JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4860, 25 October 1894, Page 2

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON

(By Our Own Correspondent,) v , Tuesday. j ■ Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, ' —Probable Appointments.—The AnarchistScare,—2 Suggestion—Western ' Australia to tk Front.—Trout Fishing 1 in Wellington.—A Novel Competition ' in the Wairarapa.—The Premier \ Plays a new Part.—Death in the Pot or Culinary Mistakes.—The Pma- j lence of Cancer.—The Unemployed ' Again. - Southern Railway Bridges. 1 —The Indisreet Foreman.—A Parlia• 1 mentary Philologist.—The Midland 1 Railway.—Our University College.— 1 Where is it?— Closing Scenes of the Session.—" For this Relief niiic/i Thanh." ' Tho Government, it is said,'will ' appoint four Parliamentary Under- : Secretaries during the recess to as- ' sist them with the routine work of : Parliament, The duties of these Under-Secretaries will be to answer questions of anadministrativenature and to attend to departmental enquiries. I have heard several names mentionod as being likely to be appointed. Amongst others is the name of your member, Mr A. W. Hogg. His particular function, it is said, will be to attend to matters connected with the Land Department in tho House. Mr G. W. Russell !b mentioned as likely to be the Parlia | mentary Under-Secretary for Rail- , ways, Mr Pinkerton for Labour, and Mr W. W. Taniier for Finance. Of j course these rumours may be at pre- , sent nothing more than idle gossip, [ so far as the men are concerned, but I believe that the Government re- , cognise the necessity for assistance, , and will, no doubt, make some appointments. Sir George Grey, itI will be remembered, has advocated s the appointment of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries for years past. I j have heard that the salary is to be I £SOO a year, so there are some nice J little billets waiting for Bomebody. ~ Your contemporary the s " Star" I fancy must have got hold of the , Anarchist story from the appearance j in Wellington, before one. of the Petitions Committees, of a half x demented foreigner who raved about j dynamite and revolvers if lie did a not obtain redress tor his fancied 0 grievances. It appears this man, I forget his name for the moment, was 0 arrested somewhere down South for _ threatening to shoot someone 'and j was imprisoned for a time.. He came up to Wellington to lay his' troubles s before Parliament, but the Committee could not find he had a case. 0 While before tho Committee lie talked very wildly of what be would a do if he did not obtain redress for tho slight put upon him by imprisonn ment. His vapourings were so wild r in fact that I believo the Govcrn- ,_ ment had him put under police sure veillance. The individual is still at large and possibly ho has been , s vapouring again, and hence the origin of the story about Anarchists e having made their appearance in the j. Colony. A new business ■ has lately been established in Wellington by two gentlemen named Redcliffe, who bail ' from Western Australia. The objects g of the firm are to afford information regarding Western Australia in the j shape of- land and mining enterprises, and to put people into tho way of getting to whateverpart of tlie colony they may desire by the best routes. As Western Australia, and Coolgardie j. in particular, are much enquired ir after -just at present, the new agency may have a fair share of success for a time. The Messrs Redcliffe have l_ established agencies in various parts of Australia outside of their own t particular colony, and"they claim to ( j have sent many hundreds of people to this terra incognita by their means. I should not think, however, that there was very much opening in New Zealand for a permanent agency of this nature, although with the young bloods it is the fancy for tho momont to regard Western Australia as tho land of promise, " The trout fishers have been making some vory big hauls this season )m in the Hutt River and Wainui-o- ---" mata stream. One gentleman tho other Saturday and Sunday captured '• no less than seventeen fine fish,which d lie has had photographed, and an ;j! imposing trophy of his skill with e the rod they form, Trout fishing has ,f become exceedingly popular about i. town, and many people wend their d way to the Hutt and Wainui to in--0 dulge in tho "gentle art," Some of our well known fishermen have very !S comfortable quarters at Wainui, which they occupy from Saturday to '■ Monday during the fishing season « and they entertain their friends i" right royally,. Several tourists havo '■ been attracted to tho Wainui for tho e fishing. Amongst them is General e Hogg who is well knwn in your - district as an The General is liying out in this i' beautiful sylvan vale, and is reported - to be doing great things with hisrod, - I am Informed that tho Wellington Konnel Club next year intend to s hold an interesting competition in - your district in the shape of»sheepb dog trial, Particulars will no doubt b be mado public shortly, and there 3 should be a large number of entries. ) Handsomo trophies are to be offered for the best dogs. The trophies will 3 not be awarded st much for appear--1 ance and breeding as for the usefuli ness and sagacity displayed by the ' dogs in working the sheep. This E novel arid highly useful competition will no doubt excite keen interest amongst those who are the possesses of working sheep dogs, as disi tinct from tho highly bred and i pmsy ornamental collie, which is so [ inuch in fashion in the towns at : present. i The Premier is reported to have i been a great oxponeut of the noblo i art of self-defence in his day, but few would think he was pven np\v a fair sprint runner. Yet the other day at a picnicwhichMr John Duthie gaveathispretty farm at the Huttto members, the Premierwas challenged to ran a hundred yards race by a lending meniber of the Opposition, the Oppositionist in questipn conceding the Prpmjer a start. The Premier started off at a pace, and eventually winning post • an easy winner amidst the excited cheers of the onlookers, As has been remarked and over again our Premier is a man of many parts and apparently just as much at home on the racing track as he is when " bullocking " a, bill through the House with an obstinate and fractious Opposition in front. of him, Apropos of a remark made in the House the other dayby Mr Roderick McKenzie, it is gravely asserted that it is a'fact; the Government havo had a survey made of a. proposed rail road rjght through fJie Jlasin Reserve-Wellington's only play

ground worthy ■of the name, *- Th<|f|| idea, it is \asserted is to eventu&llyllj| cany the Te 'Aro Railway. through to Island, Bay, and'as, thei|| Basin Reserve is directly in the line"& of route the survey had to be made '■( through' it accordingly. I do' not' suppose, however, that : it:;isVaUi§ probable, even if the Railway does)^ 7 1 some day reach Island Bay, line would be taken Reserve and thus' completely mrfitfif! for recreation purposes.- ;The of Wellington ■ would never Btand- '■ such an act of vandalism, and Government, however little cared for Wellington, would venture to sanction snoh a ' & Miss May Yates, , the English lee- * - turess, who has recently concluded a : course of lectures in Wellington, - 5 dealt with the subject of "culinary J \ mistakes," and showed pretty con- * clusively how often death may lurk-I-in the pot, through the ignorance or % carelessness of the cook. Some of the scientific facts she adduced were • f startling in their force, and proved that every day we may be absolutely dallying with death unless our food ' is cooked on prin- 1 ' ciples with an elemotary knowledge of the chemistry of cookeiy thrown in; No doubt the good lady is an alarmist to a largo extent,for sho has ■ a self-imposed mission toy fulfil, and that iB to inculcate into the minds of her hearers the adyantages of a fruit and vegetable diet as against 'the pernicious practice of eating meat, 1 There was, however, much food for ■ reflection in some of Miss Yates're- , markß,and personally, I could not i help thinking what a j)ity it is that . the girls in our public schools are not taught the principles 'of , hygienic cookery, , which would . be of very mnoh more use to [ them than many, of the • sub- ■ jects they now study with such as- ; siduity, and which are of little ;bene- ■ j fit .to the majority of them j afterwards in their capacity of wives and mothers. ' Another phraso of the meat eating j question has recently been brought ' j into prominence by a return just j published by the Wellington f Hospital Authorities, Prom this t return it appears that in 1886, the I number of cancer cases treated at I tbe Hospital was only-acven, where- [ as in 1893, the number was no - less j than fifty one. Even allowing for a . f largo increase in population in seven v . 1 yeai-a, this increase in tho number of B cancer cases is appalling.' Now it is a a well-known fact that the eating of . diseased meat is a prolific, source of i, cancer, and the question arises 0 wliethor this enormous increase in 1 cancer diseases is due to the conr sumption of meat, which is really . unfit for human food, owing to the } presence of malignant growths of & . cancerous nature, Medical men will i. toll you that undoubtedly ,it is, ' t The subject is a most serious one ii for us to consider, as the presence of e this frightful disease in our midst s has been shown in such avividmane ner to be an almost every day occurrence, It is to be hoped that the ' " Slaughter-Houses and Abattoirs a Bill," which has been passed this 0 session, and which provides for the . 1 adequate inspection of meat will g speedily be put into operation, in i order that the public may be proe tected as soon as possible. J underi, stand that it is almost a matter of f impossibility for tho ordinary j- butcher, no matter how expert" at his i, trade he may be, to detect inimkny e instances the presence of canj#ous d growths in a carcase. A timft exy pert or Veterinary Surge™is rer quired. This, I understaiifl',the Bill e provides for. Strangely onougff|lt s has been proved by the Jewish Rabbi n in Wellington that nono of tho cano cer patients wero Jews. The nate ural inference is, therefore, that , as I, the Jewish meat is personally in,t spected and passed by the Rabbi,and v nono bnt wholesome carcases are f used, the Jewish community have by !j this precaution escaped. I' rememt ber pointing out to you somo time 0 ago that tho medicaF men were alarmed at tho spread of cancer in Wellington, and thatthoy attributed . it to diseased meat. It would appear a that my information was uniortui. Hately only too comet. / e ' 1 A poor attempt at an unemployed i demonstration, took place on Saturi day morning last in Molesworth i Street opposite the Parliament 3 Buildings. I learned from personal t enquiries that the original idea was P to hold the meeting in tho Parlia- . mentary grounds outside the main f entrance, Tho men were, however, I informed that such a proceeding t could not be permitted, because it j was staled such a demonstration i within the precincts of the House i when Parliament was in session, j might be taken as a menace to memj bers, This is, I beliove, tho law | England, but whether tho samo lair r applies out hero I do 'not know, , However, the meeting never came off j at all, % although there were fifty I or sixty ihen present, no orjo would , take tho lend and conspquently the whole affair collapsed ignominiously, . Tliero are still a good many unem- , ployed about town and one of tho ! men informed mo that there was . much distress, whiph was Jjcpt quiet ; as tho poor people-disliked throwing i themselves on tne fender mercieß of , the Benevolent Trustees. lam informed that Mr McGarva, - , the too-zealous foreman wjio- dis- , covered that the Southernfßailway , Bridges were in such sfljtyglate, and afterwards gave the resultOTis investigations to the Press, lias been"-; . suspended from duty by the Railway Commissioner's'for the present, until it has been decided what steps shall be taken to punish himfor this breach of tho regulations. Poor McGarva ib, no doubt, exceedingly sorry'now that his zeal outran his discretion, both in the matter of putting together alarming reports, hrid afterwards furnishing them ioljs frieiid Mr Norton Taylor, who' did not hesi' tate to "give liim away,!! when pressed on the subject by tho com : mittee.. It is satisfactory to learn, however, that the enqniiy has elicited the fact there is no cause for alarm as the bridges generally are in {i yery fair state of preservation.» , / , A splendid memorial window, ig being erected to the memory of the ,late Mr W. H. Levin, in St, Paul's Church. The window is a beautiftll work of art, the subject being "The Good Samaritan," which is most appropriate, typical as it is of the" good works performed by the late Mr Levin in his lifetime. There aro soveral really beautiful windows in St.Paul |s,and internally the Church is rather a handsome one, but it seems a pity that the large'and wealthy parish of l'horndon cannot do something to adorn the. exterior of ibis dingy edifice. As the Churei.Btands at present, it is externally, aWtas mean and squalid a building! as it 1 would ,be possible to see throughout the lengths-breadth of,inland, -

It. is a. standing disgrace to tlio diocese of Wellington that sucli a squalid odiflce should havo so long done dnty as a Cathedral. Our now Bishop will not bo impressed \vli6n he scea it, Tho Bishop's r csidonce also sadly needs a coat of paint and a general furbishing up. Altogether tho Church proporty in this poverty stricken dioceso, is in an utter stato of disrepair,

Tho Hon." Jock " McKonzie of that ilk is apparently a skilled linguist, he is constantly interlarding his speeches with quotations from foreign tongues. All will remembor tho famous Gaelic equivalent," for little black devil," and those who were in the galleries on Saturday night were delighted to hear Mr McKenzio again quoting,in his Pomaliaka tirade, what they thought was some now Gaelic invective, but which turned out upon examination to be nothing more nor less than Latin, namely tlio celebrated Scotch motto, " Nemo me impuue hcfssit." It was some time before members, those who know a littlo Latin, and there tiro uoJjjutiy, woro able to grasp what bo meant, and then they hugely enjoyed the lion, gentleman's unique pronunciation. The climax came, however, when tlio Minister for Lands woundup his speech with what was presumably a French quotation. No ono has been able to discover what the words really were but there is a legend to the effect that he said " Honi soit qui mahj peme." " Hansard" will no doubt unravel the mystery.

I loarn from one of the leading Midland Railway Officials,that there is no doubt the Company will very (shortly commenco an action against the Colony. In fact, as my informant pointed out, this is the only courso now oponed to the Company, unless they like to wait till next year upon the very problematical chanco of tho House passing the Enabling Bill. The General Manager—Mr Wilson—is still i.R Wellington awaiting instructions from his Directors in London. The only matter that may delay the bringing of an action is the question of funds, and this, of course, is a vital point with the Company. In the meantime, the Company must, of course, continue to run trains over tho 70 miles of line they have opened on the coast.

Sir Robert Stout is already moving in the matter of having a Council appointed for the Middle District University College, which is necessary under the Bill passed by both Houses this session, The passing of the Bill was, however, a mci'o idle compliment, which will cost tho Colony nothing, for, although all the machinery is provided for rimnning the University College, there are no funds wherewith to start it, Thore is not even a building nor any endowment, so it is not likely that tho passing of this Bill will be of much service to the students in Wellington and tho adjacent districts. There will in all probability very shortly be a Council, and all the ot-hor honorary officials but the Collego will be non-existent for many a long day to come, Practically wo have to thank the legislature for nothing at present, although, no doubt, Sir Koberfc Stout rightly thinks that a beginning has been made when he has got both Houses to affirm the necessity of a University College. The local halijKtion, tho staff of professors, anfljjfove all the endowments where.with to find the sinews of war will possibly be provided in tho fullness of time. Meanwhile wo ninst ho thankfnl for small mercies,

The closing scene of the first session of the twelfth Parliament of New Zealand is now taking place as I write these lines, I looked into the House on my way down town, and found our senators hard at work discussing the Appropriation Bill. The few who were in the House \\;ere making strenuous efforts to catch the Speaker's eye, and so get into Hansard for the benefit of their constituents for tho last time this seaBion. This Appropriation Bill discussion gives many a final clianco of airing their particular grievances, and of summarising and criticising the work of the session, Many are " babbling of green fields" in the lobbies in anticipation of their emancipation from their Parliamentary duties for another year, These, by tho way, are the members from the country districts, who have been yearning to get home to their farms for the past six weeks, and who are consequently taking very little interest in the present debate. What an exhausted Honse it is, too—both mentally and physically. Long hours, much talking, and more fighting liavo had their effeots, What a jniserablo record is is, too, of a wasted sespion, Uluch that is bad attempted,'and little that is good accomplished. The country, like tho legislators, is tired of it all, and with a sigh of relief wo all the close of the session of 1894,