LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10515, 7 August 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

; # ' Mill Bβ taw audience for a word or two." f< 1 Shikeinri. vi fgt passengers and crew of the ill-fated I iteuaer the Tasmania ieem to have acted «{tb e«at coolness and courage after the tew*' struck. Indeed, ae one passenger, a ' policeman, remarked with a tinge of disappointment, it) was the quietest wreck possitie; It has been sought to draw a comparison in this connection between the ; present disaster and the Wairarapa catastrophe, much, of course, to the disadvantage of the latter. But it is forgotten, apparently, that the two sets of circumstances were altogether dissimilar. When the Wairarapa struck she tilted over sea- ' war d and her decks were immediately twept by the rollers. In the case of the Tasmania the vessel remained on an ' ( ten keel. No seas came on board. All the lights were kept burning. The boats pert' lowered without difficulty. The crew and passengers took their places in i!,effi without running any risk. What would have happened had she canted over, ind been smothered by terrific seas ? It is certain there would have been dreadful loss of life. Indeed, everything was so favourable to securing the safety of the passengers, and the order on board was so admirable, and there was plenty of time to spare before the vessel went down that I am a little surprised that no attempt was made to eave the mails. The first cry in a time of danger is"Take care of the ladies," but, unfor Innately, the ladies will not take care of themselves. There never was a better illustration of this than on Sunday last when the Tarawera arrived with the TaaBania'a shipwrecked passengers. One would naturally expect that with thousands of pen blocking the approaches to the tee, the prospect of being crushed at) the barriers, or of being pushed over bodily into the sea, that women would be conspicuous by their absence. Nob so. Women, with their infante in their arms or in perambulators, were in the centre of the surging crowds. Apparently, gratification of a selfish, idle curiosity (which, by the way, it was impossible under the circumstances to gratify), was of more consequence than the safety of their babies. That some of the little ones were not flattened out, was more a matter of good luck than guidance. One woman, who was doubled up over a barrier through the pressure of the crowd behind, was only saved from serious injury through the barrier giving way. One or two active and intelligent constables did beg the women to take a back seat to avert accidents, but their appeal fell on deaf ears, and the Advanced Woman surged on to the disarrangement her frills and feathers. - A merchant of my acquaintance in Queenstreet met me the other o}y, having in his hand some missives in blue. He asked me if I were a J.P. I enquired, more in anger than in sorrow, why he thought I had got to that stage of degradation ? He rejoined that a man had come to him wanting work »s a handy man, and as a further reason why he should employ him, said " be was a J.P., 'and might be useful !j I wish just now I had him on the premises." Then he whispered in my ear, " Do you think ' The Only Staff Officer , would make a good J.P. ?" 1 admitted that the matter was worthy of consideration, for nine-tenths of the J. P.'a would give their eyes to own that breastful of medals, and to acquire that majestic carriage, which is a cross between Sir Garnet Woleeley's and Sir Evelyn Wood's, with Lord Roberts thrown in. Ain't King Richard agoing it—"a private audience with the Pope !*' One would have liked to have witnessed the historical meeting between the two Infallibles. Did Richard kiss the Pope's toe, or the Pope kiss Richard's—that's a point on which; the •■-tableman is ■silent?'- Some- people-believe that Richard has enough brilliant audacity to have extended his pedal extremity for osculation by Leo XIII. Still, it was a delicate compliment for the political Pope to call upon the spiritual one. There is perhaps some reason to suspect that King Richard, not content with being made a Bight Honourable and "doctored" was actually sniffing after the Qolden Rose. Occasionally we get "apples of gold in pictures of silver." That seems to have been the case at St. Paul's on Sunday night last. Such a series of coincidences are not to be got every day. Tho parson was a mining expert, whose text, I understand, was from Job, "Surely theie is a vein for the silver and a place for gold where they fine it." A legal manager read the lessons. I wonder if he rang in the passage from Luke, " He that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip." Last of all, a tharebroker, as the likeliest to scoop the pool, took up the collection. They got " the colour "in the collection—a solitary half-eov.-so that panned out all right, unless it is an old battery trick to put in gold coins to swoll the total in the crashing. It may be that Solomon in his Proverbs foreshadowed the hyperphoria process when he said "the fining pot is for silver |and the furnace for gold." It only wanted to crown the Whole business that the organist should have taken as his opening voluntary, " The Campbells are Coming." Of course there is a bit of a slump on in the sharemarkeb just now, but the Psalmist, wiljh his prophetic eye, saw better times in the future, and therefore he says, " Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." .Dr. Wolfenden (ell in badly last Sunday at the Presbyterian Church, Onehunga. It appears that the acoustic properties of the church are such that when the wind is high a delightful sound goes on in the roofing as if of a peformaneeon a heavenward piccolo of flute. The doctor stood the nuisance as long as possible, and then expressed his surprise that the Presbyterians stiouli tolerate " whustling 011 the Suwbath," and requested some of the faithful to go outside and "stop that fellow playing on the flute. None of the faithful responded to the summons, but a note was passed up to the pulpit, oxplainine the why and the where- ' fore of the whistling To say that the cdngregation laughed consuraedly scarcely; expresses the situation — the " Presbs. positively kickered.

At the Harbour Board meeting this week I notice the foreman reported that the cost of a wharf at Humbug Point would be £260, but he could not recommend that the work lie carried out. He said there would bo a <t«at difficulty in forming the approaches. I should Imagine as much. I* this anything to do with the Howick wharf ? I notice that tin-kettling a wedding party das once more led to bloodshed. The father . of the bride, it is said, "remonstrated, with . a gun," for the line must be drawn some- • "here. If the bridegroom bad become exoperated one could have understood it, but things must have become very sultry •hen his father-in-law argued with a shotRun. This Australian incident should be : . •warning to the New Zealand larrikin, ; *ho, not content with tin-kettling in rural >. districts, occasionally mounts the roof of i tbe dwelling of" the happy couple" (?) and ': - Hinge brickbats down the chimney. |r i.j : fr , . 'The death of the late Baron de Thierry, V- eldest son of tho celebrated Baron de ;> Thierry, of old New Zealand celebrity, m etwee one page in New Zealand history, as H.. Baron de Thierry who died atPonsonby . *»» the last of a band of italwart brothers. ' ' The first Baron de Thierry was of a good . hmily and education, having been a student . '• « Cambridge Univerity, where he met the £ev. Mr. Kendall, one of the Mew Zealand Church missionaries then on a visit to Lugl«nd Kith the chiefs Hongi and .Waikato. Hougigave the Baron a mere, which after*»fds passed into the possession of the clue! •: , Jaipuri, of the Thames, recently deceased. ' His thoughts seem to have turned to aew Zealand through hie acquaintance with the gn'nionaiy, and he gave good* .to Mr. Mall, who claimed to have purchased m aOO.OQO acne on the Baron's behalf. Before 1 1 cqming to New^eal»nd ; the Baton appears m ♦• have negotiated with the Government of

New Grenada for permiiiion to dig a c»n»l »oroM the Isthmue of Darien. The GoTernment) allowed bim the exclusive privilege of receiving tonnage and other dues, for a stated period, on all veseele navigating tne canal, besides giving other facilities lor the completion of hie gigantic undertaking, but all came to naught.

In 1835 the settlors in New Zealand were alarmed by the announcement that Charles, Baron de Thierry, Sovereign Chief of New Zealand and King of Nuhuhia, intended to make himself King of New Zealand. The announcement of his intention was followed by a declaration of independence, signed by 35 native chiefs—fche Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand. In 1836 Baron de Thierry left England with a retinue of 93 followers, and landed at Hokianga in January, 1837,,totake possession of his territory in New Zealand. Mr. Edward tampbell, writing of him in 1840, says: The Baron is residing on a small farm, which belongs to Captain Voung. He is very gentlemanly and hospitable to any person who may chance to visit him, which many do from curiosity." A Sydney merchant, in a letter in a Sydney paper of the period, says: "We had a good run from Sydney to Hokianga.. Wβ passed the firsb night at the residence of Baron de Thierry, who gave us a most hearty welcome, and entertained us in a hospitable manner. The Baron is a most gentlemanly and welleducated man. He is still devising projects respecting New Zealand, over which he fancies himself yet destined to rule." The Baron, on Captain Hobson's arrival, laidaeide his claim to the "crown,"and settled down in peace with his family as settlers. He appeared to' have only contemplated the exercise of authority over the territory he purchased, but he got neither land nor power. Until his death in 1866 he persistently petitioned Government for compensation, and as late as 1875 his eons pleaded for restitution. My acquaintance with the Baron doted from 1851. He was still, though suffering from reverses of fortune, and the failure of his schemes, the same kindly-hearted gentleman of tho olden time—courteous and debonnair. I cannot close my weekly gossip without a brief reference to the death of my old friend and sometime colleague, the late Mr. W. Wildman. Had he been blessed with health and fortune, he would have been an ideal literary Bohemian of the new school, for he bad a warm and unselfish nature* and loved to eurround himself with congenial spirits. Two of my pleasantest evenings in the colony were spent at his house, where I met J. L. Toolo, the great English comedian, and Christie Murray, the English novelist. It was at such little gatherings thab Air. Wildman's generous and loveable disposition shone most brightly. His knowledge of books was wide and varied, and he was a keen judge of character. Ib was most interesting to listen to his literary talk, for he had met many authors. No man was better known to tourists nnd others when he carried on the business of bookseller at the corner of Shortlandstreet, anil the news of his death will be heard of by many in many lands with genuine regret. Death draws his bow, and swift the arrow sneeds Unerring to its mark. Nor cares hn whom it hits, Noarmour can withstand tlu fatal dart. No shield, however broad or strolls, aterb the shaft. When we are struck we fall—and all must fall. It is the common lot. Yet sore we miss thee, And for long slialt tUou be mourned— Tiiou best of Mentis, unselfish and sincere, Hearty of speech and fiee of hand, A kindlier Or a manlier m in ne'er walked. Mekcotio.

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