Untitled

New Zealand Mail, Issue 771, 10 December 1886, Page 23

The banquet given by the City Council last Tuesday night to the retiring Mayor, Mr Arthur Brown, was not only a highly successful affair in itself, but was also a well merited compliment to a very deserving and energetic public man, and one of the most efficient and successful Mayors this city has ever had. The compliments paid to Mr Arthur Brown we cordially endorse, and we hope Wellington may have many more such capable and public-spirited chief magistrates. Mr Brown’s speech, which we report at considerable length, was an exceptionally interesting one. He will retire from the civic chair amid the good wishes of all, and we entertain no doubt that he will ere long again assume a prominent position in our local public life.

If the Wellington Twenty-two imagined that after their capital beginning _ with the large score of 182, they were going to “ walk through ” and slaughter the Australian Eleven off hand, they were painfully undeceived yesterday week. They were un able to get a single Austral ian wicket until the first two batsmen had them? selves scored more than did the whole twenty-two Wellington players on the previous day ! Nay more, Jones, when the stumps were drawn for the day, had nearly equalled the score of the Wellington Twenty-two with his own bat! It will perhaps be said that this was due to the proverbial uncertainty of cricket.

Not so, in oar opinion. The bad luck -with which the Wellington players had to contend was simply their own indifferent fielding, due to inadequate combined practice. Wellington fielding used to be particularly good, but yesterday week s exhibition was a truly deplorable one. The bowling, although not so strong as it might have been, was fair, and compelled the Australian batsmen play generally a careful defensive game, but what was —tlv£i__iise of the bowlers drawing catches if the fieldsmen did not or would not hoLUdiem ? There must have been

an excessive consumption or~tnitrbei —atbreakfast or luncheon yesterday week, if wo may judge by the way the ball slipped through Wellington fingers. Catches, however, are missed attim.es by the safesthands, but nothing could excuse the inert and careless manner in which many hits were fielded, while the returns to the wicket were in several instances so loose as to produce a- needless run or two from an overthrow. Nqw all ,this cannot be set down to bad luck. The plain fact is that the team have not gone in for anything like enough practice together in fielding, and they are now reaping the consequence. At one time it appeared probable that the first pair Of Australians would hold their wickets until it was time to go on board the steamer.

The objections which have been raised to the Wellington and Manawatu Railway time-table do not appear to us to possess much weight. It is contended that the 1.45 p.m. train from Wellington is too early for the convenience of persons who have come from Palmerston to Wellington the same morning, and wh© wish to return that night. That may be so, but it is utterly unlikely that there will bo many people who want to return the same night. The morning train in and the afternoon train out take about hours on the journey, owing todelaysin shunting, etc. It i 3 very improbable that people wiil voluntarily undergo eleven hours of slow railway travelling and several hours of business in town in one day. There is no doubt that the great majority of people using the line from places beyond Paikakariki will come in one day and remain in town until the following day at the earliest. Only a very few exceptional cases would be met by a later through, train from Wellington, and this would* involve materially increased expense and inconvenience to the Company by necessitating an extra service; indeed, it, is questionable whether they could undertake such an extra service with their present . locomotive stock. We scarcely imagine, therefore, that it will be found advisable to alter the existing arrangements at present.

Anothek remarkable ran has been made by the New Zealand Shipping Company’s R.M.S. Aorangi, which arrived at Port Chalmers yesterday morning week, again delivering her mails nearly six days under time, and earning a bonus of between L6OO and L7OO in addition to the subsidy. The punctuality and speed of this splendid service are extraordinary, if not unprecedented. The Aoraugi’s last two outward runs have only differed by minutes. A writer in an English paper recently produced figures to show that the New Zealand Shipping Company’s mail service during the past year has actually observed greater punctuality throughout its loDg voyages round the world than the

inland mail services on the English railways can show. This is a marvellous record.

The Town Hall question reached another stage at last Friday’s meeting the City Council, the proposal being referred to the Finance Committee in order that ways and means might be devised. We are very glad to find that there is in the Council a strong preponderance of feeling favourable to the erection of a suitable Town Hall, so long urgently needed. Councillor Danka’ objection that the streets wanted repairs more than the city wanted a Town Hall was hardly a relevant one. It is quite true that the streets do badly enough require repairing, but there is no reason why this should clash with the Town Hall, or be postponed as a rival or antagonistic work. Wellington ought to have a Town Hall, and should have had one years ago. We hope the Finance Committee will be able to devise ways and means, and that the Wellington Town Hall will ere long be an accomplished fact.

Some of the West Coast papers, especially the Manawatu Herald and Feilding Star, express dissatisfaction with the new railway time-table, stating that local convenience is sacrificed to the through passenger traffic between Auckland and Wel-l lington. This, we believe, is a misconception. The Railway Department was unable, we understand, owing to the depressed condition of the revenue, to increase the expenses by putting on additional trains. The train services over 200 miles of line had to be recast without increasing the expenditure, and mutually reasonable terms had to be arranged with the Manawatu Railway Company to work conveniently and economically with the services on the Company’s line. It was thought' desirable that people should be able to travel in one day between the district of New Plymouth-Wangrinui, 107 miles in length, and Wellington ; and also between Hawkes Bay and Wellington. This is practically attained under the present time-table, as when the line is opened to Woodville from Napier, in February next, persons will be able to go to Napier from Wellington in a day. They can already come from Napier in one day. The time-table has the advantageof enabling travellers to get from Wellington to Auckland in 30 hours when the*steamers suit. Foxfcon is now within seven miles of Shannon station, and it is supposed that steps will be taken to get direct road communication with it, so that the residents will be much better off for railway communication 'than they have hitherto been. The time-table appears on the Whole to possess great advantages, Ihough it obviously cannot be made to suit all localities.

While we have no objection to the title of “Major-General” being conferred on Sir George Whitmore, if such a titular compliment will please him and mean (or cost) nothing, we should object very strongly if that were to be made the pretext for increased emolument. The Colony cannot afford to pay any higher salaries at the present period of depressed trade and failing revenue. It will be said no doubt that the title is purely an honorary one, but .so it was said when various officers received higher nominal rank under the Grey Government. We were told that they would be quite satisfied with the honour, and would not seek increased pay in proportion to their raised rank. It is needless to say how vain a delusion that speedily proved, or how soon it was found necessary to allot pay in proportion to rank v We can only hope that history will not repeat itself in this instance. We coufess, however, that our “ army ” does seem a very small affair to require a full-blown general at its head ; nor do we think any additional honour will accrue to Sir George Whitmore from this pretentious title. He deservedly earned such high distinction and credit as “the Colonel” by his gallant conduct and skilful military strategy in actual warfare that he will always be honourably remembered by this well-known title than by the merely ornamental designation of “ General,” or even “ K.C.M.G.”

However gratifying it may be that the Municipal finances are in the unusual colonial condition of having a balance on the right side after meeting the halfyear’s expenses, this does not warrant the City Council squandering even a single farthing uselessly. But it does appear to us that a good many farthings, not to say pounds, are being utterly wasted upon one work now in hand. The new road by Glenbervie-terrace from Sydneystreet to Tinakori-road—itself a tolerably expensive piece of work, whose final cost, by the time all the landslips are done with, is exceedingly doubtful—is cut out of the side of a steep . hill, which rises sharply on one side of the footpath, almost as a cliff. At the foot of this cliff is being constructed a very elaborate, ornamental, and expensive fence of totara timber and iron. Now a fence is a very useful thing in certain circumstances, but there are cases in which even the most gorgeous and impenetrable fence becomes a thing of supererogation. We must confess that the object of this Gleubervie fence does seem to us scarcely worthy of the outlay involved in effecting it. We may be asked what that object is. We have much pleasure in returning a perfectly plain and straightforward answer. The object of that fence is to prevent persons tumbling up the nearly perpendicular cliff!

We admit that it effects this object most perfectly. No,body, without extreme difficulty, can tumble up that cliff while the fence is there. But, candidly, we confess that we suspect most people would.find quite as much difficulty in falling "up the cliff if the fence were not there.” In fact, tumbling up a cliff or a steep hill side, instead of being a mere ordinary proceeding, which everybody has an instinctive impulse to perform, is really an athletic feat of some difficulty * if not an absolute impossibility. We can discern little danger of any valuable lives being lost through an accidental tumble up the Glenbervie cliff, or we should say—Fence it by all means, if somewhat more cheaply. Bub as the case stands the work in question strikes us simply as an absurd and wholly indefensible piece of extravagance.

We regret that little progress was made at Monday night’s meeting of the City Council toward the final settlement of the long - standing controversy with the Harbour Board. The Council practically maintained their old position, and declined to make any further concessions of material importance. The boat-shed dispute remains where it was, and. the situation must continue in the position of a deadlock until one side gives way. We hope that on that question the Harbour Board will consent to accept the Council’s proposal. On the other point the Council might fairly agree to certain concessions.