ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1541, 20 May 1882, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

dtf Thursday last' the 1 foundation stone of the ' new building for the Auckland Savings Bank was 1 ' laid by, Mr. 'David Nathan, the Vice-President, but, aa I had' written my regulation column about ' other matters, I 1I 1 could 'not' refer to it .last wee)c. -There are,> in every. community,, 'a" 'number of grumblers who 'find faitlt' with M'hateVer is done, ,unless it is done at their suggestion, or unless they have a "finger in the pie." The determination of the trustees of the Savings ]Jank| to pull down the old building and to erect new and more commodious premises on the same site, stirred the bile of some of these grumblers and growlers, and they were loud in their condemnation of the step. Fortunately, the majority of the trustees saw the necessity for the change, and were not to be detended by adverse criticism. The old building was small and inconvenient, and the trustees had a considerable sum of money at their disposal, which they rightly considered could not be put to a better use than erecting a larger and more commodious building, thus beautifying the city and affording employment to the laboring classes, to whose thrift the success of the Savings Bank is mainly due. The proverb says that "comparisons are odious," bnt this is one of the proverbs in which Ido not believe. On the contrary, I consider that people should make compaiisons, more especially between public institutions. If therefore propose to make a comparison between the Auckland Savings Bank and the Post-office Savings Bank, and show that the former is more popular than the latter. Do not be alarmed my friends. lam not going to bore you with statistics. I believe that there are three reasons for the preference. In the first place, the Atickland Savings Bank pays its depositors five per cent, interest on their money, while the Post-office Savings , Bank pays only four and a half per cent. The difference is not very great, but it is quite sufficient to make, the foimei institution the moie popular of j the two. In the second place the Auckland Savings Bank is essentially a local institution, managed by local men, instead of being a Government Department, under the control of a gentleman living at Wellington. In the third place, the money deposited in it is invested in local secuiitics, but \ery often to the very people who are depositors, instead of being absoibed in the malstrum of colonial finance, lent too on such terms as to make the re-payment of the principal as easy as possible. These are the three main reasons why Auckland people do, and will continue to, prefer the Auckland Savings Bank to the Po&t-office I Savings Bank. j A controversy is going on just now as to whether the gt anting of the New Zeaj land wine licenses will have a beneficial j or prcjudical effect, as to whether it will tend to increase or diminish the drinking habits of the community. Judging by the samples of New Zealand wine I have tried, I should be inclined to say that it will have no eftect whatever, as what I have tasted was such wretched stuff that I should imagine that no sane man would drink it of his own accord. If, however, a good pure wine, of fair quality and agieenble to the palate, can be produced and sold at a moderate price,' I believe that it would be largely used, and would be much better for people to diink, uioie especially in summer, than beer or&phits, anc 1 hat its consumption Avoukl have a most benefical effect on the drinking habits of the community, to say nothing of the further advantage of encouraging local industry. The difficulty of getting the carpenters and builders out of a new house is well known to everyone who has had a house built, but it seldom happens that a man is compelled to set the machinery of the law in motion to get rid of these necessary evils. Such, however, was actually the case here very recently. A gentleman, who is one of our old identities, had a house built in the Albert Park. He sold the house in which he had been living, the date on which he was to give possession being fixed. That date came, and, as his new house was not completed, he had to hire another house temporarily. That house was let to another gentleman, but as the new house was nearly finished there seemed no doubt about it being completed by the time its proprietor would require to leave the house he had luted. It was not, however, as the contractor -w as taking no steps to complete it, but was simply using it as a workshop for carrying out other contracts which he had on hand. This was a little too much joy for the gentleman who owned the house, so he went to his solicitor and instmcted him to take steps to turn out the contractor and the men. This he did, and the gentleman is now living in his own house, Avhich, however, is not yet completed. Tawhiao's speech at Whatiwhatihoe (what a, what a name) has caused a good deal of disappointment, especially to those who believed that the opening of the King Country would be the immediate outcome of Tawhiao's visit to Auckland, and many of those who subscribed to, and took part in the entertainment of his sable majesty and his dusky followers, wished that they had saved their money and devoted their time to minding their own business. There was too much of the " taihoa" style about the bpcech. Indeed, some people think that his name should be changed from Tawhiao to " Taihoa." However, if the present Ministry remain in office, which it is to be hoped they will do, Mr Bryce will show the Maoris that he, at any rate, does not believe in the " taihoa" policy, and that they are not to be allowed to retard the progress of the country. The railway mmt be made from Te Awamutu to New Plymouth, if not with the consent of the Maoris, against their will. It is our boast that there is one law for the white man and one for the brown man. Let this apply to the Public Works Act. Lot the laud which is required for the railway be taken under the Act, and let the Maoris receive the fair value of their land, just as Europeans would. If this is done the Maoris may " taihoa" as long as they like about their land passing through the Native Land Court, about selling the land or leasing it. They may keep their land till the Day of Judgment if they like, so long as we get sufficient for the railway. As soon as that is constructed the native difficulty — the lragbear qf Auckland and Taranaki — is settled for ever. The wrecks and sad loss of life at Timaru on Sunday last are a .warning to us that man cannot make a harbour where the, Almighty c]id not intend that there should,, be one, Timaru is not much more than a hundred miles , from Lyttelton where there is a splendid harbour, and is connected with it by rail, but the residents 'were not contented to send their wool and graiu thither, and to get their supplies thence, by the railway: As Timaru is on the .coast it must be a seaport town, and as nature did not provide it, with, a harbour, one must ntfeds^be made, „Thousands, Thousands of pounds^ha've,been\ spent in the. attempt to make a,harbour, . but the money, has beeiij.hterajllyj fia welL, as figWr,atisely,.'thrown < jwfo the seq,^ An, immense,sum of money has k t>elm«expen- v , ded 911 ,the c6^triicjson of, art^e^^^^r, '„ but howLsiriall 'aii amount o£ ? pi'otfection;it. could afford has fbeenv,, proved. -Tjy'xqe calamity of Sunday last, which 1 resulted,} in the loss of one, if not two vessels/with their cargoes, and, what is, farw^rse, a*

. _——— money cannot repair, that loss, in the deaths of a number of men, the majority of Whom were drowned in the heroic attempt to rescue their fellow-men. It is a truly lamentable affair, and it is to be hoped ttiat wjj will never again have such a catastrophe on our coast. ; St. Mtjngo.

V « ■ i ' '* 'In China the punishment for food adulteration is death. Therk is a system in China which would go to show that the civil service of that country is, in theory at least, subject to spasmodic purifying efforts. Every three years there is at Peking what is called a citing eho, or official scrutiny. The same occurs throughout the empire, also'j and is called a ta-chi. Bad officials are dismissed or degraded and efficient ones are promoted. The officials are divided into tlie three classes of good, middling and bad. The second class included those without positive faults, but who are incapable from old age or other causes, and such as have never made a reputation for themselves. An exchauge says a boy will tramp 247 miles in one day on a rabbit hunt and be limber in the evening ; when, if you ask him to go across the street and borrow Jones' two-inch augur, he will be as stiff as a meat-block. Of course he will. And he will go swimming all day and stay in the water three hours at a time, and splash and dive and paddle and puff, and next morning he will feel that an unmeasured insult has been offered him when he is told by his mother to wash his face so as not to leave the ebb and flow so plain as to be seen under the gills. And he'll wander around a dry creek bed piling up a pebble fort, and nearly die off when his big sister wants him to please pick up a basket of chips for the parlour stove; and he'll spend the biggest part of the day trying to corner a stray mule or a bald backed horse for a ride, and feel that all life's charms have fled when it comes time to drive the cows home ; and he'll turn a ten-acre lot upside down for ten inches of angle worms, and wish for the voiceless tomb when the garden demands his attention. Foe Young Men to Ponder.—The day will come —and may I do something to help it hither —when the youth of our country will recognise that taken in itself, it is a more manly, and therefore in the old, true sense, a more gentle thing to follow a good handicraft, if it makes the hands as black as coal, than to spend the day in keeping books and making up accounts, though therein the hands remain white. Not but that, from the higher point of view still, all work set by God and done divinely, is of equal honor; but where there is a choice, I would gladly see a boy of mine choose to be a blacksmith, or a watchmaker, or a bookbinder than a clerk. Production — making—is a higher thing in the scale of reality than a mere transmission, such as buyiug and selling. It is, besides, easier to do honest work than to buy and sell honestly. —Monitor. The new pure cash system now being initiated by G. and C. will certainly prove a benefit to the public. It has been a great success in Sydney and Melbourne, and when strictly carried out the customer who buys at an establishment where the goods arc marked low to ensure a rapid sale must be a jjroat gainer. G. and C. sell their drapery, millinery, and clothing at such prices for cash as gives the buyer the advantages of a shareholder in a co-operative society, without the risk of being called upon to bear a portion of the loss should the year's business prove unsatisfactory. Garlick and Cranwell will aim to retain the confidence which the public have hitherto shown them, and are determined to give the pure cash system a fair trial; whether they gain or lose the first year Country buyers on remitting cash withordci will be supplied with goods at co-operatve prices ; just the same as though they made a personal selection. Furnishing goods, such as carpets, floor cloths, bedsteads, bedding and general house furniture, the largest portion of which i? turned out at our own factory, willbe marked at the lowest remunerative prices, and a discount of five per cent, will be allowed to those who pay at the time of purchase. G. and C. having realised the entire value of their stock during their late c.ish sale, the present stock is new and chkaply houghr. —An inspection invited. —Garmc k and Crvnwbll, City Hall Finishing Arcade Queen street, Auckland.