ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1471, 6 December 1881, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Greyirm is just about played out, and it is full tame that it was. If the Greyite candidates succeed in gaining seats in the new Parliament it will be by bare majorities, and, judging by present indications, for the last time, The self-elected saviour of the country and diampion of the down-trodden serfs, in spite of his eloquence, cannot draw the crowded houses which used to listen to him of yore. His address in the Choral Hall was not a success, as when he began to speak the hall was little more than half full, and there was a very evident lack of enthusiasm. Some of his friends suggested that he should address a public meeting. As the theatre was not being used, it might have been expected that it I would have been the place at which the " public meeting " would have been held, but, though Auckland people are proverbial for their fondness for anything in the way of a free entertainment, the Greyites felt that it would not be safe to run the risk of holding a meeting in so large a | building, as the few people who would attend would be lost in it, so the Lornestreet Hall was taken. What a downfall, my masters ! The man who used to draw such large audiences that the Theatre lloyal was packed from floor to ceiling and many weio unable to gain admission, lias come down to the Lome-street Hall, and, in order to fill even that insignificantly small building, he does not invite the electois of City East to meet him, but announces that lie will address a "public meeting." The inference to be drawn is very obvious— Greyism is played out ; and I think that every man who has an interest in the welfare of this colony should go down on his knees and return thanks Our cafe has, during the past week or so, been frequented by a number of parsons, who have been in Auckland attending the meeting of the Wesleyan Conference. By the way, what an improvement there has been in the class of men in the YVe-leyan ministry during the past thirty or foity years. Whereas formerly it w as the exception for them to be well-educated polished men, now it is the lule, and the Wesleyan minister of to-day compares \ cry favorably with the clergymen of other denominations. One of those who were dining at the caf6 a day or two ago told a very good story, which is worth repeating. He was stationed at , well, it does not matter where. Among the most regular attendants at the services was an old Scotchwoman. One Sunday the subject of his discourse was the parable of the withered fig-tree. By some inadvertence he repeatedly referred to it as a palm-tree. The old Scotchwoman allowed the mistake to pass unnoticed for some time, but at last she could contain herself no longer, so she called out, "Say fig-tree, mon." The interruption very neatly disconcerted the preacher, but when the woman's husband, who was sitting beside her, gave her a dig hi the ribs with his elbow and said, "Haud yer whisht, woman," he had to stop the sermon and sit down until he had regained his composure. Last Saturday the Pakuranga Hunt Club Race Meeting took place at Ellerslie, aad, though there wece not large fields for any of the races, every horse was ridden to win, there were some very close finishes, and there was a very good day's spent. The best exhibition of riding and pluck was that of Henry Tonks, brother of Mr W. Tonks, tho accountant of the Bank of New Zealand at Hamilton. He was riding in the pony race, and, soon after fatai ting, his saddle slipped round under the pony's belly. He tried to unfasten tho firth, but, failing in that, he rode on as if nothing 1 had happened, and came ia a good third, omid rounds of applause from the spectators. He could not have won the race, had he met with no misfortune, but he might have won second honours, and he deserved to do so for the plucky way in which he rode. Mr W. L. Rees, one of the greatest windbags among the Greyites, has come up from Napier to contest City North. What claim he has on the electors of that or any any other constituency, ifc would puzzle Mr Rees or any one else to say. His principal qualification for a member of Parliament is his ability to talk for any length of time, but as he generally talks without saying anything of practical utility, he is mainly valuable for stonewalling, and, judging by the firm action of Sir Maurice O'Rorke last session, stonewalling 1 is played out; so Mr Rees can be of no use, and the electors of City North will let him see that they do nob -want him, He -will have a struggle with Garrard for the honour of boinjr at the bottom of the list on the polling-day, while Mr Peacock will be at the head >oi the poll, with Thwaite's second. • Such, at' least, is my " tip."' ! -Seventy-five pounds xeward for murder-* ing a man ! Xt speaJiavery little for owp

boasted oivilization in the ninth decade of the nineteenth century that a man should be allowed to indert an advertisement in a public newspaper offering a reward of £75 for the murder of a man. Yet a firm of solicitors have inserted an advertisement in the Herald offering a row ard of £25 for information that a man named McDonald is alive, but a reward of £100 for proof of his death. If this is not offering a reward of £75 for the murder of McDonald, my education has been neglected, and I do not understand plain English. I think the police ought to take cognisance of the matter. Another local industry has been started in Auckland, or, rather, haB been revived, the Freeman's Bay Glassworks having oommenced operations on Monday last. It is satisfactory to know that the crucibles used are made from Waikato clay, and still more satisfactory to know that the Waikato clay is more suitable for the purpose, and cheaper, than the imported article. Some years ago a Glass Factory was started in Nelson-street, I think, but, like most of the articles made in it, it came to grief. It should not have done so, as the duty, freight, and breakages of imported glassware should have been a sufficient protection to enable it to keep out all impoited goods. My only fear is that the establishment of the Freeman's Bay Glassworks will have a prejudicial effect on the morals of the people, who, actuated by feelings of patriotism, will break glasses in the hotels to p.n alarming extent. There will be one good result, however, and that is that the glasses used in hotels will be larger than they are at present. Smaller they cannot be, so any alteration must be for the better. Of all the arbitrary acts of Mr F. D. Fenton, the' motion, of which he gave notice at the last meeting' of the Governors of the Auckland College and Grammar School, is the most arbitrary. The secretary of the Boai-d of Governors receives a very small salary, quite out of proportion to the work he does, and yet Mr Ferton gave notice of motion " That the pupils' fees shall be charged against the secretary's salary, from which he may relieve himself by showing that they were collected, or that efforts to collect them made by him in accordance with the resolution of the board have failed." It is to be hoped that the Governors will perceive how easily this motion, if carried, could be made a means of robbing the unfortunate secretary of most of his salary, and reject such a disgraceful motion. Mr Fenlon's motion is too palpable, and I think that he has overreached himself this time. St. Mungo,