ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 50, 9 July 1891, Page 1

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

A, ,gsj?at row over the Public Trust Commission has revealed a rather shocking state of affairs. The Auditor-General smarting under a somewhat severe lacing, attempts to justify himself by special pleading. His argument amounts to this : — Actions, however wrong, deserve small blame when the persons sinned against suffer no loss or injury. Etgo if one shoots at his landlord and misses him, he deserves no punishment. Evidently Mr. Fitzgerald has a supreme reverence for the eleventh commandment, “Thou shalt not be found out.” Apropos of the revelations Sir Harry Atkinson as speaker of the Legislative Council should take a leaf out of the Waterbury watch advertisement. We beg him to “ keep a watch on/the Honourable members, and let it be a stop-watch”— but certainly not a repeater! Lucky Mr. Jackson Palmer! He is attacked by the Wellington Evening Press, and like Lord Byron, awoke one ( morning and found himself famous. The recent episode suggests Shakepeare’s, apothegm, “ Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” We do not care to pay a compulsory visit to Wellington during the earth-quake season, so refrain from further comment just now. Despite the risk of overdrafts Bellamy’s bar is preferable to the Bar of the House —too much railing about the latter.

On Thursday last, just too late for that week’s issue, a deputation interviewed us on behalf of the seceders from the Hugo Buffalo Minstrels, and left with us a statement which at their desire we publish. It must be remembered that this represents but one side of the difference, and we are quite willing to give equal publicity to the other if submitted to us. The statement, somewhat condensed is as follows : Last Wednesday morning Mr. Hugo abused Kis company, using very strong and improper language to the ladies. After paying our first week’s, salary he announced that he would grant no favours such as advancing money through his manager, but would pay our salaries every Saturday night. This he failed to do on Saturday last. On the following Monday we applied for salaries, and were informed by Mr. Hugo that he could pay only one half, owing to poor business and heavy expenses. This, in the face of the full houses we had been drawing, surprised us not a little. Knowing, however, that if we did not accept his offer we should get nothing, we took our half-salaries and signed for them'. Mr. Hugo was informed at’ i o’clock that unless we received the balance due to us we should decline to perform that night, whereupon he told us that we could go to ——•. It is not so much a case of salary with us as of treatment. Had Mr. Hugo treated his company like ladies and gentlemen they would have stuck to him, money or no money. We make this statement in order to right ourselves in the eyes of the public. It is our indention to form a new company, and perform on our own account; but as we cannot obtain a Hall at. present, we purpose appealing at the Thames for a short season, and will perform, in Auckland on our return.” The new company is now performing at the Thames* and it is their intention after a brief stay in Auckland to proceed to Taranaki. In

one respect Mr. Hugo is undoubtedly a loser, as we are informed that he had taken through tickets for the entire company. But as he apparently was the first to break his contract he has not just reason for complaint on that score.

We read the other day that the Maoris somewhere hearing that Her Majesty had requested her grandson, the Emperor of Germany, to come with a small retinue, jumped to the conclusion that possibly dearth of food might be the reason of that request. They immediately set about catching, sharks, potting mutton-birds and preparing a big present of food to send as a gift to the Queen from her loyal Maori subjects. Imagine the Kaiser and suite banquetting upon the fragrant dry shark, the redolent corn pirau, and the oleaginous mutton-birds 1 Perhaps, however, palates accustomed to sauerkraut, raw ham, and high German sausage might prove equal to the emergency. But, alas ! the gift if forwarded must arrive too late for the experiment, unless some Maori tohunga can rival Madame Blavatzky and transport the viands by mere power of volition.