JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 4957, 21 February 1895, Page 2

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

(By Our Own Correspondent). Tuesday. "The Assyrian canto down like a Wolf on tlieFold."—The Servant Girl Question.—A Reply to " Sairey Jane." —Peripatetic Pickpockets.—How the Good Bishp was " Ead."—An Exhibßf tion in Wellington.—Was it InfW Big 1 Civil Service Patronage I—The Chinese Missionary.—Wellington as a •' Show Town." Features of the Fijian Cricket Match.—The School Excursion, etc., etc. There are now several Syrian shopkeepers in "Wellington, and in addition there exists quite a small but compact colony of these representatives of an ancient race, in what was formerly the most notorious quarter in Wellington—namely Fraser's Lane, Tborndon. The Syrians mostly engage in hawking fancy goods about the town and suburban districts—both men and ■ women, The shops kept by the [ select few mostly consist of fancy goods, drapery and stationery stores, while there is one confectioner who manufactures some marvellous looking sweetmeats, which nobody aeoms to buy. I understand that these I strange people sell their goods at very low prices, their frugal mannor j of living rendering a small profit > possible. They are a quarrelsoißl . not over-clean lot, intensely jealous i of one another and not, I believe, i particularly high class in their r morals. They are not,lshould think, desirable immigrants and as their numbers are slowly but steadily in- . creasing, it is advisable that somo I check should be put upon their entry i into the Colony. b " SairoyJane" the ordinary servant girl of commerce, has been writing to the newspapers in town lately n complaining of her hard lot and of ii how much she has to bear from cruel and hard-hearted mistresses. The modern " slavo of the ring " coine plains that she has to rise every a morning at 5 o'clock, and toil unceasingly all through the day until 10 at night, when she can go to bed, t only to go through the dreary round f again the next day, and every day, until her spirit is crushed, her health is wrecked, and her heart is n sick within lier, at this endless and n hopeless round of toil. Now, all this sounds very dreadful, and iUt really were the case, the lot of jp e poor" slavey" would indeed be on 'a i par with that of any of the old time •. plantation hands. She would be deserving of, and would readily receive the pity and assistance of all 0 humanepeople. But, unfortunately , t for" Sairey Jane," there is not the t slightest foundation for this grave indictment which she brings against 3 the mistresses. Au contrain " Sairey |. Jane" has by far the best of the bargain, all through, Instead of getting up at 5 a.m., she usually rises (very unwillingly) at 7 or 7,30. She lights the lire, and barely scrambles the breakfast on to the table in time to enablo the head of V tho house to go down to his daily II avocation by nine o'clock. During II the morning, the mistress assists her ii in the housework, and in the afternoon, " Sairey Jane" generally has a couple of hours to herself, either for rest or amusement. She has two, and very often three nights "off" per week, and has a hiJfs holiday every other Sunday, at leA, e Besides this she has, in many housev holds, the privilege of receiving her , swains in tho kitchen, when she is ' not at liberty to go out. As a rule, the maid of all work, I am speaking s now, of general servants, far from 1 being a crushed and spiritless creaI ture.ismightysaucyandindependent, ~ and if she does not like her place or ~ has a "tiif" with her mistress she * will pack up and be off atamoment's ~ notice, for slio knows quite well that „ owing to the scarcity which exists . in Wellington, of domestic servants, j she can easily obtain a situation again. Indeed, the mistress has j generally to put up with far more [ than the maid, because of this very B scarcity of domestic labour. It is B not an easy matter to get a servant notwithstanding the high rate of 3 wages, from fen to fifteen shillings J a week is tho usual pay, and so tho mistress bears with much rather l than be without help. Altogether , 1 do not think the general servant \ has mado out a good case, nor do I I think she will enlist much sympathy } for the race are too well and wididt known. w , _ This scarcity of domestic servants J is caused by theintense dislikewhich young women have now-a-days to go into service. They consider themselves lowered if they engage in what they call the menial occupation of domestic service. They much prefer to work in stilling factories, dress-making rooms, or shops, than to seek the comforts of a good homo at a fair wage in a well ordered establishment. They say they are more independent as factory hands, dress-makors, or shop assistants, because after work hours they can order theirinovementsasthey please. They can go in or out of their homes at night without let or hindrance. Naturally the moral status of young girls is not improved by the removal of these restrictions upon thoir personal liberty, for very often they are not qualified to take care of themselves, and when a girl earns her living in a shop or factory during the dny,she resents any control from her parents as to her e;oing and coming at night. There are many exceptions, of course, but, asaruW the factory or shop girl will ?R mistress of her own actions. ThV servant-girl question is gradually assuming a serious phase. Very soon the genuino domestic servant will bo as scarce as a black rose. We shall eithor havo to import Chinese servants, or tho mistresses will havo to perform their domestic work themselves, with the assistance of that modern development the" ladyhelp," for from all appearances the general servant will soon become as extinct as the Dodo. Practically the servant-girl is the mistress of tho situation. They are the potentates before whose beck and nod, anxious housewives tremble. The servants are not the ill-treated mortals as the newspaper "Sairey Jane" correspondents would make out, The boot is quite on tho other foot. The Union Company's boats are at the present time infested, I hear, j with that most undesirable characA | -the pickpocket. This is more pff I ticularly the case in tho intercolonial steamers, although the coastal craft aro not altogether free from tho plague, Tho sharpest watch is set to catch those gontry red-handed, but despite tho utmost vigilanco on the part of the ships' officers, they are far too wary to allow themselves to be caught. in flagrante delicto, and so the gamo continues, until, emboldened byeuc. cess, they will become careless, and '<%% Wit h

the meantime, when travelling, set a watch upon yonr valuables, Ono \yas caught the other day, in Wellington, but no doubt ho was only ono of many, There is no question, that this trouble is caused by ohoap fares, It is cheaper to livo on board ship, just now, than on shore, and . the attractions of a pleasant life on A a well-found steamor, with prospects of pickings on the journey, is too much temptation for "swell mobsmen " of the other side, who fancy a little sea air and a cooler clime, after the blazing heat of Sydney and Melbourne. An amusing story is going tho rounds, the truth of which I will not vouch for, concerning an experience which occurred to a well-known and highly-revered Bishop in this Colony, while engaged in one of his periodic up-country tours. I hardly .. liko to repeat the incident, for fear ?■ of shocking tho susceptibilities of some of your respected readers, but the story is so good, that I think I will chance it. The good Bishop in question, was ongaged in examininga class of Sunday-school children, in some remote township, and one of the questions ho asked, was, "Can anyone tell me what confirmation is ?" There was a dead silence all along the line for a moment or two, no one replying to the question. Tho . Bishop was surprised and shocked WJ at such lamentable ignorance, and ™ stated so to the children. No sooner had he finished his reproval, than a bright-eyed cherub of a little girl, at tho bottom of the class, piped ant, " Please, I know," A flush of grati- i lication passed over the worthy Bishop's somewhat austere countenance, as turning to the class, he said, " See how ashamed you ought to be, at your ignorance, when one so much younger than yon all arc, i can tell me the meauiug of confirma- : tion," Then, turning to the child, who was all suppressed information, i he benignly said, " Well, my dear, what is it?" "Please." said the precocious innocent, "Confirmation ' means shirt and trousers in one," or words to that effect. Collapse of the Bishop. The cherub was thinking of "combinations!" The Exhibition, which is mooted : to he held in Wellington next sum- ' mer, will, I think, be taken up am i omure by the citizens. Everyone i seems to think that it will be a big i « thing for the City, inasmuch as it ' will givo a considerable fillip to i trade, and attract a lot of visitors i who will naturally introduce foreign ; capital into the town, Nobody i seems to think, or, indeed, to care, I whether the Exhibition itself will i be a success financially or otherwise, ( The main idea is to stimulate busi- 1 ness. There is no patriotism about i the feeling which exists, it will ] create a much desired " boom," that 1 is quite sufficient. With these sel- i fish, although perfectly natural feel- t ings, everyone will put his hand in 1 In's pocket, and I have nodoubt that 1 the Exhibition will be floated easily 'l enough, provided tho right men take \ the matter in hand, Mr J. Mc- s Lellan, the capable representative of i Messrs Lysaght & Co. Ltd.,l'3 credited t with being the originator of tho \ idea, Mr McLellan is the right man s in the right place, his creative abilities and his administrative faculties jostle one another for precedence, c Mr McLellan was one of tho origina- 1 and administrators of the 1 HQueen's Drive Scheme. That was c a huge success. Nodoubt, under s Mr McLellan's guidance, an Exhibi- 1: tiou would be equally successful. It d has been pointed out that Mr Mc- t Mian was one of the Committee v of Management of the Glasgow c Exhibition of 1888, which is the 1 only Exhibition on record known to 1 have paid its way. As one who 'j visited the Great Show at Kelvin- s side in the year named I can amply ] testify to the completeness and i magnitude of the colossal undertak- < ing, perfect as it was in every detail, ] which tends to make tin Exhibition 1 what it should be. We cannot hope I to rival the Glasgow World's Fair, 1 but with Mr McLellan's invaluable '. experience we can at least hope to 1 make our prospective little show I something worth going to see, Even i if it is only with an eye to the main I chance, the project is worthy of hearty support, 1 One hears a good deal about the : Civil Service having been terrorised by the present Government in power, • Imt you wouldn't think this was so, if you had seen, as I did, a certain burly ex-West Coaster, who is now the happy possessor of a billet in one of the Government Departments, '■ liuk his arm in that of the Hon. Richard J. Seddon, Premier of New ' Zealand, and autocrat-in-chicf, and : walk familiarly down the street with him, chatting in a gay and easy manner. The sight gave me a severe shock. I could hardly believe ■ my eyes, and much less credit the fuel, that majesty was so approachable, and by a mere Civil Servant, too, There is hope lor the Service yet. A real Chinese convert, in the person of the Rev. Thomas Chang Luke, has made his appearance iu this City, on an Evangelical mission to his compatriots in Wellington. Now, an ordained Chinese missionary is a curiosity, so I hasten to chronicle the fact. 1 hope the Rev. Thomas Chang Luke will meet with much success in his mission, and convert plenty of his brother Celestials from their present sinful ways. Goodness knows, most of them want B some sort of conversion, badly P enough. I should have thought, *■ however, that the Rev. Thomas Chang Luke could have found a wider field for his ministrations, than New Zealand. It was only the other day, we sent off some missionaries from this Colony to China, where, it was slated, there was about one missioncry to every hulkmillion of inhabitants. Tho Rev. Thomas Chang Luke would therefore have his work cut out in his own country. A well-known Theatrical Manatier told me recently that large and costly shows, such as Operatic Companies, always depend upon Wellington to make their New Zealand tour apayingspeculalion.lnChristchurch, Dunedin and Auckland, the Theatres are too small, even if filled every night, to do more than pay expenses and a trifle over. Wellington is the "boss show town" of tho Colony, informant said, not only because Ayou have a fine spacious Theatre, but 'because your citizens go eyes out for a good show, and patronise it liber- ' ally. This 1 can quite believe from witnessing the great audiences which uightly fill the Opera House during •tho present Operatic Season, despite tho bad times. Many a poor trades-! man looks glum as he glances round tho auditorium, and see.sb> PP-. tomers with their unpaidbilte enjoy? ' ing themselves in full war-paint, fle wishes that Wellington, I will be j |>ound,wa6 upteuch agood show t^wn.

t for woll he knows ho may whistle for 0 his money when thero i» anything • good in the operatic line about. v Dunedin audiences, my informant i, further added, to return to our p muttons, are dull, Christclmrch audi--1 encesare coldly indifferent. Wei--1 lington audiences are calmly critical, ii quick to soizo a point, but not pars ticularly lavish of their applause. d Auckland audiences on the other - hand are easily " enthused" and i much less exacting than any of the i- other towns. Everytimc there is a more than usually heavy downpour of rain the 3 collars of the Government buildings t are flooded, Countless heaps of old > musty records and papers are stored I in those cellars from the ground to • the floor overhead. Naturally those i records got somewhat damp upon r the occasion of each Hood. Wheu- • ever this happens a gang of men is : put on to haul out the papers, and ; spread them out on the lawn, at the . back of the buildings, to dry in the . sun. Last week the lawn looked for , all the world like laundry dryingground, with the papers spread out all over it. In the course of time I should think these records would become practically useless for reference, if they ever are looked at, and it might possibly occur to the authorities one of these days, as a Hash of inspiration, to remove them to a more waterproof hiding place. 1 have often wondered,that with the j heaps of official records, many of them no doubt will bo of great historical interest in after days, that a suitable building is not erected in which the Colonial archives might be kept in safety. The chief event of the week was the Fijian cricket match. Wellington did not put its strongest team in the held, but it was a fairly rcpresenta- ■ tive one for all that. Although the game was drawn, yet it was nevertheless somewhat a hollow affair, for had the Wellington skipper hurried up his men an easy victory would have resulted. As it was, the Wellington "reps" were kind to the Islanders, and time was even kinder for it prevented the game from being played out. All things considered, it was an enjoyable and novel match. The Fijians were fairly expert in the Held and with the ball, but the batting talent undoubtedly laid with ■ the European members of the team, i The line physique and stalwart bear- \ ing of the natives, which their cos- I tume set off to advantage, was much i admired. The natives' costume i consisted of a waist-cloth reaching to 1 the knees, bare legs and feet, and i uncovered heads. Certainly, they ( did not require head gear, for Nature 1 has endowed them with a thick curly i mop of hair, flattened down in a i peculiar manner on the top, and ] bleached, either by the sun or by the ' use of some preparation they put on, 1 to a light brown. In the distance it \ looked exactly as if each of the ; Fijians wore "Tam-o'-shanters," i They put on leg guards when they s went in to bat, but in the field they I stopped the ball with their bare leg's f and feet with the utmost unconcern, i to the great amusement of the crowd, I who frequently madetcuderenquiries as to their shins. ( The excursion of Wairarapa school \ children (o Wellington on Friday l last was a source of much amuse- j ment and interest to the Wellington 1 citizens. It was a pleasant sight to 1 see the crowdsofcouifortablydrcssed, i healthy, rosy-looking country ehil- 1 dren roaming the streets, crowding c the tramways and haunting the t wharves, the public buildings and j other places of interest. It seemed t like a whiff of fresh country air - brought, into grimy Wellington, 1 Their evident enjoyment of the i sights was as amusing as it was I pleasing. A noticeable feature was i the excellent manner in which the children behaved, and in this respect the town school children might with advantage take a lesson from their country cousins. The com-mander-in-chief of the expeditionMr Hogg, M.H.R.-appeared to be übiquitous, for I met him all over the town keeping an eye upon his charges, and apparently taking a keen delight in the children's enjoyment. Everyone concerned is to be congratulated upon having brought such a big undertaking to so successful an issue.