Our Wellington Watchman.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2614, 3 June 1887, Page 2

Our Wellington Watchman.

■ i. Wellington, June I.' Tiie Vogel-Stout combination potato is cooked. Atkinson having carried his No-Confidence motion the question now agitating the public mind is " What will lie do with it?" Probably i no ono is moro dismayed at ins success than the Major himself for lie must know that the country unless it suffers from.acute mania will never again L entrust itself to his governance. At the samp time the financial proposals., appear to please absolutely no oijwf and tho only way out of tho difficulty 1 - —should 110 Coriolanus arise—would seem to be a Stout-Vogel Government with Vogel left out, or 'at least;, with some other Colonial Treasurer.: But who is _ the "happy man. Simple' arithmetic is not the Premier's'-forte, and no prominent politican, other than Sir Julius, has yet lna'stered the simple rule of three, while the future of this colony depends not ,upon "polysyllabic pedogoges but-upon men who have realized tho eternal truth that two and two can never represent five. - As you know the situation is as follows :—The Government has' been granted dissolution and asks the Houso for six months supply from 81st -March inst, and if this is granted will :'do its possible to push the new Representation Bill and then appeal to the under that Bill, but should supplies be withheld an appeal will be immedu ately made to . the people under t]fl| existing Representation Act. Tlgß general feeling here—so far as Sr can be ascertained—is- that the Country generally would return supporters of the present Ministiy (with Vogel left out), notbecause they have been a success, but rather because there is 110 party able, strong, or honest enough to form a Government so good. Even Ministerial supporters admit that bad is the best. Unhappy New Zealand that it should be so ? -- Hon. Sir Robert Stout will, should circumstances demand it, rid himself of his colleague,. I do not know but I am sure he will be equal to tho occasion, and though like Mrs Micauber he has sworn never to desert him, he will.not only do so when the time i 3 ripe but will easily reconcilo the desertion to that India-rubber appondage. which he calls his conscience. l Did Sir Julius desire to desert Stout that might be a more difficult matter, and. in tho event all sort of legal pains and penalties might be put in motion. No, poojjto Sir Julius is tightly bound,.'to this modern " holy alliance.', ,

Ministers take their defeat with seeming equanimity. Sir. Robert looks rosy and smiles witfc all the infantile innocence, of a lawyer who lias just won a case, and as if tlio thought of becoming a New Zealand Oicsar, and dying for lifts'-',bleeding f country had never entered hi? head. Having a remarkably ,good paying . trade and constant work- to fall ■ hack upon, he possibly regards. the stings and arrows of political misfortune with calmness. Ee, professes great indifference to office} "Jbeing alive to the fact that whoiv.. people 'do not seem to care about, a tiling that , particular thing is'often thrust upon them. He is all right which ever way falls the coin—head he wins, tail someone else loses. Mrßallance also seems quite contented, but Sir Julius Yogel looks 'ill, worn,.and anxious. The embryo leaders of tjis Opposition creep as if they had stoiltjraft| a couple of Ministerial benches did not know where to " plant tlio swag." They are suffering from embarrassment des riches,-

A rumor is current that the Representation Bill may encounter calamaties during its passage through tlio Legislative Chamber, and • that some of the venerable waxworks in that Chamber of Horrors will insist upon-' a reduction in the number of members for tlio Lower House./. This' would indeed be a Roland for an Oliver—a fitting to quoqite fipi; those representatives, who haveplireatened the total abolition of the Legislative fossils. It is more than possible that, there will yet be some fun ere the situation is straightened out. A very scandalous story is going the rounds concerning the methods employed to induce one of the llmijjr members to vote on the " right sidiC or rather to obufscato him, so,that he might not know on which side ho was voting. If the Maori judge us by what they see of the' national character in the House they must think us a mighty mean people. But A' it is time some protection should be afforded to these Native members, who left to themselves and sobriety are quite as competent to form political opinions as any of their white associates. • - Of local news other than political there is a dearth, and there are no amusements in the true sense of the word to comment upon.' Stay! A fewsesthetic youths lately came to the conclusion that' what New Zealand

was withering away for was Kulchaw, spelt with a K.' They felt, these guileless ones, that there was a great and a growing demand in Wellington, .it least, for tone, sweetness and light. So there is, perhaps—theoretically. Practically, flic average AYellingLoni- ■ ans satisfy all . their a'slhetic longings, at a nigger nVhvsti el show, and a circus insufficient in. ilie way of high art and • ; tons, • However, the youths to whom . •;: I have; referred detevminecl to .fill the . ■gaping void they perceived, and so they • • ;; *'teok-a hali, rushed into advertising . .with. the ' usual fine generosity of the"amateiir. amusement caterer, and. announced that that gifted amateur .' Ml' Browit. or Jones or Smith would recite" Enoch Arden" and in the in«^ervals —while Enoch was getting eating his baby pap, falling into 'calf-love with Ann, marrying her, and getting himself cast on that miin- ,... habited island, BtiO nautical miles from nowhere, to eventually return after seven years absence aud find, like the whaling skipper, seven brand new abies—in the interval. I say, between these thrilling events other gifted amatoors were to let oil' fireworks vocal and instrumental; the entertainment was under the patronage of the Governor, carriages to be ordered at ten. The eventful evening arrived and tho " enterprising in white ehoakers and swallow-tailed bergees, grouped themselves around the door to take tickets and scoop the pool. But the dunderlieaded Wellington public did not eventuate in sufficient numbers to swear by. The ''. papers declared the show, irom an gft artistic point of view was highly sacMs ccssful and the audience was very - attentive, 80 ho was-so blightedly attentive that had an undertaker jflappened to come along lie would have measured that audience for a white wood coat with brass trimmings. The gilded youth has now come to the conclusion that the Wellington people arc not intense, enough to appreciate Enoch Arden, and at latest advices had bought a book of the Ethiopian Jokes Popular 2000 h.c. and are making anxious enquiries as to whether " burnt-cork or lamp-black is easiest to wash off.