THE WANDERER.

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 158, 12 August 1892, Page 2

THE WA NDERER.

tiu one of the Ministers has boon to a banquet and fur singing a treasonable song’ got loudly applauded. A highly interesting piece of news to wire all over the Colonies and a very becoming way for a Minister of the Crown to act. What an exceedingly intellectual lot of people outsiders will think us. For my own part 1 think Mr Dick Secldon ought to be ashamed of himself— What's the motive f does he think to have the honour of knighthood conferred upon him to keep him quiet f It -won t work Dick ! you are simply making yourself ri-dick-clous '’ indeed, but enough ‘ Saidon ” the subject. I quite agree with your Maropiu c -rrospondent in bis remarks about the W oiiiu s builrago. There’s not the least doubt but tlx:L thus:.' women would be during a muon better work attending to fheir homes than by trotting- all over die place agitating to get a. vote which twothirds of them would no 1 hntii.er about recording if thev had the right to do so. For my own part X think the rev. Mrs Daddy and Co. would on doing a far more womanly work if they would o-q round and endeavour to find out some of the aged, poor, sick, and feeble and try and relieve their distress. There’s been another nice little rumpus at a

Maropiu, this time ir cost trie a.u-kv ireutlernan (r) ten pounds and ten liorsos besides being' exiled. The Maories when they start on this sort of business g'O to work straight' iNo long’and tedious divorce cases with attendant law costs for them. The other Saturday when in Kail in I noticed a small crowd at the end of the wharf and being' as a rule ou the look out for something fresh io the shape of news, I wandered off to see what was up. I found it was the S. S. Ivopu.ru about to start down the river conveying’ a number of youths who were g'oing to play a friendly game of football with some more youths from Aratapu. At the masthead was a flag bearing' the letters D.F.C., I enquired of a bystmder the meaning of the letters to which he replied ” Duffer’s Football Club-” I should advise that Club to alter its name. Dargaville does not appear to advantage at present, most of the buildings have an exceedingly shabby appearance, it looks as if there was sufficient work about the place to keep a score of carpenters and painters hard at work for a year or more. It is net by any means creditable to the party or parties concern-m! to allow the famed City of Monoply to present such a very uninviting’ appearance as it now does. Now then old monoply, stir up. The Roman Catholic chapel (native) at Opanakc is about finished at last, the work has been hanging fire for a considerable time over the finishing’ of the spire. This is now completed and is surmounted by an enormous cross, large enough for any of the enthcdral spires in Sydney or Melbourne. By the powers ! it appears to be mighty hard to work heavenward even for the churches.

I like the look of the new Wesleyan parsonage, viewing it from the passing ste. mer, it presents a very neat and pretty appearance. I hope the Wesleyaus will now set io work and touch up their church with a coat or two of paint, it presents a very whitewashed appearance in its present state. About a week or two ago finding’ I had some business engagements up the line, I decided upon leaving the town of monoply by the afternoon train, staying at Maropiu for the night and making across country the following morning. Its rather slow travelling on this line, I don t think much of the engine that’s iu use, but the Engineer and his assistant are good fellows, they know their work too, but never mind that now, I’ll have something to say about them and railway matters another time, suffice it to say I reached Maropiu in time for a wash aud good tea. At the conclusion of the meal the company adjourned to one of the sitting rooms and amusement became, the order of the evening'. One of the party who was described as a splendid ventriloquist, low comedy man, and imitation cornet soloist, at once started to give us a taste of his quality but soon caved in. pleading' as an excuse bad cold, sore throat, weak chest, La Grippe, influenza, bronchial affection, in fact such a fearful complication of disorders that I wonder the young man didn’t £ bust’ in the at tem]; t to pronounce some of the crack- jaw names, however, it was no use for our party who was not to be Burked was so persistent in his calls for the * iinimtable ’ that the latter made a fresh start or starts and at last dragged off a performance which according to Burke was inimitable indeed, according to the ‘ Wanderer 5 rather washy and yet. it was a Sterling performance. The young* man wound up by desiring to be excused, he had just come out of the doctor's hands, Poor doctor ! You had your hands full that trip. So some people have been foolish enough to think that a certain old politician on the Wairoa was likely to be called to the upper house f don’t you believe it. The Hon. J. Balia nee is too astute a politician himself to he caught in that way, he knows his marks too well. "Why ! if the said old politician was made a member of the Council he’d be up to his old games m no time, he'd be pulling the ropes right and left to get the Premier and colleagues kicke i out of office and himself a portfolio as Minister in the upper house. No, it won’t do, the Premier knows the old politician too well. I’ll back Jack JLundon to beat him and it wouldn’t be the first time that he’s done so.

So far the session was turned out just as I predicted, plenty of wrangling and spouting but precious little real work done. It strikes me that many of the members have to act the part of quakers at home nd makeup for it when they get to the house, for really many of them chatter away mote like a parcel of old women than like legislators.