Talk of the Week.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 365, 8 February 1879, Page 15

Talk of the Week.

Politics have been in abeyance during the past seven days—the races have occupied the public mind in its leisure moments —if one excepts the casual comments which were made about the sale of the reclaimed land. Anyone broaching political subjects in ordinary conversation is sure to be met with some such observation as this, " Oh, politics are awfully dry now, there is nothing new yet ; when Parliament meets there will be some fun, because Sir G. Grey is about played out, and when the Opposition try to oust him from "office he is sure to die hard. Johnny Sheehan is " hedging" all reund and trying to make sure of the billet of continuous Native Minister, and "as he is a sharp sort of man I should not wonder if he succeeded." With some slight variations, according to the mental attitude assumed by the speaker, this appears to be about the general opinion in Wellington. Some there are who think that in native affairs " the ways that are dark and the tricks that are vain" have been carried on to such an extent that even the Native Ministers' savolrfaire will be insufficient to carry him through another sessionSeeing that the Ministry have determined to llsk their fortune in native affairs upon the great March meet'ng, the ultimate result Of their negotiations is, in vu T gar language, " just a tos". up." Uneasiness is life in all those quar ters where the native difficulty is a matter of constant consideration, and in view of the serious nature of the. question it; is perhaps better not

to uudertake the responsibility of publishing the current opinions expressed by those who know something about the state of feeling among the natives on the west coa,3t and in the north of this Island. A few days ago two hapus near Whangarei, were talking of coming to blows about the title to a block of land, but Mr. Sheehan was fortunate in arriving the day after the wedding of the chief of one party aud found him in an amiable mood. As was to be expected he succeeded in his mission as peacemaker, and, according to Maori custom, received two bullocks as payment for his services. The great event of the week has certainly been the sale of about a third of the land available for building sites on the Thorndon reclamation. About 4£ acres were put up for sale, and by far the greater portion was sold at satisfactory prices. £4B per foot of frontage was the average price realised, the shortest frontage being in each case the one selected, when there was more than one frontage to the section offered. From the above calculation, one section at the corner of Featherston-street is excluded: This allotment was sold by a short frontage of IS feet to Whitmore-street, and' realised £154 per foot. It was bought by Mr. William Hirst, and many people regard it as the cheapest bargain at the sale. If the main frontage to Featherstonstreet of 98 feet be taken as a basis for calculating the value, so as to place this section upon something like even terms with the rest, then the price realised is under £3O per foot. The proceeds of the sale were upon the whole satisfactory, andover £99,000 werenetted. Opinions were freely expressed that a far higher price would have been realised if the sale had taken place six months ago, but the return on the original investment Is so good as to make any regret for the loss through the recent decline in value appear almost hypercritical. Forty-two acref? were reclaimed at a cost of about £IOO,OOO, 13 acres will be sold, the rest being reserved. The sale of less than 4 acres has repaid the whole cost of reclamation, and the residue of land yet to be sold is valued, vaguely perhaps, at more than £300,000. If any man grumbles at such an. outcome of a commercial speculation, verily he is hard to please.

The Wellington races have caused much excitement in certain circles, the numerous "sweeps" which have been got up on the Wellington Cup gave a degree of interest to the result of the race which would hardly have been aroused by the simple merits of the race and of the horses engaged in it. The general public like to see a good race between good horses for a handsome stake, especially if they feel sure that the best horse will win, and that no consideration of the betting market will interfere with a fair and open competition. It was a disappointment to the public when at the beginning of the week it was announced that Fishhook would not be present, as he had been spotted as the winner by many of the cognoscenti. When Danebury and Mufti were scratched at the last moment, the interest in the Cup race dwindled perceptibly, and the great event was shorn of much of its attractiveness. If horse-racing becomes a mere medium for gambling, it must necessarily lose caste and sink in public estimation. There is nothing which more completely robs a race of its prestige than numerous withdrawals from the list of starters within a few hours of the time when the race is' to be run. Apart from these considerations the result of the race is satisfactory. Maritana is well known as a really good mare, and Lara, as the winner of last year's Cup, was generally considered to haveagood chance; both first and second horses may therefore be regarded as first-class racers, and as probable winners if the starters had been more numerous. The weather was fine and the attendance large. The Exhibition Commission met during the week and entered upon their labors. It appeared that the £2OOO asked for by the Commission to defray the expenses attendant upon the work of collecting and despatching exhibits was approved by the Cabinet. Numerous applications for information as to the regulations to be observed in sending in exhibits had been received from would-be exhibitors, but pending the arrival of the programmes, which have been delayed, the Commissioners were unable. to reply to applicants. Steps were at once taken by the chairman, Dr. Hector, with a view of ensuring a good collection of exhibits of wool, and grain from New Zealand. Our country readers would do well to bestir themselves in this matter. It is true it is somewhat late in the season, but many wool growers keep samples of wool from each clip, and these may be in some cases worthy of transmission. Samples of grain can be readily obtained, as the season is not so far advanced. As the quality of the WairaraDa grain is generally considered good, perhaps "Wellington Province may make its mark in this line. We believe that there is every prospect of the Sydney Exhibition being a great success ; applications for space already made far exceed the large area at the disposal of the committee, and from all parts of the globe assurances of support have been received. A strenuous and continued effort must be made by New Zealand to be adequately represented,'in order to show that though absent from the Great Paris Exhibition, we have no reason to fear comparison with our neighbours. If the Commission meets with the support it deserves, we feel confident that New Zealand will be high up in the list of successful competitors. Play-goers during the week have been but indifferently served; a Panorama at the Opera House, a conjuring man at the Theatre Royal, cannot be called high-class entertainment. Mr. O'Brien brought out " Flying Scud " on Thursday night at the Theatre Royal and drew a good house to a somewhat hackneyed play, which however was very well acted. There is room for something better than the bill of fare produced during the past week.