NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 956, 27 June 1890, Page 17

NOTES.

“ The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, And these are of them.” —Shakespeare. The railway servants’ delegates who are now in negotiation with the Commissioners are excellent samples of the intelligent working man who studies and thinks. They are all good speakers, too, sharp at argument, and quick in reply. The Nestor of the council and the bugbear of all reporters, who facetiously style him “ the Winter of their discontent,” is Mr Winter, who, though employed as a mechanic in one of the workshops, haa a painfully-extensive knowledge of all the ramifications, ins and outs, and pros and cons of the railway service. He is a very free speaker, takes a hand in every discussion, and sticks at his work with rare pertinacity. Time is his servant. Mr Owen is the respectful fighter of the company, great on questions relating to tha locomotive service, and an accomplished hand at telling the Commissioners very unpleasant things in an insinuating manner. Generally speaking, he is an ideal working man, however, spite of his peculiarities, and has all along combined conciliatoriness with persistence in delightful style. Mr Elvines is the representative of the way and works men, into the recital of whose grievances ha throws a dash of grim humour ; and Mr Haden, who appears for the clerical staff, rather depends upon the energy of tha indefatigable Mr Winter. Mr Edwards, the general secretary, does not say much, Preferring, apparently, to give himself ample time to think, while his excellent colleagues bait the Commissioners. Mr Hoban, the Fresident, is a lawyer, but understands the railway business pretty well, and has a light and airy, though effective, way of knocking people down—• figuratively, of course. Probably the Commissioners themselves also coma within the ken of the omniscient newspaper writer. Mr McKerrow, as Chief Commissioner, conducts the business of the Conference, and begins every speech with “Now, I should just like to ask you one question.” Everybody who knows Mr McKerrow knows what a kindly disposition his is, and in this instance the delegates have to thank him for unvarying courtesy and attention, and the very best of treatment generally. Mr Hannay has not said much, but has , rather acted as adviser to his chief. Occasionally, however, he has argued that employes of the railway service should be trained up in the way they should go, so that when they get old they will know their business. _ Mr Maxwell has borne an active part in all the discussions, and on aeveral occasions has questioned Messrs Owen and Winter so closely that they have objected that he was trying to trap them. Mr Maxwell is exceedingly great on the difference between continuous and intermittent labour, and also very powerful in citing cases where a third class man would get more pay than a first class one under the Society’s proposals. The general good feeling which has been shown in all the discussions, however, is remarkable, and although every subject brought up has been handled skilfully and with due spirit, moderation and reason have been the order of the day. Before leaving these railway items wo should like to chronicle the appreciation of the travelling public of the civility iuvariably shown to passengers by the employes on tne Government line to the Lower Mutt. Numerous instances could be cited of court?.«y and attention on the part of these railway servants distinctly to their credit and the advantage of the service which employs them. The employe to whose mercy the passenger is left on a journey has it in his power to increase or lighten the tedium of the passage. A very apropos incident, occurs to us : Travelling once from Honolulu to San Francisco, the c.b n of otir steamer got flooded. The steward was called, and exclaimed with characteristic American shrewdness : “ Alt right, boss, you look to me till we get to ’Frisco, and then, I guess, I look to you.” This, of course, was the refinement of hint ng at a prospective “lip.” The rail way employe, be it said to his credit, looks for no sued reward, and indeed, would not Sake it if offered. This is not sarcasm. Mr Young, a member of the Wellington Education Board, visited, on Thursday last, the Grey town School, anil wimessed an exhibition by the girl pupils under Mrs Scale of “ the stave drill.’ Tiie Standard reports that Mr Young was ao much struck with the drill that he wished every member of the Board had an opportunity of witnessing it. So tar all this is satisfactory enough, but what is “stave” drill? Conducted by Mrs Scale, it has an apparent mufical ring about it, but, of course, that cannot he. Tneu it must be “ staff” drill, and if so, wliat kind of staff ? ' Mr Young’s gratification thereat might imply that it waa a sort of drill which the teaching staff might participate in with excellent results, educationally and physically; hut then why should the girl State school pupils of Greytown demonstrate anything 0 f that kind to the Education Board 1

After all, “ staff or stave ’ drill must mean a series of exercise with staves or sticks. Now, the physical results of this drill may be excellent, but. jest fancy the vista it opens up for the future husbands of these Greytown School girls? Will it not be certain that the homely but useful domestic broom handle will be tabooed in the Greytown homes of the near future ? And was there any particular satire in Mr Young’s wish that the Wellington Education Board had an opportunity of witnessing the possibilities associated with our girls bsing adepts in the us 9 of the quarter staff ?

Mr Coleman Phillips is still on the trail of the destructive rabbit in the Wairarapa. In a lpngthy letter to the Wairarapa Star recently he declares netting, fencing, and trapping to be comparatively useless, and once more urges his measures of relief as follows :—Voluntary local government ; simultaneous winter poisoning ; turning out the natural enemy : hunting with dog 3 and gun ; spread of the natural diseases (bladder worm, liver rot, &c.). Mr Phillips regrets to say that the Rabbit Inspectors of New Zealand have preserved the rabbits ✓ hitherto, and only created bitterness between neighbours.

This is a pretty straight charge, embodying an opinion which is nob solely held by Mr Phillips. There is very little doubt that the one only cure for the rabbit nuisance is the settlement of the lands, and the influx and increase of the agricultural and pastoral section of the community.

Many very well-informed persons are beginning to regard the pestilent rabbit as,°after all, by no means to be lightly regarded from a local-industry point of view. A very considerable trade could be opened up in tinned rabbit meat, and in the disposal of the rabbit skins. Wherever bunny most abounds the starting of such industry on a proper scale should exercise a very wholesome check on its excessive increase, while c ;rtainly the industry would afford openings of employment to a large number of hands, and tend to lessen the pressure on the labour market in the towns.

If there is anything in the above, it may be that in the wholesale destruction by poison and other means of the mischievous rabbit, the settlers are practically in a sense killing the goose with the golden eggs. It may be taken, at any rate, as at least a wise step before entering upon the annihilation of any species of animal to first determine whether, let it be ever so troublesome in its natural proclivities, it cannot be turned to man’s use and profit.

One of the latest bits of social news from Auckland was to the effect that a telegraphist there had been suspended from duty because he had, colloquially speaking, “filed his shovel.”

Of course, this is very sa,d of itself, and the only apparent public interest in the incident so far is that a telegraphist should have obtained sufficient credit, seeino how miserably this class of useful and skilled Civil Servants is paid, to enable him to join the aristocratic ranks of those who have financially joined the majoifty.

But (he reason of this telegraphist’s bankruptcy, it is alleged, is perhaps unique. It is said he had to filo because fie backed bills for his stepfather ! Could filial affection, or, say, sense of duty, go farther- -a step farther, if the pleasantry may ho allowed ? Probably no one before this has so thoroughly grasped the position of in loco parentis than has this individual, who succeeded in getting his stepson to back bills for him, and then let him in for the amount, some L9O odd !

There is not much humour, generally speaking, to be got out of the cable nows supplied to us out here, but many a lesson may be read between the lines. It is in this way both the quality of the news and its intent are so distinctly a patent food for babes.

It is worthv of no'o, however, that Lord Salisbury’s Government do not intend to publish the papers in connection with the inquiry held at Sydney into the mutiny on board 11.M.5. Egeria. Whenever a Government refuses to publish tho papers in connection with a public matter, you can stake your bottom dollar there is something therein which is not to the credit of the Government or their officers.

The scientist yet remains to be born who shall satisfactorily explain why -America has a monopoly of stupendous events. The latest phenomenon on a large scale is a cyclone in Illinois which lifted the school at Pawpaw into the air, scholars and all. Even the weight of learning was unable to keep that school down, and the unfortunate children were hurled hither and thither like so many straws till they finally settled in a neighbouring creek and elsewhere.

There’s a matter-of-fact view of every great disaster, and what strik® 3 113 regard to this one is c If among those who witnesed it there was a student of orthoepy, how thoroughly he must have grasped the exact meaning of paw-paw-mg the air.

We have had something to say about rabbits in the Wairarapa, and we must

return to the subject. The Ml-sterton Rabbit Board is reported to be about to distribute imported stoats and weasels “up the Paha.ua River.” We merely desire to point out to the Board, before it is too late, that stoats and weasels are not amphibious.

There’s something very humorous in the suggested idea of a member of the Rabbit Board sitting on the dreary banks of the Pahaua River, and as he casts the imported Mustelidce upon the whistling “ Pop goes the weasel ! ”

Exchanges are chronicling the fact that Herbert Spencer has entered on his 7lst year. At first sight there does not appear to be anything remarkable in this, but there is when you know that he once sub-edited a newspaper.

A spieler named Surry, at Napier, has just got three months’ imprisonment for having no lawful visible means of support. He is now sick as well as sorry.

Sorry’s alias was Jones. He might have had more, but that is all that was recorded against him. It does seem that there should be some legal means of punishing notorious evil-livers who adopt respectable names as aliases. . Just fancy, for instance, the following : Alias Atkinson, alias Fergus, alias Hislop, etc., or even alias Varley !

A genius on the Danevirke School Gommittee struck about as novel an idea as we ever remember to have heard of. In connection with the school awards he proposed to give prizes to the twenty-six children who had not passed !

“Childhood’s days have passed before us in fact, so far before U 3 that they have well nigh gone out of sight, and only an odd one here and there is “ to memory dear,” but if our recollection serves us right it was always much easier at examination time t:> be among those who did not pass.

Just on a rough calculation we reckon that if tho Danevirke genius’ brilliant idea had be6n in vogue then we should, at the end of our educational career, have filled a building about the size of the Government Buildings with the rewards of our scholastic failures. ’We could, in short, have emulated Sir George Grey, and donated Wellington with a Free Public Library, in which a Bible, given ns for “general deportment,” and a copy of Sandford and Merton would have been notable features.

The “Yeoman of the Guard” was played at Auckland the other evening under considerable difficulties. The jovial Elton went out riding the same afternoon, and perpetrated such an atrociously bad joke that his critical steed refused to bear the burden any longer, bucked, and threw the comedian to the ground, where he hurt his “baby brow” or some other part of bis economy, and was hence unable to show up on the stage. To cap this, Miss Merivale faulted at the end of the first act.

It is a detestably practical age this we live in. Only the other day that romantic story of the Indian Mutiny, “Jessie’s Dream,” was proved without doubt to have been but the creation of some scribbler’s fancy, the truth being that there never whs a Jessie, that she never had a dream, and that the incident she is made to tell of never occurred.

Now another illusion is upset. Somebody once wrote about a brook, or a river, or an old maid, or something—- “ men may come and men may go, but I go on for ever.” In the face of this we are brought up standing with an announcement in a Christchurch paper that the citizens of that delightful town, with its Home associations in its beautiful Avon, are about to take steps to effect a “ clear .nee of the river!”

A visitor to this Empire Gitv once remarked :—“ I’a an awful pity these bills wi re put a > close to the town !” It was a peculiar w : .y of expressing it, but what, lie meant was that if only the country about (lie city was as flat as life in it then whs to him, there might be more m-’iim of recreation for the soj Jiinur wi bin our gates.

Tie was quire right. The city, whose sig'its and wh .se drives, suburban and otherwise, are exhausted in forty-eight hours at the outside, is apt to pall on the average visi’or.

It will therefore be received as an item of exceeding good news that Wellington will shortly be on the fair way to possess an additional attraction in the shape of a through drive “over the hills,” but “ not far away,” from Kilbirriie to Roseneath.

Roseneath —what a sweet namn it is, isn’t it ?—will by then, it is to I><- hoped, be connected with the city water supply. And this reminds us that last summer, water—fresh water that is, or rather as fresh a 3 they make it about Wellington. —was so scarce that the city was menaced with a water famine.

Householders will remember, doubtless, how for varying periods they had to do without the matutinal tub, and how glad the ** kiddies ” were that they could not be washed.

Up Newtown way especially it will be recalled how neighbours formed a joint stock company in the matter of water. The man wirh a well or a tank could have commanded the suffrages of all tho electors in his vicinity had a general election been on, and the householder who had a sufficient supply stored up for a bath passed the water along after he had no further use for it to tho man next door, and go on.

Well, the crux of the thing is here, only do not tell anyone about it. Mr Wiltshire, our excellent City Surveyor, is going very shorlly to take a trip to the Wainui-o-mata to survey tho ground for an extra water-storage area, and the work will be done by the end of the coming spring. Just think of it. Next summer we shall all be able to wash ourselves every day !

By (he bye, if there i 3 any funny man or woman in Wellington or its vicinity who pants for immortality in this column, he or she can have it by addressing contributions to the News Editor of this Journal. He has the constitution of a rhinoceros, and they need not be apprehensive of fatal results. In the language of certain very worthy church people “all will be /welcome,” and if there is any collection the News Editor will take it up.