ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1232, 22 May 1880, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

The weather here has been very cold lately, and if, as I believe, it is much colder in the Waikato, I am afraid that, if I were there, I should be tempted to follow the example of a Frenchman of whom I have read. He was Frenchmaster at a boarding-school in England, and it was part ,of his duty to sleep in the same dormitory as a number of the younger boys, and to see that they and dressed themselves properly. *Re used to discharge his duty properly, making the boys get up at the proper time, wash and dress while he watched the operation, lying comfortably between ths blankets. One morning he noticed some of the boys shivering as they washed, so he said, "Boys, is it cold ze morning ?" They told him that it was very cold.' "Zen I will not wash," he said. And he did not wash until the weather became warm again, though he most religiously insisted on the boys washing. A special sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court was held on Monday last, for the purpose of finishing the Chinese cases which have been disturbing the judicial mind of Mr J. E. Macdonafd. It is a pity John Chinaman cannot settle his own little differences without coming before our courts. A good story is told of the late Mr Charles Broad, who was resident magistrate and warden on the West Coast goldfields. There were Chinese on the Coast, but they did not interfere with anyone, so no one intei*.fered with them until, on one occasion, they had a great row among themselves,' ana committed assaults on each other of a m6re or less serious nature. Then the police interfered and "ran 'em in." When they were brought before Mr jfroacl he adtased, them somewhat after

this fashion :—": — " Now, you people, so long as you behave yourselves and meddle with no one, we do not interfere with you, but when you begin to smash each other up we must interfere, as we cannot allow the country to be strewed with broken China." That excellent little publication, the New Zealand Muse, has been giving the daily papers a well-merited castigation for their musical critiques (?) during the last three or four years. According to the daily papers every singer, pianist, violinist, actor, who ha." been here has been a star of wonderful magnitude. The only mistake the editor of the Muse has made is that he has been too gentle, as the result of his indescriminate praise is that no one believes a word of the critiques which appear in the daily papei-s. A very good picture has been on view in one of our Auckland music-shops lately. It represents an audience at a theatre, enjoying the performance of "Pinafore," the " gallant Captain " standing on the stage, playing a guitar and singing, ' ' Fair moon to thee I sing, " while the moon is a stable lantern, held by a very ugly nigger, sitting on the top of a pair of steps, hidden, of course, from the audience oy the wings. Mr. Little has been committed for trial on the charge of attempting to defraud his creditors. Mr. George, his solicitor, tried to get the case dismissed on the ground that Little thought that his wife had sold the pictures, but Mr. Barstow considered that it was a case for the Supreme Court. We will see in July what 12 "good men and true" think about it. I will not express my opinion, as the jurymen would be sure to read it and be influenced by it, and I might find myself charged with embracery. Sir George Grey has been addressing ! the people of Christchurch, his constituents as he is phased to call them, but there is nothing better in his speech than there was* in that he delivered at the Theatre Royal here. The Herald, anxious to " run with the hare, " as it "hunted with the hounds " after the last speech, says, " Sir George Grey seems to have made at ChristIchurch a much more practicable speech than he delivered in the Theatre Royal. " I fail to see the practicability of the speech, and the Herald will need to exercise rather more ability than its columns usually show to prove the practicability. Judging by Wednesday's leading article the proprietors of the Herald have dismissed the editor and engaged a nurse-maid in his place, for no one else -would have written a leading article urging the City Council not to apply a portion of the Albert Park to the formation of a cricketground. Even the Improvement Commissioners, who were greatly maligned by the application of the name of "Improvement" to them, admitted the desirability of forming a cricket ground in the Park and left it to the Herald to engage a nursegirl to oppose the plan. St. Mxtkgo.