PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

Observer, Volume XXVII, Issue 39, 15 June 1907, Page 4

PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

IT was a merry party of present-day politicians and ex-members of Parliament that gathered round the more or les9 festive board ot the Paci--6c Club on Friday evening, to talk over old times, compare the past with the present, and pledge each other's health in lemonade. Not that they had a great deal to say that was new. Nearly every speaker had some Parliamentary ♦•yarns" to tell, but in most instances the stories were well crusted with age, and are embodied in the records of the ■colony. Of course, the spiciest Parliamentary stories concern the doings in the lobbies, and these would naturally be reserved for private circulation.

The company ranged from the veteran Sir Maurice O'Korke, whose Parliamentary associations go back to the early " sixties," through men of Ministerial experience in the Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C. (who presided) and Hon. T. Thompson, ex-Ministers of Justice ; Hon. E. Mitchelson, for a time actingPremier in the Atkinson days ; the Hon. Geo. Fowlds, present Minister of Education ; and W. F. Massey, forceful leader of the Opposition ; down to the newest and most innocent members of the present House. Of the " extinct volcanoes " — the term comes from themselves — :there were W. J. Speight, the originator of the feast, looking as benevolent as though he had never inflicted three or four hours' speeches upon a patient House ; W.. F. Buckland, who provoked recollections of the biggest joke ever perpetrated in the House, his introduction of the Washers and Manglers Bill ; Kicbard Monk, famous for his tiowery orations and perfervid patriotism ; £. G. B. Moss, most ingenious of the stonewallers of recent years; and Robert Thompson, who once baited Sir Julius Yogel into such an outburst as led to the clearing of "strangers" out ot the House.

Unfortunately, the oldest Parliamentary veteran in Auckland was unable to attend. Sir John Logan Campbell's presence would have added considerable lustre to the gathering, for he is ihe sole surviving member of the Legislature of 1856. However, that could not be. Chairman Tole, as spokesman for the legislative members ■of the Pacific CJlub, who were hosts of the evening, was hearty in his welcome to the guests, and then reminisced over the stonewalling feats of Richard ;3eddon the Great, aud Sir George Grey's " eloquent silence " of forty minutes when, in the middle of one of his speeches, Sir John Hall pointedly refused to give him attention, but went on correcting a Hansard proof. On that occasion it was that Major Harris perpetrated one of his best jokes by asking Mr Speaker whether "all this silence would be recorded in Mansard." The flood-gates of reminiscence once opened, there was a liberal flow of story and compliment for the rest of the evening. What was lacking in novelty was made up in heartiness and good fellowship. And, after all, that was the main thing required.

William Richardson failed to convince the City Councillors offhand that it was their duty to sample the whisky sold in Auckland hotels, though one or two councillors are said to have looked as if the proposal would be to their liking. And so the job has been passed on to the Government, which has never shown great eagerness to shoulder it. If, however, the City Council is to act the heavy father to the milk and food trades, why not also to the liquor- bars? With personal investigation by the' councillors the work would at least be interesting.

George M. Yerex, who has been waving the banner of municipal progress at Tauranga, is a person who could do so with a good grace. For he is a bit of a hustler himself. George M. is a Canadian— doesn't his speech bewray him ? — who made thing 9 hum in the bicycle and typewriter agency businesses in Wellington some years ago, and, having made his banking account comfortable by that means, dropped city life and settled down at Lower Hutt, where he turned his superfluous energies into municipal channels. Now, like so many other southerners who know where to spend their money to best advantage when they have made it, he has come to Auckland and settled upon land in the Bay of Plenty district. Without being exactly a Yankee. George M. has the energy and push of Cousin Jonathan, and Taurangans are taking him to their hearts.

Captain Gilbert Mair*. who has spent the best part of a lifetime in the military and civil service of the colony, is retiring from the public service, and purposes spending the rest of his days in the vicinity of Rotorua Incidentally, he says that he hopes to help the Town Board, of which he is to be a member, in making Ohinemutu the model Maori village of New Zealand. Perhaps when he has succeeded in that he will turn his attention to Whakarewarewa. But Captain Gilbert will probably admit that in either case he has taken in hand a large order, and that one of the first requisites is the repression of the laziness and back-sheesh-loving spirit of the village inhabitants.

The removal from Rotorua to Upotiki of the Rev. Father Kreyraborg, as part of a general shift-round of the Koman Catholic missionary clergy, if being lamented by the residents ot the Thermal Springs-district. And well it may be, for the reverend gentleman has b^en deservedly popular, both with his own flock and the residents generally. Also, Father Kreymborg has been more than a clergyman. The pretty church of St. Michael's is a monument to his per-onal industry

and his skill as a handicraftsman. When it was being built he was working foreman of the carpenters. For months he was to be seen with ham* raer or saw in hand, driving nails, or lumping timber, and jgenerally taking the largest share in the operations. The result is a building that, externally and internally, is a credit to his energy and good taste. Small wonder that the Rotorua Catholics were loth to part with a priest of such practical abilty and enthusiasm.

Still, the exercise of personal exertion in connection with church building and decoration is not confiaed to the parochial clergy. Their episcopal head sets them a good exaoiple. When the additions to St. Patrick's Cathedral were in progress a few weeks ago, Bishop Lenihan was regularly to be seen on the works, enthusiastically directing how the details were to be carried out. Just at the finish, the entertaining sight was to be seen of the venerable bishop, with ecclesiastical garb doffed, energetically wielding a broom to sweep up the shavings and other debris, in his haste to see how things would look in their completed state. There is no "frill" about Bishop Lenihan when work is to be done.

Thomas Fordyce, of Parnell, evidently thinks the world is burning to hear his confession as to why he does not go to church. At any rate, he invite* the Herald to send a reporter to interview him on the point. So far, there is no evidence that Tit Douglas is desperately anxious to enlighten bis readers upon Thomas's views as to the shortcomings of the churches. Also, profiting by his Poole experience, he has not dared to ask " Who is Fordyce?"

Ernest Leicester, who plays the hero in " Human Hearts," ha* had some laughable stage experiences. " Funny thing happened to me one night when I was on tour with ' The Silver King,' " he told a pressman the other night, " I had a frightful abscess in the jaw, one ot those beastly things that swell you out in an awtul bulge from the cheek to the neck, and make you one of the most ludicrous and undignified emblems of woe. I pointed out that I couldn't possibly take the part. The manager said that there was an enormous booking, and the understudy was frankly impossible ; I'd better play. Well, I went on. The audience took me well, behaved like martyrs. But in the last act Nelly Denver has to say to Wilfred, • I can only look in your dear changed face and ask is it really you ?' And I had to say, ' Yes, darling. Do you think lam changed ?' That absolutely settled the audience. Stalls and gallery, pit and boxes, were in one convulsion blent. I thought it would have killed 'ecu. Funny things? Why, one nighli I dived oft to save those pathetic children in ' The Lights of London,' and the confounded check-string caught in something, and kept me hovering over them like a wobbling angel. What should a gentleman do in those circumstances ? I blushed in- my wrath and confusion till the grease-paint rose in blisters."

The detailed accounts of the litigation between Bishop Nevill, the Anglican Primate of New Zealand, and the executors of the estate of his first wife's father, are far from edifying. Bishop Nevill, when a young man, had the luck to marry an heiress. The first Mrs Nevill brought him a fortune of £20,000, which came from outside her fami'y. An arrangement was made between husband and wife that, in case of the death of either, the survivor should provide for the parents of the other. In pursuance of their agreement, the Bishop entered into a bond, under which he was to pay £10,000 to his father-in-law within six months from the death of his wife.

Human nature, however, seems to be much the same thing whether it is clothed in a bishop s apron or in moleskins. Even a prince of the church was not disposed to hand over £10,000 if he could by any plausible plea avoid it. Leas than two years ago Mrs Nevill died, and her father's executors claimed payment under the bond. Not only did Bishop Nevill repudiate his liability, but when sued in the English courts he advanced the extraordinary defence that he had not understood a document drawn up under his own instructions, and even went so far as to suggest that the form of the bond was the outcome of a conspiracy between his late father-in-law and the solicitor who drew it up. His own theory was that the bond was merely a temporary matter, to provide for the possibility of his wife or himself losing their lives by shipwreck on their voyage to New Zealand. To those who know what a keen man of affairs Bishop Nevill is, the plea that he could have been hoodwinked by the shrewdest lawyer alive will be nothing short of ludicrous. Anyhow, the King's Bench has decided against him, and he is ordered to disgorge. But it is not surprising, in view of his petty plea of simplicity, added to the sensation of his re-marriage within ten months of his wife's death, at the venerable age of some four score, to her former companion, a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, that the Anglicans of New Zealand are blushing for their Primate.

Historic and beautiful K'wau, now the property of Andrew Farmer, will shortly be placed more freely at the disposal of the public as a holiday resort than it was under any of its former proprietors, hospitable though they were. As one step in that direction, Mr Farmer lately had a smart new steamer, the Daphne, built in Auckland, and the vessel made a successful trial trip last week. With a steamer plying regularly to the island and with increased accommodation for his guests, Mr Farmer will be able to deal out hospitality in right royal style in his picturesque little dominion.

The cool-headedaess with which Assistant - Foreman Scherff, of the Tramway Company's staff, brought relief to the scene of the Victoria-street tram accident on Monday night, was a bright incidenc in an otherwise grim occurrence. Scherff was at the Ponsonby barn when he heard of the accident. Promptly taking charge of a spare car, he whisked it along the streets in record time, pulled up sharply on arrival, leapt out with jacks ready for action, and in a minute or so had the car that had done the damage lifted clear of the victim of the accident. A man of such promptitude is invaluable in an emergency.

The political tipsters in Wellington are counting upon the resignation of Acting- Premier Hall- Jones, and speculating as to who will fill his shoes. In this instance, northern members hardly come into consideration, for Mr Hall-Jones, if he does withdraw from the Ministry, is practically certain to be replaced by another Canterbury member, especially as the province is strongly Ministerialist. It has been hinted that George Laurenson, the elect of Lyttelton, is the most likely candidate — he who was at one time semi-attached to the Tommy Taylor Left- Wingers. Still, it remains to be seen how the claims of such staunch Government supporters as Sir William Steward and David Buddo will be disposed of. Anyhow, Mr Hall-Jones hasn't resigned yet, and it is rather soon to allot a portfolio that may not become vacant, after all.

VV. J. Napier suggests that the second storey of the Harbour Board's new ferry buildings should be devoted to an exhibition of the products of the province. We can go one better than this. Why not an exhibition of the Harbour Board's white elephants and other marine curiosities, such as the fire float, powder hulU, Admiralty House, obsolete landing stages, useless dredge punts, and so forth ? But twenty storeys would not be sufficient to contain them all.

School Inspector Mulgan, who transferred his services a year or so ago from Auckland to North Canterbury, set a Cbristchurch audience gasping Jast week. He was lecturing upon prehistoric creation, and without a wink of the eye fired off this crystal - clear little bomb of description : — "The articular end of the lower mandibular ramus articulates with the squamosal''of the cranium by means of a quadrate." Whereat any of his hearers might have remarked in the words of the Josephine of " Pinafore" — "His touching eloquence simply goes to my heart."

Another change in the Herald staff. W. F. Forster, who has been night editor for the last three years, has found a more lucrative editorial billet on the Hobart Mercury. This is the second good man who has been drawn away from the Herald's editorial rooms within a few months. Till the owners of the Auckland dailies recognise that if they wish to _keep capable journalists they must remunerate them on the same scale as is observed elsewhere, they must be prepared to see their offices made a recruiting ground for more liberal and more enterprising papers. Scarcely a leading office in the South now but has one or more Auckland- trained^ pressmen.

The late lamented King Richard, with his detestation of the Chinese invader, must shiver in his grave when he hears of the latest development in his own beloved Westland. Actually, a Chinaman was there placed in charge of a gang of a dozen European roadmakers employed by the Land Board, whenever the regular overseer was absent. The Britishers stood the Celestial direction till they saw that their protests were disregarded by the overseer, and then struck in a body, and tramped to Hokitika to lay their complaint before the Land Board. Howevet,, they got no satisfaction, and it is to be presumed that the Chow overseer is still ordering about such men as can be got to work under him. Of course, a naturalised Chinaman has his rights, the same as a European, but it is scarcely conceivable that there is not amopg a dozen Britishers one more capable of directing the gang than the Oriental importation. No self-respecting white man caren to work under a yellowskinned boss, and. there is no power in the land to make him.

Health Officer Purdy's assurance to the City Council that unless some plague case is imported from outside there is no immediate danger from the disease in Auckland, is at least comforting. At the same time, the Council's encomiums upon the doctor's activity in dealing with the Queenstreet clean • out contrast rather sharply with their own experience in having to be brought to book for a nuisance at the Corporation stables. The parable of the mote and the beam still ha 3 its applications.

Some strange fashions in manners and deportment have been introduced into the girls' section of the Auckland College and Grammar School by Miss Wlritelaw as the result of that lady's observations in England and the Continent. Une is that all the girls must rise when Miss YVbitelaw enters the room and remain standing until the is seated. If this absurdity were confined to the entrance of Miss Whitelaw alone, the loss of time to the pupils might not be serious, but the girls must also rise and remain standing when any other teacher enters the room. This sort of thing may be tolerable in a Supreme Court, where it is desirable to show respect to the dignity of the Law, but in a girls' school it is out of place and distracting in its exactions. Even amongst the pupils, it leads only to burlesque.

Fame has its limits, after all. For instance, when the ambassadorial doings of the great W. J. N. on the telephone question were telegraphed around the colony the other day* the writer of the telegram thought it sufficient to indicate the ambassador as "Napier, member Auckland Harbour Board." And so it ought to have beea. But by one city daily in the South the phrase was interpreted and giren to the world aa " The Napier member of the Auckland Harbour Board." Can it be for this that William Joseph has served the public so long and so disinterestedly 1

The appointment of King's Counsel* winch has been conferred upon ten New Zealand barristers, including the tion. J. A. Tole and F. K Baume* M. H.K., is one that brings no direct emoluments. To some extent, indeed* it involves monetary sacrifice, tor the etiquette of the bar keeps the X.C* oat of petty Police Court practice. Its principal advantage to the holder is the precedence it gives him in court orer the lawyers who have not " taken silk." Moreover, in England it has been generally, though not invariably, the practice to select the judges from tlie ranks of the K.C'e. In any case* deselection of the appointed ten by so impartial an authority as the Chief Justice marks them out as, in his eati* mate, the leading practitioners in the four centres of the colony. Where' fore, hats off to Messrs Tole and Baume, K.C's.