WAIKATO WHISPERINGS

Observer, Volume 4, Issue 79, 18 March 1882, Page 10

WAIKATO WHISPERINGS

— I hear that Mr Yon Stunner has been offered the management and editorship of the Gisborne daily, and that he has declined the offer.

— The yellow fever is again becoming apparent among our Hamilton tradesmen, since the recent good news from Te Aroha. Our Town Clerk, and our Lord Mayor, I hear, are seriously considering the advisability of a general enterprise ; but it has not yet transpired •what the capital will be, or the amount of the shares.

— Nicholson, the new Kihikihi schoolmaster, is quite the popular man of the township, and in the matter of his being a ladies' man, it would be extremely difficult to decide whether he or Henderson carry off first honours. Positively, I would give my vote in favour of the ever youthful Henderson. As a chaperon he stands without a rival, and as a man of imposing address and stringent etiquette, defies competition.

—Died, of inanition, at its late assembly rooms, Delaney's Hotel, Ohaupo, after a brief and melancholy illness, the institution lately known as the Waikato Cricket Association. Such is destiny, dear readers. This institution, when alive, like the rich uncle, was much talked off by its children, spoken of by them as a great and indispensable feature in the affairs of the world, as a want much felt before its existence, and as a blessing supplied to an ill-deserving world by an ever generous and considerate Providence; flattered when alive and unthought of when dead. And the funeral ! To think that this latter should only be attended by two of the devoted sons of the deceased.

— A most unusual — if not shameful — spectacle was witnessed in one of our churches on Sunday night last. That half-demented human (to whom 1 have referred so often as being perpetually on the beat for his Julia) got into a quarter of the ehiirch where ho could see the youthful object of his affections, who was seated in another part of the building. During the service this pitiable object kept striking attitudes of a most undesirable kind, keeping his eye on the mark lest it should disappear. Immediately after the service had ended, Julia endeavoured to shun her inamorata by a series of manoeuvres ; but he, determined not to 'ose her, got up a small wild goose chase on his own account, and, bounding round the church, up one passage and down another, shot out by a private door, and, from what I learn, captured his prize before she was permitted to go far. These freaks have gone a long way now ; but when they arc carried into church, it is near time somebody interfered.

— A complimentary ball (!) was given by a couple of enterprising Cambridge residents to the members of the recently-arrived Armed Constabulary Force in the Public Hall, on Tuesday evening last. How the ball came to assume the name of complimentary I am at a loss to know, considering that each gentleman who was complimented with a ticket, had, in return, to compliment the kind donor with five shillings. In response to the numerous invitations offered the ladies, about a dozen turned up. But the difficulty was that for these dozen ladie3 there were about a hundred male partners.and consequently lady partners being at a. premium, gentlemen were obliged to dance by themselves. The music, however, was a redeemiug feature, as was the institution which had been rolled in from across the way and located in some convenient corner on the stage. Balls, to be successful, must be solely got up for the purpose of affording enjoyment and* entertainment, and not as a means of making capital.

— The second edition of Mr Bell's concert at Hamilton was, in point of attendance as well as in a musical sense, a much greater success than was expected. Indeed, it is seldom that such an excellent programme is carried out in Waikato ; and Mr Bell has every reason to congratulate himself on the manner in which his past services have been appreciated by those among whom he has worked. The piano selections (Irish music) contributed by Miss Wallnutt was the most appreciated contribution of the evening. Messrs. Moore and Moreton (two Cambridge amateurs) were accorded a good reception, and nothing more than they deserved. Moreton tells me that the Hamilton people know how to appreciate talent. In rendering a duet, these two gentlemen could not be equalled in Waikato. The ladies acquitted themselves with general satisfaction ; and Mr S. E. G. Smith's recitation of Roger's "Ginerva" fully equalled his "Dying Caesar " of the previous entertainment. In fact, there was no hitch in the programme with which it would be possible to find fault.

— A somewhat amusing incident occurred in Cambridge a few days ago at the premises lately occupied by the Waikato Mail. Joey Ivess, as you are aware, is a man of very sharp business notions. As soon as his tenant had shown himself incapable of meeting "his little affairs" the the plant was removed to safe keeping. After the plant had been removed, the landlord of the building sent two bailitfs to the late printing office to seize it (the plant) for rent. An entrance was effected and a race made for the prize, which was supposed to be concealed in the back office ; but, judge of the surprise, when it was found that everything had been cleared away, with the exception of one of the late employes, who had become hors de comhat on the strength of his discharge, and got stowed away under a bench. The question immediately arose whether this feature in the late business was, or was not, a lawful chattel, and, if so, was it liable to be seized upon P After a little consultation, the "officers of the law" came to the conclusion that an employe was not a chattel, and consequently it was not lawful to seize one man for the debts of another.

— I notice by Saturday's Waikato Times that the Kihikihi correspondent of that journal has brought down the w,? populi of that truly intelligent community on his wicked shoulders. The unfortunate scribe, in the plenitude of his good nature— and newspaper scribes are all good-natured — when commenting on the performance of the Dramatic Club did not spare his adulation, and ruminated largely on the enterprise of the few individuals who carried out the hall, better known, perhaps, as the Public Hall Trustees. The fact of the matter is, I was nearly falling into the same error myself as " Vox Populi" complains of. The correspondent of the Times says that the hall committee deemed it advisable to proceed with the erection of the stage with the necessary fittings and scenery, and compliments them on the manner in which their ideas have been carried out. But some human, in whom is incorporated the voice of the people, contradicts this with an air of triumph. He wishes the public to know that this is a very " erroneous statement," as the Dramatic Club are entitled to all the honour of erecting the stage, fitting up the interior, providing the scenery and what not. Now, here's an anomaly. One body builds the outside of the hall, and another body builds the inside,. and I suppose the nexb thing «ye will be given to understand is, that the roof, the portico, and the outhouse belong to thi % ee other bodies, all distinct and working in unison, or against each other, as the case may be. This means that when an application is made for the use of the hall,. the application must be submitted to the representatives of the various interests, and if not favourably entertained by all, a deadlock— such another as the local school committee had latelv — will necessarily ensue.

— The Dramatic Club which is at present under way for Cambridge, is gradually working into shape. The Club will have a very efficient tutor in the person of Lieut. Archer, who is oh a visit to this district.. I hear that McSnitohey's new comic drama of " Law and its attendant satellites' r will be first brought before the public. Mr Speed, in all probability, will take the part of the Irish lawyer, but he may be deficient in the brogue, which is the great feature in the character. Mr Forrest, a promising young amateur from Auckland, will be allotted the character .of the client, who is Mr Malian, organ-grinder (from. Cork) and who has been arrested under the Vagrancy Act for misappropriating the talents of his faithful monkey. The attachment of the faithful monkey to his master is the central point of the drama. Mr Keesing, who, I believe, will- take the part of Counsel for the defendant, is another gentleman of some, talent- in the .dramatic .world..- The j object of this character .isithe exciting of .universal sympathy for the persecuted musician. The.learned counsel dilates on the attachment of the animal; arid portrays, with much feeling arid eloquence the last farewell and dying agony of the monkey; Mr. Dyer, who will take the part of Counsel for the Crown, is impenetrable to the' sympathetic 'of his learned brother for the defence, and the waitings,, of the prisoner's friends in the gallery. Hechbracterises.fttie.prisonor as. a. demoralised musician liying on the earnings of an innocent and industrious jmonkey -„ and .with legal. dignity .portrayed in his

every feature, asks the Judge to suppress the organgrinding nuisance with a heavy hand. The Judge (Mr J. P. Campbell) is moved to tears. The. monkey (a work of art, consisting of a stuffed pillow-slip and other material— the design of Bruno Bnge), he says, has got the bettor side of his nature ; and rather than see such a Damon and Pythias committed to an undeserving destiny, discharges the case. .

% !For social debility, general lifelessness, party animosity, and political scurrility, commend me to Te Awainutu. This once thriving little beehive of civilisation was onco thought to be the future township of Waikato, but, unfortunately for itself, its pretensions were too great, its designs both social and public were too numerous and too conflicting to ever attain anything like perfection or be of permanent standing. Its inhabitants never now work together in perfect Harmony when the attainment of anything beneficial is under way, and where unity of purpose is not manifested, success is seldom achieved. Its periodical race meetings have been discontinued, its athletic sports and big gatherings are now spoken of as things that have been, its social gatherings have ceased to impart harmony and cement friendship, its debating club has ceased to develop the dormant intellects of the neighourhood, concerts have recently become totally unknown, balls are seldom heard of, the skating rink has passed into oblivion, and with the exception of a little sectarian tea-fight now and again, to which few outside the particular flock are invited, nothing in the way of a tendency to union is ever heard of. There is vast difference between the Te Awamutu of four years ago and the Te Awamutu of the present time. Public gatherings some time ago were heid for the purpose of cementing friendship, now they are held for the purpose of giving vent to party animosity. Its publio men live a life of mutual extermination, being perpetually at war with each other on matters of public import. The chairman of one body spits invectives at the chairman of another. They accuse each other of having obtained office through political dodgery and back door intrigue. The populace bring forward a man at one time to represent them in Parliament, and at another time when he ventures to address them, they call to have him kicked out. Let me advise the people of Te Awamutu for their own personal good and the good of their town to be more unanimous, less lethargic, and less individually vindictive.