LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13455, 6 April 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

"Let mo have andicnce for a word or two."

—Shakespere.

The story of the sad boating accident in the gulf, which appeared in the' Herald yesterday, is entitled to rank among the most moving tragedies of the sea. Within its narrow compass it embraces all the elements which appeal most strongly to the sympathy and imagination of human being*. The fate which overtook the occupants of the boat came upon them with dramatic suddenness. They were sailing along with no thought of impending doom, when in tho twinkling of an eye they were brought face to lace with death. For alittle time they kept together, clinging to he overturned craft, and probably | cheering one another up as best they could. Then fine by one they lost heart and strength, and the cruel sea, sparkling in tho bright sunshine, claimed them for it* own. In the end only one was left— » father who had seen his two boys perish before his eyes, while be was powerless to save them. Far away the city kept holiday, and thousands of picnickers made merrv, all unconscious of the terrible tragedy that was being enacted out in the placid waters of the gulf. For nearly two days and nights the solitary survivor clung to the drifting boat, while sharks, eager for their prey, darted and wheeled around him. What an appalling situation! He was saved at last, but for him all the days of his life, every recurring Easter Monday will bring back memories too sad and terrible for words.

I have been waiting for the little Aucklanders and the big bow-wows to open their assault on he drainage scheme, but | for a wonder they still remain silent, j However, I chanced to meet a- man the other night who is prepared to teach the Mayor and. councillors, the city engineer, and all others who have anything to do with he drainage scheme their business. He declared emphatically that the present proposal would never do. Either the out- j let must be at the mouth of the Tamaki River, where at ebb tide there is a strong! current running out in the direction of the • channel between Motutapu and Motuihi, or it must be on the West Coast, direct! into the ocean He favoured the latter suggestion, but admitted it might cost a I million or two. It is magnificent to think in millions, but it is not business. Wo mist- cut our coat according to the cloth. A few weeks ago the Minister of Justice made a statement referring to the: forming of p. Discharged Prisoners' Aid] Society here in Auckland, and said lie was I afraid there was an element of sectarianism creeping in, etc. As hon. sec., the Rev. E. C. Budd was instructed to write tc ask for an explanation. The following is the substance of the reply sent by the Minister to his letter:—"ln reply I may inform you that I really have nothing to explain, but must reiterate the statement I made at. the meeting, which was to the effect that wherever sectarianism crept in, the success of such societies was jeopardised, and I am still satisfied that such is the case. I am glad to have your assurance that 'no sectarianism is creeping in' so far as your society is concerned, and as you state in your letter that it has been in existence for many years, it is evident that my reported remarks could not apply in your case." Fie! Mr. McGowan! This is a poor answer to Mr. Budd's letter. As to " the effort being made to form a society in Auckland," the words used by . you, you say nothing, simply because I suppose the statement is not true. There is no "effort being made," therefore " sectarianism" could not creep in to this non-existent effort. Then, unthinking people may con- . nect the charge with the Auckland Society, and so a most useful work be hindBred. The straightforward course for you, is Minister, would have been to have said fou were misinformed, that your information was not correct. In justice to the aociety a Minister of Justice should be more careful. The new Elislia who has arisen amongst us still sticks, I see, to his backyard-swil-ling cure for slums and slum-life. Because Naaman recovered from leprosy in some wonderful manner by bathing seven times in the River Jordan, the correspondent who has assumed the mantle of the .old prophet is convinced that if you gave everybody in slumdom a few feet of hose and set them to washing out their back-1 yards, you would effect a moral reformation, and slums would disappear as if by| magic. Like Sir Andrew Aguecheek, I have not wit enough to grasp this curious association of ideas. I fancy, however,! that Elisha is quietly poking fun at the City Council. — I Cleanliness, as we nil know, is next to Godliness, but it is not dirt that makes| a slum, as Elislia would know if he were! only half as wise as his namesake- of old. j The slums of Auckland might be swept j dean twice a day by a staff of city, .scavengers, but they would remain slums 11 the same. A pig in a palace will make it a pigstye. Put human beings in a pigstye, however clean, and what do you make of them? It is owing to our conditions of life, to the character of our; homes, to our domestic environments that we are what we are. I hope Elislia will put that in his pipe and smoke it. | Complaints ore again rife of delays and neglect at the telephone exchange. A correspondent writes:—"l do not know whether your experience with respect to the telephone is the same as mine, and the other users of the machine, but it is simoly scandalous. I have written to the Department, but can get no redress, and .herefore, must write to*' Mercutio.' I ring Up an office in town, and on finishing my conversation, ring off. In five minutes I want someone else, .and ring up—l am not drawing the long bow —twenty times, and then at last the some office answers, and we find that we have not been disconnected. This pears to be the trouble— cot to get on, but to get off. 1 imagine •ho exchange i,: undermanned, or perhaps the post office is to.) small, but it is simply outrageous at present.—Amicus." My correspondent, I fancy, has put his finger on the. real cause—a crippled staff and confined accommodation. But then, we in Auckland are a long-suffering people. We put up with anything. Occasionally a voice is heard crying in the wilderness, but it soon ceases, and all is again quiet. Until we can work ourselves Up into something like the frenzied activity of the dancing dervishes I can see no hope of any improvement. /-""It doesn't seem to matter a brass button nowadays who is appointed a justice of the peace. The office has long since ceased to be either an honour or a distinction, ■* but before things go too far it is about t time it was abolished altogether. f * Ainiciraj.