SIR WALTER SCOTT’S CENTENARY.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2647, 11 August 1871, Page 2

SIR WALTER SCOTT’S CENTENARY.

To the Editor, Sir, —Through sheer disgust I am tempted to notice the dinner which took place on Wednesday in Murray’s Hotel, in commemoration of the hundredth birthday of Sir Walter Scott. Sir, the man who wrote the “ Heart of Midlothian,” and through it and the re.-t of his works has gained an immortal name, whose genial, kindly, unselfish nature made him loved and respected by a'l classes while he lived, would have had li tie sympathy with those who attempted to celebrate his birthday at the dinner in Murray’s Hotel. Sir Walter Scott’s fame and genius are universally acknowledged, and his Ceuti.i • ary ought to have been celebrated by a fe • tival—a national festival—in which all classes could have joined, instead of the selfishly exclusive dinuer and ball got up by the Centenary Committee, who in elftct have prevented the day being celebrated as it ought to have been by their incapacity and snobbishness. I cannot help noticing also the kindly (?) request of our //mwi-Mayor to the citizens of Dunedin to keep holiday. For what reason,? Became forsooth a few exclusives thought fit to dine out for the purpose of glorifying themselves, and providing an escape for their superfluous gas. Ad honor to the Dunedin Mutual Improve, meat Society, for providing an entertain; m ut that all classes could take advantage of and enjoy; but they ma le a mistake when they asked Mr John Bathgate to be their chairman. Nature has kindly given that gentleman the “gift of the gab, but the committee of the Dunedin Mutual Improvement Society ought to have known that with all his professed anxiety fur the rights'of the people, and for providing suitable entertainments for the working classes, he would not sit in the kitchen for love if he could squeeze himself into the parlour ; and as might have been expected, he showed his preference for the Dunedin Mutual Improvement Sqgiety’si entertainment by coming to it when it was half finished, and when he had finished up at Murray’s, and I was not sorry to see that the meeting showed its appreciation of his condescension by greeting him with some, what I would call meritorious hissing. There are some other characters connected with the Centenary dinner and ball committee whose conduct I would like to notice, but I am afraid I have already exceeded your space, so will close by subscribing myself,— Yours, &c. Nicol Jarvis, Dunedin, August 11.