MAURICEVILLE NOTES

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3783, 11 April 1891, Page 2

MAURICEVILLE NOTES

[by bustio. - ]

The Easter holidays are numbered with the things that have been, and Mauriceville is slowly recovering from the recent deluge of lemonade, The sacred concert on Friday week was a success, financially as well as otherwise. There was a large attendance and a very enjoyable evening was spent by all present. The choir sang very prettily and received every manifestation of delight and applause that it waa proper or decorous for an audience to give under the somewhat trying circumstances. Some of the hymns were rendered with much feeling, notably the last of the evening, " Good bye sisters, good bye brothers, if I don't see you any more." Many of the audience were affected to tears as the girls warbled the plaintive little ditty immortalised by the Fisk family. The spread was got up on a scale of munificence which was calculated to galvanise life into a corpse, and ample justice was done to the various dainties which the good ladies provided in such excellen style. Of course speechifying was indulged in as per usual on such occasions, and 1 regret to say that occasion was taken by one gentleman to makean attack on Roman Catholicism, the members of which communion were described by this shining light as dog blind; These extremely silly remarks were to many ill advised, s some of the ladies of the choir belonged to that persuasion. It is hard to imagine any person so void of good taste or so gravely lacking in con* ventional politeness as to be guilty of such pewrile bigotry, but unfortunately such creatures do exist even in this enlightened period of a decaying country, and in Mauriceville at that, Of course I am aware in this case due allowance mu3t be made for the absorption of copious libations ot ginger pop.

While on the subject of ginger pop I may remark the want of a hotel here is felt very much, to keep pace with the growing importance of this settlement as a centre of the district. It is at present almost impossible for straugers to obtain accommodation without travelling some distance and submitting to other inconveniences. That it would be a good paying investment there is not a doubt in the mind of anyone acquainted with the district, but I think would-be hotel keepers are apprehensive about getting a license. That there should be any ground for such apprehension is to rue passing strange. How long is Mauriceville going to be without a stationmaster or porter in charge ? Scarcely a week passes without some person's goods being stolen either from the trucks or platform of this station. Some slabsided slug of humanity is in the habit of lifting people's property, and notwithstanding the most persistent watching on the part of those who would be glad to catch him at it, he still plies his nefarious little game in apparent security to his own immediate profit and his victims' loss. And so cleverly are these little manipulations effected that while everybody agrees that the thefts are the work of one person, who that person is cannot even be guessed at. As far as I am aware, we know that he is a man of culture and considerable sangfroid, because on one occasion after prising open the lid of * case of goods and taking out the contents, he carefully {•©fastened the ljd and wrote on it in|

a clear, flowing hand—"the darkest] hour is the hour hefore dawn." This is a fact! But apart from this tbe claims of Mauriceville to a resident official are overwhelming. I am confident that there is more traffic and business done at this station than any five flag stations on tbe whole line between Wellington and Eketahuna. The alienee of a hotel rony in the eyes of tho department have ihe effect of placing this on a par with other flag stations to our detriment, but thi ] hope will soon be remedied.

in less than one month from this date the Mount Baker block of laud, situated in our vicinity, will be thrown open for selection to the public, and the Liberal Government will have an opportunity of showing the world that land nationalised is the thing to attract the howling multitude ! All's Well that ends well! April 9th, 1891.