AUCKLAND LETTER.

New Zealand Mail, 15 February 1900, Page 46

AUCKLAND LETTER.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, February 7, THE ROUGH RIDERS’ CONTINGENT. So far as volunteers are concerned; there is, as you will have heard by wire, no lack of enthusiasm up here. There ia, indeed,, practically an unlimited number or men desirous of going to the Transvaal, and the only diiicuity win bo m the matter of weeding out, and (as u wouid seem at present; of money. To say that the bottom or the puouc pocket in Auckland has been reaches... so ~»r as voluntary subscriptions go, would perhaps he scarcely correct; fo. any terrmfe reverse or case of urgent necessicy vvou.d most assuiediy ag.u—loosen a;l puise-stnngs, but there is a very strong ieeinig amongst Auckianuere that the cost of the third contingent siiouki have been borne by the Government. Even the strongest , supporters ot the Premier have aiLimadvcrtou .a no measured terras on the position he has taken up in this matter, and assert that having got ad tne advertisement ho requires out or the contingent business, he will now not hit a nnger to help anyone. In many ways lately Mr Seddon has managed to (,f one may be aiiowed a siang expre-S; eion) 1 nark” his party in Auckland, ana his reception here at present woulu not be remarkable lor its enthusiasm. Probably the requisite amount of cash requires will in the end be forthcoming, but it. will not be readily given. The slums, right in the Domain, when there will beany amount of villainous saltpetre, win doubtless bring in a very handsome sum, DEATH OF MR “JIM" PHILSON. There must be quite a host of your readers who will have heard, with surprise of the sudden death last week of Mr Jim. i'liiison, the well-known auctioneer. In his.own way, and. amongst a diiieient set, Jim Phiison., as he was aiway» called, was just as well known hr Auckland as the old doctor whose death i nad to record but a tew weeks ago. As an auctioneer of Mood stock, Mr Pin.son Had no equal in the colony, and to seo him working up s- battle between Mr G-. G. Steao. and Mr Dai. O'tJr.en at the famous bleed stock saleat Wellington Park was a sight noteasuy forgotten. His final attack or. Mr O’Brien was ever: “Come on, par.; don't lose him. Remember I sold you Carbine.” This adroit reminder usually meant at least another hundred or two in Mr Morrin’s pocket, fo-r that capital Ron them buyer- always responded, gamely. Mr Jim Phiison was a familiar figure m every c.ircie of society, and his death will cause a gap not easily filled. OUR GAS COMPANY CONFIDENT. Wars and rumours of wars, with an electric lighting syndicate, have left the withers 01 our Ga.s Company unwrurjg. The company is so conscious of the Gtreng.ii of its position, and so confident of the fucure, that new capital is to be raised during the present- year for a new Jioider of 150 ft diameter in Freemans Bay, the cost of which will not be' less than £25,000, The company has 8100 metres now in use, being an increase of 608 during the year. There 'are now 134 miies 9 chains laid, which means an increase of six miles, twelve chains, in the last twelve months. Very considerable alterations to- the works, exclusive > 6f the new holder, are in. contemp'l ation, so it will be seen that the o;.;i;.:i/iy“ . is- looking forward to increased activity, rather than any .depression from tlio long-talked-of opposition. The dividends of 7s 6d on paid-up shares r-jiri 3d on the partly, paid. is very satisfactory. "north island century BOWi- ■ ING TOURNAMENT. - i No doubt your local bowlers, who ran , our Newmarket Club so hard for the , Championship, will have plenty to tell -Wellington bowlers about the touma- • mem which has just been brought to sosuccessful a close. The weather was throughout perfect, and the differentgreens were in the very best of order, 'There is, I understand, no doubt that ‘• the best team won,.but the manner in "'which Wellington subsequently .'won-the i splendid trophy clocks presented by ; Stewart Daw-son, defeating the Newmarket team’ by one point only,, showed ■ : 'ho.v very evenly the two championship ! teams were matched. In the matter of entertaining the visiting bov/lers from Wellington and elsewhere, Auckland did ■ her very best, and from all one hears that best was most heartily appreciated. The open air "fete,” given by Mr Kirker. manager of the South British Insurance Company, and president of the Bowling Association; was certainly ■ of quite a princely order. Many of the | Southern bowlers went up to Rotorua *’ on : tlieir way home. The . Wellingtoni:m win of the Stewart Dawson, trophies ! ; was. I should remark, a very popular ' one. CUT. DROUGHT; HAS IT BROKENF i. - . A he prolonged drought, which now show; some signs of breaking up, but ..which, according to Maori prophets, will . last at least another couple of months, I-,-, is calculated to give us a somewhat cotm- , . ter irritation to the vague, scrappy and ..misleading war cables which make life’s . burden somewhat heavier than .usual , . ,these times. Water famines—in pros- ., pect—we are case-hardened to, the cry

has been “ Wolf, wolf!” for a decade or more, and we have still always escaped. But on this occasion there really did and does seem a painful prospect that the muddling incompetence of the municipal authorities might be brought very disagreeably home to us all. The minor irritat ion, of having all meter-supplies, for which one has to pay “through the nose,” cut off just, when they are most indispensable, has of course already been met with the philosophy which comes from lifelong endurance of this annual imposition. and we are now listening, with what patience we may, to the Council’s suggestions as to what we should do with cur bath water after the mornmg tub. “For the present,” we are told, “bath water should be used for gardening purposes.” The sting in this apparently innocent instruction as to our duty lies in the words “for the present.” It is quite evident that should the wells at the western springs sink yet lower- — probably they will-—the Council has some further and possibly heroic suggestions as to the utilisation of our bath water. In all seriousness, however, the situation is still, despite one or two heavy showers, of considerable gravity, mainly because supposing the continued rain does not c-ome. the problem of forcibly reducing the domestic supply-consumption is one of extreme difficulty. The obvious plan of cutting off the water between certain hours has been frequently tried, but is universally worse than inoperative. The fun of being left “ short ” invariably prompts, the filling of every possible receptacle with water just- before closing time. Probably not an eighth of the water run on is required, and this is immediately thrown out or allowed to run to waste" directly the taps begin to run again. It has been proved conclusively in Auckland-that to turn off the taps for four or five hours causes a far greater consumption than to leave the supply free. At the same time the present free consumption will soon leave us in an extremely serious position. What are the councillors to do ? Echo answers - What- ?'•’ Meanwhile the unhappy City Fathers continue the butt for countless jeers’ and jibes from indignant citizens and still more irate citizenesses. By way of comfort they have announced the arrival from Wellington of Mr Mestayer. who, at the comfortable honorarium of six guineas per day plus travelling expenses, will “ report ” on next year’s supply. The mania of our Council for “reports” is. amazing. Where all those already furnished on this perennial question are stored goodness only knows. The announcement of Mr Mesta-yers expensive engagement is to the average ratepayer at the present juncture something of the nature of a red rag to a bull. In the Epsom and Mount Roskili districts, prior to the recent showers, the misery of want of water was already upon the inhabitants. who were buying water at the rate of a pound a tank. Carts with 400gallon tanks were a common sight in this suburb, the carts being usually backed as close to the back gate as possible, and there left. It is, cf course, an ill-wind that blows nobody good, and the piteous c-ase cf many in the waterless suburbs before the heavy downpour of Monday turned increased attention to Devonport. which with her inexhaustible water - supply, up - to - date incandescent- gas service, and new drainage scheme, is certainly the most progressive suburb of Auckland at. present. The rain which has fallen up till the time of writing has not altered the situation to any extent. Those dependent on tanks have been relieved, but that is about all. DEARTH OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. Eu: quite apart from the want cf water scare, to which, as has been said, we are fairly, well used, the continued drought was like to make “plain living” if not high thinking, compulsory in Auckland. With the exception of some of the showy, but utterly useless and insipid, Japanese plums, the stone fruit season is a, failure. The later varieties of pieaches and plums are. so far as this season. is concerned, non-existent. Vegetables of every sort- are clear, and unless there is a. permanent change, will be unprocurable. The rapidity, too, with which feed, so abundant at the beginning of the season, is being scorched up is already having its effect on the stock, so that the desire for more rain here is both universal and urgent. THE COMING FLORAL FETE. For several reasons and some circumstances, the prospects for the proposed Floral Fete, to be held on March 3rd, are not too hopeful. Flowers there will assuredly be none. March would, even in the best seasons, have been hazardous from this point of view, but the present season puts real Sowers out of the question. Recognising this, the committee has advertised that imitation blooms will be permissible in decorations. But apart from rho debatable question of taste, imitation flowers involve an amount of trouble and expense which only very optimistic people will expect the‘public to undertake. The committee also asks the public to take- part in a pageant and procession indicative of the main events in English, or ratlior, British, history, and of the progress of the centuries! Such an idea, admirable in the hands of some- experienced and gigantic organiser such a 3 the late Augustus Harris, or Barnum, seems ambitious to a disastrously dangerous degree when intrusted to an unorganised and irresponsible body of amateurs. Expense will deter all save a few from competing, anil the spectacle, in bread daylight, on perhaps a dull or worse afternoon, is not one which can bo looked forward to with much confidence. Such exhibitions require the

glitter of electric light and the attentions of the limelight man. Out in the open they are more provocative of ridicule than admiration. Moreover, there are and have been so many patriotic fetes and meetings of late that there is a distinct feeling of satiety in this matter, amongst the public, and only a slight turn now will cause a reaction.

OUR PALATIAL POLICE BARRACKS. The new police barracks, opposite the Albert Park, ’are now finished, and “ Robert” has entered into proud possession. Situated in the most enviable portion of the city, overlooking the park and that aristocratic thoroughfare. Princes street, the handsome new building is one of which the city in general and “the force’ in particular may be justly proud. Most assuredly no police in the colonies are more handsomely housed, and for comfort and convenience- the interior arrangements compare more than favourably with several of our hotels. The views are magnificent, the lighting and ventilation are of the highest- order, and the sanitary arrangements superior to anything in the city save the most recently built- hotels, etc., etc. . The billiardroom is large and well-lighted for both day and evening play, and lias been furnished (bv the men themselves) with a full-sized Alcock table. Years ago, ridicule would no doubt have been cast on this endeavour tb- make “ the policeman’s life a happy, happily we are more eniighfenettbn'owadays in this respect. The temptations to the police in the old days, when their quarters were but a shade better than the cells of their prisoners were doubtless responsible for not a little evil. The temper naturally engendered by unsavoury, cheerless, and miserable surroundings was probably responsible for many cases of arrest which brought the Auckland police into disrepute some time ago. 111-temper so engendered is with the family man usually vented upon the wife or children. In Robert’s case its only outlet was to violently “run in” tlie first- citizen who gave even the shadow of an excuse. Goocl-natured, well-fed. well-cared for police mean much to. a municipality, and in recognising this Auckland has done wiselv.

THE HALF HOLIDAY. Wednesday has once more been chosen for our shop half holiday, and the choice seems to have been almost unanimous. The public have fallen well into the way of not shopping on Wednesday, and the desire for both promenading and shopping on Saturday is practically ineradicable in this city. The one or two tradesmen who make an exception to the rule are an undoubted convenience on occasion, and no doubt the single barber in Queen street who shuts his shop on Saturday afternoon and evening and keeps open on Wednesday reaps a golden harvest, the same applying to individual tradesmen in other lines who take the same course.