ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1465, 22 November 1881, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

After oaref ully waiting until the result of the march on Parihaka was known, Sir George Grey addressed the electors and ron-electors, principally the nonelectors, of City East, in the Choral Hall, on Monday evening. It is very evident that Greyism is on the wane, as whereas last year tho Theatro was crowded to excess, and many people were unabJe to gain admittance ; on Monday evening the Choral Hall was not nearly full when the speech began. No doubt, the fact that the Parihaka affair had been brought to a successful issue, h ad its due weight, as many people are so well pleased with the action of the Government that they would not countenance with their presence a leader of the opposition. Of course, there waa nothing new in the speech, which consisted mainly of a repetition of the old story about the laud for the people, who, as a rule do not want the land and would simply starve if they had to lire on it and depend on the fruits of che soil grown by themselves for their maintenance, and tho " unearned increment." I was very anxious, as were many others, to hear what the old fox would say about the Parihaka affair. Seeing that the action taken by the Ministry had proved successful, he was too astute to condemn it, and the only way in which he could manage to find fault, for he was bound to find some fault, was by censuring the Government for not having arrested Te Whiti long ago. 4e, a philoraaori, should have been the last to say a word of censure on account of delay, as he, at any rate, should have approved of the action of tho Ministry in giving the natives ample time to prove the genuineness of their alleged grievances. However, such is the meanness of some people, that they refuse to give an opponent credit for the good he has done, but carp and criticise and say that more good might have been done, or that tho same amount of good, or an even greater amount, might have been done by earlier action. I am Very glad to hear that an influential requisition to Mr Thomas Peacock, who was Mayor of Auckland for two years, asking him to allow himself to be nominated for Auckland North, is beinp got up. I have no doubt that Mr Peacock will comply with the request, nor do I doubt that he will be elected. In that case, we shall have at least one really good man to represent the city, one man fit to be the representative of a commercial constituency, one man who will not enter Pailiament pledged to follow Sir George Grey, whatever bis vagarieo may be. I still hope to t-ee Mr Clark elected for Auckland East, as there is a wide-spread feeling of dissatisfaction with Sir George Grey, because he was mainly instrumental in robbing leaseholders of their electoral rights. It was only last evening that I was talking to a man whom I supposed to be a staunch Greyite, but who told me that he would vote for any man who would oppose Grey. He is in business, in Queen-st, on the west side, but, although he pays a weekly rental of £7, and has spent some hundreds of pounds in making improvements, he has no vote for City West, but, as he lives in City East, he has a vote for that constituency, and will give it to anyone who will oppose Grey. Under these circumstances, I still hope to see Mr Clark elected, and in that case, if Mr Peacock represents City North, we will have two good nieu instead of two . You may fill the name in for yourselves, dear readers. Yesterday and to-day (Thursday) there was a very good flower show in the Choral Hall. The number of exhibits had increased fifty per cent as compared with that held a year ago. and as that was held in the drill-shed, a very unsuitable place, in an inconvenient position, whereas the present exhibition was held in the Choral < Hall, there was a very laige increase in the number of visitors. Another great attraction was the fact that a band was playing on the lawn in front of Government House, where visitors to the flower show were allowed to promenade. I wonder why someone does not make arrangements to have a band playing there every fine evening, and why the citizens of Auckland are not allowed to walk about the Government House grounds whenever they feel so disposed. There is too much of the dog-in-the-manger business in this matter. The Governor of the colony is hardly ever in Auckland, co I think that Government House grounds should be used as a, public recreation ground. However, I am afraid that it would te, useless to ask such a concession f roni the. present occupant of the Gubernatorial throne. Carys Opera Company aye still playjng

to good houses, and they have reduced the charges of admission to what they are pleased to term "million prices," that is, dress circle, 4s, stalls 2s 6d and pit Is, These are the ordinary theatre charges, and I believe that the opera company would have taken more money had they adhered to them instead of raising the prices to, dress circle ss, stalls 3s and pit 2s. I believe that any manager who has the sense to reduce the ordinary theatre charges to 3s, 2s and Is, will find that he has made an alteration which will fill his house and his coffers. I recommend the suggestion to the manager of the new opera house, which is making good progress. The "rag trade " in Auckland hasbesn in a great state of excitement for the last few days, vowing vengeance on three of the lucal insurance companies. On Saturday week the premises of Mes&rs Linabury and Co. caught fire, and, though the flames were extinguished very speedily, a considerable portion of the stock was damaged by fire or water. The insurances were held by three of the local companies, who ordered the damaged stock to be removed to Mr G. Lewis's auction mart, there to be sold by auction in lots to suit purchasers. The stock was removed, and Mr Lewis advertised that the sale would take place on Friday last. On the morning of that day, however, there appeared an advertisement to the effect that the goods were withdrawn, as they had been disposed of privately. It soon became known that the whole lot had been sold to Mr Coombes. Then the howl began. People connected with the "rag trade," and people who were not connected w ith it, went to Mr Lewis and began to abuse him, though he assured them that he knew nothing about the matter, except that his principals had instiucted him to withdraw the goods, as they had sold them privately. Many people had come from a great distance, and one lady, who said that she was a washerwoman, told him that ahe had got up at three o'clock in the morning in order to get her washing done, so that she might be able to attend the sale. She proceeded to pour foith a torrent of abuse on Mr Lewis's innocent head, so he girded up his loins and went. We are to have a grand Masonic demonstration in Auckland on December 6th, on the occasion of the consecration of the new Freemasons' Hall, which has been erected in Princes -street. There will, doubtless, be a large muster of the " Brethren of the mystic tie," whatever that may mean, though the day selected, being that on which the English mail leaves, is not by any means the best that could have been chosen. The proceedings will terminate with a grand ball, which will be held in the Choral Hall in the evening, so that any Masons from Waikato who come down will be able to see an interesting ceremony and to enjoy a good dance. St. Mungo.