SIR JULIUS VOGEL’S BUST.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 315, 13 October 1875, Page 2

SIR JULIUS VOGEL’S BUST.

The Auckland correspondent of the Otago Times writes ‘‘l ought to tell you a joke too good to be lost, and which has a great merit not common to all good jokes, that of being perfectly true. A gentleman who arrived lately from England had to call on, Sir Julius Vogel, was shown into his drawing-room and kept waiting, as he considered, a rather unconscionable time. At the end of a coupfe of hours a person entered, splashed with whitewash, and got into conversation with him. He was struck with the peculiarity of the whitewash, but soon saw he was talking to a gentleman. As the talk progressed he happened to mention New Zealand, and that he belonged to that Colony. ‘Oh !’ said the whitewashed one, ‘I presume then yon are one of the subscribers to the bust of Sir Julius, for which I am now engaged in taking the cast ? You will be glad to hear that it is making good progress, and that the model will be sent to Rome to (a celebrated artist, whose name my informant did not catch,) and will be very short! v ready for presentation.’ The New Zealander stared; but simply said that he was not one of the subscribers, though he had no doubt the list would be a large one. The story is perfectly trustworthy, and is creating a good deal of fun hero. Some say it is the Bank —which could not have done badly by these loans ; others that it is his colleagues in the Ministry; nnd others, that it is the Agent-General, Rothschilds, Sergeant, and Sir P. St. Julyan who are the munificent donors. That the bust is being executed to be presented by some person or persons to Sir Julias, is however, a great fact, and my informant thinks that, properly worked, the presentation may give Sir Julius a good lift towards a seat in the Imperial Parliament, if he be disposed to try in that direction.