ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9494, 25 April 1894, Page 3

ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

PREMIER AND PRESSMEN. The Premier of the colony is now bestriding a very tall horse. Messengers have thrown members out of Governmenb Buildings. Now the Honourable Richard is emulating his subordinates, and we have the spectacle of a Premier throwing out pressmen. The dangers through which he passed in the Uirflwera country, and his hairbreadth escapes must have hardened his usually soft nature. Otherwise he could scarcely have done such a thing. Bub stay ! Mayhap we have all been mistaken in him. " Like master like man "is an old saying that possibly holds good here. lb may be that long ago, in the days of last session, the action of a messenger in ejecting a member was nob performed without a cue being given, and was meant as a sorb of rehearsal prior to taking on a tougher job. No one dislikes criticism more than the head of the Government. Doubtless he would like to see made Eublic only such bits of information as fee imself should choose, and even then only through his own appointed channels. Government organs to grind out Government tunes, else no music at all, is the ipse dixit of Sir Oracle. THE ARMED PREMIER. That the Czar of all the Russias, the Emperor of Germany, and people of that clique, should be threatened by anarchists and malcontents generally is now becoming a matter of course; but who would have thought bhab a poor colonial Premier was worth powder and shot. Yet it appears that Premier Dibbs, of New South Wales, receives communications containing such dire and desperate threats thab he marches about Sydney armed with a loaded revolver. I used to look upon Sir George Dibbs as a man of progress, and it is disappointing to find him adopting such antique and obsolete methods of defence. Besides the trouble of cleaning them and the room they take up in a man's pocket, firearms are dangerous, and any little accident might deprive the New South Wales Ministry of ibs head. Sir George Dibbs musb nob lose his head in this way, bub should rather order a complete uniform of Dowe's bullet-proof cloth. The manufacturer might consent to make a special cut for colonial. Premiers, to distinguish them from Czars, Emperors, and Dictators, who will naturally resort to the same material— Threatened with bombs—go, think of it in silence and alone, Then, weigh against a grain of sand the glories of a throne. Or even of a premiership. In the mornings_ of the future, premiers and such officials, insbead of consulting the barometer with reference to waterproofs, will consult the newspapers as to the atmosphere of public opinion, and if ib appears to be sultry, they will don their bulleb- proofs.

THE ROMANCE OF CRICKET. Last week I was induced, though with grave misgivings, to give one or two modest instances of the curiosities of cricket ; but after some of the " curiosities " which have since come under my notice, I % have determined to leave this field alone for the future, except under the direst compulsion. The little cricket coincidences referred to last week have had to take such a dim and distant back seat that they have been stripped of all that commends them but their truth. Let me give an instance of the more romantic tales of the cricket field that are abroad. The Edinburgh Evening Despatch states with all solemnity that " Western Australia is advancing rapidly, but it seems to be still a little behind in the matter of scientific cricket. A match was recently played at Banbury, Western Australia, between a Victorian team and a scratch eleven from the neighbourhood. The Victorians went in first, and the first ball bowled was skied into a three-pronged branch of a tall jarrah tree. The home team cried 'Lost ball,' but the umpire ruled that as it was in sight it could not be loßt. The Victorians started running, while the West Australians sent for an axe to cut down the tree. No axe being obtainable, somebody brought out a rifle, and the ball, after numerous misses, was shot down. The score on the one hit was 286, and the Victorians ' stood' on that, and put the other side in. The Victorians won." If the paper referred to believes this, I feel very sorry for it ; and if it does not believe it the depth of ignorance which it assumes on the part of its readers is certainly not very complimentary to them. v PERENNIAL POLITICS.

Some people never seem able to get party politics out of their heads. It's Party*! Party ! Party ! to the end of the chapter," and that even in the matter of education, which above all things should be lifted above it. At the meeting for the election of the City Schools Commiteee the other evening a resolution was proposed protesting against the re-introduction into the House of Representatives of a Bill the design of which is to take the power and control out of the hands of the committees, and therefore the householders and parents, and centralize it more in the person of the Minister for Education. Studiously mode* rate was the tone in which the mover of the resolution placed it before the meeting. And though he might have waxed warm over the proposition to make the polioe truant officers to hunt up absentee youngsters, he did not. Yet it came like a red rag to a bull to one ardent politician, who immediately made it a peg on which to hang a laudation of the present Government which was averred to be "the best Government this colony has ever had, sir." The speaker could not for one moment see that even the best of Governments sometimes make mistakes—all except the present Seddon Government. Other persons may make mistakes 'tis true. Bub present Ministers never do, and so it is fitting that all power should be placed in their immaculate hands, A TEMPERANCE JEREMIAD. How is it the Auckland temperance folk are so lugubrious and so love to hug themselves over their own shortcomings ? They met in conference the other evening, bub ib was a jeremiad all through. The glory of Auckland teetotalism has departed was the lay of all, until at last the chairman cried " Hold, enough !" Still the same thing went on. Everyone apparently felt inclined to blame somebody else for the apathy which has existed for so long, even after the high priest of prohibition had given them a hearty shaking up. It was only when denunciations were hurled at roll-stuffers that there was shown true teetotal spirit. But in this case it appears ib was a case of pot calling the kettle black, for one of the most earnest workers frankly confessed that he had gone and done likewise. Oh fie ! Such a proceeding may be practical, but ib is hardly principle. Still teetotallers, I presume, like other folk, are occasionally inconsistent, to wit the chairman of the meeting, who, after scolding the others for bewailing lethargy in the pasc, avowed that he was fearful of asking for a seconder for a proposition, he being afraid that once Mr. Isitt had left, things would at once flow back to the old dead level of stagnation. BEGINNING CHARITY AT HOME. When pugilists have no heads to punch, and they wish to keep themselves "fit," they have a spell at punching a stuffed and suspended sack. This is something like what the Rev. Mr. Isitt has been doing in Auckland. He came up to fight, argumeritatively, an Auckland medico, who wag guilty of maintaining thab there might be some good in beer and some harm in tea. Thereat came a challenge, and as is usual amongst sportsmen, whether polemical or pugilistic, there was a stiffish bib of fencing over terms. " Proceeds to be given to charities" was talked of, but it all ended in smoke. It was to be cash down or no debate, and as cash was nob put down there was no debate. Mr. Isitt then proceeded to exercise himself with the sack, saving he would nob take one penny of the proceeds, but that all should go in charity. And so the amount of the collection wenb, £1 or £2 to pay a band for playing, and the remainder to pay off a debt or over« draft on a gymnasium at Sydenham, the financial state of which, Mr. Isitt told hie audience, had given him a great deal of unrest and uneasiness. There is nothing like letting "Charity begin at Home." The General. ,