NOTES BY A MAN ABOUT TOWN.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 51, 14 April 1877, Page 3

NOTES BY A MAN ABOUT TOWN.

TO THE BDITOB. Sir,— l am a bagman ; (hat is not a commercial traveller, but to all intents and purposes a bagman as distinguished 'from that genus homo a swagger, the difference being this— that while lam carrying my bag I am not seeking work, and the swagiuan invariably is. I have a few pounds m the ; left pocket ofmy breeches, and have resolved to see the country which Dr Featherston, now deceased, had induced me to' adopt as my home. How far his glowing description of N. Z. has been realised m. my case I leave you to guess. I, am a •vagrant bagman, but " de mortuis nihil nisi bonum, R. I. P." ' JNowyt and my bag (never separated) started from Wellington, the empire city, and after rambi'ing per coach through a lot of unfinished* comfort, we found "ourselves at the (shall I say) city ox Masterton. Here I put up at ahotel' which seemed to derive all its honor I from its bar, and not from, its beds. I need not mention names, as the " older chums" must be fully aware of the house to which I allude.' Here I was present during a discussion as to .where the best scenery was to be had, and after hearing the whole North, Middle, ' and South Islands talked over . andanecdoted, and (as I before observed)-, being located m Masterton, I thought that I and my bag might as well seethe romantic scenery of the Manawatu Gorge. Now I have an idea* that, it is of no use to take a public conveyance if scenery is your object. lam led to this conclusion from the fact that the only time Ijvent to. see the gorgeous scenery of the/SSmutaka (forgive my > Maori) I passecTsome hours .m the centre of I think one of Mr HastwelTs coaches with the blinds close drawn, and jammed up between two ladies who smelt of musk. However as my object in" writing -to you is not so much retrospective, 1 need not tell you all I have suffered during the lwtfTfew months m pursuit of pleasure, braj; this I must say, I rejoice much m the advancement of small places, and if I can do anything with, my pen, I shall feel happy to do so. Now there is one thing ■" any bagman or swagger would decidedly object to, and that is that eternal walking on 'a track newly m.etallexl with four teen-inch boulders. No doubt Mr Oakes a^nd Mr Nathan are fulfilling their contract to the ; uttermost letter, but really they might have some consideration for a poor pedestrian. When I made an estimate of my expenses I put a small amount down for shoe leather,' but Messrs. Oakes and Nathan have decidedly upset my calculations. Still this can be got over; moneyj the moving power, or as some *ay, the root of all evil; will overcome this, and I am now sitting arrayed m a new pair of understandings purchased, at the store of a Mr JDeards m your city. I tell you this m ordetr to prevent you, m a gush of generosity, sending me a pair. Well, as I was going to say when I digressed, I pushed on day by day, taking notice of everything I saw, resolved that if there was a free press at my iourney's end, to bust into piinfc ■ There was nothing pulled me up at all until I came to a river, and as the' song says, "I could not get across." The coloured gentlemen were very anxious to have the honor of " shoving " me over, but as their demands were so exorbitant, not being bound by any Government scale, I determined . to dot

my own ferrying and walked boldly into the water and got safely across. In the course of my watery peregrinations I saw .. two punts were Deing erected, which will, entirely do away with the system of extortion now practised by the Maori. Having seen these two punts, one m the water and the oiher nearly ready for launching, I could but entertain a high opinion of the man to whom the erection has been entrusted, and I may say while on the subject, that I hope he may make " big wages " out of the job, for they have evidently bad a great deal to contend with, having to pit saw all their timber, and are even now before their time. I was unable to get the name of the contractor, being, bashful, but he told me that he would be "Baked" but what he would have them up to time. Silent, sad, and thoughtful, I pushed on to the township of Murphy, at which place I found an Inn kept by a man named Woodville. Mr Woodville told me on my making compassionate enquiries as to the reason of his hand being tied up, that he had had some company m his house and a trivial disagreement had taken place which ended m a slight departure from the rules of polite society, and hence these ructions. At any rate he fed me well, and my bag rested behind the bar, and this has given rise m my mind to some queer thoughts. Did Mr Woodville think that I was unable to pay ? If he did not think so, why try and stick to my bag? I say try advisedly, for that bag would get out of any room and come straight to my biding spot despite all the Mr Woodvilles m the country. However, as I could not rest without my bag, and my bag could not rest without me, by an adroit movement, namely, paying m advance, I and my bag were at last snugly deposited. Mr Woodville told me after I had paid him (which I suppqse raised me m his opinion), that he had once a coach, and that he used to make frequent trips to your town, and that he would have been most happy to have driven me there, but that he had had so much trouble with grooms, horses, and harness, that he had sold the whole concern to a man whose time was taken up throwing pebbles into the ' Manawatu. I need not tell you, Mr Editor, that I did not believe him, but you know perhaps as well as I can tell you that "men will talk." I had a parting glass with Mr Woodville, which by the bye he took as though-he Was not afraid of inflammation m the hand, and then set off: for the far famed Manawatu Gorge. I walked a long way and had forgotten all Mr Woodville had said, and I was thinking how many of the early Missionaries had possibly been eaten m these parts when my thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a lime kiln and a " Jimey " who talked very low' English badly. I could not make up my mind to dwell here long, so I bid him goodbye and trudged on full of thought and feeling very happy indeed. I was next awakened out of my reverie bj' the sight of a noise, which told me that I was m the precincts of another hotel, but there was no sign to signify the same. Perhaps the landlord has a licker too well known for quality which does away with the necessity of a sign-board. However, I went m and met with a really good host, and we hobnobbed together, chatting as familiarly as if we had known each other for years, and then I had to leave the first real good fellow I had met, for I was red hot to get into the Gorge scenery. ., . I passed through this lovely four and a. half miles highly pleased with all I saw, so much so, indeed, that the distance seemed as nothing — so much was my admiration enthralled — and after going into, rapture after rapture I was brought back to things sublunary coming to. a river, the Manawatu agaiu. There is, as I have no doubt you are aware a' ferry here, and being Saturday, I suppose the f errymanhad a few spare moments to .delight me m. I say delight, for he. told several truths and phenomena connected. with the risings and fallings, makings and washings away for many years past. We crossed the river on a very primitive construction, consisting of two old Maori canoes decked over and yoked up to a wire rope' stretched across the river on whose verdant banks I and my bag rested. I had remained here some few moments when my musing was interrupted by the sound of a repeated knocking, and as I am of a curious disposition I took immediate steps to find out from whence these sounds proceeded, and here again— Oh, you men of progress and reform — I and my bag were brought toa standstill at the sight of two veritable shipwrights at work at a punt to supersede the present concern on which I had,trusted my valuable life. Now I know nothing of ship building, or I would give you a graphic description of it, but I really could not do so. As is usual with men whose time is not particularly valuable, I and the contractor, who said something about the junction of two waters, but whose name I do not know, sat down and he favored me with I the pedigree of that punt from its first plank to its present state. There has been a great mistake made somewhere, as this practical working shipwright has a great many faults to find with the de•sign m general of punts and this one m particular ; so much so he tells me, that he has been humbugged repeatedly with a saw mill proprietor m Palmerston abouthis timber, sizes and quantities ; and nbw.having her ready to launch all but a few days' work — well, he says a week or so, which is only a few days compared with life's short span— here he is kept back because the Government will not supply the ironwork necessary for the sheathing of what he calls the grounding edges. Will you disbelieve me when I say that although this energetic individual has been at work since

last December at this single punt, and is now some considerable time beyond his contract ; is it, I say, a wonder that that man is (and he looks what he says) ten years olderin his body with the worry and anxiety caused by the stupidity of them " Government chaps." I should strongly urge on this matter that any member you may have m your district may be at once petitioned to try and alleviate the watery distress of this frozen out shipwright, and if my word is of any use I and my bag will sign any petition that may have the ultimate effect of lifting any of that hump, now the size of the national debt of New Zealand, from off the shoulders of this contractor. I left him, and I and my bag wandered up a hill m search' of comforts new and pastures fine. On the top of the hill there was yet another hotel, and as I felt thirsty I determined to try the ale, but it was sour. My attention was next directed to some cognac, m which beverage I am accustomed to pay my devoirs to the rosy god, but when I saw that man (the boniface)puthis hand on a bottle with' a very aqueous appearance, I changed my mind, and called for some simple lemonade. I paid my sixpence and went away, thinking m my own mind what a strange thing it is how people so often mistake their vocation. After I had walked rather more than eight miles by the wooden mile stones, I got into your favoured township, and regaled myself with a pipe and a glass at Host Deards', glad to have come to an anchor once more. The settlers do not seem to be very wealthy about here, but the few I spoke to seemed happy and contented, which is saying a great deal. If you care to hear from me again I will write, but you must say so, for I am that bashful that I never should have the impudence to write to you again unless you expressed a wish to hear of me. lam going on to Wanganui at the end of this week, and will, if agreeable to you, give you the ups and downs of this journey. In the meantime God bless you, Mr Editor, and keep your wife and family m good health is the prayer of yours truly, " VIATOB." Palmerston, April 8, 1877.