LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11950, 26 April 1902, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

"Let mo have audience for a word or two." • Shakeapere. I thought it would com* to this complexion at lasi. Mr. Seddon was accorded a great reception at the Sydney banquet at the Hotel Australia, and on rising to respond " there was a great shout of ' Kapai the King.'" This so put the King of the Cannibal Islands in good humoin that he was graciously pleased to state that he was prepared to proffer the olive branch to Australia, and he " protested against being used by New Zealand.-is as an instrument of torture to pin-prick the Federal Government on various matters." Some of the Sydney papers art; girding at him as "Pushful Richard," While one friendly critic dubs him " the first gentleman in New Zealand," and the Prince Regent was not "in it." But there is a fly in the pot of ointment. I notice that the secretary of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council states that " if he hud known what was in the address to Mr. Seddon he would have cut his right hand oil' sooner than have signed it. Being in a hurry he accepted an assurance." It was unanimously decided that those having charge of the testimonial be requested to erase from it that it was signed by the Council's secretary. Thus is the Premier wounded in the house of his friends.

A prisoner in the Auckland Police Court appears to have been painfully polite the other day. He " offered to plead guilty to a charge of theft although he was not guilty, in order to save the police the trouble of" a remand." This beats Charles 11., who said to those around his death-bed that he knew he was an unconscionable time in dying, but he hoped that they would excuse him. Or the conduct of the gentleman who could not rescue a lady from drowning because he.had not been introduced to her.

I do not know anything that would give a better idea of early times in Auckland— anything that would be more interesting to those of the citizens who like to recall the history of our beautiful city—than a statement of the commencement of the fund which is to be devoted to the erection of St. Matthew's stone church. The ladies of St. Matthew's had weekly sewing bees at which they made articles "to be disposed of at periodica] bazaars, and they raised money in every possible way. Mrs. Cadman, .wife of Mr. Jerome Cadman, who was for many years churchwarden, was prominent amongst these early workers. She has passed away. But one who should have honourable mention still remains amongst us—namely, Mrs. Hobaon, widow of Mr. William Hobson, of fchortland-street. A poet says, looking at a cathedral—

They dreamt not of a perishable houso That thus did buil.l. Those early citizens who worked hard to lay the foundations of a fund which should erect a. stone church which should be a credit to Auckland knew t many of them, that they would never live to see the result of their labours, but they knew also that they did not work in vain ; they were supported in their labours by a larger hope. Ido think that some special arrangement should have. been made that the remnant of the old citizens who were .at the institution of the fund should have been provided with seats in a position which would have enabled them to see and hear everything that took place. J know of one lady who was told that there would be no seats, and therefore she could not come. I believe that the few old people .would have- been as noteworthy, a sight as all the Masonic glitter and, grandeur. We are told in Ezra about the laying of the foundations of the second Temple—" The old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with 'a loud voice"; and many Shouted aloud for joy." The first church of tit. Matthew's was a* very humble affair, but good men and women worshipped there. The Hon. A. J. Cadman, when a boy, rang the bell for Sunday and week-day service, and the. payment for his labour was a shilling, a week There was no Arbitration Court to appeal to in those days. And even that shilling was devoted to the bell fund, or the stone church fund. The coinage of ■ the community was somewhat limited in these days, and the churchwardens resorted to an artifice which was, I hope, justified by the motive. They kept back the 2d pieces, and found it effectual in compelling ce< tain worshippers to put 6d in the offertory box. .It would be difficult to work such a contrivance now.

Another story in connection with St. Matthew's I may tell. It was the custom in the Anglican churches, and maybe is now for all I know, for the churchwardens to bring the offertory into the vestry, empty, it on the table, count it in the presence of the clergyman, enter the .sum in a book, which entry was initialled by the clergyman. One day Bishop Selvvyn (the first) was preaching at St. Matthew's. Mr. Jerome L'adman brought in the offertory, placed it on tho table, and proceeded to transfer The coins to his pocket. Bishop Selwyn said the usual course must be followed. Mr. L'adman said his practice was to count the money quietly at home. Something like a squabble ensued. Both the bishop ana Mr. Coalman were men who disliked very much having to give way. At last the bishop rose, locked one of the doors of the vestry, put the key in his pocket, and stood with his buck to the ether, which had no key. In the circumstance* Mr. ('adman was compelled to capitulate, and he sat down patiently and counted the small silver. He ate the leek, but it is not told that he did as Pistol did when he was compelled to do that penance.

The heart of the late Rev. Mr. Thatcher, the first minister of old St. Matthew's, and its architect also (the building now doing duty as a schoolroom), would have been gladdened had he been permitted to see the scene at the laying of the foundation of new St. Matthew's Church, Few persons would be inclined to believe that 50 years ago, only two hundred yards from the site, could be seen the trenches and ramparts of the old Ligar Redoubt thrown up to protect Auckland from the incursion of Hone Heke and his allies, should they determine on such a raid on the western side of the city._ There was one gentlemen present at the function who had been at the first services in old St. Matthew's Church, and an aged lady who was so determined to be present that she was taken there in a carriage. The presence of the Masonic fraternity was a guarantee that everything would be done "on the square. There was one unique incident—the two hotels across the roadway courteously hung out their banners on the outer wall in honour •if the event, which showed a very commendable spirit of live and let live. The church authorities had placed in the cavity of the stone a piece of oak from Canterbury Cathedral, erected in 1184, and a piece of sandstone from the Norman Church in Holy Island, erected in the 12th century. In' case any of the light-fingered gentry might desire to appropriate these precious relics deposited in the cavity oil the stone the church authorities thoughtfully announced that the stone only weighed a ton and a-half, so that no burglars need apply. At the laying of ,006 church foundation stone in Auckland it was announced that the "coins of the realm" had been placed under the stone, The thief worked for hours like a beaver and prised the stone up, only to rind that there was a solitary threepenny bit—tire devil's invention for church collections— reward his industry. '/

Lady Ranfurly's Cup was won by the Victoria Rifles, with a unique score of 33 out of a possible 200, while the rest of the scores dwindled down from ten to two. The targets were two feet square, on eacß of which was painted a silhouette of a man's head and shoulders. The targets were visible for six seconds, and then disappeared. Evidently the " disappearing trick was too much for most of the marksmen, and like the man who tried to catch the mosquito the riflemen could .only, hit the place .where it once was.

It is related of a Highland gillie that he encouragingly said to a Cockney tourist who. in shooting on the moor, had just missed a covey of partridges, " Ye jist missed them, hut ye gave them an awfti' fricht I" It is to foe hoped the Cup will be carried off next time by a larger score than 33, if our colonial marksmen are to come up to our " slim'' rivals on the South African veldt- No doubt the novelty of the conditions is largely responsible for the result.

Mr. J. H. Hannan has been at it again with his brother*councillors in the City Council. He now complains that whilst he has always paid 20s in the £ he has been called " a thief and a liar." If I remember rightly, he recently made an assertion of a discreditable nature to another councillor, and that gentleman retorted that if he really meant what. he said—then he was a liar, etc. I expect the other expression used in the heat of the moment referred to the " fence" business in which Mr. Hannan was personally concerned, and for his own credit's sake it is a- pity he did appropriate that fence, which was decided to be the property of the City Council. Then again with regard to the "20s in the.£" assertion, I would like to call attention to the fact that Mr. Hannan has now and again announced to the public that owing to certain favourable circumstances regarding himself he can afford to supply his goods cheaper than most other mercers and haberdashers. This I construe to mean that he pays cash and gets more favourable terms. As a man of business Mr. Hannan, under those circumstances, could get a rebate of, say, 5 or 2{ per cent. at the least. It is as well with one City Councillor to think of that old nursery rhyme:— not willingly offend, nor be easily offended." It would save a deal of unpleasantness.

Mr. Hannan sustains the reputation of his countrymen in the City Council, and last Council meeting was no exception t» the rule, for wherever ne sees a head he hits it, and he has driven one councillor balmy. The Mayor says it is irksome to him to hear Mr. Hannah tell the Council over and over again how honest he is, because it makes the councillors feel how dishonest thev are. One councillor wanted a " strong" ruling, and the Mayor said some strong things accordingly, including the cursory observation that Mr. Hannan, there was no doubt, was always wrong. This comes of the Council becoming weary of hearing Aristidea called the Just. It was in vain that Mr. Hannan "said that he paid 20s in the £. Mr. (Hover retorted that he always paid 40s in the £, so that his purse must be like the widow's cruse, or lie would have been bankrupt long ago. These wordy diversions relieve the monotony of the Council meeting*, and make the time pass fleetly by, but whether the ratepayers, who send representatives to the Council Chambers to transact their business, view the matter in that light is a moot 'point. Mr. Hannan has at all events the courage of his opinions, which is something in these days.

I believe that Admiral Beaumont was exceedingly polite when he was shown over Admiralty House by the chairman and other members of the Harbour Board. He inspected and admired all the rooms with deep (apparent) interest, and at the conclusion made a short speech to this effect, "Well, Mr. Chairman, I am sure it is very kind indeed of the Board to build this nice house for me, and for my successors on the Australian station. But the fact of the matter is that I do not want it." What could the united wisdom of the Board say to this? It admitted of no argument whatever, and the chairman could simply close the front door, lock it, and put the key in his'pocket. For one thing, which has not been thought of, the salary of the admiral" will not allow him to occupy. If he did live in it he would have to get a retinue of servants, and of course he would have to entertain to some extent, .And the pay allowed is not sufficient. This was a point never thought of, but it is art element in the cas* Perhaps it might be made part of Mr, Brigham's mission to get the Admiralty to add £1000 a year to the salary of the Admiral of the Australian station, to enable him to occupy Admiralty House, Auckland, for at least four months in the year. lam afraid, however, that Mr. Brigham will not find the authorities in a very complaisant mood when he lays before them the extra demands which he carries in his pocket. And then comes the question, What is to be done with Admiralty House?

The news of the death of the Rev. A. W. Webb, of Geelong, was received in Auckland by his old Auckland friends with regret. During bis pastorate in Auckland he had a pamphleteering controversy with Mr. Thomas Walker, trance-speaker and Spiritualist. Mr. Webb foresaw that Auckland city would spread southwards, and urged upon his denomination the purchase of land in the direction of Newton. His advice was not followed at the time, but the site of the Tabernacle was ultimately bought, which was on the lines of his views.

That the Colonial Treasurer should receive "conscience money" (£3), and at the seat of Government, shows that one cannot despair yet. of human nature. It is, however, a very rare event, and may cut both way's. It may be that the Treasury is not often cheated, as well as that restitution is being made when such a venial offence is perpetrated. At least it is regarded as venial, for men will cheat the Government who would shrink from cheating their fellowcitizens. The London Times, in acknowledging half-a-crown " conscience money" from a Scotchman, for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, remarked that " the iron must have entered his soul."

Mr. J. H. Witheford appears to have had a grand field day at the Harbour Board, and to have quite eclipsed Mr. J. H. Haniian's little flutter at the City Council. Mr. Witheford would not comply with the chairman's request, "Will you kindly sit down?" or the appeal of Mr."Cozens. "Try and remove me," said the dauntless Witheford,

"Let 'em all come," and asserted that "he had the chair," and anyone would think that " the chairman was a policeman on duty the way he stood." Mr. Stichbury thought it was disrespectful to the chairman of the Board that lie should say that the chairman "stood up like a policeman." Why should that phrase give offence ; a policeman is a man of some standing. Mr. Napier made a nasty insinuation in submitting that Mr. Witheford was not in a fit frame of mind to conduct himself properly. The chairman repeated his request to Mr. Witheford to " sit down," but that gentleman flatly replied that he would not. Thereupon the chairman (for the cannon's roar is the last argument of kings), said that he would have to " remove" him, not in the Land League's sense, but an indication that as a last resort the " chucker out" was in reserve, and up his sleeve, so to speak. Then Mr. Witheford goes softly, "He knew the chairman as one of the nicest men in Auckland, it was only when he got into that chair that .he removed at all from the paths of justice." Mr. Witheford had been on that uneasy chair himself once. He avers that a telegram he sent to the Board at the wish of the Admiralty, costing him £8 or £9, had never been offered to be repaid him yet. Well may he say that the Board is in the position of the Panama Canal. That any members of the Board could be guilty of the small ness of mind of preventing Mr. Brigham from seeing the coronation ceremony is past belief, for as one member said, " combine business with pleasure," but Mr. Witheford is utterly opposed to Mr. Brigham going on a mission to the Admiralty. "What is the use," Le says, "of keeping this official pendulum swinging between the Harbour Board and London?" That is something like an official pendulum." The moral of the unseemly squabbles which have arisen alike in the Harbour Board and in the City Council is that in the multitude of counsellors there is not always wisdom. Mr. Witheford should Cave tried his old remedial agent, a champagne luncheon, with an invitation to the Opera House thrown in, when possibly the chairman and members of the Harbour Board might not have proved so recalcitrant and affairs turned out differently.. Mebct/tio.

Worms undermine children's constitutions. Use Wade's Worm. Figs; Is braes,