Auckland Echces.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4218, 8 July 1882, Page 2

Auckland Echces.

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DENT.) It is a surprising fact that a thoroughly go-ahead city, as Auckland undoubtedly is-—always eager to be foremost in the adoption of the newest fangled economic inventions—should be so inefficiently supplied with means of locomotion; while the; "" unco quid" of Dunedin, the plethoric Christchurchera, and the windblasted Wellingtonians travel about their cities in elegantly tram-cars, we Aucklanders hare to be contented to roll along in the humdrum, unromantio omnibus, just the same as our grandfathers and grandmothers did. The spirit of the time certainly does not teach us Bpeed so far as vehicular locomotion is ! concerned. T.he real cause of our pitiable condition is the existence in the City Council of a strong " bus" influence. ' Whenever the subject of tramways was j broached, those whose pockets would be i affected by the relegation of the bus to the museum of antiqaities raised a great clamor, pooh-poohed the idea, and pointed j to the hilly confirmation of the site of the city as an impassable barrier to any innovation. At last, however, we are to be relieved from the injustice under which we have so long groaned.. The City Council, in spite of much opposition, hare drawn up a liberal list of conditions under which tramways may be constructed ir^ the city, and it is probable that in tH&J course of eighteen months or so Auckland and its suburbs will be mapped out with tram lines.

During the concentration of; my massive intellect on the subject ,mi^ip of the paragraph above, it has me that, without joking, we are^i very advanced and enterprising people. Take for instance our teleghone exchange; it now numbers 87 subscribers, each paying £10 per annum for the privilege. The Christ, church exchange has about 40 subscribers and the Wellington ditto something over 20. There is the electric light. During the past month £2000 or £3003 worth of electric light material has been imported, and the city fathers are said to be seriously contemplating experimenting with the; hew invention. It has been proved that a saving of 30 per cent over the cost of gasman be effected by the use of the electric. light—that is on the English price of gas. The saving here would of course'bo much larger as the miserable apology for carhuretted hydrogen purveyed by the local company costs probably half as-much again as the English article. The holders of Gas Co. shares are fully alive to the fact that the adoption of th^ new invention will have a deleterious effect on their property, and the consequence. has been that the shares have received an. electric shock—if by such term I can designate a depreciation iv value of 25 per cent, in about a week.

By the time this is before my readers the investigation of the charges made by ex-Detective Farrell against Sergeant O'Grady will probably be 'over....;&fßi»' dismissal of Farrell has occasioned a good deal of interest here, and I believe that the concensus of public opinion is that the detective deserved a slight punishment for the assault, but that the decision of Mr Bryce is most unjust. The whole circumstances remind me of a similar affair that happened at Christcburch many years ago. Our present highly respected Sergeant-Major, Mr Pardy, and Detective Jeffrey had a little difference which led to their reporting one another to the officer in charge, the outcome of the dispute being that both men received their walking tisket. Pardy and Jeffrey rejoined the Force, and now occupy exactly the same positions they held when their little grievance led to their mutual discomfiture. Mr Pardy, who has bees four times a sergfc-major in the Police Force of this Colony, is one of the most efficient officers I ever met. He knows the statnte book from Alpha to Omega, and few lawyers are his equal in conduct* ing a criminal prosecution. Should the bill anent legal practitioners become law I shall not be surprised to see many of the police force resigning the peaked cap and baton for the more honored long robe.

The cablegram announcing that Sydney had been fixed upon as the headquarters of the Australasian Squadron was a'severe "knock to the people of Auckland. However, in the midst of our despair, there is a ray of hope—and what dark cloud has not its silver lining. It if currently reported on board H.M.S. Nelson that the Naval Station of the South Pacific Squadron—an organisation entirely independent of the Australian fleet—is to be moved from Valparaiso to our city. Another consolation is.that the vessels of the Australian fleet will in all probability coal here, fuel being cheaper, more easily obtained, and of a better quality than at the other side. Commodore Erskine is highly pleased with the Calliope Dock site, and the other day said in the presence of a friend of mine that, should the Dock be completed ere the Nelson leaves the station, he Will have her docked in our waters. ;

The whole talk of our maidens, love.sick and otherwise, just now is the ball to Com* modore Erskine and his officers, which great social event takes place on Thursday, the 6th inst. The muslin dress foundries are' in full swing, and purveyors of dancing pumps, hirers of second hand dress suite, and others of that ilk.are amassing smffltt^** fortunes. lam informed that 500 tickets hare been disposed of, so that a large crush may be anticipated. This is the'first big dance we have had for some years, and as quite a number of beauties have " come out" since the last affair, there is a good deal of suppressed excitement amongst the _,_ ladies as to who will carry off the coveted title of belle. Notwithstanding the stno« . gency of the Gaming and Lotteries Act a : good many pairs of gloves and other nn« considered trifles will change hands ove£ the result. I may as well add that my own particular " vision of loveliness "'is still a long way down in the betting. If lam fortunate enough to secure a chink on the eventful evening, I will give a few particulars in my next. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!

Servantgalism is rampant in this city and the insolence of Sairey Jane, and the inefficiency of Mariar Ana are the con* stant topics .of conversation amongst Auckland femininity of the upper crust Here is a good story, for the reracity of whioh I can vouch: Some months a*o one of the officials of the if arbor Board went for a two months' holiday to Australia, taking with him the partner o* his joys and sorrows, and leaving his goods and chattels in chare© of a ™»» lumably faithful «sU T ej." sWlyafter

the return of the couple, the wife went to he Wardrobe for the purpose of decking herself out in a handsome white silk dress —a portion of her wedding trousseau, by the way, and imagine her feelings when she discovered the costly garment covered - with coffee stains. An over-the-hack-fence conversation with a neighbor disclosed to her that her abigail had worn the dress to a shilling hop, and what was worse, that she had bedecked her plebeian neck with her mistress' jewellery. Hannaford is now advertising for a place for this bright specimen of the Auckland servantgalism.

The-'&iminal calendar to be placed before thejnry at the forthcoming session of the Supreme Court is, as Patience has ifc, " a damning catalogue of crime";" and by far the heaviest we have had for years. Twenty (persons have been committed for eighteen offences, amongst their "little troubles" being charges of murder, attempted murder, rape, wounding with intent to murder, and bigamy. The last ease is likely to prove a very interesting one, and it is currently reported that more work for the Crown Prosecutor will spring out. of it. When the case was before the Police Court, two of the ' unfortunate woman's husbands Here present, and both displayed an' unaccountable hilarity at the position in which .'-their spouse was placed. The defendant T^fe&V neat little woman, with a most ' chfiihningly innocent air, which, I have no doubt, will stand her in good stead with the twelve good men and true selected to say whether or not she is guilty of the charge preferred against her. The civil . calendar includes a divorce case, one of the allegations of the petitioner in which is that one week after his marriage, his - wife left him for another man, with whom she has cohabited for ten years.