Passing Notes.

Otago Witness, Issue 1148, 29 November 1873, Page 17

Passing Notes.

I wonder what people would think if the management of a newspaper waited until a month's paper only was left hefore writing to England for a further Bupply. When a housekeeper waits until five minutes before the dinner hour to discover that she has not got chops enough in the house, she is ridiculous. The bridegroom who never thought of the ring until the middle of the marriage ceremony, deserved to be jilted. These are pardonable weaknesses compared with the conduct of the New Zealand University people. Their action always puts me in mind of some stiff old veteran who has lived half a life among niggers as a despot. Do this, Sambo. Let that be created, Caesar. The Council expects the world generally to jump about and attend, when it has spoken, no matter how idiotic its utterance may have been. Text-books ! oh, certainly; take Hallam, Bryce, and Creasy. Please, sir, I can't get them. Nonsense, let them be yot. No matter that the task is an impossible one ; no matter that the booksellers are 16,000 miles from their customers, the textbooks are appointed without one care as to whether they could or could not be procured. If I were a New Zealand University student, or a candidate for a scholarship, and could find the books named, I should be sure of winning, in the sublime confidence that a majority of my competitors hadn't a chance of getting said books.

Why does that poor Auckland telegraph man send such poor rubbish by wire 1 Take Wednesday's paper : The South British quotation and Chamber of Commerce information are valuable, so are elections and other quotations. The celebrated slander paragraph might have come from Yarra Bend, and Mr Gillies's present occupation would have kept. Telegrams are too often among the dullest columns.

So the Minister (Department) of Justice has been subbing the Magistrates again. I do not know that it required his assurance to inform the Magistrates that the chief purpose of enquiries into wrecks is the punishment of those who may be proved guilty. They will, I fancy, have guessed as much as that before. For my part, I think the Magistrates quite right to err upon the side of leniency. Of course, we have all an interest in keeping shipl owners and masters up to their work, but is this to be done by punishing them after a catastrophe with increased severity I The Depart me id of Justice can know little of the hardships and troubles of a sailor's life, especially if he be in a position of responsibility, or it would not attempt to bully them. I could wish for a more exact definition of the duties of this Department of Justice, and of the Minister thereof. Is it part of their work to chide the executive officers for acting according to their judgment, and to comment upon the severity or reverse of their decisions * If so, it seems to me that we are falling into the well-known error of confusing political and judicial funotions, preventing the valuable machinery of the independent Judicial Bench from working freely, and placing a political chief on the Bench of Justice, in a sense, of all Benches of Justice. If any one wants to see an instance of the advantage of keeping the two things distinct, let him read Macaulay's well-known essay on "Warren Hastings,

The meeting of the Journeymen Bakers' Association was characterised by a good sense and reasonableness which are too often missing. No one, I suppose, whose opinion is wortli having, will be inclined to differ from them about the fact that their present hours of labour are too long. Twelve hours are too much — four hours too much— to make men work at so peculiarly trying and exhausting an occupation as making bread. Whatever be the profits of the master-bakers, and I don't think they are very large, those profits must of right not be made by driving their workmen. We won't have it, Otago won't have it, and I heartily congratulate the journeymen of this particular trade upon making a stand. One of the first acts of the Parisian Commune dealt with this trade, and forbade the consumption of hot rolls for breakfast. Probably theie was no great hardship in this, as there was little or no flour in Paris a* the: time. Still such an attempt at legist tion was a sign of a hardship existing in this business which had been as a running sore. I had fondly thought that the eight-hour movement had extended to almost all trades— and I hope it will yet, let the increase in price of necessaries be what it may. Flat juditUi, &c. If the journeymen bakers and others give a fortnight's notice to their employers, they will have done »U that could, he expected q£

them, and in return will be able to say they have " got all that they wanted."

Probably we h.ivc most of us had a laugh at the last development of modern religious zeal. The idea of a pilgrimage used to be associated with real hardship, to say nothing of the aroma attached to a traveller in far oit' and unknown, often dangerous regions. Now-a-days we do these things in an excursion train, or at least in the kind convoy of Mr Cook. I had got used to the new reading of the old story, and was familiarised with the idea of a John the Baptist clad in a complete suit of waterproof drenching his disciples in a stone-girt puddle. Those things, as we all know, happen near home. But a pilgrimage in a railway train — shade of Richard Coeur de Lion hear it. Since the " Innocents Abroad," no more ridiculous notion has been presented to our nineteenth century minds. Mind you, I don't see why devotion should not be promoted as well by the one as the other, only it is so novel an idea, so unusual. I had always associated a pilgrimage with de.serts and oases, with sand and hurricanes, or at least fountains and robbers. Are not peas (boiled) an integral part of such worship ? 'Now henceforth a vision will rise up of a railway carriage instead of a statf, an opossum rug for a hood mantle, a hot water can for a pair of sandals. Instead of a breviary I shall imagine an "Ouida."' instead of a rosary a railway ticket. Will another " Chaucer" be found to tell the adventurous tale of how the guard was rude at Screwsby or the buns stale at Slevsby ? Never mind, I have no doubt we all do things quite as anachronistic, but we have just got used to them.

Hveiy now and then one notices either a personal escape from drowning, or a heroic act of Ira very on the part of some young woman in saving others from death. There seems no possibility of any one damsel in Dunedin learning to swim. Summer is coming; on, and the opportunities for women bathing are absolutely nil, or at any rate for such bathing as enables anyone to have a swim. A juvenile daughter of Capt. Maude, R.N, , jumped off some rocks at Monkstown, the other clay, and saved a small girl who was drowning. The preserver was under sixteen, but she could swim. Can nothing be done here to give an opportunity t,o one -half the population of learning this most useful art I I don't suppose that there is a sing c Dtinedin born girl who can natate, and the art ought to be as common as walking.

The 6coti Scholarship Fund has benefited not a little by the labours of the theatrical amateurs, to .say nothing of the ■work of the industrious Secretary, D. R liny. Ido hope the poor thing will rind itself galvaui&ed into new life by this addition to its finances. it is time that the matter were closed np Perhaps if the promoters will make one more spurt they would iind themselves in a position to offer a scholarship for competition next year. Anyhow it is worth trying.

"For Sale, .1 Licfht, Young Horse." B^tKs its little innocent soul. Does the advertisement mean that Ihe critter is a li^ht-hearted young 'oss ! If so, why not say so I

■•'Fox S.ile, a Brick Family Residence." Deal' vie ! What would Barmim give fov sue!) a treasure ? I have heard of a \\ i © leu-headed papa, daughters like lumps of putty, poms who were not "on the suuare. " T never hoard of a brick family. Such a lii^i; iialiirn, Mumld bo priceless. What an air of order and regularity .such a. household would present, each in its place, not projecting an inch. Do they retire to rest upon a bed of mortar, or seat themselves around a table in rank and file. I suppose paterfamilias tosses his darlings two at a time from hand to hand, and nurse carries the youngest treasure in a "hod." Are they all red, I wonder, after they ore grown up ? do they blush for their sins all their life, like ihe young hero m "TheCaxtons " I Are they ever burned, and what ari they worth per thousand ? Talk of native industries— the proprietor might have saved his three shillings, and found a purchaser I expect without advertising his wonders.

Scene : Southern Recreation Ground, Monday, November 24th • — Ist Scot : Wiiat game are they playing, Sandy 1 2nd Scot : Cricket, ye ken. Ist Scot : What are they trying to do ? 2nd Scot : Ye see those three straight pieces of wood stuck in the ground, and the little piece on the top ? They want to knock off the little piece with the ball. Ist Scot : Well, they are fools to go to so much trouble.

When a notable political character assured the House of Commons that the Colonies would, be defended with "the

I last ship and man," the hearts of loyal Colonists rejoiced that the bonds of union between all portions of the mighty empire were cemented afresh by the assurance. A good many people, however, thought that the rumoured confidence was a little misplaced — in fact, that the sjjeech was '•bunkum," nothing more. As Mr Trollope and others discovered good Colonists were utterly disgusted at the withdrawal of every redcoat from our shores. Both here and in Australia the public grieved over their departure, not only because of the good they did (not at all) but because of the sentiment of nationality which their presence provoked. Vv r e have got on very well without them, and never think much of the regiments now. I notice, however, that we have got a good share of the blue jackets in these waters — out of 9G pendants, 002 guns, and 13,746 men upon foreign stations, there are on the Australian station 10 pendants, 44 guns, and 1008 men. This is a liberal allowance, considering that we do not pay a shilling towards their support. Such a fact gives some colour to the statement about "the last ship and man." And, after all, ships beat regiments for one purpose beyond all doubt. Better one or two lh r ely steamers than a whole battalion of regulars. Possibly the next move of an economic administration will be to ohai-ge each Colony per visit of ship, Until then I. don't see that we have any right to grumble, or suspect the Imperial authorities of an indifference to the interests of these communities.