AUCKLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11303, 22 December 1898, Page 6

AUCKLAND

(Fkom Our Own Cohhespondext.) ■ '.■••' '■■ '• ■ December' 8. ' The visit of Ins Excellency the Governor, the Countes6 of Ranfurly, and the Vice-regal parly to Auckland at the opening of the Auckland Mining and Industrial Exhibition pin, ttiß Aucklanders in good humour, as reviving the old times when the Queen's representative resided here, i Lord Ranfurly had a Bus/ time of it, but was'equally at home in laying tho foundation stono ot the Knox Church—in memory of his illustrious kinsman, John.Knox;-who had been, as he proudly mentioned, '.' a slave at the. galleys, and.a refuses trom his country for conscience sake,'-' — and in'talcing part in the opening of tire new -Children's'l Hospital and of the exhibition. Hia Excellency's . speeches were marked by strong good sense and the: merit of brevity. Lure! Ranfurly also found time to make a second visit to the Kauri Timber Company's mills, to look at the. new Fruit boxes being turned' out .it that establishment,' having one eyn ou local industries and the other on his orchard estate at Mildurti. His Excellency enema to ha-vo got on the ninny side of'the ■Premier, ior the latter, at ihe opening of the exhibition, referred to his Excellency as "a practical man, equally at home in the orcuard, r.he iielo, d,nd tho paiiicu, and in dealing with everything- connected with our present Constitution was well able to'maintain'his .pure, and do honour to the Empire." His ExcelJeuity has also carried his point with regard to the renovation ot und alteration to Government. 'House;' and on that head the Premier, nit " t.tib power behind the throne greater than tho throne itself," said, in a simmer of .selfsatisfaction: "Of Lord Ranfurly, our present Gora-noi, this colony has reason to he proud. 1 muni, say that we have had no Governor who hug l/etter represented the mother country «md nei". mosi; gracious Majesty, the Queen than out present Governor, Lord Ranfurly. Circumstances over which he had no control havo prevented him staying in Auckland, and, being with you as much from time to time as 1 know he would havo liked; but I.am pleased to nay. that these- difficulties are now almost removed--that. Government House will shortly be. completed, and that his Excellency will shortly suon have a prolonged stay amongstyou and with you." £1000 has been handed over to be,spent in refurnishing Government Kousb, and put-the. finishing touches upon everything-, and Lady Ranfurly nas given the necessary orders to Auckland tradesmen in connection therewith, so that everything will be in readiness when 'the Vice-regal party occupy Government House in March next. Lord-Glasgow.will be staggered to loa-rn thy. the improvements for which he pleaded in j vain have all been- granted and accomplished by King Ricliard. Tho only thing m which the Vice-regal party -got mixed up was the churches, ?nd especially the cathedrals. - It-was their intention to worship at.St. Mary's Cathedral, Parnell, in the morning, and the vicar had got a special sernsoii, in readiness, while the choir were on their .mettle'with special music;'but " someone had blundered." The coachman had got his marching orders for St. Paul's Cathedral, and as St.- "Paul's Church has done duty as h i-atliedra-l church he carried out his instruct tton to the hitter cud. His Excellency got into >St Paul's as'one of the most- punctual of its visitors, for there was not half a dozen pßople in 'the. church when he eutercd; but on discovering his mistake Lord Ranfurly could not back out again, as he is no respecter oi persons in church, and he consequently made the best of th« situation, in listening to Ccinon Nelson, while thu special Vice-regal; sermon at St. Mary's; Cathedral had to bo '••'tajcisti as i-ea-d'."' There are. no charges :of "body snatching" being bandied, about between St.. Mary's mid St. Paul'?, iintl the .relations u-re riot strained between the respective' ecclesiastical authorities of the two churches, but it was very rough on the-Rev. George Mac-Murray to 'hava' to gu on. with .hi? Viceregal serniovi with Mm .Vice-regal pew empty. The unfortunate incident'only bhows that the nearer . th« church . the farther from the cathedral I '•' .: The opening of the Auckland Mining and Industrial ■' Exhibition has been the' great function of the.oast fortnight, .anil the exhibition has been th« staple talk of the citizen*. There is not the slightest doubt, that Auckland has excelled herself on this occasion, And thero is'nothing but- a general chorus of praise, of the oxhibits as being a capital and varied representation of the industries and resources of the provinces,-mid many of the southern j products. ■ There hat been nothing to mar the pleasure of the-opening proceedings There was fino weather, and the, military--pageant >vuh especially good,-and amply atoned for the churlishness of the tiiencUy societies in'retireing'to " procesh " The Premier was especially, happy in his allusions in his speech, ahd «i-j's well received Ho waa enthusiastically applauded when he said that, "there had been ail exhibition ai- Ohristoh'urch, then Wellingwm followed suit, a-hd-i-hen we had au-exhi-bition at Ounedin, but. liko the postcript to the lady's letter,-the last is'the best, and that is at' Auckland."' You have profited by what has,'taken'place at t.b.6 other exhibitions, and, in'the-.'words 'of his Excellency, you have 'gone one better '". .■ The Otago exhibits matle a ..very fine display, and Canterbury also did «-ell. No such display of woollen manufactures has ever; been seen in Auckland as those'of the Alpsgiel Company, Messrs Ross and , Glendining, and-the Kaiapoi and Wellington 'Woollen Companies. It is stated that the Kaiapoi Woollen Company's exhibit has been purchased by the Auckland firm of Messrs Smith and Caughey for £3000. .The grand display of ; boots and shoes'.from, the Standard Boot factory of Messrs Surgood, Son, and Ewen has been keenly inspected by the. representatives of the local boot manufacturing companies and firms, and the ar- ! tides are much admired, for the taste and ! finish displayed.. The exhibits of the Otago | paper manufacturing firms also received attention, as tho Aucklanders contemplate.entering into that brunch of industry themselves, ! and have no doubt picked up some wrinkles !by an inspection of the Otago exhibits. _As for. the exhibits of the St. George Meat preserving \jVorlcß, they simply dominated everything of that character in the exhibition. Such a grand display of the auriferous resources ot the province and colony as is shown in the mining department, has never been .witnessed in Auckland, and, with the equally-•• grand display of, mining machinery in the Machinery Court, must prove of great educational value. The Union.Steam Ship Company's splendid exhibit" of models of their magnificent fleet has , attracted general attention, and brings home clearly to -everyone the magnitude of oiir: premier colonial fleet of steamers, ,ot which.every part of the colony has reason to be proud. ■•The Government have done their part- by the fine display made in the mining i department", by the Public ."Works department I of: New .Zealand woods, and by the.Defence I department,in. the Armament Court. , lhis ! latter uourt ib visited from early uiorn to | dawy eve."by those -desirous of knowing no* : poor fallep humanity can be most SP 68"'1? I converted •' into "food for powder." Aho Home industries section is well ..represented. Although there, is no representation of.JJiJi, through the energy of some private citizens (here is an! Isla-ndfi Court, at which Samoan native damsels -preside and explain the colli» tiohs of ifiland while the RotoruoCourt is a realistic- display, of ■ the ■ glones of the wonderland, its geysers,, fumaroles, solta- ! taras, with •'■' Sodom and Gomorrah" chrown in and delight^ the Australian - and southeni j tourists, ' The art gallery contains a fine; loan collection ■of works by New Zealand; Australian.' lind- fo'reiijri artists.- The loan collection .of Mr John Roberts, of Dunedin,-oi wdrks'by !E. A. Waterlow, Smart, K.&.a., M'Kay,'"• 'R.S.A., and Moultray has been gre'atlj 'ancreeiftted. as wellas" tlve Jandlviiu*.

:sage'^'f-frdbeefi'teie'grapiiedf'b^'.KGi^r;'oargfl],--of.' Dunpdin;!- fa tho executive '.'committee. oi the. exhibition: ;.:;'' /'■ '•fv.'v:.- ■ .;;.;.-;: ■■-,"■.:■-

,; .(The (Executive Committee, of...Uiiiicxhibitibn have been completely" ba.ffiedj.ih their'; attempt i ■to -force the.sale o£!]ii toxicants:intbithe.exUi,-;: ibition against, the.'Wisli of the; general, public;-; A. deputation waited upon>hb Er'emier,: with a ' view that the magistrate, if-he had no :,other. ■ objection to the license than thaft he refused1 to sit from week to7woek' to hear applications for• iv license,to tlio: exhibition*, >" mi^ht;-be in- v Hucnccd by the Govorameht to sit from' \vee!i ■ to, week." .- " The lesecutive ; felt," '■;it -.':was '• pointed oiit,,-..'; that 'the license, was Ja;..npces-.' sity, - and they hoped 'that 'the Premier would help them in any way he could." -.Mr W.J. Isapier saw tho mistake that'was made.by the. introducer of the question, '.and' hastened to explain that they did.not ask the Government ■ (o interfere .with the .magistrate in his. judicial functions. T.he executive just gave the-Ere:', 'mier the opening he wanted,.and of:which he . promptly availed himself.;y. He replied that he could not for a momeut-'counionance^t-he suggestion that " thc'^Governn^ent should in-; fluence the magistrate in his capacity of chair^' man of the licensing committee, ■and; was pleased to hear Mr.Napier's disclaimer." Thenthe Premier proceeded to "rub. it in "to the j executive in the following language: ,','_ He. did hot see that it was a-matter bf.vital im-porta-nce, or that whenever colonissts \yent- to an exhibition, or to enjoy themselves,. that;it - followed as , a.' natural sequence they.. must have intoxicants. ' He hoped the. people would goto the exhibition.in as large numbers, and, as often, as if there were intoxicants to be had. At all events, lie would; not-interfere. in the matter. It was; for the magistrate to do"hia. duty, and he had every. confidence that the magistrate was one who could be trusted to do what -was right in the matter." "The executive retired after thatl straight' out answer from the shoulder', decidedly wiser and sadder men than before the interview, but not poii-'----tent with that rebuff, they rushed on .'their fate again, as a frcslr application-was made at the Licensing Court by certain jiartiea, but the magistrate declined !.to be coerced; into hearing the applications, and after.a. dramatic scone, tlie magistrate picked up.his papers,and; left the court. Some of.the members of the , licensing, .committee, would have been willing ■to have :granted : the applications, but as : ,the magistrate, ac chairman, held the key, of, the.:, position, they were helpless, and one 'by one they slipped out of court, after some language, twhich was painful a-nd free,-;and.. ■•■ so ended ')The Battle of the* Licenses,"-'for the time being. 'Mr Brabant; S.M;, holds'that the plications could not be entertained at.tbe present quarterly meeting, having . been, already considered and' 'declined,' but could come 'on next quarter, which scarcely suited'tho. book of the exhibition executive,, who' will beclos-; ing'the,show at that;date, and will have no desire then for beer. ".-■'• ■ '..- •:';.';' The Premier has'been more near.tily.. received on this occasion than on any previous visit ho has made to Auckland.' and:he,, onhis.part, has- shown a tactfulness,which has disarmed hostility. Mr Seddun recei.ved.a host of deputations on all sorts of. subjects, and the manner in which he headed them' off and' promised to, '/keep the matter ;steadily; in view" proves him to be'a past' master' in the'art of handling deputations. ; Of■''course, the Stratford Railway! Route: League,-' werecarly in the field, but,lie gave them clearly to understand that their, demands,could only'be" met by fresh legislation, and a. further; loan. Most of-the members of the league, were willing to accept that contingency, but the .mayor-. elect.(Mr David Goldie) entered his protest, agaiiist further borrowing. -Mr vSeddon pointed:out that- £300,000 ■ would be spent yet before the point of divergence was reached, so that there was ample time to consider'the question bf: the routes. Next session^ he.'stated, he hoped to have:all the.data'requisite;ready for. submission to Parliament, and,; in addition, would personally traverse, the Stratford 1 route, but .lie.vvarned the' members: of. the league that there was no prospect of. the Otago people forgoing their claim to have the Otago Central pushed on, or the Canterbury .representatives- waiving- -their.; claims for railway extension, in order that the railway connection might be made between Auckland and "Wellington.' Tb satisfy-all the; claims for rail- : ways meant another.loan, and the question, of borrowing would have to- be' faced first of all. The league were fain .to be satisfied by the Premier's assurances, as it-was "Hbbson's choice." At the meeting "of Liberals to present the Premier with a gold medal in recognition of his exertions in passing, the ,Old Age Bensions Act, Mr Seddon was especially happy and good humoured. -He stated that if .the pension were charity, then' the £30,000 paid annually to.the retired civil service;was also charity. It had been put to him that the pen- • sion should bo made a legal right, as the well-to-do would not claim it. : He sa,id he never intended to give them the chance,: ac ; the'

" bloated capitalist " would be there or thereabouts if the pension were made to be !uni-' versa!. The Premier's versatility was a subject of. universal comment,7 In -the afternoon he wa-s at the'lnstitute for the Blind, singing with .unusual fervour. "For ever with the Lord" and-" God be with you, till we-meet again," and at night he was warbling "Hard .times " and "The wearing o' the green" at a festive Masonic gathering." "It is suspected that ho felt himaplf i capable of laying the foundation stone of the Knox Church I :' '■',

As was expected by the police ''authorities/ wo have been visited "at the opening,of the exhibition^by some of the representatives of the criminal classes, and: the police force in all its branches \ has been strengthened in order j to deal w.ith the emergency. , There have been some very daring burglaries,. of the Sydney and Melbourne^ type," vehicles being.brought into requisition; but the startling incident of all was the" robbery of the Newton branch of the National Bank" in open day, and, £920 iri, , notes abstracted from the till, while, with a >* ■ moderation which does them infinite credit, the thieves declined to appropriate a bagm the same drawer containing £430 in sovereigns. There,; is reason to believe, that-the robbery was very carefully planned, the habits of the staff and official usages duly noted.: In this case there is very little doubt that lit . was .the handiwork1 of Sydney or Melbourne artists of the first water in the criminal line. The police authorities have a slight clue, which may probably lead to further developments, but the superhuman coolness and. skill of the operators does.not augur^vell for their capture and detection. . ■# . The mayoral election for the City of. Auckland took place recently, and Mr Goldie'..inflicted a crushing defeat upon the present mayor (Mr Dignan) by the largest majority H'it'h-wliieh any maj'pr has ever been returned in the history of Auckland municipal elec-. tions. Mr Dignan was extremely,ill-advisdil ever to hare exposed himself■ to such a humiliating rebuff, at. the hands of Ihe burtreßßes, but "he has suffered not only.' for,,his own official shortcomings; but through the-general distrust folt regarding his colleagues in the City Oouncil. Mr Goldie has " a large order;" to fulfil to pay, 6fT £12,000 of debt; incurred during tho pact two years, tp keep all tho • services going without additional taxation, and to remodel the city administration with" a council which is already-half inclined to condone the roll-stufnns which has i - been detected and exposed.. No less than 100 names of alleged ratepayers a,ro found to be on .the City South roll, only two of whom will pay rates during tho present year,-though on thu roll. As there are six wards in the city..and it is believed that the.other ward rolls are as defective as that of the City South, that would give 000 bogus electors available for. the'political "bosses" whon-the municipal olections come off. The outlook is-one calculated .to cause citizens feelings of dismay as to the prospects of honest and gocd municipal government. . . The Austrian influx is -developing into proportions which must arrest the attention of everyone interested'in the social condition and betterment of our own people.' No less than-200 have arrived during the past fortnight, and at once have scattered themselves over the northern gumfiekls. At the present rate of increase of. these aliens tho working out of the gum deposits is brought within measurable distance. The mon make no secret of their intention to' come solely to make money and return to their own land.as soon as possible, sending out fresh; hordes to adopt Fimilar tactics. "The Austrian*; state that they can get better'and cheaper land ,in Austria than they can procure in New Zealand, and that they..have no inducement to remain.. Settlers wbo have had to do with the Auitrians of late state that they are.fast .losing their reputation for honesty, -and are just as tricky and deceptive, as.men of other nationalities. ' There seems to be a. consensus of opinion that the /later, accessions of these people aro inferior in every way to the pioneers hailing from Dalmatia and 'other .pro-1 viuces of the Austrian Empire. It is stated1 by northern settlers that no effective legislation has yet been' enacted.which.will deal effectively with these "white. Chinamen." ; ' Mr J. H. r AVithoford, who \viis: so warmly welcomed on his return to Auckland by the Harbour Board and other organisations, . is being publicly entertained at Coromandcl, a district with which he has been intimately connected for many years. Nothing succeeds 'ike success, and Mr "Witheford has done much to . ; convince the Admiralty authorities that it is to their orni interest to make a second naval base in Auckland for the Australasian "squadron. '.■. Mr Withoford' informs me that, notwithstanding he has been foregathering .with the Premier, who is milch interested in.,his hego; tiations with the Admiralty, and the; latter personage has put his legs under his mahogany, he has no intention; of' ontoring political life ■': at. the general election. .The;Promier; visited t!ie Hon. E. Mitch'elson while in. Aiickland, and lunched with -him at hiß-Eemuera residence, which led to rumours of a coalition ' Ministry, in view of tho Hon. J. M'Kensie's probable rotirement:from'therMinistry-avan early date on accoimt of the; state of hU . health. Other politioiaoß suggest that tba additional inclusion of .Captain Ku.fsell* <vt>uid ■, give a strong Admi:iiMratioh,'and to Mr Sod-1 don a renewed . lease !of power. " such a political comliinaUon is po.tr.CbW. 'X'i'M.; tlioj'.Cß&t tauclißti'jaa. cau ilaoa JHSU^ '•;' '■■•[..