LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10079, 14 March 1896, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

''Wmehaveauai.rnceforawj.nlo^ Thk Premier's morning paper in Wellingto„ in , 0 ting ilia speed, of His Excel!el,cy to the natives at Galatea, credits him the following sentiment His Exf"eiicy ieferre Ito the sunshine which was now over the country, and which hail His Pl , .. i the irl win of the past, and added that [ 1 ',,, prf.'ont condition of things was due to ,' r ~..\ernniL'nt." This is, it is true, an » i.l utterance, and therefore ought not I , oe d tibted, but we should like to have it . i ...,1,5a non- Ministerial authority. Mr. [.l ivii's aphorism about the value of an ~] ~i! utterance maybe all very well in I ■ .and, but we are afraid that it does not i. i N,'\v Zealand, especially after Mr. v. ■ I - displays in London. The statement j. .. ..;>•« hat ipiestionable upon ho very t ( , •• i', because instead of New Zealand 'fv... i: iin sun>liiiie, 1 never remember so .. . K >nj. The l'iewera natives, living j".'• ... ir seclude! (wests on these lonely i, i- .;;is. are not likely to know much . ■ i lie condition of New Zealand . .'iv, and one Joes not see why His

: t , ,v -h.iul 1 have as».-uro«l them on a ; •• ..I villi v Inch I In.')' ilo not cart 1 . My I . ;ii m i i'C. i l lie statement is . i liv lie fa ,- l that in t:ie 11> ports p 1 in tilt* llmitl of His Excellency's ' - tin i [Milling of this poetically;i ..fi .-ji'.inn'tit.

1' . i;,i; in colonial character which ... ii iv-.' ..truck lie Kev. Mr. Hiuvei* • '!.; _• y i- il.< re.-"U'f.-iicss. People v,, , i. ' li-tcn to ft loci lire as they do . ■. T! i v iiui't have ail interval, v . i..;- breach of continuity 'hat may ;.• :he lecture. The rev. >»entloraan, . . ibout his New Zealand tour, ■ " Sinvihe pointed out to me the ,■ ~• ,i-e i't an interval. The colonial • • .•;• _'oes out, and in vulvar parlance • : « up' The 11 lies'tongues are loosed. )•' , .i.ttav- ju of the way things were ■ •• ;• the io.<r of exci'ed conversation ._, i i\** out tii' 1 instant 1 left the stage " .V : ;;.i_' therefore to that accurate au I,.tv, Mr. Smythe, the men of New , ... i ,ki liences te.j'.iire an interval to I; , r i:p, ' an 1 mo ladies quite a* j.. .:,'iu v need an interval to 'all;. Jiiie a,other and an unanswerable .*■ i:i* in favour of the ladies. The one ha n:;-' appeal for refreshment ti tiie L , : .4 - • Mint- of whisky or beer, while pie oi!!-: 'as buck upon the humaui.int: :,:i 1 civci.in--' influence of the exchange of iThere can be no doubt which is the ver and coat.-cr.

An d ler'.y native was recently committed

•Nt! in a southern court tor a ,-erijus J e. S..ori after, b.iil \va* fouml fur

a:i i he w,i? toll iii.it lie coul 1 jro free

i : i-. criminal session.-'. Bit lit? had bt-eti • *he t.ck of laving out the jjr'inn 1< of i.i •• i uiirtliouse in an arti-tio fashion, anil he ue. .me i to accept his liberty till he had c •:n(»letf«.l he job. He was allowed to t :i;.un in paul till hi# work was done. It is ;.i'.is:aciory to learn that- when he came up tir trial, the first evidence was such that '.he Crown prosecutor withdrew the charge.

The moral' of tin Norfolk Islanders may PC lax in certain respect®, but thai they are an inmcent an I unsophisticated people is obvious from an inci lent, which occurred at a meeting he! i lately to con-i-ier the proposal t' be more completely ruled from New Jjouth Wale?. In the course of 'he debate, one of the elder- M the settlement rose and wii'l thai th- i-!«-.t w:h preposterous; New South Wales -implv wanted to palm off on the people Nor io.k Island itsnational deb'. Considering that the population of Norfolk Island amounts to a few s.'ore p< rsons, and that the public dolt or Neve South U ales teaches about £in).W').Uo'i, this would be a serious consideration. Bat the man who pit forward the sr.'om-nt saw nothing •absurd about it, nor did those to whom he spi-.iie. In some respects, therefore, it is c.e..r that the Norfolk Islanders are a guileless people.

My faith in that "good man Stead," and the " Review of Review-," In? been shaken tor some time past, and it has receive'! another rude (-hock irom hi? account of his interview with Archbishop Crrke. Mr. Stead told lii'W lie went over to Ireland to see the Archbishop, lie told h.s hearers all about the thought* that coursed through hi? mind as he pary I the deck of the aVjiuer that conveyed him across the Irish lii.ihti>'l, itid then he give lis the, Archbishop* life and opinion* from his own lip j , with elab .rations and redactions by Stead. Anyone read ins; the nirra'ive, and who knew the Arehbuhip while lie was at Au'jiihiid, cou.d see that there was a stro:iL; infusion of non-etise, and that it whs ludicrously inaccurate and blundering in iiiiinv par lieulai's. Hut what has roused the Archbi-iiop's co-religionists here wa« hie expressed commendation of our national FV'cm of elunation. Mr. Stead has subjetted the laith of his believers to a large amount of strain, but lie must not go to} far.

the witness summmed at the Rnjirene (our; thi- M?s.-ion i- a girl of about twtlvt or fomteeii years of a'/e, who must, in tiif-y times when the «di jolmivttr is ,'kbroa I, be re«f«r-i-<l as a phenomenon. .She i» a Europem, but cannot speak English, and can only be dealt with as a Maori thr .uL'li an intornrerer. She caire into po-«. of the Maoris, and has been reared by mem. 'Joe could iinder-tand a ca-e of this kin I in the very early days of the colony, bat that ii should occur now is very tinoular.

People win) have "fa !■>" naturally 'endeavour i i capture the W'-iiiblir' which jrepre-ent ihe churches. The l'ruhibitiani c ! B so !• iv«- fill the Prote--lata I ■ii *- - »x'- pi the Ati'.'lic-ins, and, 1 hap-, 'lie bvieriaii*. Tiie-e bodies artinn lue principleot prohibition, although a ;<« 1 iii.ii,■. : the individual- composing them m:iv c n-.i, i they are entitled to take a (;lh. s < ot -pin!- when they think it w<inl I do then) [f'l'i l. •-v«:i ny .-imply exhilarating their minds. Br the frien-lc< ol peace have failed with the U'e-leyan.i (inference. They called attention to me spread of the war spirit, which they averro l was contrary to the spirit of Christianity. It was an evil both from a moral and a pecuniary point of view, and the letter deplored that it .should be so prevalent after nineteen centuries of the Christian era. The Conference were very shy about the matter, and at length decided merely to "suitably acknowledge" the letter.

• The Prohibitionist is again on the warpi.'li, Like the child in Pour's eon]) picture, " He won't be happy iill begets it." lie is never sati.-lied, "l.'oine will, what may.' Prohibition is his aim, hi' l li ibby, hi-' guid i'ljr star, his god. Mr. Scdd m can truckle and endeavour tuliumuur hi» whim* by tinkerin); tire Licensing Act in such ainanner as (>) m a the "trade" aimo-t prohibitive, and promise to make it much more so in the near future"", but -till the Prohibitionist •is never satisfied. He appeals now to his ' 'l«:ir friend?," by circular, on behalf of differing humanity, to ask their co-opera--11 hi to make his League a great power for L'"o'!, during the present year, which he pKimisei will bo a memorable one in the hi-i-y of this,'our colony. Then, in the ('■ramble of liip circular, which ho is delivering from house to house, he takes I!i-ii■ i-s for the spread of temperance prill'ii and also credit in stating that "our C-'v is, his and Mr. SeddonV) licensing h».-, while not perfect, are in advance of f'y previous ones, conferring as they 'I", great power upon the electors, •"■el upon the friends of temperance, gn-at, responsibility." Exactly so. He th nks the i-1.-ptions in the near future call for educational work at his hands. He propose" to meet this supposititious demand by inaugurating frequent tea-fights or public meetings (of t-jototillers), by conferences, mid bv the publication of Tit Bits, or suitable literature brought out for the occasion, showing why Peter Purcell took the pledge, how jovial John Jones was redeemed with a jujube, and handsome Harry made heartily happy when he knocked oft th e Jei , r- ah this work, ho pleads, will entail a considerable expenditure of money and lime, and lie wants liiu

friends to help him in both, The minimum subscription in money is, according to his Rule 2, fixed at) one shilling. The maximum is the dissemination of suitable literature. Herewith I tender my contribution (to be continued in my next) towards t.ho object of his fostering carethe education of the peoplp, to the ultimate suppression of the liquor traffic. And after that-—the deluge.

My reference to the deluge reminds mo of one of the remarks of the Rev. Mr. Fairdough at the Prohibition League meeting on Tuesday evening. He stated that to his mind, New Zealand from it" isolated position was well adapted for thoroughly toting the prohibition movement, differing in this respect from the States of America, where it. had been tried, bub which were mere specks as it wore in "a sea of whisky." People have since been asking, "What is the steamboat fare to America Where is this sea of whisky? It will be found only 111 the reverend speaker's fertile imagination. Tho Americans are a sober people. This is a libel upon them.

It was pleasing to read the metaphors of Captain Russell, in his address to the electors at Hustings as reported in Tuesday's Hkkald. The policy of the present (iorerimient ho described as one of bounce, bluster, banquets, and bunkum, ho might fairly have added bombast and braggadocio. The additions to the Ministry he compared to component parts of a salad—two parts oil and onfc part vinegar, the former being represented by Mr. HallJones, and the latter by Mr. Tlios. Thompson. To my mind prohibition Hall-Jones i- the better representative of the " vinegar" component, while Mr. Thompson more suitably represents the oil. It is more in his nature than Mr. Hall-Jones to pour oil on troubled waters, and there will be plenty of that wanted shortly, when the House meots.

It strike? me that advantage might, bo taken of Professor Kennedy's ability in the hypnotic art, by the powers that be, ami by seeking to make use of his services turn them to profitable account, I commend my ideas first and foremost to the thoughtful consideration of ho chairman of the Charitable Aid Board, with the object of trying an experiment on a Urge scale at the Costley Home, with a view to make the expenses le< cosily at that institution. If Professor Kennedy can put a man to sleep for four days, I presume he can extend the period to any number of days, and so pro long the sleep to suit convenience. Lack of room and possibly want of funds compel tlio Board to refuse numbers of applications in really deserving case®, but with Mr. Kennedy's aid room could be found for all. and great economy effected in the cost of the establishment. None of the patients could refuse being put to sleep for a week or so'at a stretch, as with the aged and infirm a greM deal Of pain and suffering would be saved, and with the more healthy <pid robust tmini would be prevented. If tlio number of inmates weredividod by seven, and a batch put to sleep every day of the we6k, it naturally follows that tlio Home could be kept for about a seventh of the expense. This would prove a great saving. Should this prove the success 1 anticipate, the desirability of extending Professor Kennedy operation' to the inmates of the Avondale Asylum could be seriously contemplated, and Liebig's extract of meat could be procured wholesale to sustain the patients during their sieep. The staff of attendants could be reduced, padded rooms, straight waistcoats, and all other contrivances for protection of violent patients could be dispensed with, as should necessity demand anyone coul 1 be again put to sleep by a few passes. From a humanizing point of view this feat of hypnotic sleep should commend itself especially with the unfortunate insane, so I hope Mr. Ewington wiil take note of it, and procure its adoption at the Asylum. For various reasons I don't think it would do to adopt the method at Mount Eden ; there would be too many malingerers, and there would be no chance of making the gaol selfsupporting. Professor Kennedys services, if avail iblo, might often be sought after by many of the " remittance) men," who having run through their funds, would have no need to avail themselves of the moneylender at enormous interest, but would only have to get put to sleep until the timo when their next remittance is expected.

I stated list week that an interesting relic of the Waikatowar had recently fallen into the hands of the municipal authorities, namely, the bugle used to sound the* "assembly" and "fall in" at Kangiriri, on the order of General Cameron on 20th November, ISG3. The relic, ib appears, was given by tho General at me«s to Major Tighe, and before Major Tighe's (leath he gave it to Mr. Moss Brown, an old Auokl inder, now railway station master at Ashfield, NewSoulh Wales. Mr. Brown, who has been in possession o ; the relic for years, thinking that the bugle would interest the old identities in Auckland, sent it down by Mr. .losephson, of Ashfield, captain of the Sydney bowling team, to the Auckland municipal authorities; with a request that they would hand it over to 'he Auckland Museum, as a gift in his name. This has been done, and Mr. Chee«emari, curator of the Mus-um, intends to have it, placed in a gla's case. It bears the broad arrow and the name of the maker;, Boosey and Sons, 24 and 2S, Holies-street, London, ISSJ), and apparently two letters " V.1).,' 1 also a later inscription, Rangiriri, N.Z-, ISG3.' There is nothing lo indicate the name of the corps it belonged to, but, there is rri»r.n to believe it belonged to H.M. both. The 65th Rcgb was told off as. the storm, ing party, and therefore thfl first t:) fall in and advance. The journals of tho day state

From the deck of th» st<nmer the advance was J.'aiulv risible. On 'hi hwjlt sOUiuhwj the atlntwf., the Hsth rushed forward, led by iheir otli :prs through tliescrub, under a heavy lire from the enemy, and gained the lirst line of pits, over which numbers of them sprang and p.nuatft'd the enemy. Captain liresson, Lieutenants Talbot, Chevalier, and Adjutant Lewis, of tlio6ji.li, were wounded in the advance. .

Talking of historical bugles, there are tv;o others which would be of considerable interest to colonists. Tho first liorso niccs in Auckland were held in the first week of January, IM-, at Epsom, some officer.* of the garrison bringing down racer.' 1 from Valparaiso, Lieutenants Best and Smart, Dr. Gammie, and Messrs. J. P. I'u Moulin, James Coates, \V. Young, " Rakau Wood, Brewer, Baton, Corinack, and Dr. Pollen, taking an active interest in the meeting. Tho butjloi" of the 80th Regiment was pressed into tho service to sound the jockeys "to saddle." The races were remarkable for die number of " bolt?," but the historian is silent, as to whether the bugler " blasted " the horses and sounded the "advance." The bugle was blown, if not the horses, at tho finish. Where is that bug'o now? Another bugle of great interest would be the one referred toby Dr. Thomson in his "Story of Now Zealand

Oil the 10th M:iv, IWU. 50 of H.M. 58th, miller Lieut. I'agi'. stationed at lioulcott's firm, in tie Hutt Valley, were surprised ail hour before day light by 70 natives, under Mamaku, and seven soldiers killed and four wounded. A noble deed was done on this occasion. Allen, the bugler of the detachment, a mere lid, was struck on the right arm with a tomahawk while sounding the alarm, raising the bugle with his left, he blew a blast which roused his slumbering comrades, before another blow kid him dead the bugle was earned .away as a trophy, and subsequently recovered iu one of Ruu»iluteala.'s deserted camps.

If that buu'lo cnulrl be obtained it would be of great historical interest.

The suggestion of His Excellency the Governor to the Urewera chiefs—mado during his late trip—that they should build a model fighting pa in their country, which should serve as a historical reminder of the Past, and be an illustration of the ingenuity and bravery of the Maori people, and of interest to tourists, is one well worthy of consideration. So far as I know, the only models of Maori pas mado hitherto oil a complote Bcalo were those of Ruapekapeka, in- the Northern war of 1845, sent Home to Woolwich Academy by Colonel Wynyard and the lato Colonel lialneavis, and of the pa at Rangariri, sent by General Cameron to Sandhurst, His Excellency's suggestion gw aawcU further, namely, to

provide not merely a model, bub a facsimile of a fighting pa, to perpetuate in historical remembrance in the time to come the prowess and genius of the Maori people in the matter of military fortifications.

In last week's Local Gossip I stated that one of the departing Napier bowlers by the s.s. Tarawera, as the steamer left the wharf, pleaded enthusiastically for "one cheer more for the Auckland ladies," and one of his comrades who remained behind, retorted, "if the sexagenarian bowler went on frivolling in that) way ho would wire to Mrs. Hone I" Thereby hangs a tale. Hope pondered over the rotorb all the way down to Gisborne, and not being at all anxious to "face the music''on return to his Napier home, he wired up from Gisborne to his comrade'in Auckland, "Keep it dark ' old man,' and I'll send you a photo, of Frater and Shirley's teams in the final of the Champion Rinks." A straw shows the way the wind blows, and ib is now fair and due South.

There appeared some months back in the Hkrald Supplement a story entitled " The Mystery of ft Policeman's Troop Horse." That mystery has now been solved, as the " Policoman's Troop Horse" was good enough during the week to break his neck, and has thus saved the necks of a squad of policemen. Bucephalus has had a history, being half-brother to Mangere, the steeplechaser. First of all, Constable Ready had him out at New Lynn at an inquest, but the horse nearly pave the coroner another job, for half-a-mile out of New Lynn the animal "took charge," and Ready feeling that the bosb of friends must part came down on the road metal like a pile driver, while tho horse made for Henderson with an empty saddle in fair Cup time. Ready went to the Hospital, and for six weeks was wearing a piece of sticking plaster the size of a dinner plate. The "Star of India" said he would rather march with Roberts to Candahar, as he had done before, than have anything more to do with "that bloomin' 'oss." Constable Kelly, who had been well acquainted with tho horse, took him in .hand again, and a week afterwards the animal bolted with Kelly at Mount Albert, and clurced into a family party going home in a buggy- Kelly mado a job lot of the . family partyin fact, " bust up the show," I getting off himself with a broken collarbone. Constable Stuart Emersen then tackled the horse. He was a celebrated iight weight jock on the West Coast, an excellent cross-country rider, and for ten months lie has successfully managed the brute. The other day, however, he had " his neck clothed with thunder - the horse, nob Stuart—and commenced in Symonds street a series of gyrations and somersaults, like Mark Twain's mule whon the mountain field gun wont off on its back. Stuart was glued to tho saddle — a sort of police Centaurin which one could scarcely tell where the horse ended and tho constablo began. The horse got his blood up, so did Stuart, and when the struggle ended, horse v. man, Stuart came out "top of tho heap." But Stuart was too high in tho stirrups and riding for a fall, and he died atyay from a mounted constable to an ordinary peeler on a Queen-street beat with a baton in his coat tails. The rumour is that ho was dismounted because ho would nob give the horse a fair show to break his neck !

However, as one door shuts another opens. Another constable, Moffit, came strongly to the front with ft rush, and believing himself a knight of the pigskin (for Hope springs eternal in the human breast), offered to hll the gap left by Stuart, and do the llarey trick on Bucephalus. He was given a forenoon to make the acquaintance of the horse. Two hours afterwards the liorso bolted in Mechanics' Bay with Motht, charged into an express and broke his neck, and well nigh that of his rider. The halfbrother of Mangere is now in a knackers yard-let him R.1.1'., say the policewhile Moffit is in dock undergoing repairs, and at further expense for sticking plaster. The Commissioner is now looking for Mangere, the half-brother of Bucephalus, for if he has a weakness it U for "blood," and a deputation will wait upon Stuart Emerson to take the new purchase in hand, as ho is the only man who has an unbroken record for keeping his "mount." Mercctio.