WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1892. THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4119, 25 May 1892, Page 2

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1892. THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY.

The Queen of England was seventythree years old yesterday; and the citizens of Hew Zealand, being sub jects of the Queen, were invited as usual to celebrate her birthday. The proclamation of this annual holiday is always accompanied, it is true, with an official statement of.the reason why it is to be held; but it is doubtful whether very many of our colonists or colonials . trouble themselves very much about .the advancing years of their sovereign. If the Queen's death were announced to-morrow, a good many of our neighbours would merely reflect that the date of one of the public holidays would have to be changed, It is childish to" make holieve"; it is more sensible to face the fact that the Royal Family of England inspires very little interest here, Yet we must not be considered disloyal when we say this, On the contrary, we make mention of this annual observance of the Queen's Birthday in order that we m«y congratulate the community at large upon the excellent spirit dis» played by this observance. Even if the rank and file of our citizens do not car»> very much about the prolongation of Queen Victoria's life, everybody thinks it .quite rjg))t for the authorities to proclaim'a festiyal on the day which adds another year to that illustrious life. Men and women in the polony may. and most likely do, cherish all sorts of private sentiments about the way in wbioh we are go* verned; they may consider republicanism to be abstractedly better than a monarchical government; but in practice we agree in paying honour to the Sovereign, In point of fact; tho colonies are at least equal to the mother country in the outward and visible signs of loyalty they at the customary times,

We ourselves are of opinion !. the Queen has a claim upon something more than our formal loyalty, and that her claim becomes the dearer in proportion as we understand how muoh the Victorian age owes to one woman, It is "commonly said that, in the caseof alimited monarchy like our own, the Sovereign reigns but does not govern. But it is equally true that it is in the power of the Sovereign to wield'enornions political influence for good or evil. Queen Victoria's influence has always been exercised for good. She has insensi bly guided the current of her peopled thought, and her ripe judgment has controlled many of the counsels which have led to the increased extent of the British Empire and the improved condition of its constituents in many lands. Political and social liberty can be seen to have broadened incalculably during the present reign. It stands as the Augustan period af the modern world; and we do well to honour the woman whose hand has held the sceptre with a calm and kind sagaoity, whose fruits are everywhere apparent, : May the birthday of the sovereign long be celebrated on the 24th of May I And if, in the course of nature we come to keep the sovereign's birth day on the Bth of November, may we find that British rule is satisfactory to British subjects, when the throne is occupied by the Prince on whom the eyes of many have been fixed for years. It is said that he has sown much of that undesirable crop whioh youth is prone to.. Perhaps he has; | but it must be homo in mjnd that a [prince's failings are registered when the possibly worse faults of a private pitmen are unnoticed, Let us remember, at all events, that he must be a had sovereign inM ■ whp can I seriously affect his subjects' we»farp, | when those subjects live under a consitution so wise and free as ours, representing «s it does the accumulated capital of ages of experience and struggle. - >

Tt is freely, jtstedthat'two members of the Maßlerton Borough Licensing Oomtuittee have already pledged ■ themselves to support the iipplioatioa of the publioaris for an extension, of the hour oi closing to eleven o'clock,' If this is correct it is surely a most reprehensible pro* <je.edu.ig, for every member of the Committee should certainly keep himself a free agunt in the matter until he is culled upon to exercise his judgment and give an official decision, tie should then be guided, not only hy his own of what is best, but should let the wish of the people, which is already manifesting itself, and the report of the police which has yet to come, have somo weight, It is weak policy and a far from independent spirit which .would let a committee-man tie himself down at this Btage. The ratepayers have a right to expect something more than the exercise of mere partisanship, irrespective of the direction in wliiohsuob support may go; and those who have been elected to represent them will retain respect if they refrain from evading responsibility, act fearlessly, and ■do what they conscientiously consider is right when the time comes for the exercise of their duty,

A consignment of yearling trout was sent from Mastertqn to the Wan°anui Acclimatization Society on Monday last,

A now lawn tennis court is being construotfidbytheMastortonLawn Tennis Club adjoining the Acclimatization Society's yards in Chapel-street. It is reported that Mrs Langatone, wife of Mr 0. W, Langatone, the wellknown veterinary surgeon of the Wairarapa, has been left a substantial legacy.

Owinp to tho inclemency: of the weather the Akura races had yesterday to be postponed. The course is in very bad condition, and permission has been obtained from the Metropolian Club to hold the meeting on the Opaki course. The races will be held for certain tomorrow (Thursday), A Native, disappointed that the Akura races did not take place yesterday, drowned his sorrow m the cup, \s he became excited and could not be buK dued, he was arrested by Constable .O'Loary, and was this morning reprimanded by tho Justices.

Lord Glasgow was formally rcceivec by Lord Hopetoun on his arrival at Melbourne. . . ■

A shocking accident occurred in the. Port Phillip harbour on Saturday. The half-decked centre-board boat Progress was conveying a team of footballorafrom MordiallootoMoruington, ■vhen she mis struck by a squall in the open wateis of Port Phillip, and capsized Tho boat was found, sunk stern first, Fifteen members of the Mornington Football Club, including three sons of the Bev Mr. Baldwell, wore drowned, Three bodies only wore recovered,

The ball held at the Lower Taueru hit night in connection with the Rifle Club was a huge success. The floor was occupied by about forty couples who tripped it. merrily to music provided by Messrs Clifford, Reese and Winchester. A number ot visitors were present from Maaterton. Messrs A, W. Yonnell and T, Brown acted as M.O.'s, whilst the catering was kindly done by tho ladies of the district. Dancing was kept up until the early hours of the morning, a most enjoyable evening having been spent. A sham fight was held at Island Bay, yesterday by the Wellington Volunteers. The weather, though cold, was fine throughout the day. Mr William lorns, Secretary of the Akura Maori Eacing Club, notifies by advertisement that the Races wdl be held to-morro\v, Thursday, 26th May, on tho Opaki Racecourse.

The Bachelor's Ball held in the Choral Hall, Mauricoville, last night, was a great success. About fifty couples occupied the floor, which was in good condition. Musio was provided by Messrs Newman, 8. Minitio and Savage. The former gentleman also rendered a couple of songs in splendid style, for which he ivas loudly applauded. Refreshments were provided by Mr 0. E. Brenmuhl, of Eketahuna. Messrs H. Eagle and Day officiated as M.'sO., and dancing waß kept up till the early hours of the morning.

The residence of Mr A. von Keisonberg was nearly destroyed by fire last evening, and but for his prompt action the dam ago done would certainly have been much greater, The cause of the conflagration is supposed to be a spark from the file alighting unnoticed on Mrs Koisenberg's ulster, whtoh was afterwards hung on the hedrail, Damage to tho bedding, etc, to tho value of £\o, was dono before the fire was discovered. Wp understand thoro is an insurance on Mr Kelsenberg's f urn jture in the London and Lancashire office;

The preliminary announcement of the Maaterton Volunteer Fire Brigade's Annual Ball appears in another column of this issue As will he seen by perusal, a large and influential Committee havo taken the matter in hand and the gather* in? should therofore be a really enjoyable one,

Harry Palmer was taken to Welline,! ton from Eketahuna on Monday last tj do fotty.eiojht houra for a breach of the Wellington city by-laws. It appears that in February last the prisoner was fined five shillings, in default houra in the Empire City. He was givpn 9 woek id which to pay the fine, He went to the Labour Bureau and received a pass to Eketahuna on the Government railway- This, it is said, ho sold to a Wairarapa resident for half faro and walked himself to Foxton, Be eventually mado his way to Eketahuna, and as he did not comply with the order of the Court for the payment of the line he was —««! by Constable Eoche,

At the Salvation Army ut,... •..

Mesterton last night, a peculiar meeting entitled "Trial by Jury' was hold. Evidence was adduced denouncing the liquor traffic as inimical to the best interests of the community, and a verdict unanimou'ly passed that it be " exterminated," After the meeting the petition protesting against the extended hours of drinking being granted to the publicans of Maaterton was numerously signed.

Tho horaca attached to Mr T. V, Lett's Tenui mail coach bolted yesterday whilst tho driver was obtaining the mads at Carswell's Junction, Tho horses, after proceeding some distance on the road to Tenui, capsized tho .coach, causing considerable damage. Fortunately Mr Lett had another coach at the Mungapakeha and to it the mails wero transferred and brought on to Masterton. A meeting of Gormant willing to take part in the forthcoming tug of war was held in the Olub Hotel en Monday night, when a Committee was appointed, to select a team from the following : F. Kummer, VV. Jiobrow, J. Gartner, P. and (J. Brawn, P. Keller, H. Brosol W. Rick, J. Hoffman, F. F. Prise, F. and J, Simunix, F, Osofski, A. Broska, and B. Lehenski, with power to add. Mr H. Boffeins was appointed hon. secre* tary, and Mr A, von Reiseubcrg delo> gate.

_ Tho following conversation was overheard in the street tho other day! but for obvious reasons we shall omit, the name of. one of the parfe; the other was the well known draper, Mr L,J. Hooper. Mr' Spot Cash' 'ls it true Mr Hooper that jo'u intend: opening theehop next your drapery ,es» tablishment as a grocery and provision warehouse? Mr L.J,': •" That is 60, Mr Cash, and in about a week I shall bp able to .quote to you the lowest prices for' al kinds of general merchandise,"" Mr, Spot Cash;.'.' Good' I 1 suppose you will keep only good goods and soil as oheap as anyone else ? "Mr li, J,:' .•.' You bet f'The'pert and nothing but the hett,' and every article' at bed rock prices I Those are the foundation stones upon iyhioh we intend to erect our business," MrsipotCash :" Your band my boy, My acpount with' so-and-so's worth three pound? a week, apd J pay cash, I am not satisfied lately. J fancy Ipay jnore'than I should do, So directly you' open your uusiness look upon mcas a regular cuss tomer,"-Ai>vi, i