ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1684, 21 April 1883, Page 2

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

It is extremely satisfactory to us Auck. authority as Sir William Jervois has passed sn'ch ah ''exceedingly flattering eulosiiutvoaonr. harbour., I Jeel some* wVaVMtlredtmyself,,** I /haM always had and^expr.ess.ert^be.., opinon that Auckland Mrbbnf fs'thV best in New Zenlafnd, ,; and -better, .than,,, the- ,much- (- vaunted Port Jackson, the harbour of •Sydney,' \vhile HbbsoVs Baft' the harbour of Melbourne, is not tit to be mentioned linitfhe- same, breath with-, the Waitemata. I say that I feel somewhat flattered myself,, because'' 4t' is very satisfactory to firfditliaTmyrropiriiopot'/SiTaft [that of a mere unprofessional outsider, Tihs been so fully endorsed b'y so' competent and so 'Vlisitt.t^i;eStc^!m\avi,thprr|>yiW' f^s^W( iam Jerypis, .His .Excellency's opinion will carry 'the 5 WoreNv&glvtP with^people elsewhere, on account of the fact that he has f tibt, like? lug. ;illuStriouS"prsd.9ps3sor, Sir George Bowen, jtpld the residents of all the towns in the^dlbny that they were ifchenfiuest-people-he- had n evet^sqen,, and that theyibad-ithe^fiuesi,harbour in the world. " On 'the '''con Wary, our present -Governor," was honest enough to tell the people 'of' IHiuefliir' hncl { liivet cargilj that they were making serious blunders in the management'of Weir 1 harbour's, inasmuch as they frittering ,aw,ay money in the attempt to make harbours at Dunedin and InvercapgiU,' where nature never intended that there should be harbours, inistead of improvjijg the good .natural harbours at Port Qhalmers and the Bluff. ■* * # ' ' Our ' Harbour Board has wisely idebided to offer every, reasonable facility to the proposed freezing coiripauy, which is to be ionned for the purpose of freezing and exporting mctit and otlier 'products "on a large seale v This s is . a matter of vital importance to the farmers of the .Wailfk"ato aiUl rr eVery T ''o'th"ei I '"distri(sfr''in r the North Island, ; as itifimst necessarily largely increase, .the demand for meat, butter, cheese, -&c.,_ &c, , which will ensure ' better' prices' 'to ''the producer. Whereas now Waiknto fanners have •only tWe 1 litriited'tnarket of Auckland to supply, the freezing company will place them in' communication with.' London, the largest market in- the , world, as well aa others of less size, though representing a • larger .consumption in the aggregate. With better prices ,for produqe, quent on a larger demand, our farmers . will find i a satisfactory Bplution of the problem, Does farming pay ? and I think that their thanks are clue to, -the Auckland Harbour Board' for their determination tolassist'in'that result by affording every facility to the proposed freezing company. < • < • : !On Friday, Saturday and 1 Monday; last a bazaar was carried on in this city, with the usual concoriiitan'ts^fair women and pretty uirls expending their eloquence and charms in the 'sale ot useful,'ornamental, useless an I ugly articles. Of com so the object was to raise, money, and that object was attained, £180 being realised. For- what was the money ,wanted ?— To help to build ,a ohurqh in some poor neighbourhood,? No. To ■Hji ovidc fiiinls'' for the l hospit!ai 'or-' some other charitable 1 ' institution ? No. It was to payoff the debt incurred in building the tower of St. Mark's Church, in the fashionable and wealthy suburb of R-eniuera. „ Jt does not say for tliose who attend that' church that, instead of putting thoh* hands in their pockets and, paying for what is at bes>t but an ornament of their church, they should mako an appeal to the public for assistance by holding a bazaar. I have always thought that it was the duty, as well as the privilege of the wealthy congregations in the city and suburbs to help the poorer congregations in the sparsely-populated country districts, instead ot Al;"goingA 1 ;" going rouud r with the hat " for themselves, w Inch they practically do in this oasje, but it seems that I was wrong in thinking so. Well ! the longer we live the more we learn. # * .Some of the public institutions find charities have had a lucky windfall thiough the death of Mr Edward Costley, who died on Wednesday morning, leaving upwards of .£lOO,OOO to be divided among the Auckland Hospital, Old Men's 'Home.'PArnell Orphan Home, Auckland Institute, Auckland Free Public Libiary, Sailors' Home, and the Training School at Kohimarama. The deceased gentleman showed excellent judgment' in the choice of institutions to be benefited by his magnifieient bequests, as they are all well worthy of.suppoi-t. Considering' his greai wealth, it is almost su'rptisuig that so few people knew Mr Costley, even by sight. The old identities were ( |uite familial* with his personal appearance, liiii; ' few 'of tliose who haye 1 arrived in Auckland of late years knew that the old man ,>vith \\is> bpnt, figure, who 'was seen occasionally in Queen-street or in the Bank of New Zealand', wag a ! than worth upwards of '£loo, ooo. Certainly, no one would have guessed the fact from his appearance, as he wore an old suit not much, better ' than that of the ' notorious " sciaps," who has been twice incarcerated pi Mount Eden Gaol for vagrancy. Though penurious in his habits, Mr 1 Costley was honourable in his dealings. When the block of buildings in Queen-street, below' the Savings Bank, Was burned down about two years ago he was among those whobe properties weic destioyed, Mr Cole, the basket-maker, having been bis tenant. After the lire Mr Cole waited on him, and asked him for a new lease. Hcagieed to give it to him, specifying - ithejreiit, but giving no written -agreement. After ho liad done so another applicant for the lease waited on him, and offered him, a 4 very mucli^larger rental than Mr Cole was to give, 'pointing out that as he had given no written agree,ii|C i nt i he, was not legally bound. Mr Costley 'promptly, ordered the man to leave his presence, laying that his word was as good as his bond, and instructed his solicitors to prepare 1 Mr Coles-l ease in the terms of his rental agreement. It is very batisfactory that he has made so good a disposal of his wealth, and my .only regret is that he did not see his way 'to consider me a deserving; public institution, and put me down for a share of 'his £100,000. * * ' The Salvation Army has commenced ■ > its campaign in Auckland, am\ 911 rSunday evening the " soldiers " had an excellent opportunity of indulging iv a little veritable fighting with "the world, the flesh, .arid the devil,'' as'represented i by a detachment sf thej Auckland larrikins, who congregated around door of the Temperance Hall, where the army were holding service. As a matter of course, the polioe were conspicuous by their absence, and so the larrikius had the game in their own hands and caused as mi|ch annoyance as possible. . I think it is a great pity that the soldiers of the Salvation" Army" <lid> not 1 make la sortib from the hall. and, inflict corporal puninwent on the larrikins, "as, had they d^v s6,'they would have conferred ' a! 'ben£at on the law-abiding portion *of the comr muni£y. Cromwell's soldiers knew how 'to^ffgWas 'well as to pray, and it is a pity that -the soldiersi 'of > the Salvation Army did not prove on Sunday evening that they helonged'to'tbe oliurch'militantr ( '!,',' ><;..,, ,_, * , * ■* 'Those ■ who 'the * retaining wall, built by Mr John Lamb, in Fore/BtreVt/i<<lSam.VB"foliy;<' Wrong in their ohoicebfia Aame, as it collapsed on Monday night. (By-the-way, I wonder UoW itjhdpppns that the name of thatstveetis almost invariably misspelt Fort instead of Fore, its proper appelJatfcn). , , Xhe proverb says, that the man who is his own lawyer has a fool for » Oließtj andtlj .think/ that.^Mri Lamb has [.found, that; thes' roan,. who is.hiy.own ,eng(nßGr ja .iiu, the-, same unfortunate .position,, ...WJieti „the,( w all, was being built Ijwas, repeatedly iipld, by a, i-etired i pfflcer, of the Jloyal^ngiueersithat it was /OAt b;emg,propevly iConstructed and, that frt.lW^uBU^.j^o..faU ( d0w0.,. While, the buildiqg \vftB; gpjngionuiihe.wftU gave, way S |« often r«»

built. At. last it was finished, and appeared to the unprofessional eye a very solid piece of work, capable of withstanding any strain, fiowever, the heavy rains which fell last week and on Sunday had fcjie ! cffect of causing it to give way and it fell with a tremendous crash on Monday night, It is a most disastrous affair for Mr Lamb, involving a direct loss of £2000 or £3000, and a possible loss of much, more. Moral — Don't build a retaining wail,, except on the advice of a competent engineer. St. Muxgo.