LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14109, 10 July 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

, W me bavo audience for ft word or two." ,' »t«t me n — Shakespere. 'r T«8 nnveil'ng of a Soddon memorial at Sung* the other day will doubtless re- °, to the minds :f many readers of the f L the fact that the Premiership of f J Seddon. It irakos us mm.nate, after f he manner of Mr. Pickwick, on tho 1 hme mutability of human affairs, when I' 1 ' Notice, how rarely Ihe name of the £ Prime Minister is now heard in pub-. ' • Tt is barelv more- than three shoTt L S since the strong, masterful man at J , eound of whose voice j,«* trembled, %P* position in New Zealand which f' best described as that of ''uncrowned ,r, " Ho , v few are found to do reverence to,his memory. Even the movements to establish Seddon memorials in various parts of the Dominion Lave onlv been red ed from almost total failure by the assistance of liberal subsidies from the Government puree. At one - Important provincial centre it was proposed when Ml*. Seddon died, to raise a total fund of several thousands to perpetuate his name m"a really substantial manner, but tie scheme eventually resolved itself into a : modest drinking fountain and three lamps! , " Sic transit gloria mimdi!

And the strangest thing is that while Aa* whom Richard Seddon pampered and . dominated have forgotten him. those who mme into close personal contact with jam, 1 Sth nothing to fear from him and nothing . to'win" from him, remember him well. Thev will agree with me thai whatever his ! Sings he was a man, and that whatever ! ys virtues he was wholly human.

The first appearance in Auckland during '' the past week of that erstwhile doughty disciple of free trade, the E.n. Geo. T.,w!ds, in his new capacity of Minister for Customs, has given the unfortunate dealers jn 6 ho*s and slippers another opportunity of seeking an official solution to the riddle, "What is a slipper';" -This is an old fiscal conundrum, which the former Minister for Customs, Mr. Millar, wrestled with mightilr 'with the result that he settled it to the action of himself, though not to that of distracted . purveyors of fcot-wear. He then handed the problem over to* his late colleague, Mr. Hogg, who. however, found it a n-ore complex proposition even than Hja unravelling of the lingui.tic intricacies of a French menu. He, therefore, left it unsolved. '•;

The Prime Minister also during his last visit to Auckland was deprived of a portion of his well-ea-aed rest by beinsi unceremoniously invaded by a deputation of wild-eyed shopkeepers, who abruptly thrust the query and sundry samples of slippers . before him as he was about to seek his ' night's repose in the " sleeper"' of the Main Trunk express. Sir Joseph diplomatically ■ agreed to look into the matter, and may possibly mention if at the Naval Conference; or perhaps another Koyal Commission may he appointed to go into the matter, this being now the recognised form of dealing with all weighty questions of State.

■ In the meantime the office of the Minister for Customs in Wellington is being loaded up with a large assortment of slippers. real or alleged, which have been forwarded at the request of .the , successive Ministers' for Customs, when replying to deputations. Mr. Fowlds has just made a ' (similar request, which makes one consider whether there is anything in the rumour th.ll the newest development in State socii&m is to w bo the establishment . of a ' State slipper shop.

The latest development of the chainletter habit in Auckland has taken the reprehensible form of an attempt to frighten young children. Sheets of manuscript, 'headed, " endless prayer chain," have been in circulation, and girls of a tender age , teem to have been singled out by the addressee, who is, of course, anonymous. The eheet, a copy of which has been forwarded to me, is headed with a short I prayer, quite harmless in itself, and to it is appended a statement that "this prayer { Ens sent by Bishop , recommending ft to be sent to nine persons," each of ■ilwa in turn is desired to send it to nine other persons, and so on, ad infinitum- If the matter were permitted to end at this I there would be nothing to take particular exception to, and a silly and apparently I , meaningless joke might be left to take care I of itself. The evil, however, is in the tail of the letter, which has given alarm to a number of youthful recipients. This tets forth that " she" who attends to the request to re-write the prayer, and despatch it to nine others, will " be delivered from every calamity," and "receive some $"** joy;" but, on the other band, that "she who will not send it will be effected '(sic) by misfortune," and "that one person who paid no attention met with an acci<T dent." If the person who is Isseminating this sort of literature met with the misfortune to be caught and ducked in a horsepond the earnest prayer of .a number of indignant parents would be abundantly answered.

»ill, who had given- up agricultural lite at Maungaturoto for the occupation « tram conductor in Auckland, came pack to the farm for his holidays, bringing a considerable amount of city polish with him. Peculiarities of speech, which J-ad once seemed quite natural in his father, were now an offence to his son's sensitive ear, and he missed no opportun- -, ity of setting the old man right. In honour of:the young man's return, there 5 were some visitors to dinner on the Sunday, and this made him particularly senstive. "'Ave another 'tater, Bill, me wy!' said the parent. "I'll 'ave an-' other per-tater, if you've got one to s Pare,' retorted Bill, with killing emphasis upon the "per."

-mo story told by Sir. Spence on Thurscay.of the pathetic farewell prayer uttered ■a.™ little girl on leaving Auckland for ■Wellington many years ago, recalls that of ft liti.e girl in Christchurch, who not long "go was asked if she would like to go to naven. "No," was her■ reply. "I would lather go to Auckland." It, appears that «ie had already visited Auckland and had so desire for a "better place."

' H-i j "' science in Great Britain is created with having discovered a new disuse ,to which'-; the name of "ergophobia" »as been given. The word, which is deI wed from the Greek, and means a horr?. <« work, appears to suggest it- .-,,. for appropriate use in New Zealand m at present, if cases of the kind refflm from Masterton are a common experience, and there are many would-be - foyers who assert that they are. "A S,ViT' hold,er »" a message in a resm Hebaid ran, "wanted 30 scrub- ' bers, and offered wages of a shilling ■mL l !"■ His agent in Masterton anpoached some of the out-of-work men, , thi« no ? 6 » f them would take the work at in* rate. ' I have no desire to minimise ■'■any way the sympathy and practical . ; ,«sistance which should be given to the 1 fi™" ms unemployed. But the sad fact gfains that "ergophobia," whether it «4 • cS e or not ' is responsible . for -■/cases.

. Americans often wonder how it is that tl.! I t>" a . t ' ionallt J r is at once recognised by British. The fact that everyone with Jft* m has conversed should know, : »u« l„s telling them, that he is a n*™ m « ch puzzled Mr. Mcßride, the task ct the New York Hippodrome, who >t 3, the Maori team. 1 away, this u ' ItWii »' «<t & y!" he remarked to a allr r -'-. ■ 1 .6" it's mighty strange that 'M,,»V U folk .should pick, me °as a M few. i*. M » v Rothes ain't different, ,' I , ffir I J o«lt different, and I doan't speak i ;, 'i"feU« I t', and yet'everyope seems to know . *»» I hail from!" Mjotcirao, ■ ■ ","'■ ■.■:■ ■