PAYING HONOURS TO GOVERNORS. Wellington Citizens to the Rescue.

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 205, 4 June 1904, Page 6

PAYING HONOURS TO GOVERNORS. Wellington Citizens to the Rescue.

LORD Ranfurly is going away. This bit of mfoimation is specially printed for the guidance of the City Council. Lord Plunket, a distinguished yoiing diplomatist, and our future Governor, is going to take his place This information also is supplied free to the Council The City Council is naturally up to its eyes m uork, and can hardly" be expected to notice small matters of this kind. On the word of the Mayoi, however, we have it that an address is being prepared Unless the citizens come to the rescue that illuminated address and a parade of volunteers will be about all. * • * Lord Ranfurly, no doubt, would much rather the City Council sent him away in a cheerfid manner, and welcomed his successor in a handsome way The trouble is that neither his retiring Excellency nor his arriving ditto is a Sandow Neither of them have ever appeared on any music-hall stage, and neither of them is a great singer, who swears at hotel waiters Our excellent Governor did not write "The Sign of the Cross," and he does not wear sixmch heels and sawdust calves * • • This is where he has made a mistake Our stage-celebrity City Council would rise up like one man, and give him a rousing send-off, if i' should appear that the distinguished Plunket can sing a comic song, or play football, or lift half-a-ton Then we might get the somnolent Council to do something not too ridiculously solemn. His Worship the Mayor of the Empire City, "as far as he knows," believes a committee has been set up to "do the polite," but he doesn't seem to know, or care much About two 1 days previous to the impending exchange of Governors, the Council will open its flag-locker, and make a desperate attempt to be gayer than it feels We would suggest that for a social occasion such as this, pending the appointment of a music-hall artist," or a singer, as Governor, Petone should lend its Mayor and Mayoress to us for the occasion.

A mayor, without social organising aptitude and a mayoress, is like beef without mustard There is no lady te egg our esteemed chief magistrate to social festivities. It is the Mayor's clear duty to get social help. As has been pointed out m the daily press lately, the whole ceremony—before the Registrar— takes only ten minutes, and costs £2 ss, which sum u ould be gladly raised by citizens' subscription if necessary. » • * [Since the above article went into cold type, the "Post" has come out with a*n advertisement from the Mayor, asking the citizens who are willing to speed the departing and welcome the arriving Governor to meet him at the Council Chambers. We hope they will roll up and put some enthusiasm into the affair. It sadly needs it.]