INVERCARGILL.

Western Star, Issue 430, 26 March 1881, Page 2

INVERCARGILL.

(rnosr oxtb OWN COKEESPONDEN'T,)

I remarked in mv last that I should likely have the utterances at the banquet; that they were of the usual type—nil particularly free from anything origi-nal—-it would be hard to speak of them in a manner that would at all interest your readers. His Excellency, must say, was .particularly complimentary to the Scotch portion of his audience, and as nobody had a word to say against it, I suppose .all present quite agreed with his sentiments, via., that Scotchmen are vastly superior to any other portion of the human family; and in the language of Pinafore, - I say; Yes, T khow/ thivt is so !**.

The early-closing movement; has ,at last (got a start in our town. V'The thin end of the wedge has been inserted by the leading grocery firms signing an “ agreement I '' to dose at 6 mm. on every evening excepting Saturday. Of course, as is always the case, there are a great many, especially of the “ little" shops, who won’t have anything to do with early hours. They prefer to stand behind their counters for 14 hours, or longer,, if they think there is a chance of selling half-a-ponnd of tea or a bar of soap. These selfish ones never think of the assistants in other and larger establishments. They forget the time when they themselves were working for wages, and fretted and analhemaMsed/on account of the meanness of the employer who kept them such an unconscionable time on their legs in their poky shops. Surely our grocery) can do sufficient business from 8 n.m. to 6 p.m. for five days in the week, and from 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 n.m. on Saturdays. It is really to be hoped that the townspeople will encourage the gentlemen who have decided to give the early closing a start, and show their dislike to having poor fellows kept at work for twelve hours when nine is quite sufficient. I observe that a little correspondence is

cropping up in the papers here, and that one man, who has the effrontery to call himself a “ leading” grocer, hag actually made an attempt to justify his conduct in keeping feperl to all hours of the night td catch the few straggling sixpences that are tfails to be made. But this is not ail. The person in quostion caps his meanness by saying that ‘‘ he will. D.Y.! be found as usual at fits post!!” If this religion to a sha'tbfful degree; I can scarce tell, what is. I am certain that any figh t-thinking man or devout Christian will feelTa contempt for this sort of thing. It is perfect mockery. D.Y:, - indeed;! ■usually si than will, put those |two/ldttera after his appointments with a •very conviction in fajs heart ; but how a grocer who shuts his eyeh tb what;is really a Christian acvjion the part of others in his trade, and tries to justify his own very shaky ideas —how .he can place upon record;i-such an utterance completely mystifies me, t have .v only this to say further—the matter is entirely, in the hands of the working classes.; they are the only ones who, need. to .buy at all late ; and they will he- doing a great wrong if they do not;show their appreciation of the" liberal-minded grocers, .by never purchasing due after 6 p.m. on any evening save Saturday. ‘ S ;V/ ‘V We have had a fire since my last. It was a peculiar one in all respects,, and the. sufferers by it acted certainly in the - inost . peculiar .fashion- at fbe time. The good lady of itheJhbjVseihnld was, of course,the first to-a sense of there being something wrong, and'hearing a .crackling sound she immediately . proceeded., to find out tlie V yvhy .and , wherefore.V,' Tp' ‘•tfer hohrdr* ’she'■''discovered’ tlMTlro'honde was on, fire underneath The floor. She aroused her “ lord and master” and the children, .and alarmed hpr r neighbors,but instead of ient^ to get out every stick o‘f ‘furniture and every;, other item in the homy, -the folks bqgan,looking,rqundj.to ascertain where the fire, really wa». The con’Sfeq'ufeb'ce of this; ? of yya?./that , when /they htirrned their attention to .-saving “ things” they were only ableto getvfhe .pihnfe and one of two .other' trifles out, . and,then 4 had ,to giife* up possession to the enemy. 1 Here is a shocking example of the want of presence of mind.. With promptitude and ehpr<^‘the ; whbTe, -of neab’y the Syhole of their belongings might, have been saved, but as it is they are great losers. Everyone sympathises with the lady and gentleman, but at the same time think they might, have exhibited a liMe more “ savee’.” ' c '

A very unassuming butworthy citizen has ceased to “groan and sweat under h Veary life;” and icroased fo’itjiat “undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns.” Mr John

Junes was for a time Eanger of the AV-dstd Landsam;the "Wakatipu district, but- dbf: someyears I tterly was connected with the -survey department in tills towiij and by his truly courteous’ demeanour itihdp f manv* warm He was a of high Btaitdimr'in his brethren of which*, assisted by those of the.myslic tie who belonged to the cither ' lodge, attended his fnneral.dn strong.force, and lent to the occasion a, very solemn and impressive aspect. Mr, Jimeff was but 41 years of age, and leaves a young’ wife and several little children to mourn forth© one who “ is hot dead, but gone before.”

Mr Craig—-doubtless backed By several et' or ‘members of the Bluff Harbor Board—is not yet content. He wa'nts dstill** ! f liHlmH’ The thing is absurd. I, dp hot wish to' say that the money.belojis'ing^p 4 th e Board has always been, judieio u sly, expended, hut it does seem to me that Mr C/is coming it rather tod strong. There have been a great';tr&rif':r£tfaetions made, and the general apitiion is that 1 1 he v have been well -dene,-fnnd why not let wcdl alone ?: At Thursday's

meeting of the I3oardnotic.es,of potion , were tabled to get a. tug,, r.emoye.tho lightships, and put, the pilot crew, bit to the tug. How'thi.H is'Shnpiifg iiWlier right direction ; hut to reduce the pilot crew any more tfian at present would be decidedly wyong. JjV t tha boat be prpperly f p have » tug—-time enough then to nfakd alteratfons. I‘i'j'y .U-' !»■' OftEß ‘it Mjpfi • So selfish Dunedin has the pleasure of saying that they hive spoilt’the Lakes Encatrtpiriont; Dog in the manger again. Can't it themselves, and they wilhspoil anybody else, even so near Invercargill as Queenstown ? May they enjoy the Oamam one if ft comes off. I hope ft wpu’t blow and rain all t:io time they arO in camp there. Fancy the gratifying sight it would be to any Lake Volunteer, to see the Dunedin Artillery digging trenches round their tents to drain off the surface inter I

While on the subject of Tohmteoring, I would like to say that Thope the men here will continue to hold together, and turn out as creditably as of old. The capitation is .sum to come back in the sweet bye-andf-bvo. A bore all I would caution volunteers from taking notice of such ‘letters as appeared a week or two back frorftthe pen of a late captain of artillery in Dunedin, who now does the “exquisite’' fn our midst. Ho no doubt thought ho displayed a wonderful amount of “ rnilingtary " wisdom for civilians to marvel at. When, however, it is known that he borrowed several books from officers here, and tried to be exceedingly cutting with the little know-ledge—-which is ever a dangerous thing —gleaned from tßeir pages, the sting will liktdv be taken out of his strictures. He should hare taught his own men to skirmish when fie was » K Capting,” and not have maria them and himself a laughing stock last Baste 1 at Christ church. My advice totho “ henry swell " —“ Let bleepin' dogs lie,"