THINGS IN GENERAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14220, 17 November 1909, Page 9

THINGS IN GENERAL.

- 4 OUB POPULATION. ; .:, -Q^rg'.probably the vast majority of the Sing public lightly passed over the little f|li||fcfchl published a few days ago, which «Ltained the official estimates,of our popu- * ktion. '. Few people nowadays concern I'reniselves with such matters. Yet there is I Scarcely an y public question that is so important. Politics would not be worthwhile ! Jraetising were there no people' to legislate for A glance at the particular.hews item 'Widened to disclose the interesting fact that."the population of Auckland and suburbs at the present time is computed at. 03,544. If memory serves me, that is an i . increase of close upon 20,000, compared with ■; t lie figure recorded at the last census. This f- elty still maintains its leading position as regards the number of its inhabitants, with' Wellington second, Christchurch a good third, and the city of sturdy Scots and white houses last of the centres. Apart from the natural increase, our population has Jjeen added to by the usual channels of ini- * ffigrwHOn and oversea arrivals, besides which a ; good many people have in recent years come up from the South to reside.in . the more congenial climate of the city of , * too Waitemata. Auckland will continue to crow without much extraneous aid, but, at ,'''the «atne lime, much could be done to accelerate that growth. Personally, lam a great kliover. in exhibitions carried out on a large scale. The effect of these is almost invariably to add permanently to the population of cities where they are held. When the first World's Fair was decided upon in America, Chicago, which was selected as the * site for it, contained about 1,000,000 souls. ' When the Fair closed there were just upon - 2.000,000 people resident there, and since J that time (18S3 to 1894) Chicago has never 1 looked back. National expositions ' draw people to a country from all over the world, and an astonishing number of the visitors 14 always stay behind when the rest go home ; again. Why should we not have a New "■ Zealand exhibition on a larger scale than we ''.-■have ever attempted before, and have it in I .Auckland? As the P. and 0. boats are

about to commence running here, and with -." the probable renewal of the 'Frisco sen-ice, £e\r,"l say, is the time. \ .." - '

I PETS .AND PET AVERSIONS. !'.. It was most unkind of the jocular young ' gentleman down South to take that frightI ful frog of his into a tea-room. As a rule , tea-rooms are frequented by members of the weaker sex, men generally being dragged in i against their own volition, to act as escorts || MA pay the bill. Very well, then. Know- ! 1 irig that he was entering a haunt of the I. '■ feminine the joker should not have taken || 'OMh frog ; with him: If there is one live i thing more than a mouse or. rat calculated 1 "to scare a woman it ie a frog. She will I'; kiss and fondle the ugliest and most snub-' i- -I nosed pug-dog in existence, but she will not 1 H even pat the head of the green croaker with f - the .bulging eyes. Therefore, no, respecter t of the fair sex should ever take either a I " frog or a toad to,tea with him in a public ; place.- To do so is to run the risk of creats•' tag a* disturbance. It is equivalent to ,; ; letting a bull roam round a' china*shop, of " freeing a mouse in a candy store. I don't I think women will ever overcome their aver--1 sion to frogs. One never knows, though. i I can remember the time when fashionable k • ladies used to wear around their necks thin f gold chains to which were fastened little \< grew or yellow lizards., These captives, 1 for'all the world like miniature alligators, i ' were allowed to crawl up and down their $ , .' mistress' throat and bosom without a shud- * | der on their mistress' part. But that was 1. not.in this country. It only goes to show, 1 SdSsf it not, that tastes; differ? ' Nearly i' &yjn?fjbo&y has" a pet aversion, and almost >j> Everyone has a particular kind of pet. ; I if Jpsm passionately fond of lions (not that I f, would take one into a tearoom), and I loathe H rats. There are heaps of people on the .' ■' other hand who are devoted admirers of the 1 rodent, and despise the king of beasts. So m : there you are. We ought to respect each 0 foibles; but on the principle/of the; ■g ~. greatest consideration for the greatest num-1 V ; ber frogs ought to be excluded from re- * «fireshment rooms." i : - ■ ■ m • „. ;/■:■[ [: . ■ THE JRONY OF IT. .}' Were it not for the fact thai it is im- ' 'moral to be amused at crime I should enjoy ' a laugh" at* the latest story from Wellington. * 1 • Burglars, so it is said, broke into the police f ■ station and .stole from the safe the wages |i ..of the force! ~ Honestly, 'the Gflbertian drollery of "this yarn is well-nigh irresist|l ' ibfe. As a rule, it must be. admitted, t>ur- % gkrs deserve a good hard slap for robbing 1$ .people like they do. ' (I never knew a thori ;|sughlyj honourable man yet * who ■ would - do 5 ! £ gcb."a thing—burgle, I not slap.) II However, on this occasion we have burglars m with the sense of. humour strongly deve1| loped, and one must have gentle feelings if ;iw anyone possessing that rare i senses The $ situation is more amusing the more it is ft analysed. - , Robert is the custodian of the § public's goods.' To protect them from peril sons who cast envious : ' eyes npon - ; them §■ Robert is paid " a certain sum ! per month. : Bobert'.looks forward to the receipt of the A nun, and is only too pleased to arrest a I wrglar or two by, way of earning it. Must TJ it not, therefore, be a blow to Robert to **, Sj^. that the f gentry-he is paid-to catch }>i ™*« eluded him and confiscated the money ty 'hat-he, Robert, would have receivedj had ; M' Joey, the burglars, not eluded him?* The p wony of it!'•' The worst of the affair,is that J Wuees the booty be recovered the Govern<l oent will have to pay the Wellington .-police If 'ages-list twice over.' Such a fearful H will be hard to, bear on the part ' - « the poor harassed Ministry, who are trym iP:^ bard toretrench. s If these 1 few lines II f *^?) a happen to meet the eyes of the party ($ "»no- "sneaked " the policemen's salaries,let »> tteamplore that party to return his ill-. - f 7° m? - ; T h© money was ear-marked ►I .;«* burglar ' catchers, not for burglars. ; I CABABIANCA' REDIVIVUS. I by^ h I the thrilling story related i ISM- tO / ian of the Harbour Board's * ; artiSWS" Pt I was forcibly * &, - ? abianca. You will recollect * m^tl y °^ B F ntleinan so-named stood I ' of •»« JT rning de^ in defiance °* a " rules ■ V :SK U W. and personal comfort, meret ,Sdfe*' h th J oU ? hfc he ou « ht to - vCusm «SSrfW" and his 0( l ualI y p luck y wife i l®!S^ l^ Ure l under a stro »g sense of A fflnl, v duce . hern to remain aboard a 6 ISSSv * P Wlt ]» tb ° « reedy flames ever $ S 11 t ? Wardi ' and tons of exploM |latHe a ;?f y t P" fc ? P a Kreat but futile ffi Zit, fit DSt the destructive element, and "* i)L * tleSs to be commended for this disII WJi£« c<ra -- As to responsibility for 4 m£ tn k m tlle first Place,?that is anI ( S^ r ; ~ 'V* main Point about the 5 aSlt A nkes . me " is that the aforesaid I W th« I d Cas^ lanc a no longer lives alone SI ISvt'P ageS^ history - Some local poet I %t B LIf P Wlite a eu] W in verep 1 bianca lrA Uate this Auckland CasaII andw COuld make jt highly' dramatic i me th a ' ft lllto a S rand climax by describi '■**&£>., exlosi '<>n of the hulk, the 1 genS mftn - v . pai ' es of « la «» and the 1 fcnT2r^? Crnatlon amon£r6t ala ™ed citiI IS*, around - The whole affair S |S&SW ? » a T a sen «"tion that it is to 1 %eTfi,f- he Harbour Bo - will lose no I "Ute UP another hulk with dvnaI iSKSKw cTiff " ok fonvard to the time It Will gooff." T , Ex GOVERNMENT HOUSE. I ** SlS^Y in which the Prime Minis- * ta£& 10 ,-". 11 Autkla «d' S Government M liiEwiir ?s V UniVers,t - y is sublime. Every. m >operl» i, • °°H rsc ', be delighted to see a *I ws^^ ,p P ed and college. m mmS 7^ move kleal sit than that 1 11 ?° USe ; and Sounds could 1 for tlle P ur P° se - But #fe&\?'? chln * ! from our future GoverI|P^»te,m l donee ) and putting him can be arranged? I« it h I "P 6o * that under such condiP H«isth /f *. overn °r is going to stay for anv I HS*St lnie i.i?-- A # ckland? -Joseph r I § ,• iaiu glibly of providing the most gsf ifefi,' i ■■. ■.. .■' ■

suitable residence available. 'But the question is who is going to come to the rescue with a suitable residence? With the most loyal feelings in the ..world, I for one, should have to decline to let my palatial establishment for use as a'Government House, so if that was what Sir Joseph had in mind he had better abandon the .idea. None of my wealthy acquaintances have so far signified their desire to give up their homes for the. purpose, and I'm afraid it will end in the Government having to build. Whilst they are about it they ought to erect the new Parliament Houses here too. Wellington is not at all safe, as the recent earthquake went to prove, and now that the question has arisen Auckland should be made the capital city, with new. Houses of Parliament, new Government House, new railway station, new post office, new Police Court, and all modern conveniences. Mr. Glover ought to snare no efforts to bring this change about. ;',<(. ■ :...-- .'■'*."■ , '•/'.>■

POLICE BOYS. . A ' "Set a thief to catch a thief" is an old saw that the Chicago authorities evidently had in mind when they decided to establish an auxiliary police force comprised of boys". The latter are to arrest other boys for misdemeanours. No doubt the innovation has been made necessary by the agility and nimbleness of the average boy in keeping clear of the average policeman. ~'* It has, we may suppose, been practically; impossible for any large percentage of the burly minions of the law to lay their hands upon offending youngsters. . * Boys can generally ran. Usually police 1 ; constables cannot. In a sprint the boy* may be counted upon to elude the chaser, particularly when the lat-. ter is burdened with big boots (all Chicago people have big boots, policemen no exception), and heavy uniform. . And so "the police-boy is the natural evolution. In" future, when a Chicagoan lad does things he ought not to do he will have to reckon with a pursuer of his own weight and wind and,staying power. Presently, as the world grows wiser, we shall have police girls to keep ordinary girls in order. Furthermore, married women may be sworn in to cast into durance vile all'other married women who. are cruel to their husbands (nasty spiteful cats!) I shouldn't wonder but that Mr. Aequith enrols a number ,-of police-women before long to deal with the suffragettes who persist in making his life a burden to him. It would solve the greatest problem of the day at Home. - The General.