PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2320, 18 August 1898, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

From Saturday's Daily Times.

The members of the Dunedin Ministers' Association have small faith in their own preaching Gambling, they affirm, is a sin, an act of robbery, an offence against elementary morality, a crime against society. Yet to put it down they invoke tile intervention of a secular league of all citizens. What is this but a confession that, they themselves as preachers have failed to put down this sin, this robbery, this offence against elementary morals, etc., etc., and that they expect atill to fail '! Do they know why they have failed? I have no objection to telling them. The cause is no secret. They have failed because their habit U to confound things that differ, lumping together under the one horrific designation " gambling " all varieties of excitement that turn on games of chance and skill, excitements entirely innocent with excitements indefensibly mischievous. Doing this, they naturally fail to persuade their people that " gambling "—what they mean by " gambling "—is sin at all. Suppose i ask the JRev Mr North to make a fourth xn a whist quartet, — shilling points ; " a clear lire, a clean hearth, and the rigour of the game"'/ Or the Eev. Dr Waddell to join me in a friendly bout at backgammon? — Mr Gladstone's nightly recreation, by the way, was* backgammon. Or the Rev. -Mr Saunders to accept a seat at my next progressive euchre party ? I fancy I see the scandalised phizes of these good men— Puritans out of their century — at proposals so audacious. 'And yet better men than they have been ,wont to do such things and think no harm. The Puritan moralist— Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican, what not— insists that a ba> zaar raffle is no better than a sweep on the ■Melbourne Cup. And when you have I>ju. d that a bazaai raffle is no better than a sweep on the Melbourne Cup you have proved that a sweep on the Melbourne Cup is no worse than a bazaar raflle ; — and then

where are you? Exactly where we all ars now — helpless in presence of a great and grievous social evil. Thanks mainly to ihe muddle-headed rigour of our spiritual pastors and masters.

Another contribution to the harbour question : —

Dear Civis, — Chatting with me an old shellback shipmate, who has a dredge on the Molyneux, about the Victoria Channel, made an excellent suggestion. " Let your Harbour Board," said he, " buy ,£50,000 worth of golddust, then scatter it in the channel, and invite tenders for rescuing it by dredging. These would be accepted, say, afc 3d per yard, in order to obtain the gold. At this price it would pay handsomely, and a good channel would be made." This seems piactical, and Captain. Cuttle does not forward it as ironical. A great idea, truly, and worthy of my serious attention had nofc a greater ousted it from the first place in ray thoughts. I scarcely need explain that I refer to " The Mollodi's " delightful letter in the Times of Wednesday. Only let, Captain Cuttle study the gorgeous scheme laid down therein, and, generous heart that he is, be will at once acknowledge its superior genius. He will perceivg that it absorbs and perfects his or his fellow shellback's plan, rendering a discussion of it useless. He would have the Harbour Board spend £50,000 in salting the Victoria Channel, as the immortal Thomas Sawyer salted the garden he was disinclined to dig, and sell the dredging rights to the eager gold-seekertj, who would leave their old loA r e the Clutha, and rush to make their fortunes in the bay : •'The Motlodi" asks no such expenditure ; for is not his canal a work of national importance? — which let the Government undertake. Quite right, say I. The sale or leasing of the canal frontages would go far to repay the outlay right again ! The railway difficulty that is troubling the Hon. Mr Cadman would be solved quiell}' along with the great work ; the water supply difliculty, also. That, too, could be made a matter. of national concern, for what would Parliament be minus the Otago contingent? And what would that contingent be without water of certified purity to temper their quid Scottis barley-bree? Lastly, is not, the Taieri a gold-bearing river? Could not the Harbour Board, unmulcted of their £50,000, induce the eager dredger to complete their joys by paying his 3d per yard for the privilege of hunting his small 'deer in the basin where the canal would be considerate enough to drop it>?

For all reasons, humanitarian and other, it is well that the curtain is to be rung down on the Spanish- American War, one reason of not least importance being that the war was becoming a bore. Its results, foreseen, inevitable, excited no curiosity. At first there seemed a chance of an instructive object lesson in modern naval war ; since that chance passed nobody but the cable companies had any motive to wish the contest prolonged. I apologise to the Americans for supposing, on the faith of telegrams, that the naval fight off Santiago was a hollow affair — racing, chasing, confused firing, and not one good shot got in on either side. Therein, as the mail news shows, I was mistaken. If a big "butcher's bill " is anything to be proud of, the Americans had whereof to boast at Santiago, both ashore and afloat. Though bound to win in the end, it is lucky for them that the Spanish collapse has come so soc 1 .. J-'isc a little more of toughness in their adversaryand they must presently h»\ p discovered, both in Cuba and the Philippines, that they had caught a Tartar. Yellow fevei and typhoid have reduced the. invaders at Santiago to sucb a plight that they are barely able to march down to theii transports ; in the Philippines, the natives— and there ure six millions of them — are impartially hostile to both Spaniards and Americans. In short, our cousins are well out of it — if out of it they are — at this stage; henceforth, in debating with us any new Venezuela trouble, or the like, they will be the mere cousinly lor iheij experiences, painful and costly, in this brief rough and tumble wrestle with the Don.

Whafc is a balneologistV " Ministers in repl.v to questions stated that the position of 1 alneologist for Rofcorua had been offered to a competent person at a salary of £800 per nnnurn, but he would not accept the position unless be were allowed to charge fees for achice" — lhat looks like the law, now; is it a new variety of banister, I ■wonder?— " to which proposal the Government could not agree, and the negotiations ioj the engagement of a balncoJogist wero still pending" What is a balneologist V My dictionary is discreetly silent or; the point, and it is a highly respectable chctioiuu-v,

too— could it be otherwise and mme 9 A somewhat light-minded friend suggests that it is a man in pyjamas who stands by the water and jumps in to reassure the patients as to the temperature. Ido nofc think that sorb of man would occupy the attention of even so undignified a House as ours, nor upon further thought, do I think the salary commensurate with the service : £800 per annum is much too small o sum to tempt a man to make a thermometer of himself eight hours a day. The word is evidently made up of neologist and a prefix bal-. I find "neologist" signifies one who introduces either new terms, a literary cohior, or one who makes a new departure in theology. " Bal-" doubtless is an abbreviated form of " bally," a familiar expletive, the term then being the equivalent of "bally neologist." So far nvy etymology takes me ; but Avhat the Government want with a gentleman of this particular profession, " cannot guess— unless, unless it is to advise them on the famous clause in Mr Seddon's Technical Education Bill. He might be easily worth the money !

An anti-Seddonite whose indignation has eft'erv --ced inti poetry sends me the comnosition given below. A poor thing, Sir, but his own ! I thought at iirst of"touching up 'he scansion and making other imnrovemoni'? ; but no ! —Why should I? Loner observation of the verses published (at 2s 6d a verse, I believe) under the heading "In Memoriam " in the Births, Deaths, and Marriages department has convinced me that scansion in poetry is of small importance The lnnsniase of emotion :s: s superior to form. Like necessity, it knows i.o law. Lines that limr nr sprawl, regardless of metre, are able somehow to yield a sweet satisfaction to the writers of them, and, apparently, may count on a public that finds in i!iMvi no offence. So I have ceased from the practice of patching Mp draggletailed poetry- Let it go ! Let heart speak to heart, though in groanings that cannot be uttered. In this present case the writer's sentiments do him honour ; for his "poetry" he ou<*ht to be What shall I say? At least I will n«!c the nrinrer to put him in his very smallest type —

While Mr Dutlue was addressing the House in the early part of the session a voice from the Government benches was heard to call out "Rave away!"

Rave Awast.

Have away ! what care we for your cautions and

warnings — We are living in clover, wo make hay while

ifc shines. While cash can be handled by pledgiiigs vnd

pawmngs, "We can buy strong support on true Tammany lines.

Have away! rave away!

Rave away! we have collared the cute agita-

tor, Tho unions are like potter's clay in our

hands , A reckoning day may, p'raps, come along

later, But we only care for our Eichard's commands.

Eave away! rave away!

What about Sir George Grey's new-enfranchised

elector ? Has he no regard for the colony's weal? Oh ! wo tell him the threatened smash-ups a

mere spectre, And we'Ji hound the employer— make capital squeal.

Rave ay/ay! rave away!

Have away! if a fortune Diclc ruth'essly col

lars For a new talking-shop on Vfil'ingtoj.'s

■heights. Our answer is : "Watson is blueing the cL ;

!ars lii building a temple for coves lo fly lute*." .Rave away! rave away!

Will the time e'er return to thib fair Iznil when

honour Ami conscience and justice will lawmakers

guide. Will new Swaiusons, FitzGerakls, Dometts,

lavish on hoi Their higii-souled devotion and sympathy

wide ? Then shall sell-seeking vanish, and no membei

will say To the fair, honest critic Have away! rave away!

The devil seems to have deserted his saitorial friends and taken up his, let us hope temporal?, dwelling-place with the Linotypists Consider this literary specimen, culJed but a day oj two ago from the war news: — — even this little isUucl would be able to pay us directly m dollars and 'cents iv the course of a few year? all that the wai has co3t. And fiom tins mental process business xneD in New York reason thai tlua Govern-

ment will do an idiotic thing if it lets either oE these possessions slip." will do an idiotic thing \i it lets either oE these possessions slip." Is it nob admirable? Never was the ttemondous force attained by repetition shown to better advantage. When I dropped on the piece I cite, I thrilled with the fond hope that once more Maoriland "was to the fore, and that another — who could doubt a greater? -—Whitman was about to burst upon the world. Walt was a comp, you know, and helped lo print his own first book, the "Leaves ol Grass," that was ieceived by an unthinking public with mingled mirth and execration, yet lived, and will live. I watched for further signs of our local Walt, and presently I noticed a like repetition in a paragraph of lndi-in news. It was much less torceful, and J smiled at the rash handling ot a powerful weapon that betrayed the unpractised tidier. A day or two later came this lemarkable piece of work . —

There is Mr Morrison, joj .loqmsin otfj. oj[t[ '%ou mii £„ •oaire'jsui .;oj Wellington, in the habit of receiving offers of money to square me." — which yet might be the fruit of humour, a quality mankind can never be too thankful for — is not procedure in the House all topsy-turvy '( — I still had hopes. Then came the final blow, this marvellous bit of literature . —

The references in the clause to the inspector and auditor were struck out, and the clause restricted to the president only on the motion of the Premieu. The clause, a aesnemdd emfwypshrdestdhsrrh and 1 recognised my error. No avatar of genius this tune, but the pranks of s>ome fiend on furlough, were responsible for the whole business .- New Zealand still awaits her literary star. Civis.

Early on Wednesday, the 3rd, the St. Hilda Borough Council Chambers were broken into, an entrance being effected by one of the windows. An attempt was made to open the safe, both handles of which were broken off, but nothing was got by the would-be thieves, who, after trying the safe, broke open the front door of the chambers and decamped. It so happens that all money is banked daily, so that even had the burglars succeeded in opening the safe they would not have been any the licher. A kiwi mat, which, beautiful in itself, was interesting also as a proof of the abundance of kiwis in the North Island and of the retention by the Natives of their knowledge of the art of mat-making, was exhibited at the meeting of the Otago Institute last week by Mr A. Hamilton, who expressed his indebtedness to Mrs Matthews for affording him the opportunity to do so. The sight of the mat as MiHamilton threw it across his shoulders elicited exclamations of admiration from the meeting. Very large and most beautifully made, the mat was, Mr Hamilton said, the finest he had ever seen, Ib was made at a small station called Upipi, near Taupo^ and while containing an enormous number of feathers, represented a considerable number of the very rare form of white kiwi, the feathers of which worked in alternate stripes with the dark feathers ot the less uncommon form, produced a 'splendid effect. The kiwis of the North Island, Mr Hamilton remarked, must be increasing somewhat rapidly, as, from what he had heard, two hunters with one dog had recently succeeded in obtaining 40 in a very small space of time.

A well attended meeting of the New Zealand Natives' Association was held in St. Paul's Schoolroom on the 9th. The president (Mr A. C. HanlonJ presided, and referred in feeling terms to the death of the association's lote vice-president (Mr C. M, Mouat), whose loss to the association was so greatly lamented by all the members. On the motion ol Mr Withers, seconded by Mr Jenkins, SI i E. 0. .Reynolds was nominated to the vacancy. Several new members were elected to the usT-riVi'..-)!. The remainder of the evening \va f - •\c-. '<•*.' to a highly entertaining lecture on " .Ai .mspherio Air," which was deliveied by -Mr William Goodlet, of tho Otago University. Tho lecture was fully illustrated with most interesting experiments, and tho speaker, who couched his remarks in •a happy strain, was frequently interrupted by outbursts of laughter and applause.

Rather a novel entertainment was given afc Old Knox Church on the 9th by the ilev. William Gillies, who gave his reminiscences in rhyme of the early days of Otago. Mr K. B. Cirgill presided, and there was a good attendance. The reminiscences retated mainly to tho reverend gentleman's experiences as a young man in the early clays of this settlement, and although tome of Hie ' anecdotes were amusing enough as they were told in rhyme, they were of a somewhat trivial character, and would probably not make such good reading when translated into prose. The audience, however, appeared to bo greatly amused and interested with the reminiscences, the recital of which frequently

evoked applause and laughter. A collection was taken up during the evening in aid of the North Dunedin Church building fund.

I I A discovery which Dr Hockon, who prepicled, declared to be a matter of nothing less than world-wide interest to scientific people was announced at Tuesday's meeting of the Otago Institute, at which Dr Benham read a telegram which he had received that afternoon from Dr Young, of Tnvercargill, stating that he had another specimen of Notornis Mantelli, and asking that a trustworthy taxidermist might be recommended to him. Though there are several skeletons of this bird in New Zealand, two of them being in the possession o£ Mr A. Hamilton, registrar of the university, there have prior to this been only three complete specimens secuied, and not one of these is in the colony, two being m the British Museum and the third in Dresden. The first specimen was discovered in 1849 by a party of cealers at Duck Cove, on Resolution Island, Dusky Sound, and shortly afterwards a second was found by Ihe Maoris on Secretary Island, opposite io Doas Cove, Thompson Sound, but it was not until 1880 that the third specimen — which, unlike the other two, was seen alive —was obtained by a rabbiter on Captain Hankinson's run on the eastern side of Lake Te Anau. The St. John's congregation, Hobarfc, havo conveyed to the llev. I. K. M 'ln tyre, their late minister, an expression of their heartfelt sympathy in connection with the destruction of North Dunedin Church.

The weekly meeting" of the Benevolent Institution Trustees -was attended by M,essrs Watson (acting-chairman), Allan, Wilson, Treseder, Green, Gourley, and Swan. The accounts passed for payment amounted to £477 10s. It was reported that Thomas Wai die and Charles Blanchard had died during the week. It was decided that the following gifts be acknowledged with thanks: — A bale of clothing from Mr Donald Ryrie, Balclutha, a number of men's, hats from Messrs Hallenstein Bros., and a bundle of papers from Mr J. Braitlnvaite. Mr Treseder, in. view of the drug supply being unsatisfactory, moied that tenders be called for the supply ior the balance of the financial year— i.e., to 31st March next. Mr Allan seconded the motion, which was carried. The relief cases, which numbered 49, were then considered.

The statement that the rising tide is with the federal cause in New South Wales is now borne out (says the Melbourne Argus) by the voting figures. At the referendum the votes cast for Mr Barton and the bill numbered 72,000; at the election the total was over 90,000. In other words, 18,000 additional vote 3 were polled by the Barton division of the federalists.

According to the Daily News, " the paths of glory lead but to Madame Tussaud's. These enterprising dealers in the brica-brao of history have secured the coat of Mahmoud, the Dervish general, worn by him at the battle of the Atbara. It is but an ill-fitting <-oat, to judge by the pictures in the illustrated papers, but it is in the best of company, since it hangs under the same roof with the wearing apparel of Napoleon. But for this Mahmoud might have some reason to complain, as he certainly had reason when his conquerors compelled him to adorn their triumph after the battle by marching past between Soudanese sentries. There may be reasons of State for this public degradation, of a noted leader ; but a stronger reason of the same kind might have shown that magnanimity is the best policy towards a fallen foe."

The Fredos brought their season to a close at tho Alhambra Theatre on the 10th. The performance proved quite as successful and enjoyable as those given previously, and the audience gave every indication of being thoroughly well pleased with what was put befora them.

The Harbour Board has received 41 applications for the position of engineer and secretary to the board, the applicants being from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and various parts of the colony. At Thursday's meeting of the board the applications were referred to a committee to examine the testimonials of the applicants and report to the board. A letter from Mr Leslie Reynolds was also referred to the same committee. Mr Reynolds offered, in the event of the other applications being considered unsuitable, to accept the position of engineer to the board at a salary of £350 per annum, provided he were allowed private practice as well.

The weekly returns for the hospital are as follow : --Patients remaining from the previous week, 99 ; admitted during the past week, 19; and discharged, 26. Catherine Newson and Michael Rochford died in the institution during the past week; and therq remain 90 patients.