OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 4057, 26 February 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

(From our otm Correspondent.) • * February 22. The public here have notyetqui'e finished discussing the Vogel reception and banquet, the latter having been quite a counterpart of thf former in so far as success is concerned. The unanimity characters ric of the entire demonstration, considering how much of the sixes-and-sevens e'ement gent-rally prevails in Wellington, was really wonderful. With the exception of a few last roses of the Provincial summer, who chose to be left blooming alone, everybody who is anybody appeared anxious to be identified more or less with the affair ; and even tile dissentients would have been too glad to join the crowd, if very shame had not kept them back But their personal hostil ty to Sir .Julius Vogel was too recent and too pronounced to make immed : a‘e recantarion fea ible. lam told the Superintendent of Well-ngion has given himself, up entirely to meditation. He wanders by the bauks of the Hut', vainly endeavoring to settle in bis own mind whi-ther he will bequeath the money which a grati-ful country has showered upon him, for the endowment of an hospital for incur., bles i r an asylum for the insane.

Sir Julius spoke for upwards of an hour at the banquet during the whole of-which time he was attentively listened to and occasionally cheered to the echo. You will have noticed that the speech was eminently concilia’ory. While holding firmly w th the action of his colleagues during the pa t s soon, and thus dissi paring t e talk indulged in by y> ur quidnuncs as to bis going over to Mr M acandrew—which, those who kriew Sir Julius never believed for a' single moment-he nevertheless sfi-.ove, as far as possible, tp bridge over the chasm betwe n the contending parties. VV£ hope his wellmeant effort will not be altogether in vain. But the laud question cmnot bs eo ea ily settled as he seems to suppose. Compromise may gain time, but it will dp, no mope. The fact' is naturally enough unpalatable to the setters of Otago and (Canterbury, but it is well for them to know th -t you cannot get plain men anywhere ejse to see that the laud of the Colony is not the property and then d he for the benefit of the people of the Colony, or how, because a man happens to live in Wellington, he should be treated diffeiently from and taxed more than one who lives iu Dunedin* The successful laying of the submarine cable to is a great t iumph a ike to science and art. It seems as if the loneliness of New Zealand were, in a certain sense, driven away by the establisbnieat of telegraphic communication with other portions of the World, and while the necessarily high tariff must prevent its common fuse the knowledge that it exists will of itself exerc se an assuring effect upop the public mind. The speed with which the woik has been accomplished affoids a contract to tbp more protracted style in which the lifting and splicing of bur Straps cable was recently gone about. Of cou-se, the present p >rty are supplied with the most perfect app iances, while our local electricians were not, butl suspect that the squabbles of the latter (for th re Were such th ngs) had something to do with the delay that took place. These squabbles, being affaire de famille, have peep very prudently kept quiet—there is much w.sdom iri washing one’s dirty linen at home—b it they were fierce enough while they Tasted on board the Lijna. One savan felt sure that the plan' h 9 proposed was the right one and be would hear of nothing else; another laughed at his idea as preposterous, being equally sure bis plan alone could effect what was wanted ; and I rather think that the war of words did, on one occarion, if riot oftener, template ip a shindy, fierce “unto slaying/’ If I were to believe all I have been told, but in such cases belief in one-half ,is enough, I would come to this conclusion that never was bu-iness worse managed; the rope was bad, ihe paying out was worse, pad tho laying worst of all. in short, the whole affair is represented as a twist and a tangle; but the end jpgy be accepted as justifying the means, and certainly the damage is repaired. .Trie first use of the Australasian .Cable , on its opening yesterday, I upiers! and, was the forwarding of congratulatory passages from the Governor and the Premier to the heads of departure ts in England. Out Mayor, it is said, also telegraphed from the ■ capital of the mo-t ; distent Colony to the Lo d Mayor ;of London. X generally have a newspaper iracas to relate to your readers. The one now to be tpld is even le« creditable to journalism than that immediately preceding it.. The editor of the ‘Post’ wrote a paragraph reflecting upon the cha>acter of an amiable youn* lady in connection with an unfortunate suicide that had tsken place, a paragraph which, good fe -ling would have suppre Bed, even if true, but which, being pritui*, was utterly unjustifiable. A relative of the young lad r, foolishly enough, called at the office of the paper and spoke of the paragraph in terms of strong condemnation, whereupon the editor designated him a“d—d liar.” This choice language led to a regular fight, which the editor afterwards described in pis paper in glowing terms in the choicest' vernacular of * Bed’s Life.’ But not content with fighting his critic, and according to his own version of it, having his “headin chancer .and beating him ,he afterwards charged him with ass ault, a d appeared, with an ugly eye, at the Police Coprt to sns ain thp case. He e the story was again rehearsed jto a crowded audience, and the defendant was fined 20s and cos's. The lii eity of the Press must be maintained, but it is unfortunate when the principle is pleaded in defence of license and defended by pugilism, as in (his case. A few more such victories and the ‘ Pbst ’ will be undone.

•Mr Reynolds has returned to Dunedin, bearing with him tbe best wishes of all , who kwfl| him hj ’re. ‘ M«*Jer was public department be’ftp administer'd than uridejf bis rule. His impartiality and industry mvQ aiihd, Cdnspicuoud, And tho ebrild oiwdiy havb

spared a better man—brit r, I mean, in the sense of show, because they had no better in the sense of work and reliability. The Premier, I regret to say, is not in good health ; he is feeble and subject tomocasional spasmodic attacks. He will require rest and quiet before being ab’e to move about the countiy, although he is anxious to visit bis constituents at Wanganui at as early a date as possible. Th« re is not a particle of re iable political news nor a whisper of political movement about Wellington just now.