THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 584, 23 November 1871, Page 2

THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.

I had promised to furnish Dick's account of Ihe.'late'agricultural diuner, but the young.scamp has given me the slip, and run off'to Sydney in the Fniry, on some mission in connection with Tookey's. It appears that from the general impression regarding his cuteness, he was regarded as the most suitable person to circumvent those Australian speculators; for Dick has an air of innocence that does not reveal the depth of intelligence within. Accordingly, the most strenuous efforts were made to enlist him in the cause. It was at first intended that he should go in the Uoinerang ; then in the Koyal Alfred; then lie was to be despatched overland to catch, one of the Southern boats, and with instructions in crossing by Ohiuemuri to drop across the Press courier and make it all right with him. These various missions were, however, entrusted to other parties, and he was subsequently despatched in the fast sailing steamer Fairy, v^ aptain Pierce, commander, with instructions to act on his own responsibility, and draw to an unlimitedl extent on the i3ank of New Zealand. All the different agents received the same instructions, and as Tookey's, by last quotations, were at £30 in Australia, the result of the sudden demaud from so many accredited agents, with no limit fixed to the purchases, is likely to be the possession of shares that will be held Very firmly on the return of the agents from Australia. I was glad to see that the Sta.u stuck up for itowe, as a director of the Caledonian, though, to the eternal disgrace of the board of directors, they did not invite him to take a seat amont; them. Why it is so must be patent to everybody. They could not bear the presence of one possessing so much of tlie confidence of the public, and whose downright honesty and straightforward character would have put the directors to the blush, if they had ever thought of " ways that are dark and tricks that are vaia." By the way, iam sorry to see that the agents i;f the directors -the managers of other cUim*, are annoying my iriend by intruding into his realms of gold. A fracas, as I see by the papers, occurred at the entrance of those subterranean depths from the impertinent curiosity of those fellows who " wanted to know you know." They have cruelly circulated the state ment that Billy is picking out the eyes of the mine, so that his successor may have as little trouble as possible iv crushinx' quartz. And what if he is, say I ? Is it not all one, when the gold comes out, if it all finds its way into the pockets of shareholders ? And that this occurs under the management of .Vlr. Ro<ve there is no one capable of doubting, for has he not sworn by the ghost of John Wesley that he will shoot the first man found stealing aspecimen. By the way,that was a remarkable fact with reference to the specimens found in a well at the Thames, it is said truth is in the bottom of a well, and as m illustration of the general conduct of mines, I think that the ol I proverb was, in this case, tiue. But more remarkable still was that discovery of gold and silver coins in the stamper-boxes of tue Sailor LJrmce crushing. I have never since •cased to think of that phenomenon ; and the more I think of it the more bewildered L become. I have often read of toads in rocks, and frogs in the heart of trees, but liese animals did not bear the date of their minting, and were probably ot■immemorial antiquity. 13ut as to the way in which goid and silver coin of the reign >i Her present Gracious Majesty should hive found an entrance into the heart of quartz boulders in the depths of the excavations of the Sailor Priucc, its to me still inexplicable, unless it be thtit Heller in nis wanderings among (hose goldfields may have been playing some of his fantastic tricks, and the discovery has been me result of his diablerie. 80 the •' Multuin-in-L'arvo" people have been delivered out of the hands of their enemies. The t"'K-ii of gold is often described us being accursed, but the flavour of it which pervades the atmosphere of the Thames, arising from the boundless quantity buried in the ndioinitic hills, appears to be aecursing as we'll as accursed, and men and " gentlemen " who elsewhere would be ashrtined to put their hands iuto a neighbour's pocket anrj extract his purse, seem to have no compunctions of conscience in attempting to do the same dishonest act under the shelter of the law. ''Jumping" will soon cease to be respectable it the Warden will sot his face against dishonesty, and I think that the people at the Thames should subscribe for erecting a brazen tablet in memory of those w*io seized, and have been ignomiuiou4y kicked out, of the " Multuin in Paivo " ground, as the " Last of the Jumpers. 7'

I drop in occasionally to the opera, and last ni^ht went to see the amateurs. As singers they are all that could bo asked, but as soldiers they require a little drill. The drawing of a sword is a littlo matter, bat if in drawing it you cut off1 the noseof a brother in arms, it is seriuus. The fear of this catastrophe scours to rest on tlie landvvehr in the Yillngo of Faust, and the drawing of swords and other soldierly acts are performed with commendable respect to consequences. I would suggest that their fixings should also be looked to, as last night one of the soldiers, from the giving way of the moorings of his nether integuments, seriously disturbed the gravity of the occasion. 1 have also greatly admired the scene depicting the apotheosis of Marguerite. The anatomical development of the angelic boing-s waiting upon the closing scene in the life of the unhappy peasant girl is something to wonder at. One angel, especially, should certainly have his wings loner down,so as 10 preserve a proper equipoise in flying, i.he huge lumbar development ot this singular being "tending to place the centre of gravity l-nver/fhan is u^uti!. VVo trust the alteration wiil be ina'ie, ;is fcho idea of Ilh flouting isoi'izMiuaily on the air with such amass of aiiAfcomy behind tlio wings is p.»iulul t« realise. I iim glad, to heat* the city ia lo be divided into wurd.<. i have never i-vased 10 mourn the retirement of my friend Staines from public life., and have seen in tue Corporation* Act, and its being prouiaimed in the city, a cuonin.g device to thrust the People's Champion off the stump which he so much adorned. I know that he has been usefully employed in arranging his miscellaneous assort-

ment of uncpnsidered trifles and employing his leisure hours in studying the law reciting to last wills and. testaments, and the sacred duties of trustees. But Cincinnatus must be dragged from the plough, and placed at the head or affairs. The only way in which this can be effected is by subdividing the city into wards. This arrangement of a single constituency is a blow to popular liberties, and must perish before the blast of popular indignation. A man's real worth is only known to his intimate private friends, and unless the city is broken up into little sections, tlio entrance to the Council Chamber, and the right to talk out what you have in you, with perfect independence of expression, and to clench it home if needs be according to the most approved principle of fistiana, will be closed against the people, and deliberative assemblies, emasculated of everything that is independent and plain-spoken, will be exclusively in the hands of the " bloated aristocrats." Rise men of Auckland! Stand by your rights ! Long live the backslums i .Divide or die. Since the wards have disappeared there has been the death of public feeling in the City Council, and its deliberations have been stale and unprofitable. No more do we hear the piquant interchange of amenities ; no more the epithets of big elephant and mangey bound. For the sake of public life, for the honor of the City Council, rally around the friends of the people, and re-distribute the city into wards, and reintroduce the glorious reign of cliques and tavern oolitics.