DUNEDIN NOTES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXV, Issue XXXV, 18 January 1902, Page 3

DUNEDIN NOTES.

3># [Own Gobmujpondent.] r Poor Mr Barclay ! The fates have been ~"v*rj unkind tb htm. He started out upon a mission ot education and animated by the purest and most self-sacrificing of motives only, in tbe end, to come, what the late Mr Wilkins If ioawber Once termed, " a cropper." lie has converted no one, benefited no one, told no one what they did not already know and, now, Btands, like Robinson Crusoe, upon hie desert island surveying with melancholy cjte the wreck of his ill-Btarred bark. Perhaps, however, the unkindest cut of all, tbe most sure and bertain indication of what oar gods have in gtore for him, came from the host of employe's in the railway workshops at Hillside. Almost to ft man, for, of oonrse, exceptions are to be fonnd in all ■* ft riljli and classes the world over, they deolded not to invite him to their annual, pionio. Ifr Millar, Mr Arnold, and Mr Sidey have been invited bat iib Mr Barclay. His invitation hu been taised on to Mr Carneross of tbe Taieri. Can anyone doabt the coming event which casts such ft long shadow before ? „ Hell he jnnet— if he can— content dimself • with philosophy and moral reflections. He past wait for the verdict pf history ; he must, tike'W. T. Stead, console himself with the thought that the minority may beoome a majority aod that minorities are always (?) in the right, and he can have the farther satisfaction of knowing that bis party and his principles are responsible for such works ai 11 Hell let loose " ; the vile calumnies upon • oar army ; the caricatures whioh represent Ut Chamberlain ai Herod claying the babes at Bethlehem (with points in Herod's favor) - or a fiend entering hell ; and oar King as bathing in a bath of blood, and oar Queen as deoorating boy ontreg<uri of Boer girls — in brief, pro-Boeriim hat otaicd to denote mere .difference of opinion ai to the origin and .>«aoae* of the war. It has now become synonymous with everything tbat is wicked ] »nd .devilish in the shape of libel opon the booof of oar own country and people, and it ii dUtfttetlf unpleasant to feel that anyone in Dunedin or the oolony-ii so associated. The temporary editor of the "Outlook" received a very* fhort shrift. A. person who eaa tali* advantage of bit opportunity to torn • paper's oolrinns into a medium for the circulation of Iris own views on the African war ii not entitled to mtebftposideration. It wasctnphatiealir a meaa' thlog to make oat that the most loyal and genuine people in tbe province believed that the British were 1 carrying on "ft war of •xtirmination " in Booth Africa. And the paper responsible for calling the public's attention pointedly to the fact that the "Outlook" was being so used knew full well that the hard beaded Scotchmen io the city woold not fctand soon condnct. Oo Saturday the «ritfotan was published, on Monday (after talking over the matter on Snodey) the elders of the kirk were prepared, and on Taeaday the aotiog editor of th« " Qatiook;" wai redjHMd to impotenoe for til time ai ft* fti ita oolamni ware oonoer ned. There was no protest— how eoold there be ?— and the opinion of Danedln was echoed frpm one aod of thteolopj to the other. Ib Wilaon Barrett baa gent after a remarkably successful fioftodial aeaibn. Otherwise - the poblie were disappointed. As I took the liberty to point oat, when Ifr Bftf r#tt fin*

arrived, he is not what can be oorreetly termed "a great actor." And this the people leartied. In evtry piece Wilson Barrett was Wilaon Barrett, and in his Hamlet we discovered that all his tricks of* speech and gesture wen borrowed from his oonoeption of this part. His Hamlet just holds the lot of them, and we had bits of Pete and Denver and Superbus, etc, all in one. Then the amateur critics began to growl, Mr Barrett's enunciation was, at times, unintelligible and his elocution faulty. Of ooarse they were. That Ii what some were honest enough to say from the first; bar, then, whoever yet met anybody who took a paper's advioe until after the mischief was half done ? The indignation against German lyiDg has grown apace since I last wrote, and at this moment the majority are prepared for almost anything. Certainly the specimens of ranoour displayed against oar national honor are so horribly vile that we oan pardon almost anything. It wbb suggested, publicly, that tho Mayor of Danedin call a meeting of citizens, in harmony with similar meetings in other cities, so that they might lodge their I protest against the publication of these slanI dera, and of oar determination to stand by itbo Imperial Government in its present | patriotio attitude. The Mayor and Council heartily approved of the suggestion, and after a few brief but | vigorous speeches from the councillors it was deoided to call a public meeting of tbe oitiasns whereat we can let it be dearly understood where we are. This prompt response of the city officials met with the approbation of everyone who knows anything about the feeling of the community. To say that these slanders oan be treated with contempt is to speak as one of the foolish. It is just be-, cause we cannot afford to do this that all the hubbub has arisen. The tramway business came up for discussion at Wednesday night's meeting of the City Council. The question before it was : Shall the Council oall for tenders, as originally intended, or shall it band the work over (at a commission of 12} per oent.) to Messrs Noyes Bros? The supporters of the latter olaimed that by this plan the work would be djne better and quicker and cheaper. Its opponents answered, Donsense. There is, they contended, no data to show how much the work would cost by tender so that all estimates as to how much would be saved by the Council doing the work are problematical ; there is no proof that any appreciable time will be saved by tbe contraot plan ; there is no instance on record of any large municipality having given over its work to a contractor io such a blind leap-in-tho-dark way; tbat the Counoil would be saddled with an infinite amount of detailed work ; that confusion, muddle, loss of time, and an increased cost over any and every tender likely to be received are more than" probable : and, lastly, that tendering by the great firms of the world is the proper, faireßt, and most economical way. These were the arguments against handing over the job, with their eyes shut, to Messrs Noyes Bros., and pretty weighty ones they are. The other had attractions, doubtless, but tbey slipped away before an exhaustive enquiry. The, chief one, perhaps, was that of time, but inasmuch as the Counoil cannot move an inch until it has the consent of the suburban boroughs — whioh it has not yet got— the time taken in calling for tenders would not be lost time, as negotiations with the etubborn outside Councils oan be proceeding all the time, and onoe tenders are received and discussed everything will be smooth sailing and done more quickly by a tenderer, who must get the work done promptly, thin by the Council, who would have to discuss, perhaps, every item. Great public interest was taken iv the pros and cods, as it was felt that Dunedin's aotion would deoid3 the policy of other towns and all the big companies in the world want a "out in," because they recognise that the company that gets the Dunedin contraot will, probably, get other places In the colony as well. The debate was prolonged to nearly § o'clock on Thursday morning, and then by seven to five it was deoided to give the contract away to Noyes Bros. I am, after due eonsiderntioD, inclined to believe tbat the citizens representatives have not done a wise thing— however, we shall see.