Mr Travers and His Big, Big D.

Observer, Volume XIV, Issue 781, 23 December 1893, Page 3

Mr Travers and His Big, Big D.

Mr Tbavebs is an aged gentleman of the legal persuasion. Once upon a time, he was one of our law-makers. He is also a bit of a botanist, and rumour, which occasionally lies, but sometimes speaks the truth, says he has a rather warm temper. Mr Travers resides in the Empire city, and at the recent general election he wooed the suffrages of the free and independent, but they repulsed him at the poll. Electioneering, however, did not altogether monopolise the venerable gentleman's time during November. About the middle of the month, be took a friend for a stroll into the Botanical Gardens, and that stroll was marked by a little incident that occasioned Mr Travers some perturbation of mind. At any rate, it prompted him to write a long letter to the Town Clerk about some words he had with the assistant custodian, who seems not to have been impressed with his importance. However, let Mr Travers himself tell the tale.

' I was walking with a friend, 1 he says 'in the Botanical Gardens yesterday afternoon, and at the time of tne occurrence to which I am about to allude was on the broad path leading from the gate in the Tinakori Road. There were at the time a number of persons on the same path. Whilst walking up it, I observed a dracophyllum of a peculiar species which appeared to me to be in flower, a circumstance which is interesting in the case of this class of plant. It was more interesting to me because I knew that the plant in question bad been brought from the Tararua range many years ago by my sor, and given to the Gardens. I was calling my friend's attention to the plant, which was about ten feet away from the path. The flowers are somewhat inconspicuous, and, wishing to point them out to him, I put my foot on the border lightly and leaning over indicated with my stick the position of the flowers.

' At that moment, I heard a person, apparently within a few yards of me, shouting in a !oud voice as follows : " Hi there, you corce off of that directly." On turning round, I saw a man a few yards from me who had shouted out and was gesticulating to me, and whom T found to be the caretaker of the gardens. I went up to him and told him that his manner in shouting to me as he had done was most impertinent and improper ; that he ought to have been able to see that I was not a larrikin doing damage, and that he was noi justified in what he had done ; I told him he could perform his duty equally well in a civil manner and that I had reason to believe that he had been equally grossly insulting to a lady for sitting under the shade of a fir tree whilst reading to a sick child, and who, in consequence of his incivility, had never since visited the Gardens. He answered he '• knew he had done it and would do it again." I told him he had been guilty of d impudence, and that I should report the whole matter to the Council. I regret that I ÜBed the expletive, but I have thought it right to mention it.'

There is a good deal more, but it is rather tiresome to quote. At any rate, this dreadful business was laid before the Council, engaged the attention of an entire committee, and upon the committee's recommendation it was agreed to caution the man. But Councillor Petherick stuck up for the official. He said Mr Travers was about tbe most hastytempered man in New Zealand, and he had placed himself clearly in the wrong by treading on the flower-beds and by swearing at the custodian. Furthermore, said the reckless Petherick, had the positions been reversed and had the custodian acted as Mr Travers admitted having done he would have been locked up. On tbe whole, lam inclined to agree with Petherick. Persons alter cases — sometimes.