ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 65, 28 September 1901, Page 1

ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

EDUCATIONAL circles throughout tbe province are very much agitated just now over Inspector Lee and the loss of his billet, and the endeavours to work up a case against "the letrenchers," Messrs. Hogg, Young, Robertson, and Bradey. These are human elements which as a rule do not "mix" well, and for the special campaign against Inspector Lee made strange bedfellows. Just as Messrs. Robertson and Young sit opposite Messrs. Hogg and Bradey at the Education Boards table, so do they, as a general rule, oppose each other in policy and in speech. But against Mr. Lee they have taken common ground, and now they have tied themselves together m a circular of explanation, which has been circulated by the Quartet among the school committees. * * * The Anti-Lee party are all well-known men. Mr. Hogg has a long Parliamentary career as member for Masterton at "his back, and is one of the straightest and most upright men who over entered Parliament, or sat at an Education Board table. No mere private resentment would ever influence such a man to get rid of a public servant for mere outspokennes. Mr. Hogg already has come very near Cabinet honours, and o-ottmg Sir John's chair of Lands. (He would certainly be something more than an ornament in the Education Department.) And the Lance is firmly persuaded that Mr. Hogg's undoubted talents and justly-gained popularity are bound to carry him on to the Treasury benches in the long run. » * * Another member of the quartette is Mr Bradey, the well-known Paraparaumu settler. Mr. Bradey is a quietgoing farmer, with town and country icsidences, and, apart from an attack of political palpitations, every time there is an election pending—in fear and tiembling lest he should be asked to contest a seat again with a fair and tempting chance of success—he leads a quiet, methodical life. Mr. Bradey, who is one of the earliest of our early settlers, was for some years chairman ot the Hutt County Council. * • * Next there are Messrs. John Young and James Robertson Peihaps, some people may be imaginative enough to think that Mi. Young may have nurtured a gnevance against the Inspector for having refused, in the remote ages, when Mr. Young was an old Head, to give a percentage of 100 in passes instead of 99. Or, as Mr. Young is now a life insurance agent, perhaps he has at some time attempted to ' take" the Inspector's life, and the latter gave up his "life to a hated rival of an office older than Mr Young's. Yet again, perhaps, as a director of the "Times" Company, Mr. Young has had occasion to object to the Inspector giving a paragraph to the "Post" first instead of to tho "Times. You see, Mr. Young, despite his name, lb so many-sided a man that there is any amount of room for bold guesswork. , » * * Last of all, but by no oieans least, in his own estimation, 1= Mr Robertson. He might we 1 ] be termed Robertson the Lesser, to distinguish him from Robertson the Greater with whom he is being confounded in

these days, of the advertising of the clan Robert. For not a few people are confounding James with David, as both are public men, both are sturdy Scots, and both work at the forge. David, who has a foundry just off Willis-street, is a Benevolent Trustee, James, the Educational Reformer, works in a much more modest way of business at a forge off Manners-street, and is the younger and more active man of the two. For many years James Robertson worked on the Mount Cook School Committee (that from which Chairman Blair graduated), and there was no prouder man in the city than. J. R. when, he won a seat on the Board. There he has m his time brought down more proposals, made longer speeches, and given the Board more committee work than any other member. • • • When the Premier and Mrs. and the Misses Seddon were returning from their visit to the Old Country, whither they had been to attend Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, they called upon President McKinley. at the White House, the official residence at Washington. The President was delighted to meet the New Zealand party, and invited them to spend the evening with himself and Mrs. McKinley. A very pleasant time resulted. Mrs. Seddon, having a very pleasurable recollection of the domestic side of the McKinleys' life on that occasion, was deeply affected when the news of the President's death came through. The President's wife and the Premier's wife are both womanly women. • » » Mr. J. W. Davis, who has been transferred from the Wellington, to the Christchurch Land Transfer Office, is one of the best-known of Wellingtonlans. The tall, bespectacled, bewhiskered civil servant is a member of the "old brigade" of both Canterbury and Wellington, having won honours on the cricket field and the racing track in those days when both the City of the Plains and the Empire City were young, and even to this day he can walk the younger generation off its legs. He has long been a resident in Newtown, and has been an ardent worker in St. Thomas's Parish as a committeeman and as a lay preacher. Mr. Davis and his family are particularly well known in and about Worser Bay, and the Davis family were for several seasons the life and soul of that seaside community, promoting the utmost good fellowship, leading the social gatherings, organising the winter "hops" and "pops," and generally doing much to relieve the tedium of winter by the sea. • * * Mr. Davis is broad-minded in his religious life, and this trait was frequently brought out during the period of his stay at Worser Bay. In those days the Wesleyans were wont to alternate the service on Sunday evenings with the Anglicans. When the Anglicans wero in charge, Mr. Davis conducted the service, reading both tho lessons and a sermon. The alternate Sundays the Wesleyans in town would sent out a local preacher—and Mi. Davis was for that occasion leader of the choir. And to his credit be it said that he was equally enthusiastic as preacher and as choir master. It is possible that_ Mr. Da.vis's record is somewhat unique. Anyway, the world is all the better for such broad-minded churchmen • • • The Wellington friends and admirers of the ex-' Bulletin" w nter, Henry Lawson, will be interested to hear that ho has found such an old-established and influential British firm as Blackwood and Sons to publish his works at Home The firm has made a selection from his colonially-pubhshed prose books, "Whi'e the Billy Boils." "On the Track." and "Over the Sliprails," and have brought out a six shilling book under the title "The Country I Come From." The book, which is already out in London, should sell well.

Turn in whatever directaon. one may, in the Old World or the New, one comes in contact with Andrew Carnegie and his dollars. There are two old chums of his down in Dunedin and Ashburton who have lately had gifts from the 40----milhonaire, and the Lance last week noted that many New Zealanders—probably of Scottish descent —are looking for the Carnegie address. Now, we learn that the wealthy Andrew, not content with the possession of Skibo Castle, quite recently acquired the family estate of Scobie Mackenzie, in Sutherlandshire. Creich, the estate in question, belonged to the late Scobie's family from generations back until but a few months ago. when dollars apparently overcame ancestral pride, and Carnegie added yet another success to his persistency. * * » By the w ay, it is not generally know n thatthe late ocobie" M.H.R. was newchums" on an Australian sheep station, away bacK in the 'bOs, with Marcus Clarke, who long afterwards won tame with his novel "For the Term of His Natural Life." A strange coincidence which, after all, was but another proof that life, as well as faction, has its sequels, was when Clarke, as "The Peripatetic Philosopher," became a regular Victorian contnbutor to the "Australasian," and at the same time "Scobie" became that journal's New Zealand correspondent. Mr. Mackenzie was on the Australasian's staff of contributors to the finish of his life. "Scobie," who wielded a brilliant and trenchant pen, was generally credited with being that mystic party "Civis," the note-writer of the "Otago Daily Times." Some colour is lent to the suspicion by the statement made in that journal's obituary of him—"We can ourselves testify from many years' experience to his conspicuous abilities in this [journalism] ephemeral department of literature." The same paper further adds that "Scobie" fancied himself strong in dialogue writing—and "Civis" frequently used this vehicle effectively. It has been apparent of late years that there is more than one "fist" in the make-up of the notes by "Civis." Mr. Mackenzie certainly must have been New Zealand's "Junius." * # * Our cable messages did not tell us of the suicide of General Gribski, the Russian who was made responsible for that awful massacre of Chinese on the banks of the Amur during the early stages of the late Chinese war. It appeared from later explanations that the massacre was the result of the usual misinterpretation of orders. The General, as officer commanding Blagovestchensk, wired to St. Petersburg for instructions as to what he should do with the Chinese dwellers when the city with the unpronouncable name was attacked by the Chinese soldiers and outlaws from Aigun. General Gribski was away from his post when the reply came, and as the message read "Fling Chinese across Amur," the subordinate took the instructions literally, and drove the 0000 Chinese inhabitants out of the city into the river at the point of the bayonet, slaughtering women and tender children. General Gribski was recalled to St. Petersburg, and it is probable that the Government had heaped disgrace upon him —hence his suicide. * * » The "Post" the other night contained a paragraph of items from a letter sent by Mr. James Hughes, one of the best-known of Wellington's old-time printers. He was for many years in business on Lambton Quay, and, if memory serves, it was with his plant that Edward Wakefield started the "Evening Press," on the corner just a few doors from the premises in which the Lance is published. Mr Hughes was one of the best among the old-time "bosses," and his temper was sometimes tried with the stress of the times, and he was at times moved to eccentricities. On one occasion his office boy broke a chair. "Hello!" cried the "Old man,"

fixing the trembling lad with a rolling eye, 'broken anocner cnair. Heie, i_ snow you bow to break a chair. __na with that he seized, the only remaining 1 enable one, and, whining ie over m_ he_d —amia the screams 01 the Doy, who thought Ins time heM come> —the inastei punter banged it against the noor, ana _ne wail, until it was utterly wrecked, lnere you are, he exclaimed, to the cowering lad— that's how 1 wouid Dreak a chair; <_ro across to Jso-and-bo's, ana get three new chairs. I. X * The death of Mr. George Barton, in the Mother Colony last week, recans, an interesting bit or i\ew _.eaiand's oiatime journalistic history. Although, like Ins ' big" brother (the Feaerai -Tenner), George was brought up to the Ldw, he, in middie lire, took to journalism, which he pursued in the httaes and sixties, farst in Sydney and then in Dunedin, editing the "Otago Daily limes" in the latter city. Whilst connected with that paper, he had the ' doubtful honour" ot being charged with criminal nbel against the Government of the day (the Fox-Vogei), though, strange to say, V ogei had himself, at one time, been editor ot the paper of which ivir. Barton was then the literary head. 1 hough committed tor trial, the Government did not push the case into the Supreme Court. * • • The story of the origin of the Barton charges takes us back to those days (,i_/u-187l), when there was no cabie connecting New Zealand with the outside world. The Franco-Prussian war was agitating the world then, and, in order to give colonists news ot the course of events in the Old Wond as promptly as possible, the Government oecame something ot news-vendors by instructing the telegraph officers at the Bluff and other hrst ports ot call tor Australian vessels to compile a budget ot news from the papers and telegraph it on urgently to Wellington. This news summary was handed over to the "Government organ" ( the 'Times" then, as now), and then wired to other parts ot the colony. * * * Now, the "Otago Daily Times" was a very enterprising paper then, as now, for it had an agent in Melbourne whose business it was to make up a budget of English and European news, and put it on board every New Zealand-bound steamer, with instructions that the budget was to be wired to Dunedin from the hrst port of call. The news of the disaster at Sedan, and the surrender of Napoleon the Third, reached Melbourne just in time for the "Otago Daily Times's" agent to include the message in his budget, which he placed on a steamer at Queenschff, but the important item was not in the paper* from which the Government's telegraphreports got their summary. When, therefore, the "O.D.T.'s" "scoop" appeared among the Governments summary wired from the Bluff to Wellington, and then over the colony, Editor Barton "grew mad," and charged the Government with having stolen "off the wires" the news for which his paper had paid its Melbourne correspondent. Hence the above-referred-to trial for criminal libel, the late Mr. A. C. Strode committing Mr. Barton in March, 1871. * » * Some years ago a Mr. A. T. Bryce, a resident of Kiwitea (a bush settlement in the Feilding district), was compelled, through adverse circumstances, to seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court. Although receiving his discharge, Mr. Bryce intimated to his creditors at the time that he would, as soon as possible, pay them the full amount due. And, true to his promise, he has kept his word. Fortune having again smiled on him, that gentleman gladdened the hearts of his old creditors by calling them together the other day, and handing each one a cheque to pay off "old scores." What a pity it is that there are not a few more persons of Mr. Bryce's stamp living in the colony t