Chatty Gossip from the Empire City.

Observer, Volume XI, Issue 754, 10 June 1893, Page 11

Chatty Gossip from the Empire City.

Mb J. P. Campbell, late of Auckland, made his debut in the Wellington Supreme Court (criminal sessions) this week. The case seemed, to many people, a pretty clear one and yet J. P. managed to get his client off, as the jury failed to agree altho' locked up all night, and the Crown

Prosecutor then entered a nolle prosequi.

This however by the way. The point I _ was coming to was the manner in which Mr Campbell's dignity was assailed by a German witness for the Crown who was being put through a pretty stiff crossexaminations. Earl's knowledge of English was not deep and his Teutonic phlegm vanished at last under the badgering he reoeived. Suddenly turning to the Bench and at the same time pointing to Mr Campbell he plaintively remarked to Judge Richmond : ' Maybe dot feller never did nuttin' wrong, Your Honor. Anyhow, before dis trial he come to Mastertone und he tell die pole-eece I vas no goot.' Tableau.

In no other New Zealand town are there so many Chinese tradesmen as in Wellington. They have almost secured a

monopoly of the retail fruit business and their shops aie strewed along the Quay, and Manners, Cuba and Taranaki-Btreetß as thick as leaves in Vallambrosa. They are also cutting deeply into the retail grocery line. Four of them let down their pig-tails last week, sold out to fresh arriving countrymen, shook the dust — or mad — of Wellington from the soles of their feet and departed for the land of the Dragon and the Sun, one taking with him over £1,000, another £600, and the third £300 while the fourth also had his pocketß welllined. Verily, we have no lack and certainly no need of immigration agents in China.

Perhaps there is nothing more depressing to the average man (unless bis children are interested) than the Sunday Bchool anniversary. I was present at one the other evening and found it no exception to the general rule. The same familiar music was sung, and the presentation of a silver flower vase and clock made to the same dear old musical conductor, who was as I expected he would be, overcome with the regulation surprise and emotion. In accordance with timehonoured precedents he 'appreciated the gift more, as an emblem of the love of his scholars than for the intrinsic value it possessed.' The same legendary little girl made the presentation in the inevitable set terms, and it really seemed as if a quarter of a century had slipped back and I was a child again. The speeches were conservatively stupid, but one of them was a gem and worthy of repetition. After descanting on the benefits of early training, the speaker proceeded to narrats a modest little story :

IMy dear children ' he remarked, ' 1 will tell you a little story of the lives of two men with whom 1 was acquainted, they were one time little boys; one's name was Peter and the other's Philander. Peter was a very bad little boy, who played truant from school, disobeyed his mother. and was onoe known to break the Sabbath (tremendous emphasis and melancholy snuffle) while Philander was a very good little boy, who was steady at both day and Sunday-school, always learnt his lessons, took care of his baby sister while other boys were playing, and would have died rather than eat a stolen apple. Now, mark the career of those two lads when they grew ap to man's estate. Peter went from bad to worse and finally became the keeper of a public house where billiards were played, where gaming was carried on, and where the devil's cordials were sold. He made money of coarse, but what about his dead conscience and frightful hereafter? (sensation and saddening sigh). Philander, however, went on from good to better until at last he became a great and highly- respected man (pause). My dear children Philander stands lefore you (modest bow and effective exit). I left after this speech.

Those privileged individuals who weild the thunder of the presß and habitually address the public with the grandiose < We ' are rarely in evidence with the unaccustomed ' I.' Therefore the publio of Wellington experienced quite a wild sensation this week at finding two local editors taking to the platform on consecutive evenings in order to afford Tom, Dick and Harry a peep behind scenes journalistic. •- . -

Mr E. A. Loughnan, editor of the New Zealand Times and most genial of pressmen, lectured on 'The Press* on Monday evening before the members of the Catholic Literary Society. Ido not intend to give you a report of his lecture, which was historical in character, but one of the stories he told in connection with it is worth reproduction for the moral it contains. The obvious application of that moral I commend to the attentive consideration of the leading newspaper proprietors of New Zealand, most of whom have reduced to a fine art the study of economy. This, of course, is a delicate way of patting it.

Now for Mr Loughnan's story. At the beginning of the century there was a certain newspaper in London whioh was paying moderately well. It was owned by two gentlemen between whom a feud arose, culminating in a lawsuit which had the effect of throwing the property into Chancery. One of the litigants was manager of the paper, and he resolved that while it remained in Chancery there should be no profits to divide. With a view to that end he adopted the heroic expedient of doubling the salaries of all the hands from the editor downwards, he doubled the strength of the staff, he engaged special correspondents in the leading tttwns of the United Kingdom and Ireland and in all the chief European capitals, and he spared no expense in the payment of experts for articles on special subjects. Coinoidently with this he altogether neglected the advertising department, and although be gave orders that .twice as many copies of the paper as had hitherto been found sufficient should be printed,, he refused to allow any oanvassing for additional subscribers. His contemporaries marvelled greatly and made sure the unfortunate, man had gone mad. At anyrate the result caused both him and them deeper amazement still. touch a highly-written, well-informed and eminently readable journal as the Herald at once became had never before been seen. It was far ahead of all its rivals in the prooural of the latest news. At a bound it leaped from an obscure position into the forefront of London journalism, the circulation "became quite phenomenal for that age and the advts. poured in at such a rate that the paper had to be enlarged more than once. At the end of a few years it had increased fivefold in value and in income and in view of this magnificent result the litigious owners shook hands, buried the hatchet and got the property out of Chancery again.