They Say

Observer, Volume XVI, Issue 947, 20 February 1897, Page 3

They Say

—That Mr C. F. Mark lost nearly £100 on the N.Z. Athletic Association's gates. — That Mr Dan Ross, who has just retired from the firm of Ross and Anaenne, goes over to Australia. — That it was Oliver Mays who planned and carried the Devonport water supply scheme to a successful issue. So they say. — That some interesting reminiscences were nearly being dug up for the delectation of the residents of Devonport at a meeting on Monday eveniag. It was a narrow escape.

— That professional betting in the Domain is degrading, and ruining athletic sports. — That Mayor Boardman's mandate that all departmental orders shall come from himself is the first long shot at Town -Clerk Philips — That Captain -Argall, fresh from London, thinks a great deal of the eventual prospects of New -Zealand mines in the world's metropolis. j — That Edwin Edwards has broken out in a fresh place, and that he is going to work up his muscle by starting a massage establishment at Te Aroha. — That the famous Waihi mine has taken out more than half-a-xnillion pounds worth of gold. There's tons of it to come yet. — That a Dunedin parson who has just returned from a visit to the Old Country, saw as much mieery and destitution in Liverpool in half -an-hour as he had seen in Dunedin in 10 years. —That there was a loss of about £100 on the recent cash cycling sports. Consequently, the Domain pavilion won't benefit considerably. By the way, will the City Council offer to make up the deficiency ?

— That DuMaurier'spile amounted «0*47,800, most of which waa made out of ' Trilby.' — That the Auckland tailors are * ?S°? men at figures. "-Par exemplum, Archdale Tayler. — That peace and brotherly love are still conspicuous by their absence at St. Andrew's kirk. . — That, harvest thanksgiving services are a bit of an anomaly in city churches, where there isn't any "harvest to be thanklul for. — That the principal difference between a blue-ribbonite and a sly-grog seller is that the former drinks water and the latter waters the drink. — That the safest place, according to mortality statistics, is either a first-class carriage on an express train, or the saloon of an ocean mail steamer. . — That Hermann the Healer has [ his work cut out for him in Wellington just now. Quite a crop of actions have been entered against him. — That Colonel Pole-Penton thinks Auckland is the moat important point of defence in the colony. This is where he differs from Colonel Fox. •—That George Hutchison has told an interviewer that Dick Seddon may accept the Queen's invitation to visit England. This settles it. —That Mr Sam Macky brought down the house at the meeting of Devonport ratepayers when he said he didn't like the cut of James Dunning's mug. — That the Honorable Thomas Russell, now in this city, was a Sunday school teacher in Auckland once. Thomas was a powerful bible-thumper, also, they say. — That Constable Donovan's removal from Coromandel to Tologa Bay is not because of his strict enforcement of the licensing laws. We suppose not. Tologa Bay, eh ? * — That the burning question at the Auckland Harbour Board jast now is whether Mr W. J. Napier is to be elected Chairman. Some of them seem to be afraid to give him a trial. — That Tommy Wilford, whose election for Wellington Suburbs has been upset, cannot become a candidate again for three years. The cross-grained Hislop has got another show for the seat. — That Irene Thompson was charged at Christchurch S. M. Court with ' having no lawful visible means of support.' Irene is aged 18 months. The plea of infancy would have been a fair one in this case. — That it is not a fact that the squeezed shareholders of the Loan and Mercantile and the Bank of New Zealand intend to entertain the Honorable Thomas Russell at a tea and bun sociable before his departure from Auckland. — That some of the people who suffered most by the Loan and Mercantile and Bank of New Zealand troubles intended to give Tom' Russell a brass band reception. But there wasn't time. He came too quietly. — That the six young men who faced the magistrate at Waiuku on the charge of tin-kettling a newly-married couple, are ail single young men. If they had gone through the trials of matrimony themselves they would have had more sympathy with the victim than to annoy him by beating tin cans. —That H. S. Fish, the garrulous Dunedin M.H.R., has something the matter with his throat and is to undergo an operation. It is satisfactory to learn that the trouble is confined to H.S.s throat. We were afraid there might be something amiss with his ' jaw.' — That after all it was. not a candidate for the Board of Education who wrote that letter to the Papatoitoi school teacher, asking for his influence. The letter was written to the ' own correspondent ' of a~ certain newspaper, who, it seems, is also the school teacher. We thought the Board regulations prohibited teachers being correspondents of papers. —That a North Island beak asked a prosecutor the other day : ' What value do you put on the boots that were stolen from you?' 'You see,' he replied, 'they cost me twelve shillings when new ; then I had them soled twice, which came to three-and-six each time. Total, nineteen shillings. 1 — That a Southern bank cashier said to a girl who interviewed him the other day : Don't think I can cash this draft, miss ; I don't know you.' Whereupon the maiden replied : ' Who cares if you don't know me ? I don't know you, either, and I don't want to know you. Give me that money, will you, or I shall complain to the bank manager.'