NAPIER NOTES.

Hastings Standard, Issue 63, 9 July 1896, Page 3

NAPIER NOTES.

[From Our; Own Correspondent.] Napier, -July 9. Ho fat' our Volunteers have passed very successfully through the ordeal of an inspection by the Military Adviser to the Government, Colonel Fox. It is matter for regret —and I am sure the Colonel himself regrets the fact—that the very fact of his coming should have put the Volunteer companies into something very closely resembling a funk, " it is all along," as Mrs i Harris would say. "of that first and now historical occasion on which Colonel Fox made a tour of the colony and reported so adversely to the Government." At that time the Colonel did not understand our Volunteers nor think much of them, and they certainly did not understand or appreciate him. Thus far the exchange of feeling was reciprocated, but I am safe to say that his treatment then of both men and officers had a very bad effect upon Volunteering in general. It is acknowledged by not a few, while it is known to a great many, that Volunteering is not carried on in a way that would redound to the credit of any service. Officers are too lax, and as a consequence the men do not realise as they should either the importance of their service or the responsibility that is laid upon them -when they don the Queen's uniform. Whenever I attend at a turn-out of a corps or a battalion parade I am struck with the " hail fellow well met "air of both officers and men. It needs some one like the Duke of Plaza Toro to come up at the elbow of the officers and sing into their ears : " Don't be so duecedly condescending." What is wanted is that officers and men alike should realise that so soon as they are in uniform they are not citizens any longer, but soldiers. When they doff the uniform, it is another matter. The discussion of matters concerning the noble army of our defenders calls to my mind a story I have heard an old friend of mine relate. It ran something in this wise;—" Our Major

(every inch a soldier) was a subordinate of mine in the place of business where we both carried on our daily routine. I happened to be a gunner in the battery. It was at the time of the Russian scare, when nearly every man who did not wish to be callted out as a militia-man, if the case should prove one of emergency, joined a Volunteer company or battery. I have boon on parade again and again, when my subordinate in the mercantile firm would inspect the ranks, and I rather prided myself on the fact that when I looked straight to my front, or moved the breech-block of my carbine so that he might see the weapon was in good order and condition, I realised that we had changed places, and that he was my superior officer, to whom all respect should be paid, and in whose gocd opinion I desired to stand well." That is the spirit with which our citizen soldiers should be imbued, but I am greatly afraid that neither in Napier nor elsewhere do either ofiicers or men promote such an esprit de mrps. Curses, not loud but very deep, have been heaped upon the head of the Borough Council and its overseer, because of the spreading of shingle oil most of the principal thoroughfares. Distracted shop-assistants and others who endeavor to make customers or clients hear them without exactly bawling in their ears, when the cabs and other vehicles are trundling past the shops and offices, call down all sorts of " blessings " on the overseer's head, and wish that he were at ■Jericho, or some other place. One townsman remarked to me : " "What's the good of putting down the shingle in this way. It will only assist in grinding the volcanic sand and limestone into powder, to be transformed into mud and slush when the rain conies." As to that, I cannot say; I am not an expert —thank Goodness. The Wanderers' Bicycle Club's annual "ball last night was a great success, and every one who was privileged to be present enjoyed the dancing immensely. " If," said one of the opponents of the breakwater to me, as he looked along the Parade yesterday and saw the enormous rollers enveloping the structure and foaming about and thundering at it in a way that made one anxious for the structure ; "If the breakwater stands this without a smash, 1 .-hall acknowledge that I have been wrong, and that Napier is very near to the time when it will boast a safe and sure harbor in all weathers." And really anyone might say the same without be counted much of a weakkneed individual. The quick succession of storms of late has made many a ratepayer quake in his shoes for the safety of a work that has cost so much money. I believe I shall be proved to lie right when .1 say that the breakwater has triumphed over the severest storms we have yet experienced. At the Magistrate's Court this morning, Mr Turnbull, S.M., presiding, Patrick Beresford and Job* Hislop were charged with the theft of an overcoat, valued at oss, the property of Blythe and Co. Beresford was sentenced to a month's imprisonment, with hard labor and Hislop to 11 days, the latter term to be cumulative with that to which he was sentenced yesterday in another ca.se of theft. John Hislop was further charged (1) with stealing 12 pairs of sox, value 12s, the property of T. P. Halpin ; (2) with •the theft af one shirt, value Gs lid. the property of Blythe and Co. Sentenced to one week's imprisonment {cumulative) on the second charge. Walter Garner and Robert Smith, charged with vagrancy, were given 2-1 hours within which to make themselves scarce in the town. The prisoner John Henry Williams, remanded on a charge of obtaining money upon a valueless cheque at Meanoe, will be asked to-morrow to answer two other charges, forging and uttering cheques. * One of the pleasantest socials of the season was that of the Wanderers' Bicycle Club in the Gaiety Theatre last night. The hall was tastefully decorated with flags and pennants, while numerous bicycles suspended in all directions left no doubt as to the character of the gathering. One exhibit was a perfect minature bicycle placed in a conspicuous place on the stage, made to the order of one of the members for his child, and which is one of the only two manufactured—the other is used by the heir apparent of the German Empire. Evening dress was the general costume, but one lady created quite a sensation by appearing in the reform dress in use by lady cyclists, a costume in which she appeared to great advantage. Mr Clarke's band supplied the music, and as the floor was in perfect condition dancers had an evening of thorough enjoyment. Messrs A. E. Eagleton and A. C. Norris deserve thanks for there services as M.C's. Refreshments were provided by lady friends. Much credit is due to the secretary, Mr V. R. Jourdam, for his exertions. A heavy sea is again rolling in the bay, and at places on the road to the breakwater shingle has been deposited to a depth of 3ft in places. The back yards of low lying premises south of Hastings street are full of salt water, and the hotel and other cellars are again in an extremely moist condition. The Napier Working Men's Club made the selection of a third steward last night from some forty applicants, and their choice fell on Harry Andrews, a well-known local vocalist of the comic order, and a really smart and capable young fellow. I am of opinion that the selection will prove to be a first-class one. The Artillery (F. Battery), with Lieutenant J. G. Hughes in command, had a splendid muster last night, 48 out of a possible 50. One absentee was on a sick bed and the other forty miles up country. I take it that this muster was most creditable, and I was not surprised to hear Colonel Fox, who inspected, praised the men for their soldier-like appearance and for their devotion to duty in spite of 'the fact thai, they have been working

•with obsolete weapons. Tlie display list night was most cheering to men and officers and exhibits in tke clearest light what volunteers may do if they set their minds to it. I must add my quota of praise, as I have never seen a smarter turn-out nor a more satisfactory result of the parade of the Battery for inspection. The Government will do well to arm this Battery with the most modern weapons, as then it could depend upon it as an effective force in time of trouble.