OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.
, (From Qur Qwn Correspondent,) i Wellington, Saturday Evening ■ > This week so far as Wellington is [ concerned has not been a very lively . period. Kain, sunshine, dust jin(J\yinii ' ;• , haveafternated in ponfusing varietyi|i thjs veritable abode of "4301u5. , Though talking of wind, . that 'this tijwn i]Bs not altpgetfier deserved the soubriquet of "Windy i Wellington"-the city par excellence , for wiud in this Colony—for I am told by a friend of mine now resident in Inveroargill that' ever since it has been one long drasn-out "blow." Ho*v readily we lay the flattering unotion to our souls, that thank Heaven there are other places as bad as w are ] 1 H - I Tjyo CELEpmEg have left our shaking the diißtpf tjiepe bejiigjited jslea' o| v their departing foet. I refer to Lord Unslow, ex-Governor, who land amidst a flourish of trumpets and salvoes of artillery bravely keeping up the "little Huia" programme to the last—and alsUtp : a - < far more important personago $ far as his creditors are concerned) • namely,Mr Arthur Winton Brown—who did not leave so openly^ex* Mayor of the oity of Wellington, Justice of the Peace, Member of the Licensing Bench and the Education Board, etc., etc. IJow are the mighty i fallen) Ihaveit'in 1 my mind'adye | eyen now' when' the resplendent in' broa'd-clotli- abd ; tbp4 -a hatl, perfo'rme4° one 1 j)f thp l|| functions which he, in his capaoity I as Mayor, was oalled. upon to do- • . I the laying of the foundation stone of - | the new Publio Library. Thatsanm , J foundation stone, by the way, Brown's name" writ large" upon it. - True it is that our " virtues aro written in sand and our yipes ji) ■' l brass," gome oj the Brown's 'flight "are' J pigh'ty gopd. Here is one'l Tp youb tepls, Oh fsrael, and tjon't be' ta|cen ip ip future I' A well-known' pnfi popular ? watohmaker and jeweller; of the Hebrew persuasion, and owekg to Germanic origin, residing lot a hundred .miles from the fugitive's " place of business, is stated even at the eleventh hour to have sold a splendid forty-guinea watch ,to th» 6iie. winning in this shop In Wellington would serve the gorgeous Brown's elevated'fanoy, nothing was good : for ' hfei 1 ' So' V & j Southern branilt of "the firm wa's sent an order for tlie most expensive J' watch they li'ad in stock, ThYwatcji duly ainyed and; was']leliverpd and I paid for by' it tiiree tnpntk bill, Therms somedanger of t fipijnll jipipg ■ ■%.£ 'I not provided for' when it falls due, : Inthe meantime.the watch has taken trip to Japan. Great sympathy is ■ , t <
felt for Mrs Brown, but nothing but the keenest contempt is felt for tho lovanter. If he had had the oourage to Btay and face the storm ; many kind and strong hands would have helped .to steer the ship into a safe haven. But, enough, let us turn to something else, in POLITICS there is nothing much stirring, The appointment of Mr James Carroll to a / seat in the Cabinet is favourably reT/ garded by all persons here, Mr Carroll is a man of sterling worth, oultivated, courteous and gentlemanly ; he has made himself deservedly popular. As an orator Mr Carroll is unequalled in the House, and it is a treat to listen to the wellrounded and flowing periods falling without apparent effort from his lips. A Sentence!) couohod in the most perfios English, and with an ease and elegance of dictioa that reminds one strongly of Edward Wakefield at his •'V"' best. As a Mao'i representative in the Cabinet, a better ohoice could not have been made. Mr Carroll commands the highest respect and confidence of the Natives and they wilt •rest perfectly assured that what Carro.l does is done for their good. A happier method of satisfying them could not have been hit upon.. The reply of the Minister for Lands to theTe Aro Kpeoial Settlement Association is discouraging in the extreme. They were told that a certain block of Jand was not available by the Govern • for the purposes of settlement, . and this after the Association had inspected the land and been formerly told by the Premier and the Land Department that they could have it. The real truth is that many of the members of the Association are not of the "right colour," consequently there is no land for them. Feeling here runs high on the subject. One would think that the Government in pursuance of their much-vaunted policy, would do all in their power to help settlement, not hinder it as in this case, "We must have the people on the land " is their battle ory, yet hero is an opportunity to place some of the surplus population of the town into the country carefully Hut aside. . Tbe boiler makers have scored another. In their deputation to the Government they asked that all engines, boilers and other machinery used in connection with the railways should be made in the> Colony, and heavy duties be imposed on the imMw 'ported articlei both in the rough and finished state. The deputation stated that boilers, engines, etc., can be almost as cheaply produced in this colony as the imported goods, and just as satisfactorily made, The Premier and the Minister for Public Works said they were in sympathy with the deputation and would do : 11 in their power lo assist the Colonial manufacture of the goodsnamed, The object of tho boilermakers is legitimate, and is, as the Premier said, Bimply a question of freetrade versus protection, If, as in this case, protection will give employment to a large body of skilful artificers and lead to a first rate article being produced at a cost equal to or little above that of the imported one, then I say : by all means lot us have a heavy duty on this class of manufacture. We can't afford to lose from the Cdony men of tbe stamp who composed the Boilermaker's deputation. Skilled artisans all, Tho Wellington people will have to jnako up from their lethargy, or else North Island Main Prune Line will be diverted after all from the Central to the" stony, Stratford route, Energetic little Dr Newman is malting arrangements for a monster publio meeting to be held at the Theatre Boyal about the middle of next month. That the matter is ot vital importance to Wellington is self-evident, but viewing the question of the routes not so much from a jiarrqw Provinoialbut from a Colqnial point of view, it must be seen to any unprejudiced observer that the Central is the only feasible route. Wairarapa should interest itself in this matter also, and help their town brethren, for be sure what is of importance to the town is of importance to the country. The towns are the pulses of the country, and when they stop beating, or beat strongly qr faintly, inevitably n)ust tho country be afiected acoqrdiqgly, Turning now i FROM STATE to CHURCH kt reminds me that the Consecration of tt)tj new Bistjopof'Nojaot) took place with imposing ceremony last .tyednesday at St. Paul's. All the priests • and seemed to have buried tfje hatchet, for the time with |i|e 'testy frigate, ai]d unjtqd in ' jjiaking the ceremony'dignifieS and impressive. In Archdeacon Mules has been found a good and worthy subcessor to the amiable Bishop Suter- The latter was the beauideal of a Colonial Bishop-manly, fearless, large-hearted and as fond of sport or frolic as any of his young colonial laity, he . was indeed beloved by young and old Sjijie in his Oidcese,'\fhat iB qvqr, hpre'nq one is sorry'for,'' Wfl variety of gfyips of church They have each enjoyed themselves in their owa ecclesiastical ways at sundry and divers gatherings got up ' for their own especial benefit, but beyond enlivening the town for a with their portly forms, it is to see what good or practical benefit to the Church or the ttjjl fiocroe to Hunt deliberations, —deliberations thatcertainly have not been characterised by that grave and .reverend demeanour which would have been expected from such an assemblage. 'As fat* MI can learn no steps have yet been taken fo swtfar in Sir'tjames Piycjei'gastas ! '' 1 ' ' 1 ' ' ' 4_plriN(STftAXoK OF THE COLONY. Bir James has had ample experience . before in the matter of holding the rei&s of Government, and generally having had nothing in parft- ticular to do has done it mighty well. Joking apart, the administration of the Gpvernipt of •Ms pojqny suoh an easy ihitig when 'tliere' are 'iib l%er ' Hoiise hppolhtm'eilts to 1$ made to fjdtisfy the plam6urif|ga of a Government who, are jn a min'qrity'jn that Cljatfluer) (pat ope when'tbp time come for Sir George Grey's elective . to be an accomplished fact, f that democratic dummy who will do as he is bid-or else lose his billet, It has often stmok *- ' Mirinna - 1 - " • iruy we do not have a Lieutenant-Governor, as some of the other Colonics jjaye, tyho tjjqg tffon nfid'ready for any 'eraerg&cjr. 'lt would also be a fitting toward for some doughty political chieftain who lias done the Ppjony yeouian service, ip his youth an| prime: a reward that would bo highly priced'as an honourable ending |o a jppg and ireful- career. I commend the suggestion «' to the powers that , be." So many dramatic combinations come and go in this Colony of a atlre
, or less indifferent'• character that the 1 advent of afltciliug actor like ; , WALTER BENTLEV, ' . ( now pertorming at the Opera House, I is an occurrence that should be marked with a wliiti stone in our dramatic J annuls, You have already hud from my pen a criticism of Mr Bonlley'a " Hamlet," so I will prceeed to , comment briefly on the plays that have been produced since" Hamlet" was ' withdrawn, "DavidGurriolc,"byT, , VV, Rnbitr(soD|Occupied the boards on Wednesday and Thursday. The play depiots an incident in the lifs of Garriok, the great actor of the last century, Garriok contracts an affection for tho daughter of a rich and vulgar city magnate - the affection is warmly returned by the daughter, bat her pompous father is highly averse to the match, as ho thinks it infra dig for the daughter ot an alderman of tho great city of London to marry a "play-actor," however celebrated in hiß profession lie may be. As a result of this, disinclinetion he appeals to Garrick's honour to wean the girl of her attachment, which, after a mighty struggle with his pride and love, Garriok contents to do, As a part of his scheme of disenchanting the alderman's daughter, Garrick foina drunkenness in her presonceaud in her father's house, and behaves altogether in a most outs rageous manner. This part entails a very fine piece of acting, and the struggle between Garrick's lovo and the shame lie feels at having to pose in such a disgusting position is very cleverly portrayed by Mr Bintley, Finally, a duel is arranged between Garrick and another admirer of the girl—the outcome of a purposoly con* trived insult. The alderman's daughter intervenes, mutual explanations follow, tho father's approval is eventually obtained lo the match, and all ends happily. David Garrick is essentially a " one part piece" and requires the most careful and consume mate acting to make it go. All this Mr Bentley did, and he waaalily supported by Miss Laura Hansen as Ada Ingot (the aldorman's daughter), The other parts were admirably filled by Mr Bentley's excellent company, " The Bells" was the piece de resistance for Friday and Saturday. The plot of this marvellous psychological play is too well-known to your readers to need recapitulation, rendered famous as it has been by Henry Irving's masterly enactment of the part of Mathias, the Burgomaster, Weird and mystic in the oxtreme, the play is full of deep and thrilling interest. Mr Bentley, of course, played the Burgomaster, and a very powerful exposition ot the part it was. This 1 again is a play which has been written entirely for one part, the oilier characters being merely accessories to tlm main, and play up to !lie central figure in order to make it stand out more prominently, What was left to the rest of the Company lo do was done well and carefully. And now, dear and most respected editor, I fancy I see you. waggina your sage head and saying, " hold, i enough," so until next week I will say au rnoir. Kosmos.
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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4051, 1 March 1892, Page 2
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2,055OUR WELLINGTON LETTER. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4051, 1 March 1892, Page 2
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