WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1301, 12 February 1883, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

Prom .the Sydney Mail.

A voyage of 175 miles brings us' to Wellington, the last port of call in the South or Middle, Island. ,Being the capital, of,the colony, it' boasts of possessing Parliament House, the Governor's bouse, and the chief public offices. . On approaching the port, the deep water of which enables vessels of large draught , to go up to' the wharf, these buildings are amongst the most prominent objects noticeable. Like ' Lyttleton, this city is entirely hemmed. , to by a range of high bills, which must, altogether prevent the town, being extended much beyond.,,its, present limits; but unlike Lyttleton, the hills have hot been tunnelled, s0 that the country beyond the range has not, so :far as I am aware, yet been opened: up, The'wharfage accommodation of Wellington is excellent and ample, but the are narrow and tortuous and . there is scarcely one. thoroughfare of. any .decent pretensions as to size,and, appearance. After wandering about; the city for some time, I came to the conclusion that Wellington is a social fraud, for she deceives you from the first. , I imagined before landing that the imposing-looking buildings in front of me were grand specimens of archi-J teoture.- Government House, Parliament House, the public offices, and various other buildings appeared to bo really massive structures, . and I inwardiy complimented the capital on such substantial proofs of wealth; 1 ' But what was my disgust when, on landing, I found all these structures built entirely of wood I I could scarcely believe my eyes, What makes the matter worse . is that the wood is covered with a whitey brown paint, in which fine sand has evidently been mixed, so as to give the wood the appearance of sandstone. I prodded my penknife into building after building to make- sure'l was not suffering from any hallucination, but as my knife will not penetrate stone I knew it must bo wood,, and I felt deeply huibled at being thus imposed upon. I admire the ingenuity, with with which many buildings have been? erected—or rathor put together—but I; will never forgive Wellington for the deception practised upon me. I would suggest that, until the capital be rebuilt, every passenger ! on entering should .be made acquainted with the fact that. Wellington is not what she appears to be.' The reason why every was originally composed of wood was on account of the frequency of earth-quakes,-which, of course, could do little damage to wooden erections,; while the tumbling dpwn-Sf'• briok' walls would occasionally! be attended with fatal resuits. The Shocks, however, gradually subsided altogether. Confidence in the stability, of| things generally, a firm belief: that earthquakes have entirely, Jn particular^and/afdon-' t stent dread of destruction. /of4h£ i capital ly fire have resulted in . Parliament pacing a law that no more wooden building! shall be «rect«d in

various parts, that' this provision is being rigidly enforced, and it ' is to be hoped that, !C Wellington- becomes gradually rebuilt, so she will be thoroughly remodelled, The greatest fraud referred to is the building con- • taining the various Government departments—the largest wooden building in the.world, ; so_ it^isrvsaid;"and - !' bejieye, it, It is a square bloqk/ three '• stories in gojess than 365 - windows, " The design isextremely handsome, and if it were of stone would ,probably rank as the, finestbuildmg- 1 in' 1 lliis hemisphere. The second fraud is Government House,, but this" is so tiistefuliy constructed/ artistic in design, and, thanks to paint,' kept in such t -capitalj condition, (and, ; withal, silchu beautiful grounds, |at,ft;feeling of admiration risisii up|i^ra|bsli the mind, and the.,intention I' had iriwaWly formed 1 of setting fire to oni or other of these buildingswas incontinently" .droppedf" M The last big fraud referred to is Pailiament house; but here again ,1, for--. gave the injury dohe meiHecaiidtf .the'" oloser I examined its construction the ■ ,was my.admiratiQn,ofk> the skill and. ingenuity! displayed' >by its builder, Each legislative chamber is a martel; of what l cian accom-

plished in wood, and the library and various,offices .adjoining look •as' v sub- , ? f stantial as if they were' cut ? otit ' solid rock. I have another .pleasant.,. .■ reminiscence , ,of , this .iplace—viz.,-. the Parliamentary wine cellar; hut this : 1 is not composed entirely of wood, nor does it tnuch matter what the covering consists of so long as the;'contents ito ■good.;; The whole .building) howevefjf 4oomedto dMtmtioi| : 'and in the (|urse ' thing of the past. r ,lij its pl^<:e t onlthe q • same Bite, a massive • been commenced, and it is expected ' that by the end of the year one wing will be finished., Tnere are; numerous* here and there, and, as the streets.seepi.yf to be formed in tier above tier up the., sides of theJiills.the ' tached houses prevent' a-■ very '-f >1 appearance,,' The. oulf : near ■ Weijiiigtori-. tio, vthV'ivi'i Lower Hutt j, but as I could' not f nothing to admire on arrivalj I retiithed-fr quickly.. The road by:, rail'round the' :? edge of the harbor, however,' some protty views,, and • amply' repaid-- 1 ; the trouble of the. visit, to' the j Hu'ft( : : • ■ The climate is—to use a mild* worii-, " blowy," Whenever I want to lose nay hat, my eyebrows, or perhaps my head;? or even body, I shall waste no] time making tracks for WellUngfon;! ' :V''!