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Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 91, 29 March 1902, Page 3

THK Lwce eii]o\ed the pm ilege of halt-an-houi's cliat with Mi Wilson Bariett on Satin day, at his looms in the Empire Hotel Although it was the da\ of Ins departure for Busbane, he was "busy with a novel which he had started to wnte since his season ooenod heie m Wellington. Like The Sig.n of the Cross," it is a "novehsation " if one may coin a phrase for that kind of hterarv' effort w Inch elaborates and expands a drama into a regular fetoi v. In this instance the drama — a modern play by the wav — was placed on the stocks in Auckland, and, having finished it. Mi Barrett started on "Wednesday last week to paraphrase it into a romance, in order that play and romance may be published simultaneously It is a pure love story, and de\ elopes a new line ouite unused in either drama or romance. The fust act is land m Australia, and the rest in England He anticipates a great sale foi it in the colonies. One local bookseller infoimed him that he felt sure he could place 800 copies, as e\e<rv available copy of "The Sign of the Cross" was bought up after the advent of the company here. Mr. Barrett claims to lead a busy life This drama was eight months m incubation befoie he began to write, but once the "fur\" of authorship grips him he nni't go at it night and da\ Although when plavin- he does not get to bed before half-past midnight, he says he is up again at 5.30 am., and at his desk to make ready more "eoipv" for his typist Born in 184(5. the son of an Essex farmer, he has been a ste'adv worker ever since he left school at twelve years of age His bent was alwa\s towards the stage and, a< fourteen he broke ground as an author bv writing a three-act play He made his debut as an actor at Halifax, and tried his nrentice hand at management when he leased the Burnley Theatre Since. 1879 London has been the chief theatre of his operations » • * His \isit this \ear, Mr. Bairett &a\s was largely due to his own ereat desne tn see the colony which was making so man\ gieat experiments m advanced legislation and to meet Mi feeddon whose caieer he has been watching mth great interest since hist his labour laws, arc! especially the old ao-e pensions made him talked about at Home 'I am honestly filled with -admiration for Mr Seddon " added the. actor-author with much animation, 'and he is almost appreciated more in England than he is here You see you aro too close to him to take in the measure of his w ork at its proper perspective and I suppose there is something too of the old story about the honour paid to a prophet in his o»\n country Mr Banett does not think theie is the least prospect of has e\ er professionally visiting New Zealand again. He is charmed with the country, but it is too remote, and it costs too much to bring a powerful dramatic company here Why " he lemarks "it cost Mr J V Williamson £2b 000 to bring me and mv company, with all our scenery and properties to Australia. A production like that of "Hamlet " which you saw last night, represents an outlay of £()000 alone, and, instead of netting half-a-gumea for seats in the best part of the house, as we do at Home wo have to play here for five shillings On an average, it costs me C") 000 to

stage a. new pla> , and I ha\ c twehe ila\sinm\ lepeitono Borne ot th(>MI ha\e not mounted m New Zealand, notably The Chnstian King," the scenes ot which is on so large a scale that tlveie are only tlnee theaties m Au<tiaha and none in New Zealand, which can afford loom foists display." Captain Clifford, who was killed lewntlv m action m South Afnca, was an old Wellington boy and, with his brother, took to the sea, with the N Z S Company. At the beginning ot the wan lie enlisted m Biuton's Horse as a tiooper, and was quickly promoted to a lieutenancy, and then to a captaincy, wlucih office he held when shot down in action. Ned, as he was known bv his many friends was a gieat favounte all over the col on 10% His old mates of the N.Z Shipping Company aie laismg a subscription to eieet a memoiial over his gra\e Mr Montz Bergl whose South African meat contract with the War Office lias be>en so much 111 discussion since King Dick lifted up his voice in protests wa& the initiator of the live cattle export trade from Australia to London, and has a, big meat works at Bow en in the Ban an a! and State Though bv natiMtv a Hungarian he is a naturalised British suiect, owns a Scottish wife and has beien tihirtv-thiee years 111 the meat tiade. • » * Mr Tourist Manager Donne and his faithful henchman Mr Fred Mooie-hou'-e, of the Hutt, had «ome hvelv expen en cos dunne their recent vi^it to Lake Waikaremoana. They arnved at the alleged accommodation house 111 a hoaw shower of ram, and wanted to dry their dripping garments There were no facilities for suoh a purpose, and so they had to buy a couple of pairs of store clothes Donne's fitted him so loosely that he went about like a man-o'-wa.r saalor, with room to let in e\erv direction. Fred. Moorehouse however was a= closely encased as a iockev in fact he was never so tight in ail his life and as for Donne he declares he never felt things s 0 slack all round When nierht came * they turned up then noses at a w atery couch m a porous tent, and slept the sleep of the weary in the. store, with their heads on bags of flour and their feet in the fireplace. That is seeing life up a,t Waika,remoaiia when Captain Edwin is looking after the water supply. Mr Donald Munro a Weber lesident, hais announced his intention of contests gin the Pailmaiua seat with Mr J O'Mea.ra at the general election Mr Munro has a eood experience of local bodies etc and is \ erv popular with the settlers of the bush He makes no secret of the fact that the chief plank 111 his politacaJ platform will be a huev> borrowing policy to push on public works and development of resources Tins he reckons is the only salvation for the colony He wiU have a foemaai worthy has stee.l in the sitting member, the bland and popular O'Meara. It will in fact be quite an international ' or> " Scotland versus Ti eland • • * Up at Waaipawa things look promising for a keen contest, and they do %ay Mi Charles Hall will ha\e to crack on full steam ahead to hold the seat Mi A X Jull, of Waipawa, is said to bean intending competitor. He is in fa\ our with the fanners has served on the various local bodies, and can speak to seme purpose. • * * Paddy" Cnck, the New South t Wales Ministei of Lands, who was in Wellington not so long ago, has been receiving some attention in the Sydney press since he letuined home. One paper mentions that he soaped the Wairoa geyser w hen he w ais at Rotorua in order to make it play up. And theieupon it sarcastically remarks "Now he has or O t time he might use a little soap on his depaitment It needs washing."

Ihe Wellington. Trades and Laboui Council elections, which came off last v\eek, aie worth notice, in view of the .general elections at the end of theveai. For some time past, theie has been a. good deal of internal teunent between the friends of the Government on the one part, and the Left Wingeis on the other part who comprise the pro-Boer element that foiced itself mto notice some weeks ago. The two parties mea5.111 ed then stiength o\ ci this election of officers, and the old leaven has signall> pi cv ailed. The contest for the presidency lay between Mr Harry Jones a compositor m the Go-vernment Printing Office, Mr. Noot a piominent member of the Paint - eis' Union, who i& also one of the leaders ot the anti-wai paity, and Mr. Robt. E. Vanev, another pnntei, but who represents the seamen on the> Council, and also acts as secretary of the Bootmakers' Society. They say it does not do for a son of St Crispin to hold that office, as it has led many times to loss of billet. Robert is an institution at the ' Times" office, where he has been father of the chapel goodness knows how often. How ever he dropped out of the Presidency Stakes for w ant of support, and Noot and Jones were left to fight it out, with the result that Jones won ha.nds down. In days gone bv Hariy Jones was a leading figure in the Council's history. He was for five years its secretary, and has also been its president but for some Years past had dropped out of it altogether Absence however, has not dulled his popularity, for, immediately on his reappearance he is chosen for the chief portion. Another piece of past hi&toiv is recalled bv the appointment of Mr D P Fisher brother of George of that ilk. to the Management Committee Hn too, was piominent in the Council's early days, but had taken a back c eat of late years « • * The anti-war party also contested the Mce-chaii with Mi" Cole, ex-piesident of the Painters' Union. He was put up against Mr. Westbrook, a popular operatne in the lailway workshops a.t PetO'iie, who lepiesents the Coachworkers' Union on the Council. Westbrook is a sensible, level-headed fellow, who is always listened to with great respect at the Council's meetings. In this contest a second ballot had to be taken (the absolute majontv system being followed in the elections') and Westbrook, on the seoond time of asking won handsomely. Mr Cole took his defeat in the best possible spirit, saying he would perhaps do bettei woik as a free lance than if elected to office. Caipenter Harry Warner, whose strident voice used to be frequently heard in the Labour Parliament, but had dropped out for some years past, was made a member of the Management Committee, and Bootmaker A. H Cooper was reflected secretary for the second time unopposed, so that it is quite evident he cannot be spared. Wharf - labourer Graff (a legular grafter, by the way) was paid a similar honour as assistantsecietary, and once more Robert Vanev has been chosen to look after the purse * • • Chevalier, the recently-deceased artist, w ill perhaps be remembered bv Wellmgtomans as one of the suite of the Duke of Edinburgh away back in the forties. During H.R H.s memorable \isit to Australia, he met the late artist, who was then, we believe, on the staff of Melbourne "Punch." Chevalier travelled with the Duke during the lemainder of the royal tour, and went Home with him to London He received there a royal "command" to paint a portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. One Wellington lady has a menu card of a Wellington banquet attended bv Chevalier on which is a charming little sketch hv the artistic satirist, whose work ha k s made him famous.

Councilloi J. Godber, during his recent trip to the City of the Beautiful Harbour and the home of the bubonic rodent, has seen many things through his gold-rimmed spectacles. He comes back convinced that Wellington is the cleanest city in the colonies, that New Zealand has nothing to learn from Austiaha in any way, and that one can get an extremeiy good time m sinful Sydney if onf> is not too squeamish. "Why," cae Wellington man living in Sydney said to Mr. Godber, "the Sydney people w ouldn't like Sydney if it were cleaned up " Of course', this was because the said Wellington man was away from home. Everywhere in Sydney the frantic efforts of the 1 people to clean up the daik bubonic places only emphasises its dirtiness. » • * The city is one big box of ''Rough on Rats." At present, one stumbles over empty disinfectant tins at every corner, and gruesome Corporation cleaners-up bump you at every crossing. Mr. Godber, unlike others recently returned from Port Jackson, says the people are genuinely alarmed, and are striving hard to arrest the "filth disease." Mr. Godber, of course, collided with his fellow councillor, John Smith junior, and the pair, together with Inspector Hugo, traversed every cranny of the city learning wrinkles about municipal affairs, and finding out how not to do things. * * • Of course, the Sydney fire appliances are away ahead of those of Wellington ? Emphatically no, says Mr. Godber, and the only improvement seen, at all (a technical one) is being brought home bv Mr. Hugo. The fact of being a New Ze.alander, irrespective of the additional advantage of being a "solid" man, and a councillor, made Mr. Godber welcomed e\ ervwhere. Perhaps, it is the trustful wav of the Welhngtonian. It would be difficult to rebuff the kindly confectioner. Mr. Godber comes back pruned with all he has learnt, and all he has unlearnt. He is glad to get back to a city where it rains once or twice a year. He thinks that a good New Zealand downpour would more quickly eradicate the plague than v, hole truck loads of disinfectants * ♦ * Colonel Hoklsworth, the gallant Hussar, who is amongst us spying out likely horses with which to chase the wily Boer to his mountain fastnesses can be induced to siay a good deal in a short time if it has nothing to do with himself. The Lance was lucky enough to have a gossip with the seeker after horses, and he quite dissipates the popular idea of what a British colonel should be. Being a light cavalryman, he is not overburdened with adiposity, and we were pained to notice that our notion of a grizzled veteran, with white spikes of moustaches, was an incorrect one A young-looking man of slight athletic build, without a grey hair. Tn fact young enough to be a colonial colonel who had friends at court ! * * * Was he looking for big chargers, with fiery eye and massive proportions ? No ' he w anted cobby nags of fifteen hands or so, and he could get a better stamp of beast here than in the glorious Commonwealth. The Australian horses w ere rarely properly broken, and late lots had been failures. He had seen New Zealand horses and polo ponies in India, and he liked them. Had seen a stray one or two in Natal, while with the fast-moving Plumer, and had heard w e turned out soldiers of a quality similar to the horses, pretty sound in wind and limb. * * * The Colonel looks as if life amused him He twinkles at one with a keen eye, that looks as if he loved his fellow men. He is anxious to see some New Zealand races, and he wants to know if we can play polo. His regiment, the 7th Hussars, have a reputation for polo playing in India, and the Colonel has played the game since he left Eton. He

comes fiom Devonshire, aaid, like so mam of his fellow count rj men and unlike a, great man} army men, lie is unaffected. His legiment was gamsoned at Pieteimautzberg befoie the war, and one. feeU that he has a lather larger know ledge of Biothei Boei" than the a\erage >.ew Zealand soldiei b\ the\\a\ he handles Dutch names. The New Zealandeis ha\ c done splendid woik in South Africa, and he is glad to be amongst the people to have a look at the raw maternal. ' D'you know . he said, I admire 'ome points in those Boer* I like everybody eke, fancied the war would ha\e been over a long time ago, but the\ still keep us bus^ He thinks the whole world's sir -'v of hoi see is affected b\ the enormous demands made on it h\ the British \\ ar Office Also he believes horses eeiieiallv are given no chance on arrival in Vfuca The\ are usually grass fed, and are =ent to woik befoie the^ aie fit. Colonel Holdswoith intends to take away a shipload of re-mounts fiom .New Zealand, but fears the Tenth Contingent will make a hole in the visible supply It is all for the same job. he cheerfully observed, and I don't care Lieutenant Hopkmson, of the Carabineers (6th Dragoon Guards) is helping Colonel Holds* orth By the way tie "Carbs " is the regiment with which the First Contingent were associated so much in the Colesberg country and with whom they frequently combined It is saad to be the best scouting cavaliv regiment in the Army * * * Austiaha has just last one at its eae&test men. The Hon. John Lucas, f] L C Avho died in Sydney about a fortnight a*o was one of the bulkiest men m the Common w ealth. His size for past, had been painful. For him to walk was almost impossible and he had to sit on specially-built chairs » * * Mr D Donald, father of the young man who got stripes," and not ' stars, in. the Ninth Contingent, has applied for letters patent for a hand punching machine. It is cruelly suggested that Mr Donald's invention was intended for use m the event of the rejection ot Ins son. Happily, the new instrument is to be used only for punching iron and not "brass." and Masterton people have lapsed into somnolence once more now their boy is in the position to win the coveted distinction of 'stars. ♦ * * • Dick Seddon" stones appear to be quite the rage over on the •other side, and the writers of fiction are doing their Wei best to meet the demand. Here is a sample fain -tale winch is doing an extensive "turn" -The New Zealand Opposition some years aw wanted to wheedle State secrets out of Dick. Therefore, all the heavy Opposition drinkers got around Dick at the Emoire one morning, plied him with fizz and waited hopefully for the 'secrets • ♦ * One by one the main body sank to rest under the table, the '"wings" died awa.v under the dumb waiters, and the Premier, with perfectly sober eve on another bottle still made no sign, and still quaffed the foaming beaker Then, it is further related, he retired to address a labour union on the wharf, had something to eat to kill tame, and presided at a banquet in the evening. Barton is allleiged to be in training to meet Dick on the banquetting battlefields. We know nothing" about the powers of the premier Commonwealth diner, but if he is as good at the table as the veracious storv-teiller is at the 'long-bow." he is certain to retain the coveted honour of wearing the championship appetite belt.

Dr Valintme had better keep his w-oa.tih.ei eyes open when lie goes aboaad tlie S^dney s»t earners with that lancet o* has The) are up to all sorts of tucks over on the 'other side" to elude the man who vaccinates. One lady tiaveJlei. of an aitistic turn of mind, is baud to have painted up her old maiks, and, with scientific bandaging and a httlo bluft, is now telling hei fuends, amid much giggling, how «he bamboozled the bland and couiteous suiMr. Beniamm Hoaie, chief leaderw liter of the Melbourne Age," is to bo married immediately after Eastei Once upon a time he was a conmositoi on the Adelaide Advertiser " and latei the edited the Irish Harp " Adelaide's first Catholic weekly. Mr. Hoare is <»till a valued pillai of his Church. Mr. Page, Town Cl&rk, received news the other day of the death of Sir Jcshua Monckton, Town Clerk of London, who passed away after a very short illness brought on by a chill. The deceased gentleman had been Town Clerk of London for nearly thirty years, ha\mg been appointed m 1873. Theie was keen competition for the appointment, and Sir Joihn (then Mr. John) Monckton was appointed b\ a majority of thirteen votes. The City Press," of the oth of February , devotes three columns to a ie\iew of his career, «hich appears to have been a. most successful one, and there is no doubt that his loss will be keenly feJt in the city of London. * * * Mi Page called upon him at the Guildhall when he was in London last \ear, and was most courteously leceived. It was one of the hottest days of a very hot summer, and Sir John was working without his coat, w hich he hastily donned, but only to take it off again just as hastily when he found that his visitor was only a brother townclerk" as he expressed it. He appeared then to be quite hale and hearty m spite of his seventy years. Mr. Page shows, with pardonable pride, the invitation card win oh Sir John gave him for the ceiemony of presenting the freedom of the city to Sir Alfred Milner. on the 23rd July last year — a very brilliant function. * * * Miss SaJlie Booth, the well-known actress, who was slaan by the Sydney plague the other da.y, was closely identified bv parentage and life-long experience with the stage. She was lineally descended from Barton Booth, the celebrated tragedian of Addisons daA . Her own. career began at the age of four, w hen recited "Lord Ullin's Daughter" at the benefit of her aunt (also Miss Salhe Booth 1 ), once a favourite at Drury Lane and Covent Garden Theatre In her teens the Sallie v,e knew was prais-

<>d bv Douglas Jen old and other London cntics ton- her Rosalind at the Hay market Theatre She supported G. Y. Brooke, Charles Keain, Charles Mat^ thews, Walter Montgomery, and other gieat actors. In 1867, she manned Mr J H Clyndes, a capablei actor, ami afte-i 1893, &he remained for four years in India, touiing as a Shakespeanan 1 rcjtt'i . «■ * * In spite of hei advanced age (b4) she \\a.s full of energy, and unflagging spints, and, above all, had an exquisite &ense of humour. Just before her last illness bh-e told a newspaper man that she appeared as principal boy in a Manchester theatre as far back as 1851. 'In tho^e days," she said, "they used to look round aftei me vi the street, and sa\ Who is that dashed fine eirl 5 ' Now they look round and say, 'Who is the funny old fowl ?' " * * ♦ Mr. Tom O'Sullivan, far better known under his stage name of Tom Pollard, has just been celebrating his eoming-of-age as a professional. Twenty-one 3 ears ago he started out from hi& native Tasmania, on, what he supposed was to bo a holiday trip of three months in New Zealand. The three months have stretched out into twenty-one yearsi, and that holiday trip is not finished yet. He was brought up to the building trade and cultivated music to such effect that hei rose from drummer boy to solo - horn player in St. Joseph's Band, Launceston, and earned many a pound at night mostly through playing for the Pollards, who were in those distant times the musical caterers of Launce&ton. Pollard's Juvenile Opera CompanT was ongmally formed merely to play "Pinafore" a® a means of filling up time at the locaJ theatre. It made such a hit that it wa-s then taken on to Hob art, and so great was its success there that a, three^months' holiday trip to New Zealand was planned, starting at Invercargill. Tom Sullivan was offered a share of the venture if he would go with Mr. Pollard, senior, as one of the family in name. That was his debut as Tom Pollard, and he ha® been a Pollard ever since . What a great family affair that original '"Pinafore" Company was, to be sure. Here is a list of them — Mr. and Mi's. Pollard, James Harry, Charley Fred, Arthur, Willie, Ernest, Corunna, Nellie, Alice, Emily, Maud, May, and Olive. Most of the principals in the Pollard Juvenile Opera Company, now in America, are children of the onginal Pollards, the Juveniles of twentyone years ago. Tom's wife was a member of the company, and, of course, his daughter, now playing with the company in New Zealand, oomes from tihe same old stock.