TOLD ON LAMBTON QUAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5206, 13 December 1895, Page 3

TOLD ON LAMBTON QUAY.

[By The Ancient Makixfr.] "And thus spake on that ancient nian, The bright-eyed Coleridge. Weuixctox, Tuesday. k TROUIILESOME IIITION. Buttons! Bother the buttons! Like unpleasant events, they are always "comingoff" For causing potty worries awl unexpected incouvonionces, buttons are hard to beat, and when oppressed with the delinquencies of a lost button, we are apt to bold forth in violent language, on tho curse of buttons. It is no good getting into a flurry, buttons liavo come to stay, and a man must have them about him, or run the risk of finding a resting place in the penitentiary. The history of the button, I am not acquainted with, but it seems to have been known in the days of the good Queen Bess, attaining a conspicuous position under James 1. Charles repressed the button, but on some of the fops of his day, it showed itself. Buttons have made considerable progress, since they were thst launched on tho world of dress, and we have thorn now in all shapes, sizes, colours, and of a variety of materials. Buttons have stood the test of time, because of their sound business habit. They grip the figure tightly, and leave no holes and corners for the wind to enter. They are easily done up and undone, but sometimes they undo themselves, to the consternation of their owner. Tliey enable a man to look neat and tidy, even when lie has dressed in a hurry to catch a train, or in response to tho lire alarm. A man's underclothes may be anyhow, or they may not be there at all, but the closelybuttoned outer garment will hide all faults and imperfections. Our forefathers were content to waddle through life in blissful ignorance of the value of buttons, and although

we nay pity them, yet by way of - compliment to their simplicity, we l - regard as picturesque, the style of dress distinguished by the absence of buttons. I never intended when 1 began this letter to write so much about buttons, for I have a simple yarn only to tell of Low troublesome a button proved itself to bo. A man lost a fancy button, and in due course lie reported the circumstance to the police. Anenterprisiugbobby laid his ten fingers on tlio man of whom it was alleged that ho found it before it was lost. The bobby had his man up before the S.M. on a charge of pilfering a valuable gold stud; the S.M. sent the fellow up for trial at tho Supreme Court. The Grand Jury promptly returned " 110 bill," and the man was released. The lost gold stud was found just prior to the case coming before the Grand .Jury, and was found to bo a fancy button, which oue of the jurymen alleges he has since discovered

to bo of tho value of two-penco. All r this trouble, worry and inconvenience to a number of people, and expense to the State overatuppenny buttou. The unfortunate fellow who was " up " for this button, thinks it would bo better for the community if we could dispense with buttons, and toe the line arrayed in a short shirt and a smile. Life would, under such circumstances, bo less hedged in with petty worries and button-bursting troubles, COLONIAL PRECOCITY. Arc Colonial children raoro precocious than their cousins at Home ? It is hard to give a decided answer to the question, but taken as a whole the Colonial kids will stand a lot of beating. The street nippers of Wellington have a smattering of all tilings, and a knowledge of statute

law is not the least of their accomplishmeats. The vigilance of the temperance party has caused the liquor laws to be more stringently administered, and publicans and tlioir barmen and barmaids show a more wholesome respect for the law, A nipper of about 12 summers bobbed into a city pub the othcrday I and called for a pint of beer. He bad no intention of carrying the 1 liquor insido his skin, but lie failed to show the bottle when ho called for the pint, at anyrate the barman in response said, " 1 can't serve you, young chap, you're under age." " G'wan," ropliedthe lad, "yaucan't servo me, but you can serve my old genzer of a father there (pointing), and him with a 1 probition' order agin him," Tableau. IiAIES A SI) III'YEHS.

Ono would imagine Hint a wool Halo was very much like a stock sale, jn a genoral way it is, that is to say both are sales by auction, A wool sale, however, has peculiarities, all its own, and these I noted at the last Wellington wool sale. The first noticeable feature is that all the wool-brokers hold their sales on the one day, The bales are not pooled and ono auctioneer do all the selling, on the contrary the lots are kept quite distinct, and each sellingbroker suppliesliisowiiKalesman. Fiu'tlmrwore, the sale is held in one room, one catalogue sufficing for the whole of the wool to be ottered. A. wool40kitalogue is a marvel of the printer's art; in it you see every kind of type and device, rendered necessary to depict the brands. Letters appear upside down, side ways on; some are perched 011 the top of bars, others nestle cosily in diamonds, triangles and crescents. There arc invariably two sets of buyers, foreign and Colonial, and iot whether designedly or otherwise, one set sits apart from the other. At the sales'oll fcYjday last, the (Jolpnial buyers occupied seats on [jie right pf the auctioneer, while the foreign buyers,aboutsix in num- ► bpi', were on' the jeft. Tfte most marked distinction between the two classes of buyers is in the bidding. I'lie Colonial byyers bid with the oyp or the head, a 110b or a wink is understood by the auctioneer. This mode of silent bidding is explained by the fact that Colonial buyers are never sure of the highest price tliey intend giving; perhaps tit may bo modesty that prethem opening their mouths, p.' 'The foreign buyer goes upon , : i another for as soon as he comes' to the lot on tho Catalogue that he inrU tends buying, lio does not wait for ■i.: the auctioneer to invite bids, but half rises in his seat, throws his funis akimbo, and with a noise that jn something of a • cross • between A 'dog's '.yelp and - the top tiote 'of «■ courting-.•cat, tankeshis ■'i', bid. Tho auctioneer has to guess

from the sound, tho amount of tho bid, Tho foreigner makes but ono bid, and in that ho convoys his best offer, nud should it so happen that two foreigners bid at the samo time tho decision rests with tho auctioneer 1 who invariably " knocks it down " to: tho ono who first catches his oye. , Tho onlooker will bo most amused , with the peculiar screeching sound that passes for bidding with tho foreigner. It is a peculiarity and is tip-fop London stylo, and, like a good many other tip-lop things, no uatisfactory explanation can be given for it. The Wellington sales wero opened by a "newchum" auctioneer, yot 1 bis performance was quite equal to that of the older hands, Mr G. H, Scales on this occasion made his first appearaneo as a wool auctioneer, and shaped remarkably well. Mr T, Hannn, the genial Manager of the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile, also made his debut, and gave every satisfaction. It may be remarked, as an indication of the improve;! tone of the niarkot that the bulk of the wool catalogued was sold under the hammer, while the passed-iti lots were easily quitted at slightly below reserved prices. KAii,wav rums.

Life as a railway employe is full of dangers, for no matter how careful a nnin may be, accidents will happen and there arc occasions when the railway hand is shunted on to a siding as a cripple needing repairs. It is when undergoing the necessary repairs that the railway employe feels his position, for there is nothing like a spell of sickness to make a hole in the savings. Some poor unfortunate fellows with no savings at all are sometimes obliged to lay up, and it is on occasions of this kind that we get. an exemplification of the gag" fellow feeling makes as wondrons kind." Railway men have a knack of responding with the " stuff " when one of their kind is laid up for repairs and needs assistance, bat this go-as-you-please kind of charity was found oppressive alike to the recipients and the donors, and it was to overcome this that tho Railway Employes' Benefit Society was started some seven years ago. I have beforo me the seventh annual report of the committee of management and 1 gather from it that tho total receipts during tlie year amounted to f 18315s Id. The membership of this Society which is confined to the employes _of the Wellington-Woodville section of railwav, now stands at 142, with every probability of being further increased daring the coming year. Tho members pay into the common fund sixpence per week or 26s per annum. The fund is administered by a Committee, and any member falling ill or meeting with an accident so that lie is unable to work, receives a weekly allowance, and from the repoit before me I see that no less than 41 members received sick pay, the total so disbursed amounting to £93 16s Bd, There are on the list individual payments of £l4, £7, £C, £5 and several smaller amounts. One member died during the year and a funeral allowance of £lO was made to his relations.

Under the old system to help some of the unfortunates, a tarpaulin muster would have been resorted to, and there have been times when the railway men have had two or three subscriptions to faco in a single month, but with the present arrangement sixpence per week seems to coverall demands, and tho idea of charity is not in it, For the year just closed, after deducting sick and funeral allowances and expenses of management, a sum of £lOl lis ad is left, which is returned in cash to the subscribers; a dividend of Os will thus be handed back to those who have contributed to the Society throughout tho year. As a means to an end, and that end the relief of suffering and distress, the Railway Employes' llenelit Society has proved its usefulness. Mr T. ]■]. Donne, the courteous Traffic Manager, is President of the Society, from which it is apparent that all gtades of Railway men are embraced in the Society.

woman's wavs,

Our womcnkiml are making determined efforts to assert their independence. Ever since the enfranchisement of women, the fair sex of this City have sought ways and means of bringing themselves to the front. Leagues, Clubs and Societies have been formed, containing within themselves the usual amount of jealousy and feminine hair-pulling features. Of course male thickheads are rigidly excluded from these women societies, tho only privilege accorded the men, being the doubtful privilege of subscribing funds. Taken all round, the new woman is a harmless creature, providing more comedy than tragedy. Among the out-and-out female clubs, must be reckoned the Liederkranz, a musical society consisting of ladies both young and old, or rather young ami not so young as they used to be. No male assistance or interference is tolerated, the ladies doing everything for themselves, and so far with great success. 'The Liedorkranz has given three concerts and is still alive. There is nothing like music for bringing to the surface the latent jealousy of women, but in this respect also the Liederkranz is a model, for it is noticeable that the ladies all have their hair intact, The last concert of the Liederkranz, held early this month, was marked by the debut of Miss May Salmon, who made a favourable impression on a fashionable audience, it is a debatcablepointwhethertheaudience knew anything about music, at anyrate Miss Salmon was greeted with much applause, and wu must presume, the audience being fashionable, was able to judge of the merits of the performance. The Liederkranz, will, no doubt, always receive the support of a certain small section of tho community, and may possibly grow into some size, but to an onlooker it seems clear that the multiplication of musical societies in tiiis City is not in the best interests of music. Therearetoomanycliques, factions, and faddists amongst our musical people, and a little less jealousy and a little more music would, 1 think, heqreatly appreciated j by the public,

T!IE HAITI,r, ran iiekk. Publicans, pubs, beers, prohibitionists, moderate drinkers, and deep-sinkers wero pretty well mixed up (it the meeting of the Licensing CommitlGO, Tho publicans and brewers have, however, won the day, and the residential suburb of Newtown is lo bo burdened with another pub. Tho bulk of tho Newtown peoplo did not want another hotel, but it was urged tliiit an additional pnl) in that district was necessary iu order to give the swipers a choice of beqro. At present only oue kind of Wellington; beer is retailed in Newtota, aiid tho'now pub will sell, the other kind. Thegrantingof tho; license, which was so Very strongly

opposed hy the people, will give the temperance party another reason for activity. The committee seemed powerless to do otherwise than grant tlie license, for they must decide theso mutters according to law; this provos that' tlie law is a ass," Of courso this liconsing business lias : given rise to a lot of talk of one kind or another, and I hear it rumoured that the Tltouidon Brewery and the ono at Te Avo will be amalgamated. This amalgamation has been talked of before, and never resulted in business, and it is just possible that the. rumour now afloat may bo rumour only.