ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1377, 30 April 1881, Page 2

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Last Saturday we had another Bank holday, as it was St. George's Day. These holidays are becoming rather too frequent, as, beginning with Christmas Day, there have been no less than twelve total or partial holidays in four months. A joka is a joke, but when it is carried too far it begins to pa.ll, aDd business people think that the holiday joke has been carried rather too far. They have to pay rent, city rate 9, wages &c, whether their shops are open or shut, and they naturally object to bo many holidays. I would like to know why bank clerks should have more holidays than other people. Their hours are not so long, and their work is not so hard as that of a merchants' clerk while there are many business people who work half as long again as bank clerks do, and have those " little bills" to pro* vide for. Why then* should the legislature provide a number of holidays for banks in excess of those enjoyed by other white men ? I say " other white men " advisedly, because gentlemen of the Maori persuasion are independent of Bank holidays, or any other holidays, as they are so carefully taken care of by a paternal Government, that they can please themselves as to whether they work or let it alone, so they let it alone. Libel actions seems to be the order of the day jn^t now, at least so far as Mr Wickham, of the Free lance, is concerned. No sooner had Mr W. L. Rees succeeded in getting him committed for trial for a liabel on him than Mr W. J. Hursfc, who was deecribed by his own solicitor, Mr Tyler, as " one of those unfortunate members who ratted," instituted proceedings apainst him, the result being committal for trial again. I whould have given (something to have seen Hurst draw himself iip and inflate his chest (there is a good deal of wind in W.J.) before replyir gto Mr Tyler, u I object to the term. I was one of the honorable members who discharged a difficult duty according to my conscience, and turned." Just fancy ! Hurst has a conscience. lam quite satisfied that the celebrated " Auckland four" did a great service to the colony by leaving the Groy party, but for Mr Hurst to try to make people believe that what he did was m consequence of his having a conscience is rather too good a joke. He thought that he was making a good bargain, which would be gain to Auckland, and bring kudos to one of the members for City West, and the idea of the conscience was merely an afterthought. (Memo for Editor. — Please make sure there is nothing libelous in my remarks about Mr Hurst, because I do not want you to share the same fate as Mr Wickham and this immaculate man with a ennscience is evidently on the war-path.) The daily papers both had obituary notices of the late Earl Beaconsfield, but neither of them paid the tribute of respect usual in such cases, and which was paid by the Waikato Times by placing their articles between double-leaded lines. The article in the Herald began with what I believe to be an erioneous translation of a Latin proverb, but it is so long since I was at school that I am not quite sure whether the Herald's translation or mine is correct, so I will give the proverb in Latin, the Herald's translation thereof and mine, and let the classical scholars who read the " Echoes" form their own judgment. The proverb is, Pallula mors ccquo palsat pebe pauper udi tabernas, Regumquc turres. The Hnalil translate* it thus : "Pale death with equal foot strikes wide the palaces of the nch and hovels of the poor." I translate it, "Pale death knocks with equal foot at the cabins of the poor and the palaces of kings." The Grammar School Governors met list Friday, when a telegram was read from the fton. W. Rolleston, declining to do anything in the way of assisting the Governors to ptoi'ure a new head master. Mr llolkston gave the Governor, of wh'Mii two me members of the House of Ke]>it'sent:iti\ es, a severe rap on the knuckle-), as he said he supposed they ■woic ignoiant of the fact that he is no longer Minister of Education, and recommended them to communicate with the Hon. Thomas Dick, who now holds that portfolio. Of course the Go"\ernors ignored the recommendation, as Mr Dick is a Scotchman, and might possibly procure one of his own countrymen, if he undertook the task at all, which is very doubtful. Instead of that, they decided to communicate with the Governors of the Canterbury High School, who have recently selected a headmaster, and get them to recommend the beat of the applicants whom they rejected. A man who is not good enough for Canterbury is not, in my humble opinion, good enough for Auckland, but I suppose I am wrong, seeing that so wise a man as Judge Fenton has decided otherwise. Simonsen's Opera Troupe has been performing before large audiences during the past three weeks, and, though the performances have not been perfection, (what performances are?), they have been very good, and well- worth coming a long way to hear. As I have said, the performances have not been perfection, but it is surprising that they have been so very good, when it i 3 remembered that a different opera is performed almost every night. Among the best-known of the troupe are Madame Simonsen, who has been here before and who read the prize poem at the oppning of qhe Theatre Royal, and Riccarai, who was so very successful with the " Pinafore " company which he organised here about two years ago. The greatest attractions, however, are the Misses Simonsen, of whom there are three, who are decidedly pretty, have good voices, and act well. A greedy Scotchman in Dunedin, named McKerras, has been endeavouring to incite the Chamber of Commerce there to endeavour to get Parliament to discontinue the subsidy to the San Francisco mail-boats, and to give it to the Union Company on condition that they run direct steamers between Great Britain and New Zealand, calling at Dunedin, Lyttleton, and Wellington, Mr McKerras seems to forget that steamers sufficiently large to carry on a direct service, cannot go in and out of Dunedin Harbour with safety. What does it matter, though, if one or two large steamers are lost, providing Dunedin is aggrandised at the expense of the colony, and of Auckland, which has been robbed of the position of capital ? Our Auckland representatives must be on the alert, because if the members representing Otago, Canterbury, and Wellington are fanded together to carry this scheme into execution, poor Auckland will go to the wall, and New Zealand will lose the benefit of the best mail service she has ever had. Apropos of mail services, there must be some alteration made in the mail .service between this port and Fiji. A month ago. the "Southern Cross," being late, just succeeded in transhipping the Fijian mail into the Frisco mail steamer off Tiritiri. This trio she was too late to do even that, so it is left behind altogether. The " Southern Cross " is too slow for the service, besides being too small to carry all the cargo for Fiji, and unless a larger and faster boat is put on In her stead, the Fijians will certainly send their mails to Sydney, and the A.S.S Co. (Auckland Steam Ship Company, not Asses Company) will lose the subsidy and the trade, which will be Auckland all over, The Rev. C M. Pym was a passenger to San Francisco, enrottie for England, by

the City of Sydney. He is a very jolly parson, one who can enjoy n joke, though it is at bin own expense. The Herald on Tuesday contained the following clipping , from th« South Canterhury Times. " The Eev. C. M. Pym, of Auokland, has commenced a nories of evangelical services on behalf of the funds of the New Zealand Insurance Company." No doubt the paragraph was the result of a mistake in telegraphing the information that Mr Pyra had commenced a series ofevangelioal aerricea in the large room of the N.Z. Insurance Company's Buildings. A number of gentlemen, who were coming to town with Mr Pym in the smoking carriage of the 9 o'clock train on Tuesday morning, were laughing at the paragraph. One of them showed it to Mr Pym, who laughed heartily at it, apparently enjoying the joke as much as anyone. That is the . sort of parson appreciated by St. Mungo.