OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1162, 15 July 1885, Page 5

OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

( From our own (Jorrespondent.) > . u-The entertainment which was given last j Friday evening in aid of the funds of the ! ; Benevolent Institution was in every sense | of the word an unqualified success. Mr Instructor Hanna, who has only been in, Dunedin a little over a year, has sue-] ceeded in not only well training the High Schools boys and girlsy but also in instructing a large squad of private pupils. Most. of the' gymnastic exercises which were' performed in the Garrison Hall last Friday were simple and ' comparatively ' easy, j' but it was the manner in which they were done,, the time kept, and the perfect obedience, to the instructor's commands . which f iwere sp noticeable. Mr Hanna also proved himself an' able and expert and. performed several feats 1 which could. only be attempted by the best men, and not even by them without a' considerable /arttount of 'training. Pr Brown delivered a short and able address on " Gymnastics," which was listened to with a goodudeal,,' of by the ..large, audience^; who „c ould, , barely find .^tandi^g ioop . in,",the Garrison Hall. ,Before the end of the entertainment, Dr Br^wn, 'atso [announced /that it;was proposed to form a Gymnastic Club in Dune;din, and it is to be: hoped that, the suggestion will soon be an accomplished fact. The political world during the last week has .been filled with rumors and counter-rumors,, but at' last all is peaceful. v In fepite of what a few influential 'Freetraders may' say 'to the contrary, •Dunedin is essentially a Protectionist city,'' arid?, the majority of the people are 'exceedingly sqrry. tha,t the Government have abandoned their tariff. Of course, different cliques, took, exception to different items, but, on the.^hole, there was more said against the extra 2d a pound on tea than against any protective rises. It has also been a matter of ' surprise to most ,people that Sir Julius Vogelhas knuckled down so to 'Freetraders. ••> They think it •would, have been a r better course for them to have remained firm to their policy^ and then, if defeated, have 'either* resigned or gone to the 'country on the question. If thfs/cburse^fiaia; be'en adopted; ther6 is 3 'not much' dßubt that the Protectionists would have been returned to power so far 1 as Dunedin is concerned., Ab a matter of fact, an ex-M.H.R. and old Protectionist informed me that there is no precedent for a, Government to bring down a policy and then, when defeated, to quietly withdraw it, and also, at the same time, tone down other measures. In connection with the subject, some wag inserted tha following two-inch advertisement in last Friday's "Evening Herald":— "To market gardeners. I—Wanted,1 — Wanted, a large quantity of green leeka' for immediate use. — Apply, stating terms, . Government House, . Wellington.",." ■ : ,i The "proceedings at the Police Court in connection with the charge of fraudulent bankruptcy against Mr Stephen Sjcamp Hutchisdii were doubtless interesting 'to a good many people; but' there was. riot much revealed that was not already known to' the public! M The general .opinion seems to be that the common jury will let Mr S. S. Hi off; and, in reality, there does not seem to have been much criminality in his actions. If Mr Hutchison's speculations had turned out better, and he had returned to Dunedin a rich man, every one would have spoken well of him ; as it is, he is, amongst a certain clique, all that is bad. One curious piece lof evidence showed that 200 per cent, upon money lent is not confined to the Israelites. It appeared that Mr Ford and ianother lent Mr Hutchison £500 onconidition that they were to be paid back ; £ISOO if he sold the gasworks to a London .Company, and Mr Ford, who, by-the-!way, is a shining light in one of the prinicipal churches here, lent another £100, ,on the understanding that he was to ireceive £500 in a few months' time.

; The barmaid question has absorbed a considerable amount of public interest during the last few days. There is, no doubt, r much to be said on both sides of the question, but I must confess honestly ithat I am glad Mr Stout's motion was j i not carried. There are, as everyone knows, a good many temptations thrown in the * way of the young woman who follows the j occupation of a barmaid, from which her .sisters who are working elsewhere are free. But as for the argument that young men are lured to drink and destruction through the blonde and brunette jHebes behind our city bars, it is preposterous. A certain percentage of young imen are pertainly/peijsuad.edio^vi^fc hotels bight after night on 'purpose' to see life ; iandj occasionally tf^ounfijlman^spSlids'fhis {money fox Mais bejoyedbannaid.. But^ on the other, hind,'; $atiy' y6ung|,,men em- > bezzle .in 6r.der" r jjo make a gßoashow or i <^'giycr;sresente,tb their c< girls," and the I mashera," if riot lounging at (hotel-bars, would in nine cases ou]b often, be in some worse places. At the present ,time,«to my< knowledge, there are several young women . whose education, and bringing up has unfitted them for hard work, ,who> are supporting their parents' or .weaker sisters by ' standing' behind a bar.'* A gpdd, modest girl will' never hear- much to shock her, as it is certain that (in Dunedin at any rate),, there are several bars where men would no more use 'filthy language than they would in the, prdsrace,of "thejr Bisters." In nine cases out of ten barmaids marry well, and, as far as is known, make good wives ; and sitis a well-known fact that several of the wives of out most prominent citizens were barmaids in the early days of Melbourne and Dunedin. Jf barmaids are to s be ab'pliahea, waitresses w.ill follow next V and tie result will be that two of the already too few. ways in which women can earn their -own living will be closed to them. The ten o'clock license system has now, had about three weeks' trial, and the SifeafeaMy^poi^ihat. it fe^pjking well, anoTlhat there are less drunkards to be seen after eleven o'clock ':than formerly, Jf dtheiifiePUquarteD'fi statistics t bear, ouft this, the action of the Dunedin

Licensing Committee will bo commended by 1 all except the licensed victuallers. The v v Hugo r Minßtrels, who have just arrived' « hfese' from ; Melbourne, have adopted an innovation so far as prices are concerned. Instead' of even the popular prioes'of 3sy 2s, and Is, they are charging 2a, -la, and 6d. Up to the present time, 1 they have succeeded in drawing large houses;' but'.aa their Bhow is a very Ae&ni one ; , even for Christy Minstrel entertainments, they might have done equally, well at the advanced prices. Mr Lihgard [opened with a diorama of Scotland and the. Soudan war at the Lyceum Hall last, Saturday to a fair house, and he intends,, to stop in town some time. Mr, Wybert Reeves and his company are due here on the 22nd instant, and for some, time to come there will be plenty of amusement' for theatre-goers-