JOTTINGS FROM WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 4933, 24 January 1895, Page 2

JOTTINGS FROM WELLINGTON.

• (By Our Own Correspondent). Monday. | The Summer Exodus.—A Pertinent Question. Wlio is to try tk Judge ? Mr John Duthie's Humour.—liis Pomahahi Experiences. —The Speech Criticised.—Tk Tariff Commission. —jU A Disgusted Tradesman and ttm •Labour Legislation. .—Employer ''Unemployed" Street Shows in Town.—M a fin office.—A smart canvasser's ready retort.

In Wellington, as in most other large towns, there is, usually during , tho early summer mouths, quito an exodus of tiio well-to-do population, either to the seaside resorts, which are now fairly numerous around town, or to the country. From a mouth to six weeks, husbands play the part of the giddy bachelor again, while their spouses, with the olivo branches, are drinking the ozone and indulging in plentiful sea-bathing, cither at Plimmerton, Paikakariki, Porirua, or Pahautanui, on the coast, or else at the bays which are to be found around the shores of Port Nicholson, The wealthier portion of the population betake themselves to their sheep stations or farms, and come back to town again, invigorated by fresh air, simple food, and healthy country exercise, to pursue,- with renewed vigor, tho endless roundttL social duties, which their positiW entails upon them. It has only been within the last few years, Wellingtonians have discovered that such charming and healthy seaside resorts existed, as Plimmerton and the other mariue villages on the West Coast.

The opening of the Manawatu Railway has been the main factor in providing for the residents of Wellington such chitvming and health giving resorts as are to he found aiuiig its line. For this, as for many other more substantial benelits, we owe ft debt of gratitude to the plucky promoters. Were the hotel and lodging house accommodation at tlio seaside villages on the West. Coast only of a more extensive nature, it would be difficult anywhere to find better sanatoriums. No other large town in this Colony has such advantage, and no other town lias made, until quite recently, so little use of them. It is a duty which we scribblers in the public press owe to fie people who read our stuff to let tlm know all about these seaside resorts, and I for one, even at the risk of boring many with my twaddle, will not hesitate to do so upon every conceivable occasion.

A pertinent question has been raised, perhaps the powers that bo would cull it an impertinent question, as to who is to lay an information against the Government for allowing its employes to work more than the prescribed eight hours, There are several of the large Government departments, whose employes arc constantly tobeseenburning the midnight oil or the midnight gas or electric light as the caso may be, but apparently everyone thinks that the servants of the State aro tacitly excepted from the provisions of the Act, and so no one makes a move. Perhaps it is the question over again of the "Kingcan do no wrong," the " King " in this instance being of course " King Richard' Js the Government to be allowciflp break as well as make the law R should very much like to see tho question tested, but I hardly think we have an Inspector with backbone enough to make tho experiment.

Mr John Uutliie, M.H.R., is not usually credited with the possession of ii superabundant supply of humour. He is us a rule too grimly in earnest, and may I breathe it, too intensely Caledonian in his ideas to trifle with light and airy persiflage or to let his fancy roam freely in flights of jocular oratory. Yet notwithstanding, he metaphorically, as it \vere,took himself off the chain at hismeetingon Friday night and quito convulsed his audionce at times by his jocular satire about the Pomakka purchase. The climax wub reached when Mr Duthio produced with much care from his pocket a sample of oats, the stalks of which were about six inches long, and gravely declared that this was the best sort of thing that the Minister for Land's fertile soil of Pomahaka could produce aftor much porsoflL ion. Mr Uuthie had recently over the ground and he was primed to overflowing with the iniquities of the purchase, and ho has given the best descriptionyet of the undoubted job which was perpetrated on the Colony when Pomahaka was purchased to oblige Mr Douglas.

The greater portion of the speech, lam sorry to say dealt with Pomahaka and the shortcomings of the Minister for Lands. In this, of course, MrDuthie was only human, Mr John Duthie and the Hon. John McKenzie, vulgarly speaking, do not hit it. It is war to tho knife between them. The remembrance of many a bitter word in the House rankles in the minds of both. Neithor this " hielauder" nor lowlander forget or forgive easily and Mr Uuthie, no doubt, still remembers the epithet bestowed upon him by the Minister, when in one of his nastiest vituperative moods he designated the Member for Wellington as "a purseproud overbearing, merchant" with a few other additions which it' would not be kind to repeat. It was natujel, therefore that Mr Cathie should'J|i for" the Minister when he got vita chance and go ho did.

Mr Duthie's speech, although not particularly brilliant, was an eminently practical and sensible array of facts. It is to be regretted, howovcr, that Mr Duthiedid not gira ns more figures, He is popularly- "p. posed to be an expert in finance, and to have a grasp of it which is not excelled by any man in the House. With the exception, however,ofsome vague generalities, Mr Duthie did not touch on the subject, greatly to the disappointment' of mauy who had gone to the meeting purposely to learn from the lips of a man, who honestly speaks his convictions, what the true state of the colony's finance was, Mr Duthie, it is known, never speaks at random or without dug and conscientious enquiry, and therefore his candid opinion, with details to support it, would have been wel. coined at what is undoubtcdj|b& critical stage of the colour's finaiJH&l career. Speaking as an onlooker, I should fchiuk Mr Duthie's-speech was hastily prepared, and did not in any way do justice to his well-known, reputation for thoroughness,

It is an open secret that tho Select Committee which last session revised. the Tariff andbroughfc downareport recommending-iHter oiics-the appointment of a Royal Ummisßion, wen t msii t]ie ff y a Tariff, item by item, and drewup an.

elaborate sories of reasons why most of the duties should be largely increased, Thoy even .went so far as to Specify the increased duties from information obtained almost entirely from ex parte ovidence, and to embody them in a special confidential report to the Government, which, contrary to all usages, was not submitted to tho House. The appointment of this Royal Commission is therefore palpably a sham, for the work has been done already. Tho Commission will undoubtedly have this confidential report before them, and the Committee's annotations on the Tariff items will form, with little variation, the substance of their recommendations. There cannot bo anything else done considering tho composition of tho Committee, who arc now with one solitary exception, blind supporters of the Government, as were the members of the Select Committee. Tho whole thing is a farce from beginning to end, and no matter what evidence they may call; presumably to assist them in arriving at a recommendation, the result is a foregmieconclusion. Needless to say that tho result will be a report in which protection plays the leading part, lnstend of lessening the burden of taxation, a new device is to be resorted to in makiug the people pay through the nose by placing additional duties upon the necessaries of life.

A tradesman in toivn, disgusted with the harassing provisions of the Shop Hours and Factories Act, has given up business, and leaves shortly for Western Australia where, at present, Labour Bills are not. The tradesman in question, employed a good many hands in his businesstailoring—who will thus be thrown | out of employment. A good many | other tradesmen threaten to discharge their employes, cut down I their businesses, and run them I themselves, with the assistance of j their families, should Saturday be | selected as the closing day. There i is undoubtedly, much irritation over i the Shop Hours Act, and it will i affect labour in a manner which the framers of the measure did not reckon upon, if some amendment does not take place next year. The City Council arc just completing an extraordinary edifice,! which looks for all the world like an j elongated Chinese pagoda, but is, in i A reality, intended as a shelter shed ™ for cabs. The shed is situated just at the entrance to the wharf, and is anything but a sightly building. To commence with, it is far too large for requirements, it is practically useless as a shelter for the horses and cabmen, as the winds of heaven will blow right through it, from fore to aft, and it is, in addition, most inconveniently situated. The Corporation of the City of Wellington, seem to have a faculty for spending large sums of money, and deriving the least possible benefit therefrom. They should take a lesson from the Harbour Board in this respect. This body never spends a sixpence of public money, without obtaining a commensurate benefit.

There have been comparatively few genuine unemployed knocking about town lately, owing to shearing operations up country and the-busy shipping season at the wharves.

which has absorbed most of them. A Timre is, however, I regret to hear from the most reliable sources, a large amount of destitution which one does not see blazoned forth in the newspapers. The Benevolent Trustees do much, but there are many poor people who would almost sooner starve than go on the' Board.' These are most kindly and generously relieved by the many excellent charitable organisations which exist quietly and unostentatiously in Wellington, and yet do much good work without wounding the feelings of deserving poor they relieve. It is not usually recognised that the poor have feelings,and what is more, that everyone has an absolute and undoubted right, as a part of the great law of creation, to the means of subsistence.

There is quite an eruption of sideshows of various kinds in town at the present moment, from the imposing and highly successful switchback railway to the hurdy-gurdy-man with the monkey, who perambulates the streets and makes day and night t hideous by his discordant music. Shooting galleries break forth in every alley and lane, aud the man with the brazen lungs, who, by-the-way, is a walking testimonial to his machine, entreats you to try your lung capacity by blowing till you are verging on a fit of apoplexy, into his apparatus, Then there is tho man with the galvanic battery who will give you a shock that will loosen all your false teeth before you have time to wonder what building has fallen on you—and all for one penny. There is the patent medicine vendor, whose nostrums will cure "all the ills that flesh is heir to," to say nothing of the quack doctor who instantly cures you of toothache. The man with the tray full of type, who will fix you up a name while you wait, flourishes exceedingly, and the "Home of Mystery," in Mannersstreet, where the admission being free, gratis, and for nothing, naturally does a huge business. " The Home of Mystery" has, however, a rifle

gallery attached, and the young lady who, one moment, floats gracef fully in space, hands yoa a rifle, with a sweet smile, the next, for the privilege of using which, you are; expected to disgorge the modest sum of one shilling for four shots. A trip down town on Saturday night, is interesting just now, on account of the number and variety of these

. side shows. Whither they come from and whither they goto, is a $ mystery. One thing, however, is quite certain, and that is, the larrikin "push" which gathers round these street exhibitions, like flies round a dab of treacle, is highly objectionable, and therefore the sooner the shows go, the sooner will the larrikin bands disappear to their own happy hunting grounds.

An amusing yarn is related about it Wellington Life Insurance canvasser, which is worth repeating. Recently when over on a professional tour in an adjacent district, our enterprising canvasser called upon an old farmer of well-known religious ,rf}> tendencies, He found the farmer "•inspecting his crops, and entering into conversation with him, our friend, the canvasser, discoursed i learnedly about crops and farming, generally winding up by a skilful allusion to the benefits arising by making provision for a rainy day, or one's family by lifo assurance. The fanner listened quietly and then told the man who was seeking to "take his life," that he thought it wae sinful to interfere witkihe ways ' of providence, and that the Lord yrould' provide, and because be

felt ho was saved from oternnl punishment. The canvasser interrupted i with the remark that ho thought there must he a mistake somewhere, as his Company did not insure against destruction by/ire, they took no fire risks, only lifo policies. It is not related though that the canvasser's smartness obtained for him the policy, still the story, though of a "chestmitty"HaTor, is decidedly good.

Tuesday. The weather to-day was simply perfect for the holiday and I being sorely tempted by a generous friend who offered me a seat in his carnage, fell and went to the races. TheHutt course was looking lovely. The lawn and the saddling paddocks wero covered with a soft, velvet y sward of rich emerald grass, relieved by brightly coloured flower beds. There was a record attendance of people and the racing was most enjoyable from beginning to end. The new appointments were much admired and the welcome innovation of a large afternoon tea marquee in the enclosure, was highly appreciated by the numerous throng of ladies who enlivened the scene by the brightness of their summer toilets. Altogether the Hint Racecourse is about as pretty and conveniently appointed ground as you will find anywhere in the Colony, There was a large attendmce of visitors from other parts of the district and colony amongst whom I noticed some well-known Wairarapa faces, The .Maoris were very much in evidence, and when their compatriot's horse, Mahaki, won the Cup, their enthusiasm knew no bomids.for they had piled the money Oil the shapely son of Ingomar. I understand that Mahaki, although not run in the name of Mr Wi Pere, M.H.R., practically is owned by that astute Maori representative. The meeting, as usual, was run on strict Temperance lines, and was none the less successful on that account. Altogether Wellington Cup day for 1890 was an immense success, and the Racing Club are to be congratulated upon a most delightful day's sport, which should also to tkem prove most satisfactory from a financial point of view. The new starting machines were tiied in several of the races, and fulfilled all expectation, being immeasurably superior to the old method of walking the horses up into a so-called line, and then starting them by dropping a flag.