UNKNOWN

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4812, 30 August 1894, Page 2

Jottings from Wellington

By Our Own Correspondent.) A Sporting Offer,—The Exodus to Coolgardie, Information required. Where to get it.—The Bank Rumours Amalgamation and Concentration—The nm Bank President and the Agent-Gen-eral.—4 Little More About Eugene. What he Prophesied, The Hypnotised Policeman. Why he Left.—An excellent Lecture—Electric Light The Musical Festival,—Municipal MesM Hons. The cry for Reform. The 7ad t jfil Mayoress.—Our new Bishop, Anjnc^f dent in his Career.' % There is au chauco to quiro the nice little sum of £500., A local firm of solicitors that they have a cli6ht, an old ladys«| of 62 years, who is waling to hand l -1 over to anyone producing approved j ; freehold security, - the sum of £SOO " upon condition that she iB paid for \ the remainder.'of'.her life, and annuity of £6O, This is what may be | called a sporting offer. The question - of courso is, how long will the lady survive P If slio only years longer it might be a paying speculation, but if she were to live I for any period over ten years the 1 transaction might not be so profitable. Supposing the old lady weio to live ten years she would recoive - £6OO for her £SOO, while the person paying the annuity could rocene -r say 5 per cent on the money, which would be £2si) pliis tlie capital thus standing him in at a profit of ' 1 £150,' On the other hand slra might ' be a hale and hearty old body, who was perfectly good for 20 years, and in that case there is not : very much in the speculation, Annuitants aie proverbially longlived, and I think' that altogether the chances are - in favor of the old lady, I iathor wonder the lady in question does not purchase an annuity from some Life Insurance office, she would toceive better terms than any pirate' i individual could offer her, The [ point as to whether as a speculation ; the offer is good enough is: rather a I curious one, and I leave it to Euch of . your- readers "who may be mathe* [ matically inclined to work out the , odds, There is, I notice, quite an exodus on a small scale from the Wairarapa to the Coolgardie diggings, One cannot, of course, blame young men for trying their luck at the fields, i but I would strongly adviso those . t whomay be contemplating depaiture v to ascertain beforehand the best and t cheapest means of getting to Coolt gardio. Much time and money will B besaved by having the requisite in--3 formation before- starting. I can, B therefore recommend any who mayr be thinking of going, to first pkee 0 themselves in communication Avith 8 the Wellington branch of Thomas j Cook and Son's world-wide tourist r agency. Tho local managor fie-, ut Cook and Sons can supply the full--1 est information as to the best and s cheapest routes, and is (ilsoin a position to grant through tickets to 0 Coolgardie at the lowest possible ■i rates. I will endeavour to obtain

the informationrequiredfrom Messis Cook & Sons and lay it before your i. seaders in my next week's jottings.- >•

I am informed that tho Bank of New Zealand's headquarters' staff will occupy the premises recently vacated by Messrs McArthur ana Co, in Victoria Street. The building isquito new and is a handsome ' ; three storey edifice in brick. If this statement proves to be correct^ - " the present building occupied by the :; Bank of New Zealand will not require adding to, as it will simply mean that the local and head office staffs will occupy separate offices,,

There is, no doubt, as I informed you some time ago, that an amalgamation between the Colonial Bank , and the Bank of New Zealand may be looked upon as an early contingency, It Ims been reported that a serious obstacle has arisen to delay 7 amalgaraation, but I think you -will find that the difficulty is not insurmountable. Before the session is over we may expect to have full particulars made public. The amalgamation of these two institutions will probably result in a big thing for Wellington, as in all probability the Union S.S. Co, will transfer thoir headquarters here. The Colonial Bank are the Company's bankers, and it would be inconvenient for tlio Company to have its headquarters in Dunedin, whilst the chief office of the Bank was in Wellington.'

My information regarding the trausfer of the headquarters of the Bank of N.S.W, to Wellington, also proves correct, Tho Bank may bo , expected to remove its head office to here from Christchurch in about November next. This, and the amalgamation of the Colonial Bank and Bank of New Zealand being accomplished facts, will undoubtedly have the effect of to the .importance of as the great commercial' and financial centre of the Colony.

The report that Sir Wostby Perceval is likely to be the new President of the Bank of New Zealand, is ." not at all an improbable one. It is hei-e' that Sir Westby Perceval would not be averse to giving up the Agency-General upon {lie expiration of his term of office, partly for family reasons and-partly be. cause he himself prefers the Cplonv as ft place of residence, Thei o ntr also several members of the Ministry , hungering for the reversion of tho 1 Agency-General, whoso names havo been frequently quoted in connection therewith. One of this nurabor would very much like to go, and ho wishes to get rid of his colleagues just as much as liis colleagues would like to see the last of him, but the question is how to re-arrange matters so that everyonewillbesatisfied f However, as tho Evening Post very, ' shrewdly suggests, a block lias been found in the person ' of Mr Larnaoh, and this complicates . $ matters more thap. ever, future -vv developments will thus be highly , ', interesting. ' "" ' ■ '•; ' I have a little more to tell you about Eugene, tho prophesier of earthquakes arid tidal waves, and then I hope to dismiss mention of him from my jottings for ever. It has not, I think, been made known publicly, what this egregious ass really predicted, and I do so with the object of showing how ridiculous they are. First of all a great

chasm is to open in the bed of the ocean, three hundred miles long, in the vicinity of the Caroline Islands. Into this cleft, of course, the waters of the ocean will flow, and the result is to be that great tidal waves will submorge Australia and Now Zealand, and the turbulent waters raging about in earth's old bosom will cause great earthquakes. The volcanoes in New Zealand, active and extinct, will belch forth alternately fire and water, devastating that part of the country not already destroyed by the earthquakes and the tidal wave. Such is the precious farrago of nonsense put forth by this Prophet of Evil.

It is remarkable how many people believe this nonsense, as is shown by tho fact of their making all haste to quit the country. An amusing story is floating about how a strong minded and prosaic policeman was told off, in plain clothes, to interview Eugene, with a view of obtaining evidence in order to lay an information against him. Our friend the policeman sallied forth on his errand, the most unbelieving of mortals, and armed with the strong determination not to be made a fool of. Well, he interviewed Eugene, and returned to those who had sent him to report the result of his investigations. When questioned as to the interview he reluctantly confessed himself a convert to the Eugenian doctrine, and bashfully stated there was more in it than was generally believed. Since that time this susceptible guardian of the peace has not been told off for any more special duty, and his comrades have made life a misery to him by their chaff. Tho presumption is that Eugene possessed hypnotic influence of a very strong order, and he was by this means enabled to make his victims believe anything he thought fit to tell them. Heavy fees were charged to diagnose and locate complaints, and during the time he was in Wellington, Eugene must have made a handsome thing out of it, as it was nearly always a case of cash down. Tho police were unable to touch him under the present law, but an amending clause which Parliament is to bo asked to insert in tho Criminal Code Act shortly, would have rendered him liable to six months' imprisonment, hence this delightful individual thought discretion was the better part of valour, and therefore left before retribution overtook him.

A most excellent lecture was given on Saturday night by Dr. Findlay, L.L.D., Sir liobert Stout's partner, who has lately come up here to manage the firm's Wellington practice. The subject.of the lecture was the origin, aims and object of Anarchy, which, considering the part this vile doctrine is playing at the present moment in the annals of the world's history, information on the point was singularly acceptable, lew of us have grasped what Anarchism really is, and Dr Findlay in the course of on hour and a half's interesting discourse most lucidly laid bare the facts. In a most scholarly fashion lie traced the evolution of Anarchy from the earliest times defining Anarchism as tho doctrine which insists that mankind should live according to the law of nature alone, and that the race has been cursed by the establishment of human laws and institutions, the outcome of which has been all the misery, poverty and vice which the world has ever kuown. It is these laws and institutions which Anarchists are trying to overthrow by a continual war on society in tho belief that when they have done so the raco will revert to a natural order of things once more, in which poverty and misery will be unknown. Dr Findlay rapidly sketched out the fallacy of such a doctrine and stated as his opinion that the only cure for this monstrous philosophy, was to demonstrate by educational proof that the logical outcome of the Anarchist's methods would be to make "confusion worse confounded" and instead of relieving, rather to accentuate the social evils under which the race is suffering. The lecture was altogether ono of the most remarkable which has been delivered in Wellington for a long time past, and I only wish the space at my disposal were larger in order that I might go more fully into details, I should like to see"Tho Forward Movement," under whose auspices the lecture was delivered, print the lecture in pamphlet form for distribution.

People in Wellington are not finding the electric light in their houses the boon and the blessing it wis prophesied it would be, Many people say that the cost is much larger than gas, that the quality of the light supplied is not up to the mark and that altogether after paying very heavily for the installation, the compensating advantages over gas are not strikingly apparent. In fact there is a good deal of grumbling generally,but then of course it is an Englishman's privilege to grumble. Speaking personally, I do not find the quality of the light supplied to private establishments much, if at all, superior to gas, but then there is no heat, no smell, and no combustion of the atmosphere. These are surely compensating advantages. As to cost, it will I think, bo found that the electric light is considerably cheaper wliei]ok contract is made for an annual supply. To take the light by means of a meter is certainly dearer than gas. There is absolutely no risk from lire, and an explosion is, of course, an impossibility with the electric light. With gas there is an ever present danger from escapes. Altogether I think the people of Wellington owe a great deal to the enterprise of the Electrical Syndicate, and a little reflection will show that complaints are not always well grounded, There is, however, more cause than ever for complaints at tho manner in which the streets are lighted. I will venture to state that no up-country oil lamp-lit town, is worse off in the matter of street lighting than we are with our up-to-date electric lamps. Even the 3000 candle power lamp at tho Parliamentary Buildings has struck work now, and all it can do is to emit a feeble blue light of a most sickly nature.

The N.Z, Academy of fine arts opens it annual exhibition of pictures on the 15th September. These exhibitions are always looked forward in Wellington as the artistic event of tlie year, and overy exhibition shows a considerable advance upon its predecessor. Pictures for exhibition must be sent in to tho gallery in Whitmoro Street, on or before tho 10th September. I have beeii asked to make this announcement with a view of reminding intending exhibitors in your district that tho time is drawing near, , Everything is now well forward for the commencement of .the Musical Festival on the Ist October, 'IV

chorus and orchestra have been practising assiduously for some months past, nncl wo arc promised, a musical feast lasting over a week, on a scale novcr before attempted in Wellington, Somo of tho best soloists in the Colony have been engaged, and tlio whole festival will bo under the conductorship of Mr Parker, which is a guarantee as to its musical completeness. One entirely now work will he produced in tlio slmpo of Dvorak's weird and beautiful cantela "The Spectre Bride." This has, I believe, never before been performed in tho Colony. Sullivan's magnificent creation "The Golden Legend " will bo revived, together with oneof the well-known oratorios - Elijah, I fancy. The chorus is composed of about 400 voices, male and female, and there is a very large and olliciont orchestra. Judging from all accounts the Wellington Musical Festival for 189'1 will be something to remember.

A great deal of interest is being taken over tho approaching municipal elections, Jlost of the candidates already out in the lield are ardent advocates for Municipal reform, and goodness knows, we want it badly in some directions The embryonic Ratepayers' Association has nominated candidates for each of tho wards, and seem to be pretty sure of getting their men in. The Association will, however, need to make out a better case than they did recently over the Drainage Bill, or they will not stand much chance of success with their nominees. There is a strong feeling abroad that the ratepayers do not get fall value for their money in the direction of street improvements, and that the progress of the drainage works requires closer supervision, I am inclined tosvmpathi.se with these feelings, for it does seem that a lot of money is spent with very little result on the Wellington streets—about the worst in tbeColony, Anyhow a little new blood at the Council table would do no harm, as the old identity has 'been too powerful a factor in Wellington for a long time past,

The Lady Mayoress, of Onohunga, (why Lady Mayoress when there is no Lord Mayor?) has been shedding the light of her august presence in Wellington again. The Onehunga Cemetery Bill was, of coarse, the attraction, but despite her persistent lobbying, and the prestige of Sir G, M. O'Jiorke's name being attached to it, the brutal Commons ruthlessly slaughtered the measure. The Mayoress attended a Committee meeting of the Municipal Association yesterday, and was received with much form and ceremony. Mrs Yates was, however, only there in the capacity of a visitor, for her Council has not yet joined the Association. When asked why the Municipality of Onehunga was so backward in this respect, the Mayoress naively replied that she wished to join but her Councillors would not agree, and she was sorry to say they were not always amenable to reason.

I had some particulars given to me the other day regarding our new Bishop, the Rev. Frederick Wallis, which I reproduce. My informant, a Cambridge graduate, states that Mr Wallis is the same man, who as Senior Proctor, caused the girl Daisy Tompkins to be imprisoned in tho University lock-up, usually known by the name of the "Spinning House." You will remember that this case excited a good deal of attention, some two or three years ago, as it was regarded as an exercise of very high-handed and arbitrary powers for very insufficient reasons, The Proctor's action was, however, justified by subsequent disclosures concerning the girl's antecedents. It would therefore appear that Mr Wallis is a celebrity after all. From what l can learn, Mr Wallis is a man well suited to the position he will shortly be called upon to fill, He is a ripe scholar, and sound theologian and a man of good health and fine physique, with a passion for hard work. He is, moreover, thoroughly earnest in his convictions and broad in his views.