JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5009, 25 April 1895, Page 2

JOTTINGS from WELLINGTON.

[ilV THE CYNIC."] LISTVKSKKWIEBDS! That " tlra-tooth" sheep story, which appeared in your columns the other day, was decidedly amusing to the initiated, and tho humour was c?en to be guessed at by those whose knowledge of sheep was not large. Tho following story, which is related as a fact, will at once appeal, even to the lay mind, as a amusing episode. It appears .a certain individual was holding forth to a large assemblage in a certain hostelry, not a hundred miles from Wellington, and not many years ago, about the absolute necessity which crista! for sheep races at railway stations, and how ho had often urged the railway authorities to have them established. All present—they were nearly all farmers—heartily concurred as lo the utility of " Sheep-races." All except one, I should say. That single exception was a gentleman just out from Home, a veritable new-chum, and as "green as grass "in Colonial matters. "He had listened attentively," lie said, "tothe conversation, but as far as he could see, there was notl"ir; to be gaiued from ' Slieeiwaccs.'" in the Old Country they never had anything else but" Horseraces," and he dirt not think that Colonials could improve on the old classic equine contests, by introducing such an absurdity into the arena of sport as "Sheep-races." Most of the Colonials present, had subsequently to be cat, led to bed—they hud laughed themselves tired and silly, at the ingcuuous notion that the counti/ which had produced Carbine, should think of pressing into service, the gentle sheep, as a new development of " the sport of Kings."

A SNAIIE AND A DELI'SIO.N". People frequently see by the guide books and directories that the Empire City is the proud possessor of an institution which rejoices in tho high-sounding title of "The New Zealand Academy of Fine Ails." "Visitors having exhausted the many strange and wondrous sights of our attractive city then commence to look around for the "Academy" with the vague idea that perhaps, as in New South Wales, this is a State A;; Gallciy, and that the N.Z. Government, like that iu the Mother Colony is lo a ceuain extent a purchaser af good pictures. They duly enquire the way and are directed to a biick shed on the Declaimed Land, at the back of the Supreme Court, which bears upon its dhigy front exterior, the imposing inscription—"2f.U. Academy of Fine Avis." Expectation sinks low, but the realisation sinks lower when the visitor discovers to his disgust, that the building is securely locked. When he subsequently learns that the only aii ti'casurts the Academy holds uitlwi its walls are two or three very doubtful pictures and some forloia and dilapidated plaster casts, he feels more "sold" than ever. The fact is, the Academy is an Art Gallery in nothing but name. Once or twice a year exhibit ions of locally painted pictures are held there, otherwise the Gallery is never opened, except for an occasional conceit Wellington is the capital city of tl Colony and therefore an appropriate' place for a Colonial Art Gallery. The Government might very well set aside a small sum annually for the purchase of some Rood pictures which could be housed in the Gallery and placed under the chargeof the Council of the Academy. In time, as in .New South Wales, a very fan-collection of pictures could be got together and thus the nucleus ot a Colonial Gallery would bo formed.

KOWIKO .U'fl EOWDVISM. Several compla ; 'its have reached me in reference to the objeclionableeonduct of a certain section of the rowing men who came back from the l'icton .Kegatta on Wednesday last by the "Grafton. 11 I am informed that these woi lilies made the night hideous all the way across liic Straits, by their riotous behaviour, naturally to the great discomfort and disgust of the oilier passengers, a large proportion ot whom were ladies. Sleep wnsoutoflhcqucstioii.amUhcunplcasaiu ell'eets of mal <k mcr were aggravated by the hideous dn which prevailed. Jixpostii'alion was of no avail,and threats were useless, so (he rest of the passengers had perforce to put up with the annoyance, which apparently the ship's olliecrs were powerless to prevent. Although cvci/ allowance can be made at holiday time for a crowd ot lusty high-spirited young men enjoying themscles ;, i a reasonable mancr, yet surely when rowdyism engendered by a too copious flow of sometli"ig stronger than mere ai"'mal spirits is the prevailing feature, it is time that the travelling public should be protected from such gross annoyance. Ordinaiy people would not be pcmi'lted to behave in such a manner. Why then [should a special immunity from all restraint be granted to ath'etes? A FAIE EXCHANGE IS KO.-HOIUJERY.

An m\kuiv"<% account readies mo regarding (lie manner iu ivliich a Bank Manager ;, i a town uot far distant from Wellington overcame the difficulty h which lie found himself placed when lie opened the Bank on the Tuesday after the Easter Holidays. His entire stall', including even the messenger, had gone away holiday making, ami every one of them was weather hound, mid therefore unable to turn up for business on Tuesday morning. The Manager could perform, after a fash'on, a'l the vaiious duties, hut he could not, of courseware the Haul;, nor could he close the doors. Who was to take round Hie exchanges? He could not engage outside assistance, even if he had keen justified ;, i cntuist'ig the Hank's cheques and notes to a stranger. Our Manager was, however, a man of resource. A happy idea struck him. Why not send for Fs wife ? No sooner said than done, for lie lived on the Hank premises, The lady was called in, and the position was explained to her, and she being a dutiful and loving w' f e, readily fell "i with her husband's plan. That plan was to constitute her for the time hei'ig a temporary exchange clerk. She was duly instructed what to do, and clad in her most fetching attire (she was an engaging little crealure)she sallied foi«li portfolio under arm od her round of the other Hanks, It V uuneccssaiy to say that the Bank's exchange clerk was most promptly attended to during that day, and the expedient was hailed by one and all as a splend ; d idea. Pretty Mrs —, for her pari, enjoyed herself immensely, while her husband received great kudos from tho head office for the readiness of resource he had displayed,

THE " SPOST " OF HGEON-SiroOTLVG. W hen the Englishman becomes bored, we are told by the captious critical foreigner, he snys: " let us go out and kill somcth'ig." This would imply that the average Eng'ishman does not so much care what he k ;, ls, or how he l'ills it, so long as he can gratify his lust for slaughter. That this is not so we of course all know, for an Englishman has a holy horror of offending against the so-called cano'is of " sport," The Englishman will not, for instance, if he can help it, kill a on the tree or on tho ground; nor wi'l he, as a rule, shoot firmed game sitting. To do either of these two things is unsportsmanlike. True sport, the lliitisher declares, must be either difficult or dangerous, or it has no attraction for me. "Pot-hunting," even in this colony where game is comparatively scarce, because it is not preserved, is held in contempt. Now, of course all this sounds ve;/ well in. thcoiy, and no doubt has enabled the Britisher to look down with scorn upon the Frenchman who shoots the fox, or 1 failing any other game stalks the peaceful "mouton," or the Goiman who ehoots L'om a po'isade the driven deer But your Islander forgets b ; s shoofing of tame pheasants Rorged so much by hand-feeding that the birds wi'l hardly rise to the beators, and above all he forgets Hurlingham and the slaughter and mutilation of pet pigeons' wl"ch takes place thero cveu year. Your rcaderswi'lwonderwhaL{ur.! ; nghamhas todo with Wellington. It has a good deal to do with it, for have we not impoiied from there thatciaoland sonseless sport whicli is called pigeon-shooting? The other day two )i}ile boys near Welling.

ton, who fancied tliem'selvesEcdlndians, sallied forth with bow and arrow, and with childish cruelty shot at a cow, pretending the while they were shooting buffaloes on' tho prairie—jusi as hoys 'gf will. The cow was found with several & arrows sticking into her. The matter Tr was reported to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and tho boys were prosecuted and punished for their cruelty. Now irresponsible and unthinking boys are punished for an act of cruelty, which is not one whit worse than maimhig a pigeon as it flutters pitifully out of a cage dazed with fear and confused with tho noise. It is perfectly trim that the men who engage m pigeon matches a\o good enough shots as a rule <■<> ki'l the largest percentage of their birds, but what about those birds which are only pai iiully hit. Is it not cruelty to break a pigeon's leg, shoot its beak olf or olkcu'ise maim it in such a manner as not to impede its flight for a certain distance at any rate, Arc not the birds frequently found some ("stance off afterwards, where they have slowly died u'nm their injuries. Personally I am a great lover of shoot'ng, but I am delighted beyond measure to leain that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is endeavouring to have an j Act passed mak ;, ig pigeon shooting an A illegal past'uie. May iis effoi a iu this W (l ; vcct'on be as successful as they havo / been '-\ other matters. L

SIE WALTEB DULLER. SirWaUer Bu"cris,l hear, not going Home for good, although it is quite possible l»'s stay ''i England may be a pro,.'acted one. It was repo,,cdf,om the fact that Sir Walter was selling olf the the frrnituro iu his town house, that he had made up his ro'nd to shake the dust of the Colony olf his shoes for good and aye. As a matter of fact Sir Walter intends to reside upon his famous Papaitonga property, near Levin, when lie renins io the Colony. The exact object of Sir Walter's t;ip Home is not known, but I v ldersland it is purely a pleasure jaunt. Possibly Sir Walter intends to get even with his ancient enemy, Sir Somcrs V;nc,of the Imperial Institute, cud the trip to Englaud is, as it were, a sort of punitive expedition. I have heard that Sir Walter Jlu"er in contemplation the publication dm another book, on the fauna or flora, know not which, of New Zealand. THE KLOWEII SHOW, FBUITCBLTUIE, AND THE WAIHAHAPA. I am glad to notice that the Wairarapa people are suppoii'ng the Wellington Chrysanthemum Show which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday. From the large number of entries the Show promises to be we", worth see ;, ig, although, of course.the boisterous weather we havo been indulging iu lately has, to a large extent, spoilt the beauty of the blooms. A large amount of care and trouble is expended in the cultivation of the chrysanthcmiim in Wellington, many people going so far as to erect canvas covering over the plants m order to preserve the flowers from the ravages of the weather. I also notice that there are several exhibits of apples from Carterton and elsewlice in your district. ll»s is a step in the right chec'ion, for it is a good thing to let us know here in Wellington, what can bo produced in the Wairarapa in tho shape of fruit, As I have pointed out on previous occasions'thcre is a splendid opening for cultivating a fruit trade with town, for there is a large and ever inercasin? demand. THE EEV. Mil. VAN STAVEBEN ANDCnAB» AULE All).

The indefatigable licv. Mr Van Slayeren has, after many years labor, at last taken :i holiday unto himself, and staged off tor Australia on pleasure and profit bent. Before leaving, the inevitable purse of sovereigns and the usual address, were presented to the genial liabbi. In Mr Van Staveren's case, a presentation was never so worthily bestowed, for he has done yeoman service for Jew and Gent'le, "i many capacities, and always withungiiidgi'igcheerfulness and with unllagging zeal, Where the administration of Charitable Aid iu Wellington, would have landed us, without a man of Mr Van Staveren's resolution at Iko head of affairs, I would bo sony to sunr'se. Mr Van Staveren is a mau we cannot spare for long,hc has made himself too useful to the community. The tei/or of imposlors and loafers, Mr Van Starcrcn lias withal an infinite compassion for all cases ot real distress. Ind'scr'minate charity, Mr Van Staveran abhors in theory publicly, but I doubt whether ho steels liishijafc to put bis convictions hto prajftra privately, Mr Van Staveren has lick called a hard mau by those who know him only by hearsay, but bo bas to remember he is administering public money, not perhaps according to his own ''icb'ialions always, but with a due regard to the pockets of the ratepayers, To successfully occupy Mr Van i -Staveren's position, one must throw personal feelings aside. Nine men out of ten would fail signally, Mr Van Staveren has succeeded brilliantly.

PIOSILY I'JiOSPEBOUS. There arc somcpttb ,; c companies tho pumial meetings of wh'ch shareholders never attend, either from the fact that they dread the dreai/record of an unsuccessful year, or that they equally dread the dull reiteration of a perpetual prospciity which never varies year iu or year out. Amongst (he latter fm iudato category may be included The Wellington Patent Slip Company.Limitcd, which I believe, for several years past has been unable to obtain a quorum at its anual meeting, because it is so prosily Dryperous that the shareholders belie Wit would he a work of supererogratioS.fo assist at a function the sole business ofwh'ch is to declare a dMdendwl ,: ch they know already has been earned. The Patent Slip is only a comparatively small affa'r, although of itslind it is k excellent, and yet it has managed to ca..i every year, for its proprietors, a handsome return for the'" money, I have oilen thought that so long as the Patent Slip Company continues b eaid such conrfo'.ablo dividends, we ore not l'kely to see a i:j dock in The Patent S l; p proprietors have too good a thing on hand to encourage such . ncw-fan<{lcd notions as d y docks. The Patent ul-'p, I may mention, will not lake up an ocean steamship or even a modem j) sized man-of-war, but -I havd seen a 10-ton sail'ig vessel on the crad'e. Possibly tb's will be sufficient for the present for us. We do not want a " white elephant" such as the Calliope Dock, Auckland, t

THE NECKSSITV OK SOCIAL KEFOBM. Some time ago, with a flomish of many trumpets, a society started W Wellington which ca"ed itself the Social Reform League. It was loudly asserted that its special mission was to rcgg*rate Colonial Society, and f) wipe oSfio evils of intemperance and immorality. The Leagae is apparently not mak'mr. '<' any considerable headway, for one nover hears anything of it, and the evils its, mission was to blot out of existence, are 1 now more noticeablp than ever. Drunkcmess and other vices in Wellington arc now more rampant than before. I will rofcr op'j to one aspect of the social question, namely, to the existence ofthc"vufoi«to" class. Not long ago the police stimulated to exertion, possibly by the influence of the Leagac, made a clean sweep of the demi mondt in Wellington. They were ordered inconthently, to clear out bag and baggage within. 2i hours, and these wretched women had peuoroc to go or suffer the penalties of fine andimpiisonment, for plying their call : ng when for- > bidden to do so. They wero made to movo on anywhere so long as thoy did not pollute the Wellington pavements. It was a matter of small moment how or where they should live, but they must not sully the Empvre City by their blighting "lfluence. It was pointed out nt tho time thattbis enforced exodus would orly hayo the effect of increasing t' instead of decreasing (ho evil. Aid so it has tu-ned out, for to-day there »to more women ni young gr-ls lcaJHg vicious lives than was over the case w»a opm jmmpwlify was a pore or wss recotiscd institution,'_ Thp members of the Social Ecfoim leagae have on'y to take their walks abroad ot an evem'tij: y: when they will undoubtedly be quioily' madeawevothcy'havoyetmuchrcfoiin- ,' ing work before them, The saddest

part about the present state of affairs is that tho girls who haunt the streets at night have uot yet lost the air of respectability, which, no doubt they had a jiijit to claim not so very long ago. -»arently their fall is of but recent origin, TOE DANOEBS OF ELBCrBICITY. The accident at Newtown last night which resulted in three people being seriously injured by contact with a fallen olcctric-Hght wire, forcibly illustrates the great danger which exists in allowing the wires for the electric-lighting to be carried overhead. It has been pointed out over and over again that an overhead installation is fraught with extreme danger in many respects, and it is in addition very unsightly. In nearly all tho large (owns in Europe and America, over-head wires, either for elechiclijjhling, telegraph or_ telephone services, are absolutely forbidden. All the wires must be placed underground in tunnels, carefully insulated and otherwise protected. Had ihc tlirep people at New town who ran up against the wire received tho full force of the current, they must have suffered fatal injuries. They were fortunate to escape so lightly as they did. There is already ajArfcct network of wires in the Weil<Hon streets, and perhaps the authority, as the result of this accident, will now recognise the danger which exists their presence. Should a fire occur in one of our narrow streets, with the network of wires overhead, how could tho firo brigade raise their ladders to the. top stories ? It would be a practical impossibility in some of the streets unless tlie wires wore cut don a. Some one in the rush and lmi ry of the moment, without waiting for the current to be cut oil, would seize an axe and hack at tho wires, and the result would probaMv be the almost instant " electrocution " of the unfortunate fireman. This question of over-head wiring will have to be seriously faced before long, and the sooner the better. A " STRIKING " ILLUSTRATION. An amusing Incident happened in one of tho leadiug town churches last Sunday evening, which, althoueh ludicrous enough to many of the congregation, was nflfaerhaps so humorous to the eb'et concerned. The parson, worthy man, was in the middle of his sermon, and when in the very tempest of his passion, burning with fervid eloquence »nd kindling with enthusiasm for his subject, he brought his hand down with a mighty thump on the large Bible which lay open before li'm. IWortuuately for the Parson, the Book was not evenly balanced on the pulpit, and this resounding thwack being too much for its equilibrium, it promptly toppled over, just graz ; ug the bent head of a devout and highly attentive old lady who sat immediately beneath, Naturally, the old lady was not a liille alaimcd and astonished, and the clergyman turned positively pale with apprehension, No damage was done however, and the sermon proceeded, but tho thread of the discourse was lost, and the fervid eloquence was gone for that evening at anyrate.