MY FARE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2378, 5 July 1892, Page 4

MY FARE.

[by g. manville fenn.] Don’t you make a mistake now, and think I’m not a working-man, because I am. Don’t you run away with the idea that because I go of a morning and find my horse and cab waiting ready cleaned for me, and I jumps up and drives off, as I don’t work as hard as any mechanic, because I do ; and I used to work harder, for it used to be Sunday and weekdays, till the missus and me laid our heads together, and said if we couldn’t live on six days’ work a week at cabbing, we’d try some-thing else ; so now I am only a six days' man—-Hansom cab, V.R., licensed to carry two persons. None o’ your poor, broken-kneed knackers for’me. I take my money in to the governor regular, and told him flat that if I couldn't have a decent horse I wouldn’t drive ; and I spoke a bit sharp, having worked for him ten years. " Take your chice, Steve Wilkins,” he says; and I took it, and drove Kangaroo, the walleyed horse with a rat tail. I had a call one day off the stand by the Foundling, and has to go into New Ormond Street, close by ; and I takes up an old widow lady and her daughter —as beautiful a girlof seventeen or eighteen as ever I set eyes on, but so weak that I had to go and help her down to the cab, when she thanked me so sweetly that I couldn’t help looking again and again, for it was a thing I wasn’t used to. *• Drive out towards the country, cabman, the nearest way,” says the old lady; "and when we want to turn back, I’ll speak.” “Poor gal!” I says, “She’s an invalid. She’s just such a one as my Fan would have been if she’d livedand I says this to myself as I gets on to my box, feeling quite soft; for though I knew my gal wouldn’t have been handsome, what did that matter ? I didn’t like to lose her.

“ Let’s see," I says again, “ she wants fresh air. We’ll go up the hill, and through Hampsteadand I touches Kangaroo on the flank, and away we goes, and I picks out all the nicest bits I could, and when I comes across a pretty bit of view I pulls up and pretends as there’s a strap wanted tightening, or a hoof picking, or a fresh knot at the end of the whip, and so on. Then I goes pretty quickly along the streety bits, and walks very slowly along the green lanes; and so we goes On for a good hour, when the old lady pushes the lid open with her parasol, and tells me to turn back. ‘ “ All right, mum,” I says ; and takes ’em hack another way, allers following the same plan, and at last pulls up at the house where I supposed they were lodgers, for that’s a rare place for lodgings about there. I has the young lady leaning on my arm when she gets out, and when she was at the door she says, " Thank you” again, so sweetly and sadly that it almost upset me. But the old lady directly after asked me the fare, and I tells her. and she gives me sixpence too much, and though I wanted to pocket it, I wouldn’t, but hands it back. " Thank you, cabman,” she says; “ that’s for being so kind and attentive to my poor child." “ God bless her, mum,” I says, “I don't want paying for that.” Then she smiles quite pleasant, and asks me if it would be worth my while to call again the next afternoon if it was fine, and I says it would; and next day, just in the same way, I goes right off past Primrose Hill, and seeing as what they wanted was the fresh air, I makes the best o’ my way right out, and then, when we was amongst the green trees, Kangaroo and me takes it easy, and just saunters along. Going up hill I walks by his head, and picks at the hedges, while them two, seeing as I took no notice of ’em, took no notice o’ me. I mean, you know, treated me as if we was old friends, and asked me questions about the different places we passed, and so on. Bimeby, I drives ’em back, and the old lady again wanted to give me something extra for what she called my kind consideration ; but " No, Stevey,” I says to myself; “if you can’t do a bit o kindness without being paid for it, you’d better put up the shutters, and take to some other trade.” So I wouldn't have it, and the old lady thought I was offended ; but I laughed, and told her as the young lady had paid me; and so she had with one of her sad smiles, and I said I’d be there again next day if it was fine. And so I was; and so we went on day after day, and week after week ; and I could see that, though the sight of the country and the fresh air brightened the poor girl up a bit, yet she was getting weaker and weaker, so that at last I half carried her to the cab, and back again after the ride. One day while I was waiting, the servant tells me that they wouldn’t stay in town, only on account of a great doctor, as they went to see at first, but who came to them now; and last of all, when I went to the house I used always to be in a fidget for fear the poor gal should be too ill to come out. But no; month after month she kept on ; and when I helped her, used to smile so sweetly and talk so about the trouble she gave me, that one day, feeling a bit low, I turned quite silly; and happening to look at her poor mother a standing there with the tears in her eyes, I had to hurry her in, and get upon to my seat as quick as I could, to keep from breaking down myself. Poor gal! always so loving and kind to all about her—always thanking one so sweetly, and looking all the while so much like what one would think an angel would look—it did seem so pitiful to feel her get lighter and lighter week by week—so feeble, that at last I used to go upstairs to fetch her, and always carried her down like a child. Then she used to laugh, and say, “ Don’t let me fall, Stephen"—for they got to call me by my name, and to know the missus, by her coming in to help a bit; for the old lady asked me to recommend ’em an honest woman, and I knowed none honester than my wife. And so it was with everybody—it didn't matter who it was—they all loved the poor gal; and I've had the wife come home and sit and talk about her, and about our Fanny as died, till she’s been that upset she's cried terribly. Autumn came in werry wet and cold, and there was an end to my jobs there. Winter was werry severe, but I kept on hearing from the missus how the poor gal was—sometimes better, sometimes worse: and the missus alius shook her head werry sadly when she talked about her.

Jennywerry and Febervverry went by terribly cold, and then March came in quite •warm and fine, so that things got so forrad, you could buy radishes wonderful cheap in April; and one night the wife comes home and tells me that if it was as fine next day as it had been, I was to call and take the old lady and her daughter out. Next day was splendid. It was as fine a spring day as ever I did see, and I sticks a daffydowndilly in on each side of Kangaroo’s head, and then spends twopence in a couple o’ bunches o’ wilets, and pins 'em in on tin* side where the poor gal used to sit, puts clean straw in the boot, and then drives to the place with the top lid open, so as to sweeten the inside, because swells had been smoking there that morning, " Jest run yer sponge and leather over the apron a bit, Buddy," I says to our waterman, afore 1 left the stand. " Got a wedding on ?’’ he says, seeing how pertickler I was. "There, look alive!’* I says, quite snappish, for I didn’t leel in a humour to joke ; and then when I’d got all as I thought right, I drives up, keeping the lid open, as I said before. (lo he continued.')

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

Wellington, July 1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30 p m. on Friday. ADDRESS IN REPLY. The Address-iu-Reply was presented to the Governor. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Replying to questions it was stated that there was no reason to depart from the usual course in the matter of granting compensation to Mr W. B. Edwards for loss of office as a Judge of the Supreme Court; the ordinary forms of the House gave full opportunity for having the question ventilated. That there was no time this session to deal with an amendment to the Rating Acts giving local bodies power to exempt permanent improvements from local taxation, but a Bill would be prepared for future discussion. That the police were doing their utmost to stop the practice of sly-grog selling in the King Country. That the Government were not justified in interfering in Picturesque Atlas matters. That the Government did not intend to introduce a Bill to enable the people of the colony to elect members of the Legislative Council.

SESSIONAL COMMITTEES. On the motion to appoint the usual sessional committees, Mr Rolleston objected that there was not a fair representation of the Opposition side of the House on any of the Committees set up by tho Government. Mr Reeves considered that on the whole the committees were fairly representative of both sides of tho House. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. THE ELECTORAL BILL. The Premier moved the second reading of the Electoral Bill to amend and consolidate the law relating to qualifications of electors and the conduct of the elections of members of the House. He said that with one or two remarkable exceptions the Bill was exactly the same as that passed by the House last year. The most important alteration in the present measure was tho granting of the franchise to women, which the Government were anxious to see carried into law this year. As to the question of allowing women seats in the House he thought that it would be better to postpone that to a future occasion. He hoped that this question of female franchise would be settled now, once for ever. The Government had also retained in the Bill the freehold qualification. An essential feature of the Bill was that it proposed to have one-man-one-roll, or one-man-one registration; that was to say that one man could not vote in two electorates. The Bill made concessions to commercial travellers and shearers in regard to voting, and also allowed school buildings to be used free ef charge by candidates. Mr Rolleston admitted that the Bill was valuable as a consolidating measure. He was of opinion that tho one-man-one-vote principle was not fairly carried out in what was known as triple electorates. One solution of the question was the Hare system. At the present time he did not think that the country was ripe for it; although he was strongly in favor of it. The Government should either extend this system of triple voting to the country districts or they should take it away from the towns. His opinion was that having so practically lessened the independence of the Upper House, they should endeavor to have that House elective, and thus bring it into accord with the wishes of tho people. He strongly objected to the constant change of the boundaries of the electorates. He objected to the proposal for only one month’s residence before an elector could enroll, as it was quite competent under such a provision to send a number of men into any particular district on the eve of an election who might swamp the votes of bonajide residents. Tho female franchise proposal would have- his strongest opposition as not being within the region of practical politics. Mr McLean, referring to Mr Rolleston’* remarks; said that he had won his election by only 143 votes. He asserted that but for the power of the moneyed majority he would have won by over 500, if pot 1000. Ke should support the Bill on the principle of justice. Sir John Hall congratulated tho Jovernment on the support their measure was receiving, and he hoped that in its passage through committee they would have a peaceable discussion. As to the representation of minorities, he held that was a question that should receive more consideration than was now given to it. On the subject of female suffrage, he said that he could if necessary obtain the signatures of 15,000 women who were desirous to obtain this great privilege. He felt it his duty to assist the Government in every way he could to endeavor to bring about this great inform, but he would warn the friends of the movement that they should see that no party questions should interfere with securing this privilege. He had the Premier’s assurance that the granting of the franchise to women did not necessarily mean a dissolution, as some time would have to elapse to allow women to prepare for this great reform. If necessary, he believed that the Premier was prepared to insert a provision of this kind in this Bin, _ ~ Messrs Scobio Mackenzie, Duthie, Taylor, McKenzie (Clutha), Shera, Buckland, Carncross, Moore, E, M. Smith, Sandford, Allen, Earnshaw, Pinkerton, Buick, Thomson, Houston, J. W. Kelly, and Captain Russell also spoke. At 2,30 a,m, the second reeding of the Electoral Bill was put and agreed to on the voices, Tho Premier, replying in a vigorous speech, said the Maoris desired to cling to their special franchise, and defended the granting of the franchise to tho inmates of poor-houses and like institutions. He denounced the change of the Conservatives regarding the city electorates, jie twitted Sir John Hall with ever iidyoc.iitjng changes in the electoral law for the benefit of his party, and predicted that the women’s franchise wopld disappoint him by increasing the Democratic majority. As for minorities, they were represented now. In conclusion, he advised the other side to think do more of Hare systems, or other schemes, for giving them power, but rely on the present system and work it out loyally.