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Observer, Volume 1, Issue 13, 11 December 1880, Page 110

According to the daily papers the Hon. John Hall has paid an official visit to the Auckland Telegraph Office, and if the conversation that passed between him and the officer in charge be correctly reported in the papers, either John Hall must be out of his mind, and should not be trusted alone, or the officer left in charge must have temporarily lost his head. The report of this momentous visit states that the officer left in charge "did not know Mr. Hall." How should he ? unless Mr. Hall either announced himself as Premier of New Zealand, Commissioner of Telegraphs, &c, &c, or had the fact placarded in some conspicuous place about his person. However, the report says the officer "was of course formal, but polite." So far, so good. What more could be expected of him ? Would that the same could be said of all New Zealand Government officials. The report proceeds, " The official did not find out who his visitor was -until he was just leaving, but when he became aware of it he blushed, and was all attention." Why, if he had already been formal and polite to a stranger should he now blush, &c. ? Whereupon Mr. Hall, with kind condescension, delivered himself of this oracular sentence, "Oh ! no matter ; your mistake is only natural. Few Aucklanders can realize that lam the Premier of the colony. " Now, what in the name of next week did he mean ? What difficulty is there in realizing this extremely unimportant fact. The climax is reached by Mr. Furby entering apparently into an extenuation of his sub's conduct, and this he does by informing Mr. Hall that the delinquent official "was a great friend of Mr. Maginnity, the Under Secretary." Whereupon Mr. Hall " smiled. " Why ? Whence ? What ? Was it because Mr. Maginnity was never known to blush, and Mr. Hall smiled at the thought of any of Mr. M.'s friends being addicted to the weakness? However, "he enjoyed a laugh, after which other topics were discussed." I wonder whether the other topics were of equal importance to the one reported, and if the discussion upon them was carried on in a similar " Whau " manner.