ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1721, 17 July 1883, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Tilfc City GouiKft^f&grtt new depar- , .tdrd'itLthe matter of the site for the v ' TwMblio Elbrafy. "AtitlVe itieettitfW, Thitfsday lost it was. -decided that , CtoMfgweet should' be" matte' straight,' and xhat'thtJ libraVy ah'ouldWeredted on thd lF m'ece 'of ia'nd which will then be ' adM/d fo the "Albert Park. As many people, bdtli in and out of Auckland, do not know where Coburg-street-is, I may mention'. tHat.it ia this street above Lomestreet, nearer to Symonds-street, down near the bnilding'now' used as the District Court, it runs ;parallel with High-street,-whereof Lome-street is a continuation, .but fet'Vietoria-street it begina to bend to the eastward, and it now opens into Wellesley-street East, some considerable distance to east of where it will open when it is straightened. There is now a triangular piece of land at the junction of Coburg-street aud Wcllesloy-street East, belonging, to the Corporation, and ' which many^people considered a suitable site for the Free Public Library. The straightening of Coburg-street will leave an equal s{. ace at the eastern corner of the $vo streets, instead of at the western corner as at present, and that space will then abut on the park, That is the fite on which the Free Public Library will be built. , -It is to be hoped that the City Council will proceed with the \itork at once, as the present building is quite a disgrace to the city, and much too small for even the present requirements, and it is very wrong that our valuable library should be subjected to the danger from fire consequent on its being kept in a wooden building. The books are worth conic thousands of .pounds, and some of them are simply invaluable, as no money conld replace them. * # Sir George Grey got a nasty "slap in the face " over his second Constitution Amendment Bill, and I should think that he would be inclined to stop his attempts to tinker our constitution for some time At least. Before going any further I must apologise to the readers of The WaiJcato Times if I boie them too much with Sir George Grey, but the fact of the matter is that it is that old gentleman who is mainly accountable for the lamentable waste of time in our Parliament. He knows perfectly well that he has the confidence of neither the House nor the country, and that if he did by any chance succeed in turning out the Ministry he could not form a Government that wonld be able to remain in power one week. Knowing that, he has no business to harass the Ministry and waste the time of members, for which the colony has to pay, by airing his absurd fads, *nd by attempting to carry bills which, if passed, would certainly not receive the Queen's sanction. His Constitution Amendment Bill, had It passed through till its stages and become law, would have made it possible for uny clover agitator, like himself, to keep the colony in a state Of continual ferment, and would certainly have- been thd moans of duterring people, especially those with itloney, from comlllrf hero. T herd Would have been no more stability in the Government than there is in some of those South American Republics, where they hive n revolution about once a week. That is the sort of place to which Sir George Grey should go. There would be scope for his talents there, and we can well spare him. * * It is a moot point whether the .Salvation Army does not do more harm than good. It is said by those who believe in the movement that the " Army" converts a class, with whom the ordinary agencies of religion are powerless —the larrikins. It may be so, and I hope it is, but I am very much afraid that too often the good done is of a very transient nature. Some years ago a revivalist came here and converted a number of people, among whom was a young fellow nampd Frank , who, though respectably connected, was a veritable young larrikin, albeit, the word " larrikin " was not known in those days. Frank was a most enthusiastic convert. He got hold of a number of his former associates, and they used to hold prayer meetings in the ti-treo scrub at the back of the old "Wesley College. The revivalißt finished his mission hero and departed. The prayer meetings were soon discontinued, and before long Frank and his associ ates used to meet in the Scime ti-tree scrub to feast on stolen poultry and to drink, enlivening their proceedings by singing ribald parodies of the hymns they had sung at the revivalist meetings*. Those conversions certainly were not of a lasting character, aud I am afraid that many of tliose made by the Salvation Army are of much the same sort. * * There is one way in which the "Army" has done much harm, and that is by the class of hymns they have introduced. Some of them are posithely blasphemous, while others ha\e a decidedly objectionable refrain. On Tuesday, while I was passing alon? Coburgstreet on my way to the Free Public Library to record my vote in favour of the proposed city loan, I heard some children singing one of the hymns (?) of the " Army." Some of them were so small that they could hardly speak plaiuly, but I managed to catch the words of the refrain, which were : " No I I won't go with jou, No ! I won't bo b 'o with jou, I won't pr> nitli you To hell !" It is needless to say that I was shocked at hearing such words coming from the mouths of little children, and I could not help wondering whether the Salvation Army was doing sufficient good to counterbalance the evil. * * I was glad to see that yon Hamilton folks had been having a meeting to urge on the Government the necessity of the railway reform. It was the best course to pursue, and I hope that it will be successful in getting some improvements made in the system of railway management (?). If you are not successful now, hold another meeting, and another, and another, and as many more as are necessary. Stick to it. and you must succeed, for you have right. If our railways were properly managed they would pay better and would be a greater convenience to those who use them, as modes of conveyance for themselves or their goods. Do not be discouraged if yoti do not succeed at once. " Faint heart never won a fair lady." Remember the story of Bruce and the spider, and, as Bruce was led by watching the spider's repeated attempts, followed by repeated failures, end in triumph at last, to make another attempt to free his country trom the yoke of the foreign invader, so do you persevere until you attain your object. By the bye, I ■wonder if that little story, about Bruce and the spider is founded on fact, or whether it is as my thical as some of the other stories of " auld lang syne." However, it does not matter very much whether it is true or not. It inculcates a useful lesson and serves "to point a moral or adorn a tale," ■* The result of the poll taken on Tuesday, ,to ascertain whether the majority of 'the ratepayers were in favour of the City Council borrowing the sum of £20,000 for the purpose- of supplying the new wards with water and providing proper, "'drainage for the whole city, was sogener-j •'ally' believed to be a foregone conclusion that but few of those in favour of the 'loan; took the 'trouble' to record; their • Vdties;' 1 All those who were- opposed, to the proposal voted and sent "I their sisters arid their;cousins and their aunts " to do likewise, the. consequence , being -.that -^tbere were 350 votes recorded against the %6ad, '"while '598 were given '.in faVouu ofci'ti Of c'ourse,WtheOit;y Coun&U^re J&ot compelled to take a poll of the^atepayers f dn^the? 1 6ul5j^cfc, ( ' the majorltyjßh'oKtn i& 'J'q«ite? siiffi&ent'tp indjeate;tbejwlsh < o£.the bdr&essW and in altprobability }thfcLo_»p . Bill^ftKpW %sgf tlie House Vpoub ■ opposition. •& V4 '. \ f - -•, v'm

ttcular, a V piece ofnla mind " on Wed« nb3day,, T A debtor named, Jyrtta/utpnljed for hisdWciiarg^wh&h' Wfyp'o&V% E. Hesketh, anp^ariui&.on behalf of <the National Bartß. Tlitrju%e mid in the .conrso of his remarks J»hat "it, wna wen.k"n6wh that.it was the hdißit of b.uiktl touetas inueK dtit of thefe * f dobt6ft ak fi possible 1 and then drop them"." 'If 'Dame Rumour does'nofc lio, : What the judge said U fmrticularly npplicoblo to the National Bank, which is to all intents and purposes a foreign hank, its head office beinj,' in London, and most of the shareholders bfing in England. The Bank of New Zealand, which is the local bmk pur exccU'Hcc, bears a very different reputation So long as one of their customers can show them that he is conducting his business properly, arid tr at a little timely assistance will enable ' him to' overcome liis difficulties, he may rest assured that* he will receive that assistance.' 1 There are stories told of harsh treatment on the part of the Batik of New Zealand, but in every instance of which I have heard, it has transpired that the debtor was hopelessly involved or tried to deceive the b.ink. St. MnNao.

"Thk Spring time has come," observed the flea, a? it saw the lady* finger* moving in its direction. An elder of the kirk, having found ft liltlo boy find his sister playing marbles on Sunday, pal his reproof in this form — not a judicious one for a child : " Boy, do you know where ohildreu go to who play marbles on the Sabbath dayP" •• Ah/ says the boy, " they gang down to the field by the water below the brig." ' 'No," roared out the elder, " they go to hell and are burued." 'Jhe little fellow, really shocked, called hU sister ; " Come away, Jeanio : here's a man swearing awfully. 1 ' — Dean Kamaay. An Austin journalist put in an appearsince at the inaugural ball. Them was a mixed mob there, it is true, but the journalist's cout was so shabby that one of the committee whispered in his ear ' ' Hh vent you got another coat at home ?" "Yes, I have, got another une." Why didu'tyou put it on ?" " Because it ain't near so good as this one." — Texas Siftings 41 Johnny," «ud (he schoolmistress, "you have been a very naughty boy ; now go and btiiiidin the corner with your face to the whII utidl I tell you you may go to your seat." " Please, ma'am," nnid Johnny, " if I face to the wall I'll have to turn my back to you and the soholars. Won't that be rudo ? ' iTkax Thiphkmox, who is fond of cards, and believes he is the incarnation of bad luck, meets a friend who observes bis dejection and to whom ho explains : " My dear fellow, you have no idea how badly I feel. I have nob won a pnine at anything for alx months. I lost 60 lottis at the olub) and just now, furious anil disgusted, I Went into a billiard room and engaged a table to myself. I played all nlotte, and being determined to win, I gave myself twenty-five points out of thirty ngainst an imaginary opponent and played my best. Of course I thought I had won, but after all, and .after I had beaten the other fellow that I was playing against, I found out that I had really lost, and had to pay for the table." Of the late Prince Batthyuny the Field says : — '' The disused, Gmtavun Bcitthyany, was a t-oion of the piinccly Magyar family of that name. In 1835 he vi.^ited the Currngb during the June meeting, where he was the guect of Hon. John Craven Westenra at the Turf Club in Kildare, and ho thus enrly hhowed his sporting predilections. Owing to the failure of the attempted revolution in hi* native land and the imprisonment and death cf his neare.it relatives, Count Batthyany beoamo a natnrnliced Englishmen, diviiing his residence between tho capital and Newmarket. To field sports and horses, liko all his countrymen, he W/is greatly attnehed. In tho shires ho attempted to emulate the performances of Henry Marquis of Waterford, Lord Macdomild, Cul. Ch.iirettif, Squire Osbaldestou, Mr Powell, and othe^ of the ' Hrbt flight ' nf that period ; but, although he whs a bold and during rider; the bru^li fell but seldom to bis share , nor as a jockey wan ho able to successfully compete with the leading Coiinthians of bis day, although he dearly loved to don the silk, and wns ever ready to proffer his services in the pigskin to anyone in want of a rider. In the early days of couching no better put together team or handsomer equipage was to be seen in tho Row ; and yet Count Batthyany was no great adept with the whip. He was 80 years of age at the time of his death." NiiVKR forget that an orchard, as surely as a corn field, consumes the feitility of the soil, and that to starve the soil isaS sure to prove unprofitable in the one ea»i> as in the other. Trees may live on from year to } r ear upon what they can draw from an exhausted soil ; but it will prove just as fallacious to expect a good crop of fruit under such circumstances as to expect a full crop of corn or other grain under similar circumstances. Hk was a young man for an archdeacon, relate* a sporting contemporary, and his wife was old enough to be his mother. Any allusion to Anno Domini was tabooed. They were the guests of the evening at a country-house. The whole county was invited to meet them. An extra man was taken on for the occasion. Ho, had to announce the guests. The "boss of the show" coached the extra man up. " When the archdeacon arrives, you are to say. • The Venerable the Archdeacon Blank.'" The drawingroom was full. The guests of the evening arrived. Tho extra man looked at the archdeacon, and then at the lady, and he got a bit' mixed. At last he got it right. He saw how it stood. Great was the consternation when he announced, " A rondo. 1 ) eon Blank and the Venerable Mrs Blank." Death of Geouor Sewakd, the American Wonder. — This celebrated pedestrian, who was born at Newhaveu, Connecticut, U.S.A., on Oct. 16th, 1817, and was tharefore, in the 56th year of his age, died at Birkenhead on April 18th last. He came to England in the year 1874, and resided at Green street, Gros-venor-square, when he immediately dts-r played his skill as a sprint runner at a 100 yards by polishing off all the best menin England at that distance. Seward was a thick-set and very muscular man, stood sft B^in high, and M'eighed list 51b. .He was peculiar in his habits, and trained but little for his undertakings ; he lived widely different in .those days to other pedestrains, and. partook very, sparingly of animal, food. His forte evidently was 100 yards, which he once ran. in 9^sec, though he accomplished 120 yards in lUaeo, 200 yards in l^isec, and a quarter, of a mile in 49sec: He was particularly well behaved, very intellectual, and a greater reader. He ran his first race in Hyde Park, aud his second on Waterloo Bridge. |

Life in the Bush— Then and Now. — < It is generally supposed that in, the bush we have to put up with many discomforts and privations in the shape of food. F6rmcrly it was x», but now, thanks to T. B. Hirx, who has himself dwelt in thebush, if.food does .consist chjefly* of tinned meats his'CoLONXAL Sauck grivei ko them 1 a most delectable flavour, making' them ias f well of the plainest, food most enjoyable, Jand; instead as hard biscuits and indigestible damper his Improved CoLQNTAI"BAi«iJG~'£6wriKif r makes the! very] best bread, scdnes,< calces^ 1 iihd' pastry faig; superior- and .more wholesome , than yeast or leaven, Sold by, all, storekeepers who, can ob-J tain it from' any merchant in' Auckland .' { ' ' ,You Will^B}iMHSiiSfiififtfi^bur housri from GaHick^a'nd Cranwelrs) /"fhey haye no«, -the- most ■Complete ' Furnish mfr Warehouse ifl AHck!and v 'fur,nitute] to^wi^all^assek good strong:, ond cheap.' ,Thov hayclTapestry Carpet#<> from 2s'M l pef ' pc yitV-'ditinoleUitt from 8s Od to ss, Oil Cloths frott \< Is 6d to 4t Wipefiryirdlfigoodll^lfeet^w^aiOi '. Cloths at 8s 6a 1 per, yard, ■ Immense Vassorlmen '' of Iron Bedsteads /rom> Infants^bts toi'Mfee > \,rfdehalf-jcst^' Bedstea'd.s.yDo^Dft J ifonJße'd s