LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13485, 11 May 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

'Let me have audience for a word or two." . ■' *. . —Shakespere. j The Hon. Mr. Millar was taken to some; of the restricted localities by the oyster- i ' men cm Thursday, and greatly enjoyed the fine and largo bivalves which he found there, particularly those at Waiheke, which, I believe, impressed him so much that he • took away two or three bottlesful—for the purposes, of course, of analysis. The Minister for Marino is very fond of oysters, and he has registered a secret vow always to pay Waiheke an official visit when his public duties bring him;up to Auckland. I But oyster-eating Aucklanders need not! flatcr themselves that Waiheke oysters are i ' to be put on the market as a result of the Minister's inspection. Though Mr. MilJar is as close as an oyster on the subject, I have reason to believe that the oyster policy of the Government remains unchanged—thanks largely to the quiet but unceasing efforts of Mr. Allom. What becomes of all the things that Ministers promise to keep steadily in view? Mr. Millar will go back to Wellington with a whole notebookful of subjects which, unless he goes back on his promises, he Bust always keep within the range of his official vision. His secretary tells me that all the new Ministers keep in their rooms , a largo blackboard on which these things ; ; ; : are chalked in a bold secretarial hand, and that they sit all day gazing at them. But W< I fancy the secretary- is a bit of a wag. j Anyhow, in these days of interminable requests, a Minister requires to be blessed with specially good eyesight. , . A pleasant change is coming over the \ .-' political atmosphere of Auckland. The late Mr. Seddon used to complain that when he y " visited us he only met the rag-tag and bob--1:, tail of hib own party. The leading men ;.'. in the commiiinrty left him severely alone. But we have changed all that. The baa-. 1 quet given to Mr. Millar the other. night, - while no doubt a unique compliment to that gentleman personally, is a sign that we are losing our party bitterness and taking -'on a more genial spirit. That is: good. Nagging wins —ot more than hospitality. Mr. Millar has met with so much kindness -. from all classes since he .has been amongst us thai he now declares that if he were not ■rft " a Dunedinite. he would be an Aucklander. It is strange, and yet _ot strange, how attached we get to cities, though we may not be native-born citizens of them.' The fsl';i' Aucklander swears ' by Auckland. (In his 'spK-'z eyes' no other place can compare with it. he looks upon as cabined, Cribbed, and.confined, Christchurch as a dreary |||* and monotonous flat, and »! Dunedin as a "'- drowsy and dingy irregularity. Yet the people in these cities are proud and fond of them. They love them with the same lave that we have for Auckland. .*■ When they are away from them- uhey long to be back, i It ;is well for the civic spirit that . this should be so. It is well that we should , believe that there is no town like our own town. , '•' ■'".■■';' ;.: .__ A London paper recently contained the following personal paragraph:—"Lord Auckland, ; who '-. is forty-eight to-day, is a ■ cadet of the Edens of West Auckland, in Durham (now represented by Sir, William Eden, seventh baronet), the first Lord Auckland, who was Secretary or State for Ire- , land, and also British Ambassador in Paris, having* ■ been ; a younger son of the " third ■ baronet. < His successor receiTOdiwapfeSrldoml. 'ship of Ireland, but. the dignity expired with ' his death." To the English reader this was ' .merely an item of ( fashionable 1 intelligence, ' but to the Aucklander in London ,it 'meant 1 something; very different—the linking of J a great English' family with a,great New Zea- ' land city, for the Aucklands gave it its ' "';.''; name as the Edens gave theirs to the beau- ' tiful volcanic peak which overlooks the city. ' - The Servant Girl is being wooed in Auck? 1 > •' land as though she were an heiress sought 1 fori in " marriage. r Passing registry office » ; j • window the other day I stopped to read the ( ;-. notices of. situations vacant, 1 - and found it 1 f interesting. One despairing housewife offer- f ; ed "use of piano;" another, who kept other ' _:' servants, promised "separate room;" another i who offered 15s and a " family of three," < had "dinner at :. one p.m. daily;" another I offered "half-day every Sunday and every t ' other evening;" another capped this with £ "whole holiday every other Sunday ; if re- f quired;" and any number promised "easy t • work" and "charwoman employed." And there were some pathetic cries. One lady an- a ~-- nounced that " trams stop at the door ; " an- 1 other supported the inducement of "every \ .. evening free after seven" by adding that e - there was a busy sawmill close by; while £ still another shouted in large type that there were "no bedrooms." I suppose the last t family sleeps on the verandah and takes its t ; meals in the garden, and even then can s f;,; hardly get its housework done. And it is t ;; quite necessary to add that not a girl was i ';. announced as waiting a place. i Under the circumstances, I can quite un- ( derstand a young man getting married in c order to have a more comfortable home; but t what of the young woman? If she has to c i , do the housework she will get better paid s ; .and better conditions as a ladyhelp: . , * ' ■ ——— ' - ." ■ s I read in an English paper, the other r day/that it is now considered bad form a to attempt to shine in conversation, and n that to extend your remarks to more than u ip a short sentence is to stamp you as an n I ; oddity, outside the pale of polite conven- ? -.'\:-. tionalism. Some of our local politicians v '. ;. f would find themselves seriously handicap- " ped if they went Home, for I have noticed * j*K that they are all acquiring the habit of ' ". delivering little f speeches when talking to " one on the most ordinary affairs of the.day. * ~i For instance, a, friend of mine, who is » * .', member of Parliament, generally takes * - leave of me, after a brief discussion on * g things in general, in something like,the fol- '•;'< lowing terms : " Before leaving to catch my <j P tram I should like to say, Mr. Mercutio, * .: how gratified lam to find that one in your * J position takes so keen and intelligent an * interest in this important matter, affecting D as it does in its far-reaching consequences, v ! so many varied and vital interests. But * : ; I should like to point out, sir, as briefly as ' Possible, for I am fully aware that your >' ■; -■! time, like my own, is 'limited, that how- v ever much the character of our climate a ' ■ may 'be changingarid I think you will a :. agree with me that of late years there has ° been a perceptible change— future of * our city and —indeed I might go v ;. further and say . that the future of the ° colony as a wholedepends not so much on h Meteorological conditions, important though h these undoubtedly are, as on the social and s political and religious movements which r; .mould and influence the thoughts and feel- P wgs of the people. Sir, I recognise, none » i.v more so, that when apathy or indifference i' m these matters falls upon a community, s not only may the great fishing industry be 1 : hampered by intolerable restrictions im- t Posed in the interests of a class, and the '■.;I oysterinn; area be unduly limited, to the a 111 enhanced value of the succulent, bivalve, c J:--and the consequent deprivation of this t . - flourishing sea-food in the case of the ma- t jority of the people who are unable to pay i' the increased price . demanded, but the f' y liberty of the subject is encroached upon s; • / by subtle methods, and the great principles j' .' for which our forefathers fought and bled s are insidiously attacked and undermined, e It is a most interesting topic,, but you will c I • excuse me enlarging on it further on this l< II occasion, as I have an important .engage- t lj merit to keep in half-an-hour, and have t : '; - -time to catch my tram— morn- n \; wg..'' 1 I JkIEECOTIO. J a