LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9497, 28 April 1894, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

i' Let rcc have audience for a word or two." —Sliakespere. _ £ vas t, extent and compass of the mental _ of our Ministers is made manifest to fhe whole world by the facb thab the late Cabinet meetings have divided their attentat, between what precise instructions lj. 0 be given to the chief messenger at Government Buildings about excluding a paper reporter, and how they should deaf with Great Britain, the United States {America, and the .Empire of Germany in regard to taking over the Government and administration of the Samoan Islands. Ory'nions may be divided as to which of these objects is the greatest in the opinion D our Ministers, and some would like to hive the Premier's private notions on "h 0 subject. As regards the reporter, however, the Government have had to back Sown, and to acknowledge a coup manque. They should remember, how-,,-er that there is such a thing as dignity. I' is rather aggravating, I allow, for a Ministry to hold office for the purpose 0 f favouring with the very latest intelligence newspapers which act as a chorus throughout the country, and then to find that they are beaten at the game, and fore•talled i" some fashion or another. As for this matter of hew Colonel Fox's letter managed to see the light, we must await the result of the investigations of that acute gentleman, _ Mr. O'Hara Smith. Some of the officers in tho Civil Service have" lately been in training for the Criminal Investigation Department. By-and-by Ministers will be able to greatly strengthen certain departments of the administration of justice. It is not alleged that Colonel Fox sent a copy of the letter for publication. The Premier would of course when he received the letter confide it only to some perfectly secure hand. But Ministers must expect when they exercise a close inquisition over the civil service, and tie it up in every way, [hat they will be deceived and humbugged. It is evident they have been so treated in the matter of Colonel Fox's letter, and they are oub of temper accordingly.

When I read the announcement of the death of Colonel De Quincey, my memory travelled back to his father, with whose figure I was familiar when he re«ided in Edinburgh. He was one of the most singular of men. As a great scholar said of him. he could have harangued an Athenian mob in such choice Greek that Demosthenes would have beer) enraptured. No man ever wrote such perfect' English as De Quincey. He was a master of the protoundest intricacies of political economy, and could expound Hic.irdo. But in knowledge of theworidand in dealing with money he was a mere child. John Hill Barton,in "The Bookhunter, : 'introciucesThomasDeQuincey thus: —" He shall be called, on account of associa tions that may or may not bo found out, Thomas I'apaverius. But how to make palpable to the ordinary human being ono so signally divested of all the material and common characti ristics of his race, yet so nobly endowed with its rarer and loftier attributes, almost paralyses the pen at the very beginning. . . . These lips are speedily opened by some casual remark, and presently the flow of talk passes forth from them, free, clear, and continuous— never risir.-j into declamation—never losing a certain mellow earnestness, and all con siiting of sentences as exquisitely jointed together as if they were destined to challenge the criticism of the remotest posterity."

A book has just been issued by Mr. James Bertram, an Edinburgh literary man of much ability, who was an apprentice with Tait, the publisher of Tait's Magazine, when De Quincey wrote some of his most famous essays. Bertram used to take PeQuincey the proofs for revision. One day he brought De Quincey two letters — one containing a proof, and the other a banknote for five pounds. After looking at the di st he broke the seal of the second, and seemed to examine the contents a little :uriously. Then rising from his chair he •aid :—" This is a somewhat embarrassing »um of money for me to have here. (He was at that, time lodging for sanctuary within the precincts of Holyrood.) Might I request you—there is a place of entertainment., a puhlic-hou-e, almost at the door— to have the kindness to go there and ask the lady who keeps it to give you money of lesser amounts for this note; I will be extremely obliged to you if you will take this trouble, and if at the same time you will be good enough to ask the servant of the establishment to send me a small supply of 'he excellent brandy which is kept there you will still further oblige me." De Quincey 'a straits for money, of which important commodity he had no more sense of the value than a baby, were sometimes exhibited in ludicrous ways. Once be drove up to Tait's in a one-horse fly, and blandly addressed the shop-boy, who was taking down the .-'butters, thus :—"I am Mr. De Quincey, and I presume that you are one of the young gentlemen who assist Mr. Taic in his business. lam at the moment much embarrassed for want of a sum' of money. The difficulty will not, however, be permanent, but it is in the meantime most urgent, and I fancied that even at this early hour I should be able to obtain the amount by coming here." The lad anxiously inquiring how much it was that -'■It. De Quincey wanted, expecting at least that it would be five pounds, was relieved by his informing him that inasmuch as he had only half a-crown in his pocket, and would have to pay the coachman three shillings, a loan of sixpence would be required.

, I used to be amused to notice the similarity between the elder De Quincey and Hie amiable and kindly gentleman who ha.« just passed away. There was the same sntire simplicity of character, the same goodness of heart, the same delicate cour- •'-?}'. Even in little things the resemblance w'ai noticeable, such as a slight droop of one "-'-' tbe eyelids. Mrs. Yates is in danger of being spoiled, not by the councillors of the Borough of Onenunga, who exhibit rather a disposition to stroke her the wrong way, but by visitors fr. m all parts of the civilised world, merely do Mayors of Knglish and Australian cities pay homage at the Onehunga wine, to learn something in the art of but every stranger who enters our gates. Miss Bessie Doyle, who Eight be supposed to care nothing about governments or municipalities, wrote, ask- "'" Mrs. Yates to come and see her, and the Worshipful Mayor had a meeting with the great musician, between the parts, in the City Hall, the other evening, and was "towards entertained at supper.

But Mrs. Yates has a practical mission. s »« assumed office, not from any vainglorious motive, or with any anticipation of 'he homage which was to be paid to her, bul ,to put the finances of Onehunga straight. They were very crooked. I Observe that notwithstanding all efforts, she holds on to that purpose, and resolutely refuses to go into any expense. This is 'e sort of spirit which Isew Zealand requires for a few years to come. Men ave failed as econnmisers. and it is even pawl that thin no-borrowing Government has '"creased our indebtedness. Alight we not 7 a female Ministry, in order that we tni f-'ht get fairly ahnad of our indebtedness ? I have already recorded the fate of a Punster who penetrated to Mercutio's sancIJr »< and said that the reason why Mr. Jackson Palmer lost the Waitemata elec0 ;j " Was becauae the electors voted for his I'POrieuc mi masse. But punsters are irreFwsible, and the other day one summed , P courage to address me thus " I »now now the reason why Mr. Jackson Ire V was defeated." In my simplicity, Replied " I know it myself; ho did nob it »"°L Kh voles -" " No," said mv, visitor; *« because he was Massa-cred!" ''■'■>' "

in tl' B '! k '- Well is having a bad time of it ha»H ? kl World as in the New at the "as of the " wild women" for his indis-

creet article in the Nineteenth Century on New Zealand Under Female Franchise." His latest assailant is Mrs. Henry Fawcebb, who administers a severe reproof to him in an article in the March number of the Contemporary Review. Mrs. Fawcett points oub .thab Dr. Bakewell objects strongly to the existing system of public elomentary education in the colony, and also to the principle of local option in regard to licensing, bub for these, as she goes on to remark, whether they are good or bad, the women voters are not. responsible, being established by law long before women had votes. Dr. Bakewell," says Mrs. Fawcett, "almost loses his head in the violence of his opposition to the national pystem of education, and his grievance against the women appears to be that on the first occasion on which they had the opportunity of voting | they did not sweep it away. It is consolatory to know that the men who never go to church 'except to look after some girl' now share political power with the girls who, one may hope, attend church with a more seemly object in view." Mrs. Fawcett contends that Dr. Bakewell has given away his whole case for denominational education when he says, " The scheme for endowing denominational schools is at present outside practical politics. There is hardly a candidate who dares to say he will vote for it." On the question of local option, Mrs. Fawcett points out that "if there were no drunkards there would bo no prohibitionists. If tho women of any locality are very mad for prohibition, it is a sign that many home** and many hearts have been broken by drunkenness." Subsequent events proved that Dr. Bakewell was in error in predicting that "the female vote in New Zealand would be unanimous, ahd would go against the Government." As Mrs. Fawcett remarks, the doctor's prediction "illustrates afresh the danger of prophecy." She is very merry in her remarks about Dr. BakewelPs typical witnesses, the old lady and the young woman whose husband was a sailor. Mrs. Fawcett says " the animus in Dr. Bakewell's mind against women's suffrage has obscured his sense of humour. . . . The passage remains obscure." The concluding passage of Mrs. Fawcett's reply is perhaps the best in the article :— Dr. Bakewell contradicts himself in every other page, He says that it is impossible to prophesy how the women will vote|(p. 270), ana then proceeds to make a positive prophecy how they will vote (p. 272), and finally shows (274) conclusively that he has prophesied wrong, because while he had predicted that the women would be practically unanimous agaiust the Government, the Government actually secured a large majority. This enables us to contemplate with a considerable decree of cheerfulness his concluding prophecy. His last words are: " We shall probably for some years to come be a dreadful object-lesson to the rest of the British Empire." The voice of hope whispers, " All his other prophecies were wrong, why not this one too?" But, "New Zealand under female franchise," has afforded one object lesson of an already wellknown fact, viz., thet it is very exasperating to a prophet when people will do none of the things which he has predicted they would certainly do.

At the soiree of Old St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church the othei evening, the Rev. R. Ferguson, of Onebunga, got off some pood things. He said that they had St. An drew's, St. James', St. Stephen's, St. I'titer's, and St. David's, in the town and suburbs, butat Mevonport (Rev. J. Hill) and at Onehunga, Presbyterianism flourished, although not under the protecting aegis of saints. The fact is at Onehunga and the ISorth Shore they bad got the saints inside the church, and were indifferent as to their patronage outside ! He went on to say that a soiree was a good means of promoting fellowship, and making people acquainted with each other, although it was said that Presbyterians sometimes: became acquainted in other ways. For instance, in the old country, one Presbyterian was asked if he knew such a man, and some doubt being thrown upon his personal knowledge he exclaimed in accents of scorn, " Div I ken Sandy Macpherson ? Div I ken him ? Why we sleepit thegither in the same kirk for 15 years !" Mr. Ferguson expressed a hope that some of the St. Andrew's people had not made each other's acquaintance by "sleeping thegither in the same kirk " for a term of years. The mere insinuation or soupgon of suspicion of such a thing " woke up " the chairman —the pastor of St. Andrew's —effectually.

■ The Rev. James Hill narrated some inI teresting reminiscences of old St. Andrew's. : But in all the stories one important personage has been left out — the church officer, or " minister's man," and sexton, the late James Sims, whose connection with the church was from the earliest days, and who died a few years ago at nearly 90 years of age. Mr. Sims for over 30 years never missed a single service of the church. He had assisted at the christening, the marriage, and the burial of a goodly number of the congregation of old St. Andrew's. He was a Pantonite, and as became the " minister's man," when a deacon at one stormy church meeting during the Panton controversy became too demonstrative, Mr. Sims said to the deacon, " if ye pit a haun on the meenister I'll coup ye ow're the fence," and in repeating the incident years afterwards, he said, " I wud hae dune it tae !" At 80 years of ago he was at a church picnic, and in returning at night, he accidentally fell overboard. As the congregation could not afford to lose their " minister's man," Mr. Haslett, the well-known chemist, jumped overboard and rescued him. The old St. Andrew's people were so delighted at gettinw back their sexton again that they gave Mr. Haslett a 25-guinea gold watch for fishing him out. When the old man got frail they presented him with an armchair, an i placed his. portrait in the vestry. One day he was talking with " Lord John" (Mr. John Russell) and the late Mr. Whit son, and he remarked " There's twa o' the congregation I wud be sweer to bury— and Mr. Whitson. 1 ' He was over twenty years their senior, but so it fell out that he put them in their las'b resting place, where in due course the aged sexton, who had well-nigh filled the Presbyterian Cemetery, Syraonda street, in his nearly half a century of official duty, found his own long home.

Thin week five men were sentenced to three months' hard labour on a charge of embezzling goods, cargo of a ship. The offence is one difficult to detect and sheet home to the offenders, who are, in a sorb of fashion,'in a position of trust and confidence. In this case the police authorities had never been officially informed that any cargo was missing. Shortly before midnight on Saturday Acting-Detective Bailey got an inkling of what was going on, and by midnight had two of the men concerned under arrest. On the Monday he secured the remaining men implicated, and recovered stolen goods to the value of nearly £20, comprising oilskins, clocks, lamps, and a sowing machine. The manner in which this young officer worked up the case, and secured the conviction - of the offenders is highly creditable to him. MEHCtJTIO.