OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4069, 22 March 1892, Page 2

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

(From Ow Om Comspondent,) Wellington, Monday. "No news," it is commonly said, "is good news," but this saying is not at all consoling to. the unfortunate own correspondent who has to sit down and provide'copy' whether he lias the wherewithal to provide it or not I . Of course the chief, excitement during the week has been the 'itifle Assodiation's Annual Meeting and the Closing matches determining the championship. ■ : ! THE'VIOIORV OF DOUGHTY . was popular, but great sympathy was felt for that veteran marksman Major Purnell, whb hai been so hear and yet so far away from the coveted distinction onoe again. It was confidently hoped atone time that the honour bf securing the championship would .fall to Wellington; owing to the splendid and consistent shooting of the brothers; Ballingor,, .but fate willed it otherwise. The Champion's." Doughty" deeds have earned their due reward, TIIO camp at Trentham was the acme of disoom* fort on-Thursday, the dosing ; day, owing to tho steady downpour of rain, To lie on the dripping wet ground and fire at a target all day long is not the perfection- of happiness nor'is it as a rule conducive' to good shooting. Yet some grand scores we're made, proving conclusively that our volunteers, oven with inferior weapons, are. fully equal to their brotherS-in-armßof the Old Country. _ The cantata oomposedby ; our ; gifted young townsman, Mr A,! F. Hill, entitled "THE HEW JERUSALEM," | was performed for the. first time [ at the Opera House on Monday to a crowded.and enthusiastic a'udionoe,' Your readers have all heard of, Mr Hill's brilliant and successful oar'eer at the.Leipsic Conservatory of Music, and it is therefore unnecessary for'me to. enlarge 1 upon .. the • subject. Mr Hill js the youngest son of Mr 0. Hill, senior member of tho firm of Hill and Sons, the well-known hatters and outfitters, Competent oritios all agree that the cancata 13 full of fresh and original music, and the motif throughout is very skilfully maintained and carefully worked out, Mr Hill has certainly a brilliant musical career before him if not spoilt by the successes that have met him'at the outset. " Grave anxiety is felt at present in Wellington owing to the prevalence of ; 'TVPHOID W IHE OITV. ' : I am told on good authority .tliat there are nearly fitty cases in 'the Hospital alone, and that the doctors have many more on their lists, Unfortunately there is. no : sign: of the fever abating, nor is there likely to be any change for the better until the question of thoroughly draining the city is at once proceeded with. lam fully aware that,the person who- has the temerity to state in the public press that'our lives are in imminent danger owing to the insanitary state of the city is howled down right and left as an enemy to Wellington, but L am convinced that until such an outcry is raised as will force the authorities to move in the direction of draining the town on a soientifio principle, that the population will be decimated, and Wellington will be avoided as a plague-stricken place. It seems extraordinary that suclv surprising lethargy should exist in this matter while the fell hand of the, disease is everywhere seizing its victims. Of what use is all oar mngnifioent harbour, shipping and wharf* age accommodation when the most important of all public questions—the public health—is so blindly disregarded. To put it forcibly, the grim spectre of death overshadows us at every turn, and yet we are content to go heedlessly on our ways, little recking that any one of us may be called at any moment. Every sewer belches forth the death-giving gas, and yet no effort is made- to remedy the evil. If, instead of spending large sums on eleotrio lighting, which nearly every? one admits to be a partial failure, the town had attended to sanitation, the scourge that is now omnipresent might not have been with us in such fell force. Day after day and week after week sees fresh victims added to the list, yet no one in authority appears to stir a hand. It is a frightful comment on our nineteenth century civilization that such a state of affairs should continue to exist. Much as the Wellington press have abused Lord and Lady Onslow for the reason of their avoidanee of Wellington, jet those who httVo lost or nearly lost dear ones by this insidious disease fully sympathise with them, Mr Bell will long live in the memories of all as a benefactor to Wellington if he can. devise means whereby this much-needed sanitation 1 can be commenced at once and be parried out in a thoroughly reliable, lasting and scientifis manner, Surely lives are more precious than laws; raep than moqoy I It is curious to note the morbid anxiety with which towns in this! and other colonies are ready to claim the honoup of the distinguished presence at one timo of WILLIAMS, THE GHASTLY WINDSOR ' . MURDERER. It is now freely rumoured in town that Williams.was an erstwhile resident here, and that he carried on the avocation of a pedlar. The pleasant little hamlet of New Plymouth also conies forward with the assertion that Williams was known in" that district. Williams certainly, if all these statements are true, must have been";a maoh-tevelied man, ; No matter,where he sojourned, it is clear that the. police annals of this or any othot age; could not show a< more diabolical ruffian, and I should think t'liat the place where ho did not reside might' itself on the' fact rather thp tho other way, THE ACTION OF THE RAIWAY , : j . , /.COMMISSIONERS; I oyer the Te Aro extension is extremely ill-advised, and it, would be well if they would noto the fate that has befallen the Viotorian Commissioners. Not that there is any analogy between then), the cases are "quite 1 distinot; btill, in these days any obstruction to the popular will might bring about a. downfall, a oiroumstance that would be of great regret in our case/ l'he,Commissioners dp not . necessity for providing for a goods traffic from Te Aro : - the Uovern- : i ment and : the people do." It is a I JonM. of ...opinion that might he • Jisastrous tQ both sides,' Lot 'us) jope the.Commissioners lyill'see { the j ivisdom of reconsidering their :de> ■; ipripin^tipn;;;. To.set,themselves up j igajpst t}ie will; of; the majority will < 106 strengthen their portion, an<} the < ptitjtde;t)i.eyjhay§ deservedly earned I 'or their motions in the past: might 1 asily bo forgotten.'in an outburst of lopular feeling. That Parliament, t omposed-as it ia.at present, ohafes at j lie - independence of the Com- \ nissioners, 'is.^self-wident,,; and; .it t mid be well if the Commissioners f

did not too arrogantly take advantage of : that independence. THE FESTIVAL OP ST. PAXBIOK's DAt was completely spoilt in r Weliingfcon by the rain that fell at - intervals during the day. Tlio usual display of green ribbon and shamrocks was to be Beon on all sides, but the orgies of impulsive Irishmen were on this occasion conspicuouaby their absence, The town was never quieter. Many of the business bouses, law, insurance, and Government offices observed the day as a semi-holiday, but with the exception of the finish of the champion shooting matches at Trentham and the concert at the Opera House in the evening, given under the auspioesof the Hibernian Sooi&tyr there'.were ;r not many attractions for holiday makers, , ■ The annual generalireeting of the public service association , took-, place od Tuesday evening last at Thomas' Hall and passed off with great spirit. The Association has-been formed to protect the interests of the Civil Service, foster a feeling of esprit rfe corps, and stimulate a healthy independence amongst members of the service generally. Pew people have any idea of the magnitude of the. Association, numberingj as it does now, nearly 1200 members scattered throughout : the length and breadth of the Colony. The Association boasts, a monthly journal, admirably edited and written, and numbers amongst its ranks the highest : officers of the ia this Colony.' 'A Civil Service Bill hasjust beeu. drafted by. the Counoil : of .the Association for submission to the Government, and it is hoped that the Government will accept the main provisions of the Bill, whioh, if passed, will place the whole service on a much better fooling than' at present, ; The speech ot Mr J. E, Pitzgerald, Controller and Auditor- General and President,of'the Association to the meeting was a remarkably lucid and statesmanlike "exposition of the duties j functions, arid aims of a Civil Servant; A mors .fearless: and yet more loyal defence of the Service it would be difficult to hear. That the' lire of Mr Fitzgerald's eloquence has not abated with declining yeaw was apparent to the whole of his delighted listeners. I am told that in the days when Oratory was a feature of Parliament tary debate, Mr i Fitzgerald was a tower of strength- to his party and always" drew a house." Judging by his speech of the other night he must have been remarkably fine when at his best. " The slow drag chain of ihe Law's .delay" is forcibly ' illustrated in the trials of the • EKETAHUNA : MURDBR CASE, Two trials have .already been made, and now there is every probability of a third one coming off, but not till the 30th May, Anything more cruel than the'tardy'.process, of the English law could not be. imagined, Fancy -two .men twice tried on a charge of a frightful nature no doubt, but one of which they may possibly be innocent, having this suspense before them for two wholo months, Why it Bhould not.be possible to proceed again at once till a verdict was arrived at is a curious thing, ' That two juries were unable -to., agree on a verdict shows that doubt existed, and it would be far more satisfac tory to sift these cases, to the very dregs at once instead of allowing them to drift on. THE " TAUEAKGA " AND THE .TORPEDO, H.M.S. " Tauranga " has now been in Harbour a week, and 1 during the whole of that time she and her gallant orew have been engaged in searching for the torpedo lost by the " Einga l'ooma " somewhere in the vicinity of Lowry Bay, When that torpedo was lost, bang went five hundred pounds at one fell swoop. No doubt that five hundred pounds worth is now gracefully reposing in the mud of Port Nioholson, and the chances of recovery are somewhat remote, Torpedo practice at £SOO per practice is a somewhat expensive amusement-, and how 1 suppose five hundred pounds worth of wages, coals, i and victualls has been consumed in looking for the " wanderer." If not found it will be a still more costly practiced Fortunately the torpedo was not charged, so perhaps the same serious consequences might not arise from a collision with the Whitehead as happened to the whale in the opera, You know the song All went well until ono day, Onme a atratge fißh iu the buy; Just you make tracks oried the whale,. And he lashed out with tail, ' Now this fish wasindeedoh I A Woolwich torpedo; but oh loh 1 ; The big whale did not know,- ''■ hi! fish being loaded, Then and there exploded, And oh I and oh I the whale was seen no more. Kosiios.