AUCKLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9565, 22 October 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

AUCKLAND.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

October 15. The citizens are laying themselves out to give Lord and Lady Glasgow a good time during their brief stay hero. His Excellency's first public function is to open the new annexe of the Aack-

land Museum, where has now been placed the Maori carved house presented by Judge Fenton, the carvings of which are 150 years eld; the lamou? war canoe Toks-a-Tapiri, one of the linest specimens of the war caaoe in existenc ■ and many rare and curious things illustrative of Mion lite and customs. The Northern club propose entertaining the GovernorUnd Lady Glasgow by giving a ball, and thePaknrauga Hunt Club will provide the necessary racist amusement. The new annexe of the Auckland Art Gallery -built for the reception of the lUackelvio collection, has been finished bufc ifc is understood that ths formal opening of it will not take place until his Excellency's return from Cucistchtu-ch, when it will be duly listed us with the grand and varied colleatioa of art treasures bequeathed to the city by the late Mr J. T. Maokek-ie. From an intellectual point of view the gallery is all that could be desired, and every provision has bsen made for protection against fi.-e for proper ventilation, aad prevention of accumulation of dust. The citizens of Auckland are, for ths most part, iv comparative ignorance of the extent and value of the collection bequeathed to them, as numbers of cases have never yet been opened, in which are stored hundreds of pictures aud framed engravings. It is doubtful whether even the new annexe wili hold the whole of the Muckelvie collection," such have been the number aud variety of works which Mr Mackcki.j's wealth and refined taste had enabled him to accumulate. When these art treasures are fully displayed, they will greatly stimulate love of art, and increase tho roll of students at the Elani School of Arts. Most of ths Auckland members have now returned from Wellington. The public verdict concerning the session is somewhat mixed, but the general opinion is, in view of some of the disreputable incidents which characterised the session, that we ought to'be thankful that things' were not much worse. There is a strong feeling about the Payment of Members Act, aud many electors have made out a '< little list" of the members who . voted for the measure, against the. next general election. Mr Buckland is likely to have a lively time of it when he comes to meet the electors of Manuksu and has to explain the provisions of his celebrated Washers and Manglera Bill.

_ The Aucklaud appointments to the Legislative Council have, on the whole, given satfsfaction. If Labour is to ba directly represented in the Upper Chamber, then Sir Jennings is as suitable a man as tha Ministry could have selected, as he possesses the conlidsnee of the Trades and Labour Council, the lab:mr organisations, the Liberal Association, and the friendly societies. He has also interested himself iv matters of social reform, and in the improvement of the condition of the female workers connected -with the Taiiore3?.e3! Union. Mr Jennings represents the more moderate section of the Labour party, and was always at issue with the agitators of the Bust and Desmond typ3. I understand it is his intention as soon as possible to abandon tha mechanical branch of newspaper work, and to qualify himself for journalism by a preliminary training. Mr William M'Oullougli, also connected with journalism, the second Auckland appointment, is a man of mush greater ability than Mr Jennings, and will make a very excellent member, as ho is not a man of extremes, but may be regarded in politics as a Liberal-Con-servative. He has been selected, I understand, to represent the goldfielcla interest. Considerable surprise has been felt that Mr James T. Boviau and M'.jor Harris have nob boau iv the running, at both gentlemen have strong claims upon the Liberal party.

Considerable surprise has been felt by the AVomen's Franchise League and thtir friends and supporters at the uiiloolwd-fo? defeat of their efforts to secure the franchise for women. They entertain a firm belief that neither tho one party in the House nor the other were sincere in the matter, aud that the question has been shelved by a piece of political trickery. Though defeated, the league is not disheartened, and ths agitation will bo renewed next session of Parliament. In the menntime it is intended to educate tho women up to the requisite standard for exercising tho franchise, to give them a butter knowledge of political questions, and to in lies them feel more deeply a sense of tho responsibility attaching to tho exercise of political puv/ei1.

The National A'soaiation has lately held its nnnu!il raaotJiig, and though not making much noise is; dying quietly a large amount of useful work, mori) espccii-Hy in the way of organisation and attention to registration of electors on the rolis. IS'ew branciies ere being established in the country districts, where tha chief strength of the association will in future be. The president, in his address, urged members to spare no efforts during the coming year to place the association on a truly national basis— a basis that would prove its organisation and sphere of influence to bo as "national" as are its objects.

In spite of the protests of the public, the Harbour Board have determined to go on with their scheme of expending LIO.OOO upon the wooden wharves of the port, instead of making a beginning with the first section of permanent works. Their contention is that the LIO.OOO would be a mare drop in the bucket towards pcj-.-nnnvnfc works, and t.'nt if such a stop is to he taken thiin a second Imbortr loan is forethadov/ed. Tli-3 failure of the recent attempt

to convert the hsvbonr loan? is eufricient w\rnnig as to what would happen if the Harbour hoard ventured to mslte a fresh appeal In the J-onuon market, no perhaps the wisest, course i<' to continue .a poliny of "masterly inactivity." " J hero seems to bo a periec!; oru r ,{,io:i of juvenile nnnic at the present time. Tlw <-eason is not sufficiently n^anccd for orchard robbing, and ior a change breaking and entering is luo favourite diversion. Some of the would-be burglars brought up could scarcely see over the iron,, railing, and the magistrate was completely puzzled what to do with tbem. Birehin" enO imprisonment have alike been tried with very 11 tllo result. The major part of the blame for this undesirable state of affairs lies at the door of neglect!"..] and careless parents, as hundreds of children of tender years are allowed to roam the streets of Auckland til! all hours without let or hindrance. Now that the fine weather is setting in and labour is comm-j more into demand, the local agent of the Labour Bureau is putting on the '^screw, ' and refusing to pay passages of uuemIHOy cc. lo the country districts. Gardening and tnali class of light work is being provided in and around the city for the more aged and feeble of the workers, and the younger men are being sent to the country to bush-felling and ilax-cuttms. There is a diminution of the number of applicants at the Labour Bureau for work and at the Charitable Aid Board for c"c', I» ofcaer ways the outlook ia very hopeful, l'he revival of the timber industry w 1 giro employment to hundreds of bushmen and others winch will be a great thing for the noruietn settlers, whose interests are so larMy bound up with it; while in Auckland the buildK» not bOGU iv so healthy a condition for he pas iyo years. A very good barometer X,? f.? nehunP, hM iust Prese^ed a very ttwouraole report, have recovered hundreds of pounds of arrears during the financial year, and realised on house property in liquidation at sat.sfactory rates. The result is that at the end oi tne year the directors not only are :>b!e to declare a fair dividend but to carry a sum to the reserve. The great event of ths fortnight has been the celohrauon of the jubilee anniversary of the arnval oi the Scottish pioneer settler* by the ships Duchess of Argyle and Jane Gilford, October 9, 18*2. The gathering was a magnificent success, largely owing to the energy and enthusiasm of the hon. sec ,Mr .1 J Oraig grandson of one of the immigrants. ' He tiad it laid upon him as a solemn charge by Mr Robert Graham (chairman of the 40th anniversary reunion) and by his father, who was also present at that 40ih celebration, that if he survived them he would see to the jubilee of the arrival of the Scottish settlers being fittingly honoured. Messrs Graham and Craig have both passed away, and Mr J. J. Creir loyally and thoroughly fulfilled the duty hid X % Sucl l aauther earring of old settlers wnl never be scon in Auckland'a~<nn— coming m as they did from all parts of the' province, with descendants to the fourth and even ,f ge"f ratlon- Photographic groans of these o.d sellers were secured, which will prove bis.one. Among the men in them were Mr Ihomas Churches, who had in Sydney, as the first New Zealand settler, greeted Governor Itobson ; ivlr M'Quado, who came down with him to the Bay of Islands in the Westminster ■ and Mr England, who had been present at M° Vw n°M H?£?! l>s °mciallau(iil 'Sin Auckland ; i.ir B. M. Williams, who had translated the .treaty c f Waitangi and witnessed its bsin« signed ; and Mr H. W. Warner, who, with Mr M illiaras, pulled in the gig of the Surveyorgeneral (Mr Fetteu MntthWs) at the first regatta, held in commemoration of the founding o, Auckland, 18th September 1840. At the reun.ou ,n the Choral Hall in the evening there were several hundred old colonists present, and the hall was packed with their descendants Among the audience were tkreo settlers, som» of them grandfathers, who had been Sunday scholars m the class of our first Colonial -treasurer (Mr Alex. Shepherd), in old Sfc Andrew s Church, while a lady (a grandmother) had been a Sunday school scholar iv old St Paul s, ana taught by Lady Grey. An interest! nig feature of the decorations of the hall -.verc icfloVlil WS O/r °ld Attßklaud, commencing With iar?'» ?? H °Sans sketches of "Auckland in lbos —the second period of the city's growthfollowed by views of 1350, the third or modern period. The canoe on the platform (akaupapa) wish its paddle, gaily decorated with the native (lowers and bearing the name " Waionio "took liacs the audience to the time when Dr j Logan Campbell (the chairman) paddled a canoe bsanng that name on the waters of the Waitemata. The old pioneer settlers were ranged on the platform, and the first thing which struck the spectators was the number of widows among the survivors. A remarkable contrast was presented between the stalwart a<*ed fcco.tish matrons, halesome and fresh-coloured and, in some eases, their pallid, puny, and badly-developed modern representatives to bo seen m the hall. The faces of these women wouud bo a study for a Lavater, as they were all typicai, full of character, and bearing "tokf-n in many instances, of the trials and su!Terii>"s which bad baen undergone. The greetings between tee old settlers were both p ithetic and amusing. Some of them had not seen each other for 40 years, but the old fricedshiu and alleehOD, begotten of common trials and dangers endured, burned as brightly as ever, and will terminate only with life itself. Among those welcomed were Mr and Sirs J. A. Wood, of yhnstchnrch, whose fourscore years did not de,cr them from coming up from Christchureh to oe present ou the joyous occasion. A lady Mrs M'Lachlau. aged 07, one of the four s-jr-vivors of the passengers by the Brilliant, which arrived a year before ths Duchess and Jane (.Tiftord, m the Maiuikau, was also on the platform, one of the two representatives present of the settlers for the iil-starred Manukau T and Association of ISU, promoted in Edinburgh, lhe congratulatory telegram reoaived from Mr Win. Mason, of Dunedin, brought again to affecbionate remembrance the name of one of Auckland's earliest settlers. Ho built iv 1839 a house in sections, at the Bay of Islands ai>d brought it up in the Aunie "Watson to Auckland, erecting it the same day that he ar-ived in what is now Official B;iy. He and Mr G* al. Williams slept in it that night (15th September 1810), and were the first two Europeans n-ho slept in a wooden house m Ar.cklam.. Sir Walter Buller, a son of the soil, bora nearly CO years ago at Ncuark mission station, HonifHjga. Heads, also forwarded from vVeliingtou hi 3 kindly greetings. It was peculiarly appropriate that Dr Campbisll should preside over such a gathering, as he had looked iv 1810 from Brown's Island, Motu Korea, ou the fern-clad site of the Auckland of the future. Ho made an eloquent and appropriate speech. His voice faltered as he uttered the closing sentences. "We have at this jubilee gathering to-night, in the full blush of life, tao living rcpraacntatives of four generations, the world all before them—ro us it is all m ths past. And now that the snow of age has gathered on our heads, we may well be content to take our last long rest wheu the appointed day—now soon at hand—shall come. The departed spirits of our old fellow-workers, who have already joined the great majority, arc beckoning ij3 from the other side of the great river to follow. Truly all that we have gone through since 1840 appears like a strange dream, but a dream which has the fascination of reality. We have lived to see the great fern wilderness reclaimed, to have seen the infant settlement unrobe itself of its primitive garments of brushwood and breakwind huts— and tents iv which we wc-re dwellers, and outliving its bush-mask and wild appearance, eater on the path of progress." As the oufceomo of the jubilee celebration there is likely to bs a colonists' association formed, of settlers of over 20 years' standing, the object of which will be to commemorate the events connected with the early settlement of the province. The AusUand Institute also intend to appoint a section of the council whose duby it will lie to fulfil the functions of an early history society, by collecting and preserving everything which relates to the history and pioneer colonisation of the province. The Jubilee. Committee ara making a valuable cd:itribution to this work by preparing an old colonists' roll, showing date of arrival (if not native born), name of ship, captain, age of colonist, Christian and surname, and number of descendants. Tha list of names and particulars vdll be inscribed on parchment at the beginning of next month, the list closing on the 31st inst. and deposited iv the Auckland Free Public Library. Already the names of nearly 500 colonist 3of over half a century's standing, with the required particulars, have been forwarded to the hon. secretary (Mr J. J. Craig), and the roil promises to be a document of great historic interest. Already we have got as far back as 1819, with Mr A. M. Fairburn (native born), and will probably get to 1817 in the son of another missionary. Mrs Letheridge (native born) goas back to 1819, and is the oldest female colonist

In the way of amusements we have been well provided during the last week or two. The Opera Company simply "scooped the pool." Jt is idle to talk of. depression in face of the fact that the company broke the record as to the receipts at the Opera House, on the last ni.->hi of the season. 1,200 for the ovening's pleasure of seeing the " Mikado "—or strictly speaking, " Ta-ra-ra-boam-dc-av," for that was the particular attraction—was not bad. The "hi:;h kicking" was' phouom<m3l One fair member of the corps de ballet, all agility and muslins, became so enthused at witnessing tho packed house that, holding her oouque.t on big!!, she kicked it out of hp/hand as deftly as if ii had been placed on the (loo?-. The maiugur of a financial institution wan bo impressed with the performances of the giddy young things that he pelted them on the stage with bou.rjp.ets and other floral compliments, idr Jude was rather unfortunate in coming during t-iia opera season, and his earlier pei> formances, in point of attendance, wore not up to anticipation. His organ recitals at the various churches have, however, been largely attended, as also his lectures on social topics. Mi-Snazolle is :it present touring the Thames goldliulus. Ho gives a very humorous account of his efforts to introduce among the South Sea Islanders his unique entertainment, "Music, Song, and Story."

— The incumbent of St. Paul's Church, Liverpool, has decided to dispense with the sermon during the summer months. A sermon, however, will bo preached lalior on, us a separate service for the benclit o[ those who may acbiro to remain.