From Gisborne to Melbourne.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1068, 2 May 1882, Page 2

From Gisborne to Melbourne.

[Written for the Poverty Bay Standard ] No. IV. Wellington, En route our course compelled us to call at the " Empire City,” which interesting ®pot in New Zealand’s geography we reached at eight o’clock on a remarkably fine bracing morning, with a fresh nor’wester, which, by the bye, died away before noon, and was succeeded by a warm, genial shower, a blessing earnestly prayed for there for some time past. As our stay in Wellington was limited to about five hours, I am not in a position to tell you of much that is new about the Metropolitan City. I hail not visited there for about four years, but, beyond the usual evidences of alteration and possible progressiveness, noticeable in most places where large sums of money are annually spent, I saw nothing that attracted my attention in any extraordinary degree. Amongst the innovations made since my last, visit, the Street Tramways are, perhaps, the most prominent. In Wellington tram-tra-velling seems to have taken possession of the travelling public mind to an extent almost bordering on enthusiasm. Whether it is the old story of a new-fangled notion I know not, but there is no doubt that the, otherwise, would-be pedestrians—and their name is legion, or something else numerically great—- “ mount the cars,” and take their “ pennorth, ’• or otherwise, according to distance, with a philosophical abandonment known only to, and appreciated only by, those whose interests and inclinations lead them to reduce the ways of life to a science, and to regard them merely as questions of profit and loss. Our party did thus. When breakfast was over we found wo had but three hours at our disposal, and we knew that No. 3 blast from the Hawea’s whistle meant one of two things, either we must curtail our peregrinations and thirst for geogra{ihical lore, or risk the probability of being eft behind. The latter we had no desire for, and the first we sagely concluded we could get on well enough in the world without, so, after travelling to that part of the Land’s End to which the said tramway goeth, we re-travelled back to the steamer just in time not to be too late. One of the few other things that there are to attract the eye of a stranger in Wellington may be mentioned a desire on the part of the municipal and other Governing bodies to widen the newly-formed streets, plant their edgings with trees, and to ornament their public reserves as places of recreation and general resort. Notably are these improvements apparent at the Te Aro, or south end of the town ; the Basin reserve, which was in former years a mere lagoon, being now an ornament to that interesting suburb. In the City, proper, I could not see very great improvements, nor that building operations had been going on commensurate with the proverbial wealth and historic advancement of the Empire City. The recently-reclaimed land was only partially occupied, and being built on, but there were indications on all sides of that material wealth that enables New Zealand to hold her own, and her sons to “ shell out ” to the multifarious forms of taxation that exist, without doing any more harm than causing a periodical growl. I am not in a position t/pick Wellington to pieces, so to write ; but, from the cursory survey I was able to make, I am the more confirmed in my opinion that, although the Empire Chy mav, in years to come, be so in name only, it will always sustain its present reputation as the commercial emporium of the Colony, while its greatest enemy must rightfully acknowledge that, politically speaking, it has the best claim over all other towns in New Zealand to > the permanent seat of Government. Contrasted with other towns, too, there is no doubt that Wellington has its characteristic excellencies, and amongst these I should place in foremost position the prevailing high winds, that come persons, probably of a more esthetic

turn of mind, would term boisterous. On ti e occasion of which I am writing, however, there were no high winds, neither was theie any rain, but a residence of some years in V ellington assures me that these element; 1 inconveniences are blessings in disguise, and that, but for them, there would be much more sickness prevalent. It may be all very well for the scoffers and the mocker's of other towns to deride \\ ellington as a place of great smells, match-box proportions, earthquakes, and epidemics, but, having travelled the whole Colony over, I express my belief most thoroughly that those who deride Wellington have many causes to look at home themselves. Christchurch and the other towns down South I am yet coming to, but, as far as those lying Northward are concerned, 1 am free to confess that while I may, from social and other associations, give the palm to Auckland, I should infinite y prefer a residence at Wellington than in any other town I have visited. For wooden buildings there are some of the finest in the Colony to be found in Wellington, both private residences and public institutions, although, now that that bete noir, tl e earthquake, is paying them Jess frequent visits, the inhabitants are generally utilising material of a more substantial character. But the old hands look with a kind of pious dread on the rapid strides being made in this direction, and anticipate, with ominous forebodings, t .at the direst results will follow on what they term the fool-hardiness of the people. The spirit of the age is, however, thoroughly opposed to any t Jng savoring of stand-still-ism, and V\ ellington is only trying to keep pace with her neighbors in that grand struggle for place and power which the earlier times knew nothing of. 1 saw but few of the 44 old identities ” during my short stay, but I accidentally dropped across one whom your readers, or some of them, will remember as a short time resident in Gisborne, namely, Air E. J. Upham. Uf course his gladness at seeing me was equal to the sum of his surprise, and beer being suggested, he unfolded to me a “ plan ” by which he, in a spirit of pure philanthropy, intended to benefit the overcharged people of Wellington in their consumption of gas. I knew Air Upham to be a great authority on companies in general, and “ gas ” in particular, therefore 1 was not unprepared to receive his ca o ate and lucid explanation of the means he was employing to put his “ plan ” intoo|»eratiin, it being no has than the formation of anew Company (with offiri s 4 next to the Empire Hotel, ’ and himself figuring as Seeretaiy), with the ostensible object of crushing out an existing inonopo y, and supplying gas at the lower rale of 7*. per feet. Amongst other items of intelligence anent his projected company, Mr Up’ am handed me the following ; it may be evidence of his buna jidei, and useful to some of your readers : — Price of coal Nett price of gas jx*r ton. per 1000 cubic feet. Auckland....3ss 8s 4d. Dunedin 36a fid 10s Nelson 25s 3d 10s. (7s 6d for cooking) Wellington .25s 10s fid Mr Upham seemed to be thoroughly imbued with a sense of the duty incumbent on him, and means to put the Company through. You may. probably, have heard if success has attended Mr Upham’s labors. As to his personal well-being he spoke in the same ho|>eful etrain as of old, but appearances did not suggest that the present moment was the happiest of his life, His remembrances of Gisborne passed as a joke between us, especially his attempt to “ shoot the moon,” and subsequent molestation i* endeavoring to rescue certain goods and chattels in transit from on® place to another, when the question of disputed possession and rights of property arosl. The sun of this wo Id s prosperity do s not seem to 1 nve shone with great brilliancy on Mr Upham’s circumstances, but he passes along as gay ax id jolly as ever. (To be Continued.)