LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12818, 18 March 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

fLtt me have audience for a word or two." j .W : ' """.'< '■< "'■ ■ ; ••'-' : — Slinkespere. j Sr.i'DON stories . are plentiful 'just ■:■ now. One refers to a fond father and partisan politician Who brought., his'' very/ small j y daughter .to, .the ' Premier in .a' northern 'township. "She says that sho wants to see •Dick:'." '-. he explained. " "I'm glad to see you. my little girl," said'the Pre- : micr. t, ''And again when you. are older, Vj hope that you will learn to say Mr. 1 <cddon." I' do , not always agree with '■ King Richard, but in this ease I think we «hall all i agree that the rebuke was deserved, ' though the fond father is reported not to have seen it. But then some men ft re born pachydermatous.

■".' Here is another Seddon stoty, which •■■isn't a story, but a reported . fact. Realising that something must be done to convince the North of Auckland 1 electors that / . the Government means to give them someto be grateful for, Mr. Seddon apH pears to have given peremptory orders to get railway construction moving. At any Ti.\e, it was reported during the week that \ ■ the Whangarei railway engineer had left -''. 'for the end of the line to put'"a third

man" to work.

Surely, Whangarei will

not bo SO foolish as to go Opposition after .this convincing proof of how the Government can push its railway along if it only keeps on the soft side of Mr. Seddou. "A third man!" If one man can shift:, a

cubic yard of earth in three hours how manv years will it. take a third man to take the .Whangarei line to the terminus, and duplicate the . Auckland-Penrose section. - : ,

,'•:' Talking of putting men on the railway i seo in an. exchange that a casual railway . ; onployee who lost his leg by an accident ' ,t- Palmers-ton North has been supplied with an. artificial limb, and is to be given • permanent employment at. 7s per day. This : is. one of the Departmental items which will please everybody, but I mention it; ■ principally : because I have often 1 been 'struck with the number of maimed indi- ,: viduals to bo see"-in tho colony, and have often wondered if something could not- be •done to find artificial limbs for them.

' At Home there is what is termed the ; Surgical Aid Society, now over 40 years old, which provides artificial limbs and -other surgical •appliances to the poor, and \ does an immense work, dealing with near'jy 55,000 cases 'last year alone. The King '; is patron, .and Lord Aberdeen president of the society, which hast its - branches and I auxiliaries ah oyer the three kingdoms. /•There would seem to be a big scope for 1 some such work in, a colony like, ours, : where' serious*accidents are, so frequently "ibappeuiug among people J who although in § no way poverty-stricken, are not common- ; ly able to pay tiro high price of •■•good artificial limbs. Tt sonic energetic philanthropist would only take the question up some- .. thing might be dor.* '. •

At Whangaici "Mr. 'Sodden, complained that he had -been • -ignored by the—local press, which lie Vai'd J had' taken' very tittle notice of his visit." In fact. lie went on to say, so far as * the press was concerned, "he might v have dropped from heaven." He was certain, ho added pathetically, that more, notice would have been given of the .coming of , a theatrical company than of their Prime Minister. The idea of Mr. Seddon in the character of a fallen angel is good, 'out I think the role of a wandering mummer more appropriate.

•A l * ■ ' According, to the Wangnnui " Chronicle Mr. Carroll has been./expounding a'new

noxious weeds : ; policy to .a. Hamilton inter-

.' viewer. That 'journal prints a Press 'As- ■ sociation telegram which, states that Mr. 3 Carroll said "the question of dealing with noxious weeds would have to be- consider-

fed'as-a whole, and dealt with inconipie--1 liensibly, as regards .settled lands, • Crown. Ikinds, r! and native, . lands." I am; looking -i forward -with much interest to the effect Fof| this incomprehensible'' policy " v

;V; A ]iavvy,oii\theWailil railway line writes it) me complaining of the miserable pay {.the Government is giving „ that class of men. Hero is what he says: ""lis all \<: fere good for the Government to make other people pay wages and bring them under the jurisdiction of the Arbitration ; Court. ' But the' navvy has to sue for them. 'Tis a hard affair to pay a man only half wages for a month's work. They X must give, what they please.' Some men. treated like this have live or .six youngsters to support, and youcajinot buy 1001b '\ of pot a toes,, for ihem under 12s. 'Tis all - very well for the Premier, to go around pic- ■ nicking and spouting, with plenty of good tucker aboard. But the navvy has to pay for what he gets." I hope my correspon- . dent laid hi* views .before the Premier, . when Mr. &eddon was l at Waihi tiiis week.

/■-. "■.'•■ During- this diy weather, . tanks have '':. often become exhausted, and outside the

I.'.water supply districts, well-water Iras to be used for washing clothes, and for bathing. The difficulty is that wells -ire very

i-joften mineralised,' particularly 'with iron, .'.which not only makes the water exceed- . Jingly' "hard," but discolour.* clothes. A '. 3, simple and 'effective remedy is to throw a ' 'little caustic soda or pour, a little liquid ■ "< ammonia into a iubful of such water. The , j mineral immediately precipitates, and ' the • '.;■;'• clear -water when drawn or dipped oil' will ■ he found quite "soft," and will not discolour any material. This is practical ... chemistry, of the kind that ought to ' be '; taught in country .schools, for .these are the. , little ',' tucks" that make 'all the difference •. ..between., a. hard, comfortless life, and a '•'■■'-.•-reasonably easy and civilised.one.' '■■:}"■'.' Talking, of schools, -T' hear a rather ,: iX amusing story of the cooking clashes, held ; -l.at Newmarket. ; The "example," or what■_';■:';ever it is called, is • offered . for sale among "the .schoolgirls, "'who come in from the * suburban - schools.- Naturally, if v it 'is' Is' ;:,•; their taste they buy .'.arid,', can't' 1 get, ; ; enough. .When it is not ;to , their taste ;. ; .-. they don't; buy it, ami it;js,left on hand. Naturally also,, the school .doesn't like its '■•; "examples" to' meet with a Cold reception, ; -. and lias, a l word to say pn the question, which the..girls appear to. feel hint over ••.•''v^lieh^UioV^iwho^dofl'V'buy'f-ujeH't^dlbwed ;. :;.tO; take. actual part in the cooking—*J.nd. \{i there 'you" are. This doesn't seem to ; be' .;,. much or-:rws-rem* for a car technical' t school' to follow! If there is to be ...charge ; ■i":i * or "material" it should IxMiinenly 'made.' £?■;•""; tbere.'iin't, wLy. ',there.,-be t any . " friction of-this sort'/ •'■"'--' " •'"-••* •■"■*■'* -'■ l

A.I am not .to,bo tempted to taking a hand in the controversy, -which "the Rev. J. J. Lewis recently started in the correspondence columns of the Herald on Sabbath desecration apropos of tiny cricketers' Sunday excursion to Waiwera. 1 notice, however, that his opponents lay great stress on the claim.? of Nature over churchgoing, '"and appear to think that the highest form of religion is to be found in the contemplation of the glories of the earth and sky. It is an. old idea this, that you can substitute Nature for religion. The Pagans of • the French revolution tried it, and France over since has withered under the curse of the disastrous experiment. Nature in spite of all its beauty and wonderment, does not satisfy the .spiritual needs of man. For, as Goethe has well and wisely expressed it. Nature is cold, unfeeling, and blind. There shineth the sun upon cvi! and good. Moonlight, and starlight gleam down in their beauty on one and the other. The flood and the tempest, the thunder and hail rush blindly their way; and. sweeping along they strike, all unheeding the one or the other. .Man alone does what none else does. He alone dares the good to reward, the evil to smite, to heal and to save, the wandering and erring for service to bind. This feeble excuse for non-church going, that it is better to be with Nature than taking part in a religious service, is therefore the mere empty talk of the foolish.

I I see that in Scotland the vexed question I of churchgoing continues to be discussed !in the press. Here is what one corresponI dent say*, writing in his native Doric: — • It's my opinion that kirk-goin's made fair ower easy noo-a-days. Lang syne ye were at tho kirk the hale day an' got three or fowcr sermons, each o"' them about an' hour king, wi' intervals for refreshments* At the end o' each discourse the minister's voice was as roopit as a craw's, an' ho had to hurry into the Session to get a cup o' beef tea. or something else, frae the beadle to keep up his strength. Ye felt that ye were gettin' the worth o* your money in thao days. But jh>o the'sermons are sae short that- the minister's at his •Finally (dear brethren) and in Conclusion' afore ye're dune wf your second jujube: an' ye get- hame in nice time for your dinner, an' a scat by the fireside noddin' ower Scturday's fitba' news, wi' the Christian Herald 'within reach of your haun' in case the minister should drap in. It's hardly worth while bein' a Christian in thao circumstances. I tell ye, it's faur ower easy. What we need is a* spell o' the n.uld Covenant iu'days to us richt again. I think I see it, if we were tell't that we wndna be alloo'ed to gang to the kirk any mair. - Mar., we'd be crocdin" roon' the doors in thoosands. wi' oor breakfasts in oor pooches an' oor braid swords in oor haun's. an" payiu' sixpence to get in at the early doors, no cariu' whether we got ony dinner that day or no. An' wo miclit even put tuppence in the plate."

Apropos of church-going, the following lines, writtcu. it is said, bv the Rev. J. & Bouohier, of Carnarvon, Wales, mar be of interest: —

Some go to church just for a walk; .Some to stare and some to talk; Some go there to meet a friend, Some their, idle time to spend; Some for general observation. Some lor private speculation; Some to seek or find ii- lover. Some a courtship to discover: Some 5:0 there to use their eyes - And newest fashions criticise Some to show their own smart dress, Some their neighbours to assess. Some to scan a robe or bonnet. Some to price the trimming on it. Some to learn the latest news,. That friends at home they may amuse. Some to-gossip, false and ; true. ' H^ Safe -hid within the shelter-in? pew; Some go there to please the squire. Some bis daughters, to admire; Some the parson go to fawn; Some to lounge and some to yawn. . Some to claim the parish doles. Some for bread and some for coals, Some because it's thought genteel. Some to vaunt their pious zeal. Some to show how sweet they sing, Some how loud their voices ring. Seme the preacher go to hear. His style and voice to praise or jeer. Some forgiveness to implore. Some their sins to varnish o'er. Some to sit and doze and nod. But few to kneel and worship God.

One of my correspondents writes to me 1 os follows:"I see you have been giving in your interesting notes samples of post office red tape. I wish to send you one that I ! should be sorry to let subside into the oblivion of forgetfttlness. Here it is: In a country borough that there is no particular need to particularise an illiterate person who can neither read nor write keeps a post office savings bank account : more credit to him! When paying in moneys he always got a relative to do it. This week, however, he came: in from country and went to the post office to pay in a deposit, and asked the clerk to make out the slip, as he could neither read nor writs. The clerk, however, refused, stating it was against the rules, and that it was as much as his billet was worth to do it. So the poor man started home to get his wife, who is in ill-health, to go down and fix up the deposit slip, but happening t.i mention '.he matter to me I filled up a form, he subscribed his cross, and the difficulty was overcome. Comment is needless."

The same correspondent says: — I see great hauls of trout arc being made at Kotoriiit, and it lias set my teeth on edge to taste trout, but I have never been able to secure a taste yet. We are only 40 miles from Itotorua, where they catch trout by the ton, but so far as participating in such a dainty is concerned we might as well be at the other end of the world. The wealthy piscatorial tourist gets tons of value for his licensee fee, simply because he can afford the sport, but the poor unfortunates who helped in the old days to introduce the trout can go hungry for a taste, or even a smell of a trout. I think that anglers should be limited to a certain percentage of what they catch for their own and friends' use, and the balance should belong to the Acclimatisation Society, or other local body, and put on the market at a. reasonable price for the benefit of their friends, and also to enable us outsiders to get an odd taste now and again. What do von think?"

Who says we are not civilising the .Maori, and giving him all the advantages of a superior education? I have just seen a letter addressed by a Maori "solicitor" to a European demanding a new barrel for an old one, which had been taken from a creek and chopped up for firewood. Here is a copv of the document, the names only being altered. " Mis-. Taipiro re J. Holdfast. Dear Sir, —Having the opportunity of inserting you— I have the right to inclined you to forward an empty barrel in exchange for Mrs. Taipiro, residing at the. Her ca.sk were damaged by one of your horses —also the barrel been received to* you—and also cut some of its timber .for fire uses. Words came down to her from you stating that this barrel be better return acain to you, and you repay her with a new cask. In her opinion she wants you to repay her first: then the other cask be remove' in your position. She must received the recover within (two days), otherwise the whole this be brought into action. .—Yours trolly, Plaintiff's Appointee."

: Some weeks ago our City Fathers were quite indignant at the way in which carters take up the middle of the road and crowd passing vehicles out of the running. I thought they would have instructed the traffic inspector to put a stop to this nuisance, but they evidently haven't, for the' heavy carts and lorries monopolise the city highways as casually as ever. However, it may not take more than a year or 'two for something to be done, and it is 'sbotliing to know that when one or two Cautionary fines have been inflicted we shall hear-no 'more of this seemingly blight but ■ vcallv very dangerous nuisance. I* '< HjiliCUtlO.