HASTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1190, 21 December 1894, Page 18

HASTINGS.

The local assembly cf the Knights of Labour is looking up a bit lately, and they are promised a visit at an early date by the district secretary. When a banquet of a political nature is announced, those who go there naturally expect to hear some politics, and when it is a banquet given by gentlemen whose thoughts are all supposed to run in the same groove to their chosen champion, it may naturally be concluded that the sentiments expressed will be a ..little bit one-sided. But we were scarcely prepared to get such an avalanche of it as we were treated to last Thursday. From start to finish it was one ding-dong howl against the Government and as speaker after speaker, got up and repeated the..same balderdash over and over again we naturally commenced to feel sorry that men of intelligence could not find something better to treat their friends to. Taken altogether the whole thing , was a dreary waste of time. Who in the wide world wanted to hear the details of the sergeant-at-arms episode which had been discussed from end to end of both islands, or a one-sided account of the Pomahaka purchase, the details of which are thoroughly well known to everyone ? With the remarks made in laudation of the guest of tjie evening no fault could reasonably be found. We went quite prepared to hear the Captain landed.to the skies, and we were not disappointed. We all recognise that the member for* Hawke’s Bay is an ornament to the House. But when a gentleman got up and nearly burst all the buttons off his clothes because he could not abuse the “charlatans who are at present misgoverning the countrywhen he told us that whereas a few years ago wool was worth fourteenpence a pound, while now only tenpence could be got for it, and that the fall in price was attributable to the actions of the Seddon Government, we really began to wonder what sort of people we had got amongst. To hear one after another get up and give vent to such silly, childish, spiteful sentences, was enough to disgust any reasonable person, and to make one hope that the class of people who were speaking would never have a chance to run the ship of state. Not once during the evening was any member of the Government referred to except by a ! vulgar epithet, which may of course have been thought clever by those for whom they were intended, but we rather rejoiced in the fact that we could not relish such twaddle. Vulgarity was never looked upon as a recommendation when we were at school. “ Charlatans," “ blatant humbugs," “ the political Sequah gulling his victims with trumpet and drum," are not terms that gentlemen would use to one another, but those at the banquet heard little else, and when the chairman announced that owing to the train leaving the proceedings would have tp terminate the majority of the 138 present gave vent to a sigh of relief. The only speech having any pretensions to after-dinner oratory was.that.of Dr Newman ; he was really funny and his allusions to the time when his father paddled his own canoe up the Tukituki, taking ten days to do a voyage, and contrasting it with the present time when people growled if the train was ten minutes late getting to Waipukurau, were intensely amusing ; but not more so than his allusions to “ Elephant Bill," “ Dutch Charlie," “ Goosemau with the dead sure snip," and other interesting characters.

Bub for the redeeming feature of the Doctor’s speech the whole proceedings would have been dull, stale, and monotonous indeed. Whether the Commandant of the forces was in a particularly happy mood (for which Hastings people could find plenty of reasons) or no when he inspected the local ■volunteers, it is certain that by his action on Thursday evening he created a very different impression on the public mind to that which the assembled audience of several hundreds, who had probably formed their opinions from newspaper reports, were expecting, beldom if ever has so large a crowd assembled to show any interest in volunteering, and we have a shrewd suspicion that a great many of them came expecting to see our amateur soldiers put on the rack. It is a strange commentary on our boasted civilisation that the volunteer, be he a citizen soldier, a fireman, or acting in any other capacity for the public benefit, seldom gets anything iri the way of thanks, but is always open to taunts and jibes galore from those who never lift a hand to help their fellow-man. Having been within a couple of feet of Colonels Fox and Newall and the other members of the staff, and therefore able to see and hear all that went on, I am in a position to say - that the Commandant spoke in a most considerate and kindly way to many of the individual members, and when his inspection was finished, he told them, that he was satisfied the men were willing and eager to learn. The instruction that they had been getting was not what they ought to have got, and therefore he could not blame them for a few shortcomings that were noticeable. Forty-four men present out of a total strength of forty-eight, was very creditable, and he felt bound to give them as much praise as they would no doubt have earned had they been properly instructed. The Colonel then addressed some very very plain words to the onlookers, who had been all the time getting greater in number and by their crowding up impeded the work of the company. .He said it would shoiv a much kinder feeling, both towards himself and the men, if they would keep away altogether. He came there to instruct the volunteers, and his questions to them were sufficiently puzzling without the gaping and silly remarks of the onlookers.. Volunteering was difficult enough without putting unnecessary obstacles in the way. He hoped they would take his remarks kindly and for the future keep away. > The Colonel’s remarks were greeted with a round of applause. >r A few days will see the schools closed for the Christmas holidays, and before meeting again considerable enlargements will be made to the district school. The Wesleyan Sunday school anniversary services were held on Sunday, when the building was crowded. .The hymns were sung by. 160 children, assisted with organ and orchestra. On Sunday Mr Isitt commenced a mission which he. will carry on during the week at the Theatre. There were more than 600 present. A Napier paper wanted to say that Dr Newman was a “ loyal party man," but the presumably -hungry comp, made him a “ pasty " man—nearly a pie man. The same paper was talking about someone’s '“ piece" of mind a few days back. The Rev. Mr Isitt preached at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning, at the Wesleyan in the evening, and afterwards gave his address, covering an hour and a-half, at the Theatre.. Captain Russell says there is a wave of depression over the whole world which people imagine could be remove by putting this or that Government into power. That was utter nonsense. England was the market of the world and until there was a revival of trade there it was useless to hope - for a better state of things in the C is so near the time, I wish the staff and readers of the Mail the compliments of the season, and may trade rapidly improve.