bench asked the solicitor for the plaintiff if he knew the ago of defendant. The learned counsel laughingly replied that he did not, but he thought he must bo very young. It turned out, by a strange coincidence, that his name was Green !

The decision, on appeal, by the Chief Justice—in the ease of Mrs, Spackman, who was awarded £200 damages against the Wairarapa North County Council for the loss of her husband by being killed through falling over the embankment of a road—that no duty was cast upon local bodies to fence dangerous parts on a road, has given great satisfaction to our country Highway Boards and County Councils, who were deeply interested in the result of the appeal of the Wairarapa

local body. Had the decision been otherwise, :i duty would have been put upon the local bodies which they have not funds to carry out. I do not know the special circumstances connected with the death of Mr. Spaekman, but in the case of the death of -Mrs. Stock, through being killed by a, trap, driven by her husband, falling over an embankment, on a road under the jurisdiction of the Mauku Highway Hoard, the facts, are pretty well known. If I am correctly .informed, Mr. Stock had driven over the road on the day preceding the accident, on his way to the railway station. As a settler of some years' standing, lie may be presumed to fairly know iho roads of the district, and neighbourhood, and lie was returning home in the dark, without lights, when the .-ad misadventure took place. In the event of any action, the Board would, therefore, have been able to urge the plea, in their opinion, of contributory negligence. Either way, the Board could nob bo held liable. For if strangers pass alonir unknown country roads in the dark, without lights, they can scarcely complain if they come to grief. On the contrary, if they do know the district roads, it, says little for their discretion in thus tempting Providence.

It seems that in the Mauku case tho contractors did put up some posts at tho end of the embankment, to show the termination, but were ordered, it is said, by tho police authorities to take them down again, as likely to cause horses to shy and go over the embankment on the opposite, side, and thus cause an accident instead of preventing one. If ''very dangerous place in a highway district is to be fenced, then some of the highway boards would never have money left to do anything else. In the llokianga County, for instance, with its scores of miles of bridle tracks over mountains, and through swamps and gullies, the Council would require the consolidated revenue at their back to undertake the work. The decision of the Chief Justice, as to the non-liability of local boards,in this matter, seems to be equitable and just. Prevention is better than cure, and it is much better that travellers should have the responsibilty of their own personal safety thrown upon them, than that it should be laid upon the broad shoulders of members of highway boards. Mkkcl'TlO.