JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4901, 13 December 1894, Page 3

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

(By Our Own Correspondent),

n Tuesday, Uas verm Electricity. A Few lieflections thereon, or more light on the otwjecl,—Advertising the Colony.—A Royal- Commissioner,—"Life's htttc Ironies,"—More about the" Encore lroubk,~The Tourist Season, Qlobe-trotters on the More."—'The B.N.Z, Qatt,—The Ballance Memorial, Wliere is it f—A Tragic Affair.— Wairarapa Belief Fund Vispute. The " Ruling Passion " Prevails.

It is an extremely moot point whether the introduction of electricity into Wellington as an illumiiiant has been altogether the success it was predicted it would be. It is true that the N,Z. Electrical Syndicate havo succeeded in obtaining a large number of connections, but the Gas Company on the other hand seem to bo ablo to hold their own easily. A struggle is now taking place which will, 110 doubt, ovontnally result in the survival of the iitt(® and by the fittest I mean the baft™will be to the strongest Company financially speaking, This struggle is no;v taking the form of a reduction in rates, the announcement of a reduction by the Gas Company being followed by a counterblast on similar lines by the Electrical Syndicate, Now it is a well-known fact that the Wellington Gas Company can afford to reduce its charges very considerably on the present rates, and yet reap a very handsome profit, while on the other hand tho limit is not very far off to which tho Syndicate can go in order to work at a profit, when the large outlay of capital which has had necessarily tobe oxponded on the purchase of an elaborate and expensive plant, is taken into consideration.

For private lighting there is of course 110 comparison between electricity ftntl gas. The electric ligli is incomparably superior in ever way as an illuminant pure an! simple, There is, however, a grow ' ing tendency to use gas for culinnr purposes, which must prove a fieri ous and growing menace to tin eventful fnto of tlio electric light Unfortunately, we have not yetheei educated up to cookery bvolectricitj although such a thing is not alto gether beyond the bounds of prac tieal possibility. Indeed, it is quit possible already, although I believ it lifts not yet been attempted on here. Even now the electrical syn dicate are showing electric kettles foot warmers, flat irons, cigtu*] ighters and oven such fantastic trifles as Indie electric hair-curlers. This being so surely the next thing will be tin introduction of the electric cookinj stove. What a boon to thrifty house wives such an article of domesti' economy would be, No smell no overpowering heat, no dirl and beyond all, no danger 01 trouble. In the meantime, as I say gas holds its ownforvariousreasons Tho chief reason, being that abov fill, it is cheaper than electricity, Thi initial cost of the installation am the outlay on lamps, which are sup posed to burn 1,000 hours, but don't being the main objections to the usi of the electric light. For cleanliness comfort, and a pure atmosphere, tin electric light is miles ahead of gas and personally, I sincerely trust tha thecontest which is impending man; not eventually result iu tho absorp tion of thobrighter in thclesserlight It is we'l worth while paying a littl a better article, and tlier must'THways be plenty of room fc both gad uuel electricity without ha' ing to resort to a cut throat poli of extermination,

I don't think I have ever seen finer photographs of New Zealand scenery than those now being exhibited in Mr McGregor Wright's picturo establishment on the Quay, One of the photographs, theTasman Glacier, is fully eight feet long, and shows to what a remarkable pitch of excellencetheartof extendedphotograpby has been brought to in the colony. The glacier, of course, had to be photographed in sections, and these 'sections have been so ingeniously pieced together and mounted, that it is almost impossible to notice whero they have been joined. The appearance of this vast sea of ice is immeasurably grand, the lights mul shadesofthecremm' and icy moraine being reproduced with marvellous fidelity' to nature, The other photographs _ consist of views of lake, mountain, and forest scenery, most charmingly executed, These pictures are to be sent home by the' Government to the Imperial Institute, and should do much to attract tourists to view our wonderful scenery. Thephotographs are the handiwork of the Messrs Burton, of Dunedin, upon whom they reflect thehighestcredit. The Colony may well be proud of possessing such artists as the Messrs Burton, who are able to do- such admirable justice to the native beauties of our country.

It has not been generally noted that the appointment of Mrs Grace Neill to serve as a member of the Royal Commission which has recently enquired into the administration of Charitable Aid in North Canterbury, was in itself rather an unique proceeding,inasmuch as there iB only one other instance, I believe, in tho British Dominions, of a lady being selfcted to sorve on a CommissioiuJriie instance, I refer to occurrfTßlomo a year or two ago, when Lady Sandhurst, I think itj was, was appointed a member of a Royal Commission by the English Ministry. The fact created some stir at Home, for' it was a distinct innovation.. Out here, however, we are so advanced that an almost similar appointment excites little or no comment. This is only to be ex■ected, of course, for are we not the 'first of the English speaking com-

rinunities to admit women to equal political lights with men, and are .wo not in proud possession of tlio only lady Mayor in the world, although the latter won't be for loijg now, tho holder of that unique distinction?

Shakespeare tells us that" misfortunes come not in single spies, but in battalions." The truth of this is exemplified in the experiences of a medical gentleman, now temporarily 'resident .in Wellington, The gentleman in question with his wife and son, we're amongst tho survivors from the wreck of the ill-fated " Wairarapa," By that dreadful disaster they, lost everything they possessed in tho world in the shapo of movable valuables, amounting to an aggregate value of something over • £IOOO all told. However, poorand wretched, without even sufficient clothes to cover them, tbey were, i, nevertheless, glad enough to escapo Bafe and sound. One would have thought fate haddonoovil enough to them after this, lmt not so, Before ■leaving England for the.Colouy the gontlemenina very short time, So-

oioties which make ft bnsiuom of lending money do not usually take ninny man had been advised to invest ft portion of his hard earned savings -won by much toil in practice in India—in Bank of New Zealand shaves, Ho did so, and lust week lie received the cheerful information tlmt a call of ;G3 Cs 8d per share has boon mado, This means £4OO or £SOO has to bo found somehow within tho next year. This is one of "life's littld ironies" with a vengeance. If cvor there was a case in which a man was justified in seeking the protecting influence of the Official Assignee, here is one.

■ I wrote lust week regarding what • Ims now become in Wellington n, very i much debated matter—the "encoro i Since I wrote thoso lines ■ the position lias become further ac- * centuated by the scenes which oc- | curred ut tho Festival Chorus 1 Concerts on Thursday and Priday last. Here again the same conductor (Mr Parker) was responsible for the unseemly disturbances whiuli took place, and so high did the feeling run that the whole matter lias now resolved itself into a bitter quarrel between Mr Parkor and the public. So strongly, indeed, do the majority of tho people feel that it is doubtful if there will ever be anything like a good audience again at any public concert over which Mr Parker presides, As a matter of fact lam firmly convinced that the poor audieneeswhich attended the '-Judas Maccabaens" and the "Israel in Egypt" concerts was mainly due to the fact that the concert going public resent Mr Parker's impolitic and aggressive stand in the matter of encores. There will, I am sorry to hoar, be a considerable loss over the production of these two oratorios. It is a thousand pities that matters should have come to'such a pitch, and unless Jlr Parka-alters his tactics there can only be one ending. Knowing as everyone does Mr Parker's exceptional talents as a musician and conductor, it is much to be deplored that ho should endanger his public popularity in this manner

A largo numberof tourists arrived by tlio 1 Kaikoura" from England all resplendent in the latest and most correct touring garbs, Wellington Ims in fact looked quite like an English watering place or fashionable continental resort during the last few days. There is 110 doubt that asafresh happy hunting ground for toiu'ists, New Zealand is becoming more and more popular every year, and during tlio present season a large influx of "globe-trotters" may be expected. Tourists mean tlio introduction of much foreign capital and the Government is doing wisely and well in encouraging the traffic by all the means in their powei\ as thoy are doing both by exiensivo advertising abroad and in the Colony, A trip to Now Zealand and tonr from end to end of the Colony now means very little more expense or trouble to the wealthy English tourist than would a prolonged tour to the playgrounds of Europe. By all means let us offer every inducement to the tourist; it is" good business,"

Of course the announcement of the Bank call will not tend to make matters any livelier in town for the 'Xinas season, There 111*0 not very many small people who hold shares in Wellington, but thero are a few, There are, however, several very large shareholders amongst the wealthier class, and to these the call will mean this year a good deal more than represents what is usually' spent in 'Xmas presents, Generally speaking, in business and private circles the call has been received without excitement and without much remark. There was generally 11 very umlisy presentiment that a call might be expected in the near future, so to a certain extent people were prepared, although they are not by auy means resigned, The question now being asked is when will this sort of thing stop? Do tlio Directors intend to bleed the shareholders any further p Time will, of course, answer this query, but it is said that the present call is only the forerunner of others, Let us hope not. Enough have Buffered, and are suffering already to bolster up the Bank of N.Z, and that old man of the sea, the Globo Assets Company.

_ People generally and subscribers in particular, would very much like to know what has become of the Ballanco memorial. Since the House Committee absolutely refused permission for the memorial in its hideous unsightliness to be placed within tlio Parliamentary Grounds, nothing more has been heard of it, There was some talk of getting a statue substituted for tlio present design, but 110 action has been taken apparently. The Committee want waking up, otherwiso the memorial will lose half its value from the fact that people by the flight of 'years will have forgotten the why and wherefore of its erection.

Tho suicide of the lato Mr R. J. S, Todd, 011 the afternoon of the 6th caused the most intense excitement in town, There was, I should think, scarcely a young man in the whole of Wellington who was better liked than Jlr Todd, and his untimely and terrible end has created the keenest sorrow. It is quite impossible to ascribo any causo for the rash deed, and it can only be conjectured that tho terrible act was the, result of a momentary impulse of maduess. The late Mr Todd waßamost capable accountant, and it was entirely by his industry and ability he rose to tho important and responsible position of accountant of such a large department as the Government Insurance. So highly were the late Mr Todd's abilities as an accountant thought of, that he was recently selected as one of the experts to enquire into and report upon the account keeping in the Public Trust Office, Tho late Mr Todd was a great favourite socially, and he was also an enthusiastic Freomason, having been W.M. of the Aorangi Lodge for the last year. Naturally the death of a young man, ho was only 33, so well-known and liked and holding, as he did, such an excellent position, would in any caso have come as a great shock and a surprise, but by tho terrible nature of his untimely end that grief is of course deeply intensified, One of the enddest things about this lamentable affair is that his younger_ brother committed suici(lo in a similar manuer only so far back as last Master, at Dunedin, I

The necessity for having one common Wairarapa Belief Fund for the' Colony becomes more and more apparent every day. Here in Wellington, with contributions from the surrounding districts, the total amount collected is nowover £2OOO. Of this Bum at least £1,500 was collected in Wellington alone. Tho iDunedin subscriptions perhaps

unbuilt .to not a fout'th of this and yet the Committee, in that town still persists in administering its own fund. The position is ridiculous if each of the funds are to be administered locally, There are far more sufferers in Duncdin from the wreck than tliore are in Wellington and swing to the small sum collected there it will he impossible to help thorn all adequately. Here we have bad only one or two calls upon the fund. It means therefore that those who aro fortunate enough to have some to Wellington will have more than enough vliilo those whose luck has brought them to Dunedin will -have far too little The same argument applies to the jther centres. There can never he in equitable distribution until the virions local fmulsare' pooled,' Wellington is distinctly the most suitable place for the fund to be administered from, not only on account of its jontral position but from the fact that the contributions here equal if they do not exceed those of all the )thcr parts of the Colony put together, It is astonishing that there should be any question at all | bout the administration of the ■und. One would have thought that ill would liavo been only too anxious :ohaye done at once whatever was ;he most advantageous to the suferers. With characteristic pettiness md jealousy some of the other jentres refuse to meet even on comnon ground in tho sacred cause of iharity,