LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11538, 24 November 1900, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

" Let bio have audience for a word or two." —Shakespere. One Auckland member has given an account of his stewardship, and I presume that the other two will follow suit at a convenient season. There must be considerable variations in the story that they have to tell. Mr. Fowlds is much less of a Ser.donite now than when he left, if, indeed, he is a Seddonite at all. What effect the Session has had on the other two representatives remains to be seen. At all events they will be united in this: that they have not been able to secure justice for our public works in comparison with the rest of the colony. Now, I just fancy what Mr. Scddon would have done if ho had had their case. We know what he did do. If he had stood in the shoes of either Mi. Witheford, Mr. Fowlds, or Mr. Napier he would have stonewalled every Government measure, he would have blocked the whole business ot the country, and would have compelled attention to our injuries. But the pitiful cry of, " Oh, we must prevent any Southern combination against us; we must remember our party; we must not give offence to Ministers; we must follow the chief of the party!'' I wish they would follow the example of their chief in his early Parliamentary days. A correspondent, "0.C.L.," writes: — " Interested as I always am in your weekly notes, I felt more than stirred this morning when I read The Toper." Bishop Warourton I know, and Eliot Warburton of later date, and I fancy there is a minor poet who bears the name. Anyway, I felt impelled to write the lines enclosed." The lines are a parody of The Toper," but I have only room for the following extracts: — His hand was the hand of a poaching man, his eyes were heavy and red. As lit cudgelled his brain, his wits to fan, for an ode ere lie went to bed; Warburton's tome was before him, as he hunted ill at ease For some choice little thing or other to be done into Kiplingese. Tims he came to the Prelate's presence (in his hide of burnished brass), Where the books in their aged binding were reach' behind the glass: But Warburton greeted coldly the Poet with achiuc head— ." Go." said he. "Little Author"— ye thy rest in bed. " How can I treat with thee further—l have listened behind my screen To stories of thine which were worthy and to some which should never have been; -. Great was the evil thereof and it groweth both fast and sore— Don't think that a Bishop will help thee to add to their swelling store! How can I treat with thee further? for the words that spring to thy mouth Are often the words of others—O poet of terrible drouth! Let these reverend rows bear witness;" but Uudyard answered swift ''Thou hast rested well, 0 Bishop— a poor fellow r. lift?" So in the Poet's study, from out of the shielding glass, The brains of Warburton, Bishop, were picked by the man of brass. And the flame of his scnl was kindled, cravenhearted, alive To give from a dead man's treasure the Ode of the Nations Five. At the banquet given by the colonel and officers of the 58th, to their Auckland friends, before leaving the colony. His Excellency Governor Gore Browne referred to the military services of the regiment, and also to the fact that they made the Khyber Pass Road, and also the road between Wellington and Porirua. He also said, " Not less than tin eighth of the entire population is composed of men who have served in the 58th regiment." On the same occasion. Major Thompson, who left in command of the regiment, said: " On. past services and lengthened sojourn here have created many ties, and engendered such an intimate union between the inhabitants of Auckland and the 58th Regiment, that it has become all but impossible to rend the bonds asunder, and I verily believe, unless the authorities hasten our departure we shall soon not have a man to carry the colours." Previous to embarking a ball was given by the inhabitants, and a return ball by the officers; and the residents of Auckland gave the whole regiment a dinner in the Barrack Square on November 10, 1858. A testimonial was presented to Colonel Wynyard, and Mr. Nicol, of the Masonic, gave the officers a lunch and kept open house for some clays after.

Concerning the colours of the 58th Regiment, I am indebted to Mr. Martin, of the Supreme Court, for the following interesting details extracted from the records which are now in the Court buildings. Colonel Chas. Hood, of the 58th, writing from Darjeeling, in May, 1868, to Colonel Balneavis, says : — The 58th thought in parting with the old colours that they could not do better than present them to the colony in which they had served so long, and so many of the old corps had met a soldier's death. In presenting the colours the officers were oil opinion that the cathedral of Auckland wajs the most appropriate place for them. The 58th did not anticipate the decision of His Lordship the Bishop. Apart from consideration of their intimate connection with the early history of the colony, it is hard to understand why the old consecrated colours, emblems of fidelity and courape, and loyalty and truth, were denied repose in a consecrated building, particularly the one to which before they left, the whole corps subscribed to furnish with suitable lighting apparatus, as a parting gift. However, self, officers, and regiment approve of the action taken and the final disposal of the old colours. The records show that th? colours were brought out from England by Mr. Burningham, cousin of Captain Burningham, of the regiment, tc Colonel Balneavis. New colours were presented to the regiment the day before by Captain Knollys. In April, 1861, Colonel Bridge wrote to Colonel Balneavis thanking Colonel Hood tor his " kindness in sheltering the colours when the Bishop so ungraciously refused the request." He also gave instructions to repack the colours, and by first opportunity send them addressed to the officer commanding the 58th Regiment, in order that they migh* be deposited in the church of the principal town in Rutlandshire, the county of 'he regiment. " D.C." writes as follows:—" Perhaps this may interest some ot your readers: I notice some of your correspondents reier to buttons from the uniforms of certain British regiments, at one time quartered in New Zealand, as being preserved as precious relics. I have also such a button, which came into my hands quite unexpectedly. A little over a year ago I was living in a house on the north-west side of Symondsstreet, which stands on what was originally part of the barrack enclosure. One day when strolling over a small plot of grass in my backyard, I noticed something shining close to my feet. On pressing it out with my knife, I found it to be a uniform button of the well-known 14th Regiment, which was some years in the colony. As the regiment left our shores in 1865 this button must have lain in the ground for at least 35 years. The ground had, of course, been turned over and over again, but the button had not been previously discovered. It is still in a good state of preservation, the gilt only being somewhat faded, but the crest of the "Royal Tiger" surmounted by the " Crown," and the figures " 14," with the superscriptions " India" and "Waterloo," are clear and distinct. An Aucklander whe is in Melbourne sends me his impression of the Cup. He says : —" It is 31 years since I last saw the Melbourne Cup, and what a transformation ! What a change ! With all the seething mass of humanity there I saw no disorderliness or drunkenness. This struck me as a very good feature. Even in the city 1 have seen but little, and I am forced to the conclusion that the drinking of the light wines has something to do with it. Cheap wholesome wines can be had here from 23 6d a gallon, as cheap as beer, and very much better. The Cup of 1900 was, something yery different to that of thj Olden Times,

so much so that I have no great desire to see another. The estimated number present was from 89,000 to 100,000.. Such a mass of humanity I never saw congregated in a comparatively small area before. It can to some extent be imagined what a crush and a rush there was to get a seat in the railway carriages to get to the racecourse, and it was 50 times worse getting home. The grandstand accommodation would require to be doubled in capacity, and then, in my opinion, would not seat the attendance on Cup day. The arrangements for refreshments are totally inadequate, and to get a cup of tea for the ladies is almost an impossibility." Seeing a Melbourne Cup is certainly a great sight, but the discomfort that one has to put up with detracts very materially from its charm. The lawns were a disappointment, and although much more extensive than Ellerslie, are not, to my mind, nearly so pretty. • The band also, to my idea, does not come up to Impey's Band, and they are devoid of the uniforms that add something to the effect. They had no bandstand or any protection from sun, wind, or rain. Fortunately it was a beautiful day, and gave the ladies every opportunity to display their charms and beautiful dresses. Some were pretty, but the ladies say few striking gowns were to be seen. If a man's opinion on such a subject is of any value, I should say the ladies on the Ellerslie lawn at the midsummer meeting look quite as nice, and certainly as pretty, as any I saw on the lawn at Flemington. The results of the race you already knew. Clean Sweep's win caused many sore hearts, and left crowds poorer, sadder, and it is to be hoped, wiser men. The gambling spirit pervades, as with us, every phase of society, and only the noble sport of bowling is, I was going to say, free of it, but even that glorious game is not quite free, for I observed that when the contest narrowed down to eight players the onlookers kept backing their favourite." A gentleman who had been to Sydney and forgotten a suit of old clothes he had with him, sent for it, and then the trouble began in the way of piling up charges. This is the note he received from a shipping agency : — We have had your parcel examined by 'he Customs authorities, who value it at £2, duty at the rate of 25 per cent., amounting to 10s. fo this has to be added 2s 2d wharf storage, wharfage 3d, and fumigation 3s 6d, our charge being 2s 6d, and freight to Warkworth Is. Total, 19s sd. If you can declare before tho Collector of Customs that the parcel contains clothing you have left behind in Sydney, there will be no duty. Kindly forward us the above amount and we will complete the matter. , Ultimately he got his clothes back again, after some-trouble, on paying half-a-crown ! ". Mr. Joseph Major, of Palmerston North, furnishes an illustration of the absurd anomalies in connection with railway freight*. If one instance takes the cake above all others, in the way of charges, he thinks it is the following : — |

Fourteen bowlers were journeying to Wellington from Palmerston North, and the secretary notified the stationmaster, and asked the price. The reply was: Secondclass charge for first-class accommodation, £1. The secretary collected £1 each from us to purchase tickets return for the outing. Just guess our surprise when meeting together at Palmerston North station, we were handed a Is first-class return ticket to Long burn, and told, "I will give you the other at Longburn." On arrival at Longburn we were handed a second-class return at firstclass rate to Wellington, and 4s 6d silver back each man. because we bought two lots of tickets instead of one lot, and caused more trouble. This illiberal Government of New Zealand charged a commission of 4s fed each (i.e., per ticket, apparently) on all societies travelling, for purchasing their tickets right through. I think Mr. Haselden, of your city now, an old Palmerston bowler, saved the 4s 6d each to the club members, that tho Government charged for their trouble of issuing through tickets.

The other night at the Opera House, a lady in the stalls had a two storey hat on. Various appeals were made to her, but in vain. At last one of the " gods" in the pit said plaintively, " I say, missus, will you take off that hen-roost and oblige. Inat fetched her, and she surrendered at discretion. The " gods" appear to be taking an unworthy revenge, for they are annoying the ladies in the stalls by smoking cigarettes, etc . and also by making objectionable remarks. A lady complains to me about this, and savs that" the management should put their heel down on such practices. There is ample time at the intermissions for any man to have a smoke, and it is cowardly and mean to annoy women with tobacco smoke at a public entertainment. Meroutio.