A CHARACTERISTIC SPEECH.

Evening Star, Issue 3782, 8 April 1875, Page 3

A CHARACTERISTIC SPEECH.

At Melbourne on the 22n \ olt., George Coppin, ,the Colonial Buckstojae took his annual benefit, and between the pieces delivered himself of the following Paul Pry speech “How are you all? It’s a long time since we bad a chat together, isn’t it ? 1 hope you have all been quite well. Anybody had the measles? (Laughter). Very prevalent, weren’t they ? Pretty severe on the old children, too. 1 havn’t bad th°m myself, but bad something else as bad (a voice from the stalls—The gout).—No, it wasn’t the gout (laughter), and if ever you had it you would pull a very long face I can toll you. (Laughter.) No, I havn’t had thmeasles contagion but suffered from a disease that is very prevalent just now cillcd hard-upisbness. (Laughter.) Very .afluential people have been troubled with it, I can tell you, and you would be an exception to the rule if you bad not. If you were to walk down Collins street with me, 1 could show you some first-rate swells who suffered from it very badly. If you went into the drapers’ shops you would find them, however, going in for dress improvers aud all that kind of thing; so that the poor ‘1 evils of shopkeepers don’t get along verywell. (Laughter.) In fact I’m clearly of opinion that if the Colony progresses back wards as it has done lately, it will be a serious matter for us all. 1 think the Government is quite as hard up as I am, for r .hey have pawned the la;.d, and are now selling the security. (Laughter). If this goes on much longer, this will be a lively Colony to live in, won't it! Now that the session is over, there’s nothing moving hardly in the way of oratorical display. Things] in the City Council are rather lively chough, ain’t they ? (Laughter). I think i> is a toss-up between the Parliament and the Corporation. There is this difference, chough, Jbhat the members of Parliament rob you of L3OO a-year, while members of the Corporation get nothing but abuse for their pains. (Laughter). That Mayoral chair is getting pretty warm though, isn’t it ? (Cheers.) If they go on at this high pressure much longer, some one will burst his boiler. (Laughter). Only fancy the present Mayor with his boiler burst. (Continued laughter.) Chat row was a good all round one, wasn’t it? The Mayor was quite equal to the occasion, for I was there, and heard all about it. I listened with great inteiest, I assure you, to the eloquent aud touching appeal he made to the councillors to keep order. (Laughter.) Of course no one heard a word said. (Laughter ) I looked and admired, but directly he began to undress himself I jould not stand that. (Laughter.) Well, there’s that fellow George Coppin—an anointed rascal, that fellow- (laughter)— he’s gone in for that Labor Barest), which he says is to distribute labor throughout the Colony according to the principle o? supply and demand. Well, that might do some good, you know, if we had immigration (Cheers.) If we can only get a few shiploads of domestic servants it will be all right, yoa know. (Cheers.) I have some friends who are williug to engage employers who will pay very high wages, but they naturally object to go out of the city, because they would sooner lead city lives, without work, than subject th am selves to the dull monotony of a country engagement. (Laughter.) Then you know there’s that other dodge of his—the Golden Crown. I always knew he was a mercenary fellow and was fond of a silver crown, but I never thought he wanted a golden crown. (Laughter.) Last year tha Williams ran people down the Bay and brought them back for a pound, but this year they are doing it for 7s 6d. (Hear, hear.) Then those Sunday excursions, you know, are very wicked. They might be tolerated if it was only for the larrikins -;omg down, but to think of the deluded lot of respectable people that go down after a we< k’s toil, mental and bodily, to get a lot of iresli air! Where they expect to go to I cant tell, (Laughter). L have a few friends who wear white chokers, and they will make it warm for those deluded people. I suppose it will not stop till Coppin turns up those gouty old toes of his. ( Laughter.) I'm off to Sorrento to-morrow, and I’ll tell yon what I’ll do If you’l come here on Monday night I’ll give you a full, true, and particular account of all the disgraceful things I’ve seen.” (Continued applause.)