ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1410, 16 July 1881, Page 3

EC HOES FROM THE CAFE.

Everyone who has road it seems to be very much pleased with the Hon. Major Atkinhow's Financial Statement. It is, without doubt, the production of an able man, thoroughly conversant with his subject, and it is singularly free from the I mysterious wrappings in which financial statements are so often enveloped for the mystification of the unlearned. Like the M<igi of old, colonial treasurers too often veil then* statements in symbols and allegory, understood only by the initiated, and nnt always by them. The symbols used by Major Atkinson's predecessor were, " red herring ; " clap-trap," and "bunkum." The initiated, or at least some of them, understood these symbols, and so did a number of those who occupied the opposition benches, but the mass of the people, stared at them in bilent wonder, thought they were signs of superhuman wisdom, and made themselves hoarse with " three cheers for Sir George Grey." Major Atkinson's statement lacks thee symbol?, being plain, straightforward and statesmanlike, such as any man of average education and intelligence can understand. There is one featuro in the Financial Statement for which Major Atkinson deserves .in especial meed of praise. That is the proposal to raise the next loan in the colony, issuing small debentures which may be taken up by the working classes If these debentures are takon up by the right class of people, it will be the beginning of the end. As the millions raised in London bfceome due, they can be paid with money raided in the colony, and wo will thus be saved fioin the continual diain on the resource-* of the colony caused by the necessity to send the interest on our loans to London. It is in consequence of the fact th.it the Government of Fi anco wei'e abie to bonow the money to p.iy the immen.se indemnity consequent on the Fi,inco-Piu--hian War, th.it that country received hardly, it any, cheek to its prosperity, through having to send so laigo a sum out of the countiy. As matteis .ue at pioscut, the people oi .some oi the Australian colonies are looking with wonder at the proof-, of our extiaordinary progie&s and prosperity, m spite of our lai«re debt. If the plsiii piopo&ed by the Colonial Tieasurcr is piopeily canicd out, and if the lesuleuls m the colony avail themselves of the opportunity to invest their savings in Government bonds, there is no doubt that our prosperity w ill be immensely increased. We have had a fine example of official bungling in connection with the Local Board ot Health and the qiianuituieiegulations. When Sydney was pioclaimcd an infected poit, the mayor, the chairman ot the llaibour Board, and the chief h.xrbour-nmster were gazetted membeis of a Local Board of Health. Aftci a careful examination of the Act of Parliament, under which they weie appointed, they came to the conclusion that then poweis and their duties were not defined. They, therefore, telegraphed to Wellington for instmctions, and lcceived a lcply to the effect that the Act gave the information for winch they asked. They tclegiaphcd again to the effect that they coultl not discover the desned information, and asking that they might be informed of their powers and duties. No reply was lecoived, so they icsignecl their po&isions, and we now ha\e no Local Board ot Health. Some one is to to blame foi this muddle, and the question is— "Who/" It seems fiom the' Wellington telegiams th.it by the lc-distnbution of Seats Bill, the electorate of Eden is to be rcdistubuted out of e\istence. Serve it i lght, too It 1 had had my way at the tune of the last general election, I would have ic-distnbuted the majority ofl the electois of the district ofl the electois 1011. The stupid liinnios who would piefer Tole to Whitakei deceived to be disfranchised. I see that some of the solf-styled Libei.il P.iity ha/c met in solemn conclave in the Parliament Buildings to devise a general plan of operations at the next General Election. One thing I know, and that is that when the question o f £ s d. comes on for ron'-ideiation, tho Great Proconsul will not be to the fore. It is somewhat strange that, considering 1 his love fOl the people, and the certain knowledge rhat he has that all his themes are calculated to benefit the whole human i ace, this jric.il patriot is so extremely loath to put his hand in his pocket to promote the election of those pledged to support him. Of course, eveiy one who considers the mutter dispassionately must admit that it is a moot ch'-giaceful thing that a splfrlooted committee, such as the Gievite Ccntial Committee, should meet in Auckland and decide who is to lepresont countiy constituencies, but, so long as the country electors submit to the the dictation, so long will this state of affah -.exist It must be admitted th.it the Centi.il Committee is .ni c\rellent institution fur tho cauying out of the views of the piomotpih, as having both men and money at theu 1 command, they can materially affect the lesult of elections. Union is sticngth, and it behoves us of the Constitutional Paity to oppose union against union, to get up a largo and influential central committee, with local committees in evciy electoiatc. Let us woik together, and theic need be no fear (if the result Wo have tho best men in tho colony, and we can get as much money as we rpquiro. All we want is organisation, and that we must have It is satisfactory to leain that tho new drcdizc, import rd by the H.nbour Boaid, is doing its work pioperly. The last attempt at a dredge was a vciv abortive one. After ,i huge sum of money had been spent on its puich.ise, it was found that the dtedge could not woik deep enough to bo ot any considerable value, and so tho money had beeu almost thrown away. Tho new dredge, however, has Njcn woiking to a depth of thiity feet, and, if 1 mistake not, the cost of v, orking is considerably less than the cost of working its comparatively useless predecessor. The letired skippers of " dug-outs" who used form a powerful party in the Harbour Board, have been gradually replaced by shrewd business men, and the consequence is tint the interests of the harbour are better conserved. The three nominees of the Governor- -Messrs. Eaton and Baylan and Captain Daldv, the gentlemen to whom we are mainly indebted for that abortion, the Auckland Graving Dock — have retired from the Board, and Messrs. Clark, Morrin, and Owen, have been appoiuted in their stead. What an iranrovomont ! St. James's Mutual Admiration Society has decided that tho Tiansvaal Boors weve justified in rebelling against tho British Government. How very pleased tho Boers will bo to learn the decision of the Society. No doubt, the Hon. W. E. Gladstone is pleaded also, for, of course, the decision was telegraphed to him. Fortunately, Earl BeaconsneH is beyond ' the reach of telegrams. If he could be informed of the opinion of these genuises, it would make him turn iv his grave. I suppose that the next decision of t^e society will be that the Maoris were justified in rebelling. T,ho Card en Company have • been playing at the Theatre Royal, chiefly in sensational pieces, to tolerably good houses. Tha company is a very good one,- but coming immediately after the Juvenile Pinafore Troupe has militated greatly against their success, ,Apropoa of, the Pinafore Troupe, De Lias, the proprietor of the Theatre^ was offered a Sjhare of the profits in lien of f en,t, but ' declined the offer. Ihe troupe had crowded hou^s

and De Lias is at least £109 poorer than he would have been had he accepted it. St. Mungo.