Our Wellington Watchman.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2561, 31 March 1887, Page 2

Our Wellington Watchman.

Wellington 29th'March. Wellington, thus far, views the Jubilee year with considerable equanimity.'•One only of our local journalists has striven to goad us to enthusiasm, but even'he stopped short at the Melbourne lunacy of a. golden crown with diamond trimmings, New Zealand might afford, the diamonds—Canterbury'diamonds that is. I have myself a small •saekful,,which I would exohangd, say. for a K.O.M.G,,Jmt; gold, which ournuiWousjffigHHHHHH

even for ■a; crom After all Her Majesty is not wisely a pauper. During the last fiftgbyears she" must 'have received thou'awls of presents, and .will perhaps inlhig her jubilee year, realise, for the first time in lier .long reigii that it isVore blessed to give than to we will soon-have news#.some magnifi-' cent charity perfoqaedby Queen "Vic-1 Aldid or iop; ;icßle'de_e|;done mth her hoardea mil-'; naine to .m • '.tlie of ; 'eai»fch / s*poor andiufiering-crktureS. .

" ■'■ ldo not think" the people of this coptry can' be truly described as ratooyalists, the utterances to the contrary of press, pulpit, and platform, There is a good deal of American sturdy independence not altogether latent in the New Zealand til-east which 'precludes' a too outrageous loyalty to any. rather antiquated idea... The. connection between royalty and American independence. reminds mo of a little,'story' lately'.heard, new to mo," and probably to ■ ypur';rea'derßMrs; Yznaga ( v in: singer, was onco " ordered 1 ' to sing before the Queen. The word border" was so repulsive to "the Republican. minded ' girl that she. i'Miised point'-blank. Eventually, however,; shawas persuaded to comply, Ushered into'the august presence, - she seated herself at the piano, and leading off with a cth iVos kind of prelude burst into resonant melody:—

" I'm a good old rebel, '.And that's what I am; And if you don't like it,

I don't oare a ahem I" She was "ordered" to play no more.

. Tlie promotors of the Imperial Institute are, as riddlers, even more terrible than tlie Sphinx itself, aud sir Julius Vogel, who seems tojhave taken the matter .in iliand, as regards this ■ Colony, is certainly not the (Edipus who can solve for us the enigma, What-is the Institute to be? He (Sir Julius) has just published along circular in which lie manages to make clear only the old old story—coin is required, Despairing of finding out himself what, this institute fad really means, tlie Colonial Treasurer falls back upon Professor Huxley, who lias written someone a letter in which the professor does not solve the conundrum, butsimply " pictures to himself 1 what the solution might be: "A house of call for all those who are concerned in tho advancement, of. industry," " House of call" i'sgoodl London was onco full of such houses. They were beer-shops, and every trade from carpentering to chimney-sweeping had a dozen or more, and to this complexion .will tlie Imperial. Institute come at to. All the places .. yet ereotedm. "London on the "-instruction combined with amusement" plan have ended sooner or • later—generally sooner, in Malt, One portion of professor Huxley's letter, quoted with - such approval by Sir Julius Vogel, is of special interest to the wage-earning! classes. The professor, speaking -of the approaching " industrial war" .'in Europe and America,' says:' ";On the East the most systematically instructed and best informed people in Europe!, are, our (England's) .competitors; on the West,:an energetic offshoot of our own stock, grow.n, bigger its parent, enters upon the struggle possessed;.,of natural resources, to, which' we can make no pretension, .■arid with' every prospect • of soou possessing that cheap labor by vMeh they may be effectually utilizei" By ; which two things appear fairly certain First, that Professor Huxley considers tho Institute will, in.' some occult way enable England (he does not mention the colonies) to conquer her industrial foes. Second, that the Institute will oheapen labor, iio doubt the working moil of the Wairarapa will now hurry up with their subscriptions.

, "A young man, named Douglas John Parsonage, who has been lately employed in the capacity of Boots in the Masonic Hotel, died on Wednesday night; at the Gaol (Napier). He had not been right iii his mind having been'siiffering, it is supposed, from "delirium tremens, and was taken into custody, and lodged in gaol. In the morning, on his cell being opened, he was found dead."

Thus an "Own correspondent" chronicles the death of a human ■ creature. Out of his waA—delmum tremens suspected—lodged in gaolin the morning dead. That is about all.'- Stay ? there are a few more pertinent items. First, Douglas John Parsonage—to all intents a raving lunatic—in tlie evening commenced to smash his head against the cell wall or door, Second, D. • J, Parsonage was found in 1 he morning not only dead and cold, but'" on the floor, with his face, shoulders,'and-elbow badly bruised, and blood- issuing from his mouth and nostrils, and his face quite |,black. Several spots of blood were on Lthe wall about the height of.the ..man's face.". Third, a warder, who had been informed" the man was trying to beat \.down the door wWhis bad," replied* ! " He's' only'' drunk. ■ Let,' him - belt away.. .These items ''.pur correspond"'; .ent," without comment; as is'his duty,, simply records., What he: does' notrecord is the unspeakable ment'a-Fand ■physical anguish the man mWildye' endured 'ere he attempted to be# out •his fevered ;brains against his prison: wall. Fancy, this .young man for .the. first time in his life that'god-forsaken thing a prisoner, waking in ; the .dark, ] ■racked with fever, da?ed with delirium, seeing horrid things bred of .diseased , imagination glaring at him ..from out the gloom,'loathsome reptiles writing about him ; .his blighted hopes, his lost opportunities—a grim if phantom host, mocking him, Think of him in the black shadows of night stealthily feel; ing around walls and door to suddenly realise that he was barred, in—alone, or for company, spectres only. Think", of the unutterable frenzied longing for the touch of human hand, or even far .off sound of'human voice, but "He's only drunk.' Let'him belt away." At nine at night a . warder, (not quite a ghoul, this one) visits him; eyen .that spant contagt" witli .the;puteiv,living world' soothes and' 'quiets 'hjih,' for sj, .time, v But, - the long lonely night-jjjflMfofln,..-the ....delirium.' returns',• again tries. HHHHgfcjnta " batter ..down

belt away."' In the morning Douglas John Parsonage was dead—Free. J Man may judge him no more. Let'us' i hope now, at last,'he.is.out somewhere | in the sunlight of the Universe. Vale I poor Parsonage done to death by 1 whisky and by warder, Yes, the thing thatfascinatesmeis "that Warder", that' Stoical human hyena with hisaclmif;'. able. Wimmw, his' delicious insor siance. A man, a brother, a few.jwds away;iia: th© hellish agonies of ia; ldn|'% death cheerful cynic at the oth^,side .dooy. with his airy,^'Le| •away i"-The nextjniig that-.Misfits me,.and- convinces rae we are, iffisus-. peetedly, afacetiouspeople.is thevercjict at the inquest-r" Death from ,• natural causes"'' Anyjury'.not composed of' bom-humorists.would; have substituted Murder," v against these who permitted a lunatic to kill himself and i .take, a whole night to do it in.

~ I-am old enough to have seen a great deal of corporal punishment, both % army and nayy.. I have seen at sea a mau's back sliced by a right-handed %en'fematejand then slashedidiainond .'wise' bjL's; left-handel one 1 . have Been a burly Farrier cutting lumps out 'of.a.'man cat, '.ap'.heard & crackOavalry Colonel, .(nowujHeaven) bullying the said Farrier for'.'" not hying on hard enbuglr," : aadl never yet witnessed a flogging without feeling eiok with shaine, faint with horror and' rage, .but I really belie vor-were that ;Napi'er Warder now before me, and the champion flogger fof the .earth minceing his hide, and the -power to stay that flogger's haqd vested in me,, and I asked to stay it—l do truthfully believe I should say, and with enthusiasm, " Let him hit away II".