LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9229, 17 June 1893, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

„ A , mo hate audience for a ■word or two." — Shakerper«. Vrkiiais I may venture to remind my let*:*, who nowadays aro not likely to member it without an outside hint, that to-morrow is the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, fought on the 18th D{ June, 1815, just seventy • eight years „, That also was a Sunday. The generation has departed who hold the memories oft that time, who rendered homage to tlio brave men who fought on that day» and since then Great Britain ha* taken the field side by side with France. p n t) in those days, when ibis proposed to njver tho empire, when nobody seems to have any enthusiasm for anything but one-manone-voto and universal equality, it may be permitted to me, who am old-fashioned enough to love the mother-country ami the old flag, to remind my readers that that day was a groat one for the empire. Waterloo secured that England should have peace for the gradual process of improving the condition of tier people. Then really commenced tho extension and colonisation of the Empire. Then was England's position confirmed as Mistress of the Seas. That supremacy is of infinite value to colonists. Waterloo should be to them not only the reminiscence of a great battle); it should remind thorn of an event which has created their greatness. I see that a movement is on foot by tho operative tailors to got the Government to abolish all master tailors, and to sot up government Tailoring Establishments.' 5,1 many tilings have come about which I never expected to see that 1 should mot wonder if this new idea were realised. We have all over the colony what are termed co operative works. I do not see much co operation about the plan. It is simply direct expenditure by tho Government on behalf of labourers. It is rather difficult to see how the proposal to do all the tailoring work of the colony could be managed. Workshops under official supervision could scarcely be set up in every town ami village. But the first tiling would be to create a department. Mr. W. P. Reeves would, of course, bo the Minister in chargo, and perhaps after some study and practice, he would be able to oversee all the details. Then all importation of readymade clothing would have to bo prohibited, grid it would have to be made a penal offence for any man to be dressed in a suit of clothes not made in the Government workshops. The Ministry would then bo *.ble to carry out their theories of colour and cut. They would have certain regulation patterns, and any man who talked of individual taste would bo dealt with by law. Various reforms in manners would also be inaugurated, and the dress coat might well be interdicted as savouring of aristocracy. The improvements that might be made are legion. The cost of the tailoring establishment would, I suppose, be defrayed out cf a graduated tax on land, or an impost on property, with an exemption for all whoso incomes did not amount to i'-'oO per annum. Each elector would be entitled to two salts per annum on the certificate of a member, always providing that that member were of the right colour. Will it bo insisted that •vary Government suit should have* the broad arrow put upon ib? Where are we ail going to ? Soon, very soon, no reasonable man will be able to make any objections to the Austrian*. They are making rapid progress in civilisation as it is understood in tho colonies. One of the witnesses before the Gum Commission deposed that the keeper ci an hotel in the North ("an Irishman," nil the witness) tcld him that at Easter /which is a great festival with those Austrian*) a party of them had como to his house and had spent £10 in refreshments. Another witness deposed that ho saw Austrians come into the hotel and pay Is Gd for a meal. Then again it appears that Austrians have actually got the length of " shouting" and have several times been seen to do this of late at hotel bars. By-and-by they will loso all the qualities of thrift, punctuality in paying their debts, and so on, which have been laid to their charge. There will not be a singlo fault left to asperse their character with. The newspapers throughout the colony have lately been filled with political speeches of a more or less interesting and instructive character. But I give all these the go-by, in order to reach the speeches of my old friend, Mr. E. M. Smith, of New Plymouth, lie has lately been addressing tho electors as Waitnra. Someono asked who had recommended that Mr. T. Kelly should be appointed to tho Upper House. Mr. Smith replied, "It was me." He added that .Mr. Kelly had been a Tory, but he had now turned a Liberal, "and if Mr. Kelly did not do what he (Mr. Smith) considered right he would soon get him out of that." Mr. Smith was then asked if he thought tho Government had been sincere i:> advocating female franchise last session, to which tho hon. member made answer, "I was the only sincere man in the House." But perhaps his boldest flight was when ho was ai-ked if ho would try to get a new post office for Waitara, as the old ons was u disgrace. His prompt answer to this va», " Then why don't you burn it down." 1c csm scarcely be wondered at that after this that Mr. Smith got a rote of thanks and confidence. Taking all things into consideration, the life of a public man has, its drawbacks as well as its advantages. It is true that— especially if he happens to bo the Premier of the colony and has favours to confer— he will always have plenty of followers to whom his slightest wish will be even as tho law of the land, if nob superior to it. But, on the other hand, he is never let alone. He is postered with too much attention wherever he goes, and ho has always to think before he speaks—a requirement which, though very good in the abstract, is liable to become irksome when pushed to an extreme. All this ia bad enough, and the line should certainly be drawn a.b personal violence. It is all very well for the two partios in the House to struggle for the capture of some member sitting on a rail, but that they should indulge in a frantic tug-of-war for the possession of the body of Mr. Seddon, as was done on his arrival at Onehunga the other day, is a thing which no man ought to be called upon to submit to. In fact, a man with a less robust constitution than tho Premier— banquets aro nob thrown away upon him— would simply not bo able to stand no much kindness for six months. The battle for the Premier seems to some people who have imaginative minds too great and exciting a subject to bo dealt with and described in ordinary poor, povertystricken prose; and therefore it has suggested to one of these the following lines :— Listen friends, attention pay, And I will tell yen a story Of the right for Seddon t' other day All for honour and glory. Now who will get the Premier? With whom now will he ride? With the socialistic dreamer, Or «t Mayor Crowther'a »ide ? Upon the wharf they waited, Where the Talcapuna lies. Mow which set will be fated To grasp the wishedforjprize? At length the steamer came there, And anchored along* de; Then they dashed right up the yielding stair, J | Hight to the great man's vide. Foremost was Beehan in th« run, Ami begged with courtly grace That t lit- man so tired and dune In his cab would take a place. But the Mayor, with nighty air, His many claims laviewed ; Even the Premier could scarcely dare To the citizen's choice to be rude. Bat, lo I the Senior Member come* With stride so stately and grand :; The large and small, like good old chums, Seddon ami Shera reach dry land.. Off in the Liberal cab they go, - While the Mayor stood gloomy and sad. Surely he had right to be quite ho. For he had been treated too bail. On this occasion there can be no doubt that the Liberal Association came out on .the, top, and I caa J Rn cy how they rubbed*

their hands with . glee. Bub pride goon before a fall, and they found before long that even Prime Ministers could be ungrateful ; for this very Dick Seddon, upon whom they had lavished bo much attention, not many hours afterwards administered to them the most direct and knock-down blow they had been favoured with for many a long day. This Mas jurely the very refinement of cruelty. The Association had emptied their treasury to hire a cab for the comfort of this man, and he hud thanked them with a kick and a blow. Not only this, but he also took occasion upon the very next evening to exalt their enemy over their heads. He had pacified Mayor Crowther, according to my friend the Muse, by saying " Never mind old man" For you shall be my chairman For to-morrow night; I know you'll he a fair man Ami see me through all right. And it was so. Of course the Liberal Association agreed to this course, though perhaps th»y could do nothing clso. A man might just as well agree to the tide coming in, even if it should drown him, when his disagreement makes no difference ; and it is also just a3 well to do the thing with as good a grace as possible under the circumstances. In the breach of promise case tried the Other day, the counsel for the defence, Mr. Parr, submitted to the jury " that a claim for £500 damages for not being privileged to marry a second-class fireman earning Ss a day was absurd." That's all very woll, but possibly the girl thought that the second-class fireman" was above par ! When I peeped in at St. James's Hall the otlior night and looked at the score of persons in the spacious hall discussing the question of raising a national memorial to tho late Premier, Mr. Ballanco, I began to think that a live dog was worth more thun a dead lion. Who would have thought after the shower of totegrams of condolence to tho deceased'? statesman's widow that in a town of 50,000 of a population only a score could be got to attend a public meeting to take steps to perpetuate Mr. Ballanco's memory by a token of love. \\ here were the Trades —where the working classes? Nowhere ! If it had been a glove-right that was coming oiT, the hall could have been packed to tho rafters at 4s and 2s, as we know by past experience. Poor Bullanco had a presentiment that democracies are proverbially ungrateful, and in his dying hours exclaimed, " I hope the people of New Zealand will not forget me !" The only redeeming feature of the meeting was the conduct of Mr. Shorn, who, in eulogising tho late Premier, had also a kindly word for two other deceased statesmen, and paid a tribute to the memories of Sir Harry Atkinson and Sir Frederick Whitaker. M tKCCTIO.