JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4649, 15 February 1894, Page 3

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Tuesday. Country School Committees, and Education .Board Elections, - Naval Architecture vj> to date. Four tiobk Specimens. The Government Insurants Buildings, and th prhe Anhi'tct.-The Chamber of Commerce, and the North Island Trunk Line.—A Magistrate of Mettle. An Exemplary Sentence.—The Good Samaritmin trov.hU.~Tk Citixen's Institute. Good Work.-The Marriage Market. Masttrhm Ahead,The Hospital Ball. A Sad Mistake.— Licensing Elections. Preparing for the Strife.—The Cable Repaired Once I% *V, - As con!prau!e misapprehension teems to exist in your district with regard to the functions 4 the Board of Education in regard to election matters, I thought it best to coll upon Mr Secretary, and obtain from himSe true position of affairs, With reference to the existing belief that certain uommittces were disfranchised at the recent by-election, when Mr Brady was returned to a seat on the Board, the explanation is very simple, It appeatß that tho Committees of certain aided Bchools were under tho impression they could vote, and were very much astonished and indignant whon they found out in due oourse that their voles could not be received from the fact that they did not represent a school district proper, within the meaning of the Education Act. Aided schools are not entitled .to committees at all, uulss their sohool haß been declared a separate distriot, A corresponding member may be selected by tho settlers in the vicinity of the school, for the purpose of communicating with the Board, for the sake of convenience the Wellington Education Board, however, usually allows Aided schools to have an advisory committee, but they are not bound to do so by Act, nor are these committees permitted to vote at Board Elections, unless as previously stated they have been declared a separate School District. It will thus be Been there has been no disfranchisement at all as the committees who feel themselves agnriovod never had the franchise,

As to the election which is now

pending. Sohoul committees are must be made between the Ist and 81st Janrijlfy, end it is the, duty of the secretaries of the committees to Bee that the provisions of the Act are carried out, The Education Board is not bound to remind committees by circular that nominations are due, they are supposed to be familiar with the section of tho Act, which deals Vritb this question. Section 13, Subseotion I,it is, As a matter of courtesy , however, the Wellington Education Board does remind committees by circular that their nominations are due. I believe that in the present instance the circulars were sent out rather late, but as it is no part of the ' duty of the Board to send them out at all, it is evidently through the Committee's neglect that nominations have not been made within tbe specified time. They have no right to blame the Board nr its Secretary for negli* 'gencei the. fault lies entirely with themselves. I should recommend the School Committees in your district to make themselves familiar with the Educati<P Act before jumping erroneously to conclusions that they have been unfairly dealt with. i

I

It would indeed be bard to find anywhere nobk specimens of marine architecture than tbo four immense steamers whioh are to-day lying alongside the Wellington wharves. First of course in point of size and general rnagnifioanoe comes the White Star liner" Gothic," then the enormous "Perthshire," the "Ruabine," and the" Wafyalo." What strikes ope more particularly about the "Gothic" is her enormous length and great height as she lies at the end of the main wharf. The appearance of the vessel from her bridge is somewhat disappointing from the fact that everything is severely plain, although the vast size is at once evident from her great length and beam. The upthe saloon, though exceedingly handsome and tasteful, ia not Out of the way. Some of the larger Union Company's boats are, for instance, far more lavishly decorated, and the internal decorations are not to be compared to those of sooh boats as the P. and 0. Company's "Borne," Or " Brittanuia." Tho triumph of the decorators'and upholsterers' art seems to have been expended on the smoking saloon, which it is said is the finest possessed by any steamer afloat/ and I can quite believe it, The lovely stained glass and decorative panels, in imitation of Henry the Seventh's Chapel at Westminster Abbey, must have'cost a jiidy fortune. The si?e of the main saloon, social ball, and state rooms gives one the impression that travelling by the " Gothic" would be the acme of cornet. My old friend.Captain Jennings, lataof the" Doric," is in command, &w Mr Kane, the purser, is by the way a member of an .old and wellknown WeH'pgton family. Captain JenmV old salt that he is, ha jds't about reached bia seventyfifth birthday. Not a bad age for a man to be hale and hearty, and fit to a magmficont ship as the !' Gothic" is, with all the resensibilities" and 'ogres of'safely jiayigating to 'her destination such a costly floating city, qhocked full with tho'ktest machinery and teeming with life. There is a great run for berths Hop by the 'f Gothic," as many departing colonists have specially waited in order to travel by her. I should like to bo one of them,

In connection with the new Government Insurance Oflices,now approaching completion, I understand that Mr Charleswortb, of Melbourne, whose design for the building gained the first prize when applications were] invited some years ago, is at present in Wellington with the object of bringing an action against the Qo-[ Wrnment for breach of contract. It was agreed that the architect whose design was auccoasful should have the privilegeof superintending the erection of the building and of course receiving Ja connection therewitb the usual architect's fees. Mr Charlesworth's design, however, tLongh awarded firstprizewasconsidered too expensive to put into operation and Messrs Olere and Richmond-prepared a design for a che'aperbuilding wbioh was accepted, and "this >s ! now' the 'structure in course'of ersotion'i Mr Charleswortb contends that his design having been acUtel he yjas entitled to euperin tpnd tie erection of the building, as he could baye modiiipd his original plan to meet the Governments viewß for a cheaper * edifice. Mr Cbarleswortb's firat design,, is certainly/ exceedingly, handsome, and it iia great pity it oould not have

I been carried out, hut whether the (Government were bound to employ him as the Supervising Architect, because bis plan gained tbe first prizo is a moot point. If bis design lm.i been put into operation, it would have been another matter, but it seomß to i one that Mr Charlosworth can have ino claim if it did not suit the authorities on second thoughts to oarry it out. He received all he bargained for, namely first prizo, and !if the plan is afterwards laid on one side surely he cannot complain. Perhaps Mr Charlesworth thinks he was entitled to the privilege of reducing the cost of his proposed building to the sum which the Govern* mrat are now spending-if so he may have a olaim.

Mr Charlesworth, who wasformerly very well-known in Wellington as an exceedingly clovor young architect, is meeting with considerable Buccess in tbe praotice of bis profession in Melbourne. In a city like the Viotorian oapital. Mr Charlesworth' would have • much greater scope for hiß undoubtedly olever and original designing powers than in New Zealand. He has recently, amongst other things, constructed the palatial AuatralianClub in MelbQurne,supposed to bo one of the fineßt olub buildings in the world, The dining hall of this modul structure, of which I have recently seen the design, is _ truly magnificent, and will, it is said vie with any similar hall of the kind in Europp, Neodloss to say this club was commented, and fortunately finished before tho times of financial disaster Bet in, at marvellous Melbourne.

Tlio Wellington Chamber of Commerce, in its annual report, professes itself to be very much concerned about the future prospeots of tbe North Island Main Trunk Railway. It is a pity tbe Chamber of Commeice did not interest itself more in this mit'.er before, It is somewhat late in the day now to profess an anxiety about this line, as for all the Chamber of Commerce cared or did, the North Island Trunk Line might have gone by way of Stratford, or any other route, before they would have stirred hand or fool) to prevent it, Mora by good luok than anything else, tbe machinations of the' Auckland people to divert the line from the original route havo not up to the [iie.Hent proved of any avail, but they mgW&m dotrepiif ate-Sdlu^ ton Chamber uf Commerce cared hefore. Some two years ago, Dr. Newman was energetic enough to form in Wellington a Central Hallway League, lor the purposu of counteracting any move on the part of the Aucklandere to divert the line to the Stratford route. The Chamber of Commerce, and the business people of Wellington generally were strangely. apathetic on the subject, they did little or nothing to aid the objuots of the movement, and after an abortive attempt to arouse the [citizens of Welliugton to a proper sense of the importance of the Central Route to them, and to the whole Colony in general, the League, exhausted by its futile exertions, languished a little while, and died a peaceful death, as all public movements eventually do in the Empire City, It is rather amusing now to seethe Chambor of Commerce displaying such anxiety, and if they had done so at tbo proper time and season, the Central Route might by this time have been an accomplished fact, As it is, the Government are not disposed to commit themselves one way or the other,

Our Resident Magistrate, Mr J, 0. Martin, is no kid-gloved dispenser of justice. He has a wholesome way of administering, correction which is gradually placing the criminal class of this city upon their very best behaviour. There was a time once, when a Resident Magistrate was very much afraid of treating the transgressor who appeared before him with too much severity. The mistake was often made of erring too much upon the side of leniency, and, as a natural couaequence, the law was held in contempt by the roughs. The law, no doubt, is often a" hass," and more especially so • when it was the good old English custom to treat offences against the person as naught when compared to offences against tho property. This reading of the law, in this Colony at anyrate, is gradually dying out, it is pleasing to notice. A low cowardly brute in town the other day knocked his old mother into a pulp because she very rightly objected to her house being made use of as a place where her son could oarry ona/ioiJOJtwith another man's wife. This precious example of filial piety was brought before tho Magistrate in duo course, and after & verbal castigation, which if he has a spark of manhood left in him—which is doubtful --ho will remember to his dying day, received the exemplary sentence of six months' imprisonment with hard labour. Perhaps this gentleman is akin to the ouster in " The Pirates of Penzance," whom Gilbert tells us that ''after jumping on his mother he lovosto lie ''a baling in the Bun," and indulging in many other little innocent recroations, if so ho will have plenty of time to ruminate over the faot, when pick and shovelling on Mouut Cook, that it doesn't always do to " jump on his mother" when Mr J. C. Martin, R.M., is about. Up your way I see they are not so particular, for I notice a man only got ten days for gouging out anbtberls eye in a playful manner. But' then perhaps your stipendiary (' beak '• was not on the bench, and that makes all the difference. Your amateur lawgivers are not always a success,

You are acquainted with the ''Good Samaritan" up your way I believe, Well, his errand of meroy to suffering humanity in Wellington has not altogether been a success, To ho fined £25 and costs, with the alternative of six weeks' imprisonment, for indulging in a harmless gift distribution to purchasers of bis celebrated •' medicines " was certainly rather hard upon him. The hardest part about tht whole business was that the nasty prying police should have got a chemist to analyse tho "Good Samaritan" medicines, and the result of the analysis went to prove that the remedies at least, if they could do no harm e'prtainly could not do tnuob good, Poor Mr Gunn to have your celebrated remedies, which by your own persuasive tongue we were taught to believe would infallibly cure all the ills that flesh is heir to, characterised as mere harmless decoctions ofscampbor, peppermint and ginger, touched up with a little gum' and fortified by some spirituous corapouiid, to' make them palatable to those who have not the stomach for tfye Bimple compounds of ailing infancy. This was '(theun< kindest out'pf all," Tho f Good Samaritan's" large stock of remedies is now for 1 sale cheap, as he has notified he is retiring from the practice of medicine. What a chance now for

those who*: faith, b'fore tho expose, was g'reat,to drink deep of the healing watera, and to purohase a life-long immunity from ailments, which usually beset frail Immunity. At lewat " The Good Samaritan " did give tho public something for their money in tbe shape of his oarnpbor, ginger and peppermint mixtures with a free entertainment thrown in, but the gentleman up the West Coast the other day, who hawked about bottles of salt water, pure and simple, as specifics for tho cure of all sorts of terrible diseases, got a good deal the best nf his gullible '■patients" without even the aid of the gifts or the entertainment, It is extraordinary bow the publio is so easily gulled, despite the fact that exposures of these stdf-Btyled "healers" are matters of daily occurrence.

The Citizens' Institute, which was formed some time ago mainly by the efforts of Messrs Bradbury and Evans, the promoters in Wellington of the "Forward Movement," is doing good work as an educational factor. Meetings are held every Monday evening at whioh lectures are delivered in a popular manner upon political economy, sociology, scientific and ethical subjects, literature, and speculative aud inductive philosophy. These lectures are very largely attended, mostly, by urticans and workmeJ; and are listened to with most intelligent interest. Tho Institute recognises no class distinctions of any kind, the only qualification for membership being respec lability. As a demooratio institution with a levelling up instead of levelling down tendeuoy, as its guiding motive, tbe Institute ruu<t in tiffin work a great deal of good from a social as well from an eduoation.il point of view.

Twenty marriages in Mastertonlast rmiith, I doubt it' we oan beat that in Wellington with a population of, perhaps, nearly ten times your number, The matrimonial market certainly has had a boom in Masterton lately, In the large towns of the colony the tendency is all the other way, the young men or the young women, 1 know not which, apparently do not care for rushing into matrimony. The Registrar General's statistics will show that the proportion of marriages in the large towns is rauoh below that of the country. As a matter of fact with an increasing population the marriage returns oil round are fnlliog off every year. This is a serious state of affairs, and many an anxious parent is framing ihe question..".fffet diajrwei 'dV with oiirgirls ? " Tbe girls, however, are settling the matter for themselves. They go out and earn tneir own living as clerks, as typo-wrhera, as telephone exchange assistants, as teacher*, and an shop girls, rather them wait for the dilatory young men'to oome along and marry them, The fault lies with both sides no doubt. The fact is this is a selfish age, neither man nor woman like to curtail their own comforts and luxuries by au alliance, the prospects of which are doubtful. The girl wants to start where she should leave off, and the man hesitates to deprive himself of tbe thousand and one comforts and luxuries of bachelorhood. Nevertheless despite all this Masterton is Netting a good example which'it would ta wili if other parts of the Colony, and Wellington in particular, were t'i copy,

A great deal ut fuss has h:en made lately in to.vn over a very simple matter—thu holding of a hall in aid of the fund for furnishing fc.e new Wards at the Wellington Hospital, A tremendous bo*l was made by some people about the iniquity of holding the ball at the Hospital, as it was said it would disturb the sick and dyiog patients, Others were equally emphatic that so far from disturbing the patieuts it would serve greatly to amuse and cheer them up. Now as a matter of faot from a thorough knowledge of the institution I believe that it is a great mistake not to bold the proposed call in the buildings. It may be taken for granted that the medical staff and the nurses would not allow those patients, who were so seriously ill as to require absolute quiet, to be annoyed or disturbed. The building is large enough and the new wards are far enough off to prevent that possibility happening. The large majority of the patients are fortunately not to be included in the category of Berious cases, these would greatly enjoy the bustle, the music, the light and the cheerfulness of a dance in their.near vicinity, They have little every day to cheer and lighten their monotonous existence, and the doctors will say that such a chaDge,once in a way,would be highly beneficial. Tbe deoision to hold the ball, in one of the public halls will cause muoh disappointment to the patients and the nursing utaff alike. Not only this, tha exponso will be greatly inoreased and the comfort and pleasure of the guests decreased. The funds of the hospital will suffer in consequence, and what would have been a popular movement will not now receivp anythiug like the support it would have done otherwise. The charge of inhumanity and indifference to suffering which it has boen said j would have been shown, had ihe ball been held in tho hospital is not tenable, for it is not likely it would have been permitted that the sounds of revelry should reach those whose condition was so serious as to render absolute quiet necessary.'

It seems extraordinary that any mother could bivo been'puilty of culpable' carelessness as"to have ndministered'to her infant ?6 drops of such a pvoparaiioQ as Freeman's Ohlorodyne, more especially when it is well known to anyone of ordinary intelligence tbut the preparation when taken in exceeaivo quantities is absolutely deadly, In the case of Mis Femmel, wipe infant was the victim in the recent poisoning affair, it must be borne in mind that the poor woman was worn out and dazed with fatigue and sleeplessness, caused by the child's incessant crjing night and day, The mother was, as it were, iioii Gom/ws mend's from fatigue and anxiety, and her sole idea was to alleviate the pain from which the child was suffering, and if possible to indues sleep. Unfortunately, with this object in view, she appears to have utterly ignored the directions which are usually given on the bottk) and to have largely exceeded the dose, It wits dearly no oaso'lor a verdict of manslaughter, the unhappy woman's remoree is sufficient punishment without that, It would be well, however, that the public should bear in mind the difference which exists between Freemen's and l)r. Collis Brown's Ohlorodyne, The former is a highly dangerous preparation if ! carelessly used, whilst the latter would appear to contain tho' powerful' drugs of which the preparation' is composed i' in a much' lesser degree, evidence at pie inquest, conclusively proves that no kind of ohlorodyne Bfoould, under spy cppditjo'og be 'adminißterod as a medicine without medical advice, and more especially so to children,

It seems a great pity 'that the important firm of Moirthur ar.rl Co,, warehousemen aud manufacturers, should bave. deemed it advisable to close their Wellington house. Shrinkage of colonial trade caused by the dull time 3, and the faot of having to maintain large stalls in Auckland and Dunedin where manufacturing iB I irgely engaged in, seems nwnly to have been the o-mse. Tho effort to purchase the Wellington business aud float it as a oopentive, concern by the employe's fell through for tho want of sufficient support, It has been the practice recently to open in Wellington branches of all the soft goods jhonaes doing business in New Zealand, and no doubt the keen compeii tion earned by auoh a concentration has very much cut up the trade. The firm of MoArthur and Co. is very well-known, in connexion with cer> tain land claims at Samoa, over which there was a long and expensive | litigation. The chiof office of the firm iB in London and the, head of the jhoiiae, Alderman MoArthur, will be remembered as having served bis year as Lord Mayor of the world's metropolis,

Great interest iB being taken in the forthcoming licensing electron, and tho prohibition league and temperance party generally are straining every nervo to sweep the board at the polls. Judging by the result of the general election the temperance people will have a fair chance of success in the direction of controlling tha liquor traffic within reasonable bounuß, but it is not believed that the number of existing licenses will be curtailed, though they may possibly auceeed in preventing the granting of fresh ones. It is generally agreed that a much stricter supervision of hotelß in necessary in Wellington, and that the boarding accommodation which exists at present is shamefully inadequate for the requirements of a town of this size.

The " Terranora" returned from her repiirin* trip Inst night, iho'staff on board havim; successfully succeeded in picking up and splicing the oal>le in no less than four places. Everything was accomplished without tin l slightest hitch despite the very unpleasant weather which prevailed most of the time, The " Terranora " hug again pro>ed what a good speculation she has been to the Government in the shape of a beToriginal cost twioe over, as to have obtained the Eastern Extension Cable Compiuy's repairing' steamer from th« East, where she is usually stationed, would have been a very costly matter indeed, on the two last occasions when the Cook Strait cable has broken.