JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4392, 13 April 1893, Page 2

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

[By Our Own Correspondent.]

Wellington, Tuesday. The talk of the town just now is the N.Z, Times Company etchndre. Although a great deal has been said in the town papers about the affair, I do not think the truo facts of the case are very widely known. Asrelatedtome, they are certainly most peculiar, and 1 think the history of the affair is so unique as to be worth reporting. It appears that two of the Directors, for some reason best known- to them-

I any speoifio charge brought forward to his detriment. The outcome was that the official remained, and Btill remains at his post, but the two Directors are gone, But how? Well, humanity is trail, and revenge is sweet, so the official: went round amongst his felloe-shareholders, worked up a little oabnl, obtained pronies and a shareholder lo move a resolution of want of confidence, directly aimed at the Directors in question, One of them got wind of the business and promptly withdrew, thinking discretion tho better part of valour, but the other stuok to his guns, and the result is, he has been ignominiously cast out, Tho unique part of the position is that by the efforts of an employe" two Directors of a public company have lost their seals on the hoard. This is a reversal of the ordinary mode of procedure with a vengeance,

_ Wellington City might well adopt as its motto the words fiat lux suprema ojito. Di'spite the fact that this town is supposed to be illuminated with theeleotriolightl can confidently say it is the worst lighted town in Australasia. light is a

the ■Wellington, He replied that ho was not aware Wellington was lit by eleotricity, he had only noticed it was very badly lit and that was nil, And that is just the point, unless one knew it was eleotrioity it might pass for the old timo kerosene lamp and cortninly not the brilliant illuminant which has sprung into such.general use in tho last decade. Tho N. Z, Electrical I Syndicate's station is now approaching completion and no doubt when the motive power is steam instead of water there may be a light to lighten our darkness. What with the fearful and wonderful odours that especially predominate at night and " tho dim religious light" in the streets one has ,only to shut ones eyes to be translated back in fancy to some mediaeval town, you' could never imagine you were treading the streets of & booming 19th contury Colonial city.

Mr Piah, M.H.E. for Dunedin, was in town lately, and ho expressed himself as being quite sure of a seat in Parliament at tbe next dleciion. He has never had the slightest intention of withdrawing from politics, and thinks he can easily put down anyone who may have the temerity to attempt to oußt him at tbe General Election. Mr Geo. Fisher, M.H.R. for Wellington, has suddenly become Bfiz«d with virtuous zeal for the great Ttmperaucp cause, and has actually publicly identified himself with the Good Templars by presiding over ono of their meetings the other night. This is a very clever and knowing move. Tbe Temperance Party is very strong here just now, and if Mr Fraser does not ofler himself at tfho election there is no doubt Mr Fisher will receive a great deal of Bupport from the party. Mr Fisher is prettv strong anyhow, but with the Good Templars and Prohibitionists to help him he should sail in flrst with flying colours, However, against any contingency that might arise Mr Fisher has established himself in business as a land and financial agent, sbarebroker, etc., and is, I believe, receiving a very fair Bhare of support. He is a man much liked byallseotionsofthocommuaity, being endowed with a marvellous memory for faces, a pleasant and gonial manner and a thorough knowledge of human nature. Those who prophesy that "Our Georgo's" day is done are very much mistaken, as they will see beloro long.

A mistaken notion appears to exist as to the nature of Bir Julius Vogel's position in the New York Life Office in London. In the first place Sir Julius is not manager of the West End branch of the Company at all, he is simply in conjunction with and subordinate to that well-known exNew Zealander, Mr Harrison Davies, in charge of the new business for London. In other words, Sir Julius and Mr Harrison Davies look after all the canvassing. Sir Julius was not _ then appointed upon his own merits nor upon his own application. That perfect marvel Harrison Davies worked it all, and the story is thus: Harrison Davies for some years a canvasser of a well-known life office doing business in this Colony suddenly conceived the idea that the field out here wsb not big enough for a man of his fertile genius and lie was right, thflre wainotopportunityto exhibit bis brilliancy.be wanted a larger scope of action. Well, he went home with a little plot in his brain carefully cut and dried with all details elaborated. Tbo chief detail in his little plan was that he should obtain Sir Julius Vogel as coadjutor,'using his name and influence for introduction into certain circles where his own bwe)llet ua flay enterprise—would not carry lumromnvasslog purposes, Sir Julius Vogel was in fact to do the the interviewing while

Mr Harrison Davis did the preliminary, work and looked after a smaller game. Mr Davis called at the Lon» den office of the company he had worked for in New Zealand, bnt they 'would have none of him on his Boheme.' Nothing daunted and having heard that President MoCaull, of the New York Life Office, was in London, he decided to interview the insurance magnato and once more unfold his plan of campaign, He called at the Hotel Metr6polo, where Mr MoCaull; waß staying, and waited several hours before he was admitted to an audience with the greatman, /The audience j^HHtajg|u^pMn^Qfi«EuS

idea of securing Sir JuliuTHfi as an assistant w>3 a 'Stroke genius, there is some fortune in it for both of them if it only lasts, and the wonder is that no cons thought of something of the kind before. This is tho true particular history of Sir Julius Vogel'B appointment in the New York Life and I trust it vfill be of interest.

It was, no doubt, noticed that Mr Gladstone, in moving ihe second reding of hie Home Rule Bill, in reported by the cablegrams to have said that he had received a letter from a Mr Fitzgerald, of Canterbury (N.Z.), stating that before local autonomy was granted to the Colonies, the Governors were frequently hissed, and the colonists generally wjrein astajj of discontent, but tmTtflMHifl

sihle government being RrantedaH signs of disloyalty and discontent immediately disappeared, and the Colonic were bound more closely to the Mother Country, and the loyalty displayed was of the warmest. Thip, of course, is interesting as an argument in favour of Home Bule (an argument, by the way, that is a very Dediscussing by no the most |HnHB affair is Auditor |HBBBH|H|BDm CnnterHHBH^mHH 0 mistake, that HShRSHhS I ' 6ll i Q com■S9BnßH^Btone on the valued some HH|^nß|HKu: adoptod. MH£HHHHS)nthu9iastic entirely in °f ex * that HHHBHHHentwilih the 9HBHH all we coloof i USmpathiifi wit<^HßL

rwonden .vJtitlflHH now hold the rem?|H would think if for instance to come to save one of til

workshops in town and offer to

form duties the work at a rato'oYSß| 25 per cent lower, haitWH paid at the time. They would bo thJH first to denounce the employer takiJH advantage of such an offered rigktwfl so too, but when we see that in thMP nppointment of Mr Martin to the Resident Magistracy of Wellington, the yery identioal course haa been pursued that they would bo loudly deolaim against, we can only oome to the conclusion that precept and prac* tice (when the wretohed Public Service is concerned) are two very different things, Mr Martin has had this appointment thrust on him at a salary of £4OO per annum, Mr Robinson receives £SOO and is even then most inadequately paid for tha onerous duties ho haa to perform. The appointment of Mr Martin at a lower salary and the acceptance by him of the position is exactly a oase on all fours with the suppositious example I liavo quoted. It jf wiftioufV doubt a great wrong i*i% a man should be imported inttfjne* Service from outside at all, m when an attempt w made to.ojlt down the emolutnwof an office' 1 (none to highly paid already) it ] ana.iunta to a positivo soaudal, If <-* £SOO was considered a fair salary before why Bhould it not be worth £SOO now. This cheapening of high office appointments is much to be deplored, and it is the thin end of the wedge towards lowering tho Btatuß and independence of the Magisterial- >• Bench. Why this cut-throat competition Bhould be tolerated in the case of a man who worta with his brain and tbe man who works with his hands !b protected is one of those tilings" whiob.no fellah can understand." The best or rather tho worst part of the whole busioes is that MiMartin is a man who has long on< joyed a lucrative practice in Christ' church (where he was Crown Prosecutor) is financially independent of any Government "billet," and has.l am told expectations of more to come, / and therefore did not want tho magia-' tracy at all. Ho only yielded to the importunity of the Government on the grounds that, being financially independent he might as wel jlrop tho worries and cares of a largoJrMico, Under the , ening of the value of tlio potion is a • crying injustice to the other stipendiary magistrates generally.

A convocation of the Church o! England olergy'was called for Wednesday last (the sth inet.) to take into consideration the question of appointing a successor to Bishop Hadfieldin the Bishopric of Wellington. " Alitor much debate internal" the rerorcnd gentlemen ultimately deoided that the Hqp. Mr Ingram, of the Chnroh House, London, was a fitting man to succeed the'retiring Pr&kifand a re« commendation to that~«R will be made at the nexti BitUnk of the,. Diocesan Synod, Mr lopm has' for many years past been engagod at .Homo in the work of ohutoli organisation, holding no regular" oura of 'souls,"and hois in every way re- ! ported to be eminently suitable for tho high position to which it is proposed to call him. Mr Ingram's credentials are very highly endorsed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and.York, and upon the retirement of the venerable Primate in June next, the synod will .as a matter of form confirm the oleoi tion, and he will be ordained at Home and immediately sail for tho' Colony to take up his duties., Dean Hovell, of Napier, was popularly, eupposad to be first favourite forithe Bishopric, but greatly'to everybody's''surprise he waß found (9 be completely oat of

the running when it earns to a (lunation of selection. This election will aot, of course, carry with it tho Primacy, that will, in all probability he ©ODferrsd on thu Bishop of Auokland, as the Senior Bishop. Muoli satisfaction is fait at too scleotion of Mr Ingram, m it is beliovod lio will in etery w&y be a tower of strength to tba church in this province.