ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1750, 22 September 1883, Page 2

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

The long-expected steamship " Doric " arrived in our harbour on Saturday last, after a fine, though bomewhat long passage. As far as size is concerned, she quite fulfils 'M the expectation** formed with regard to her,* she being the largest steamship that has visited this port. As many of the readers of The Waikato Times have seen one or more of the San Francisco mail steamers, a comparison with them will give a very good idea of the size of the strauger. The "Australia" and "Zealandia" are each r 3200 tons register, the " City of New York" and the " City of Sydney" are each 3400 tons, while the " Doric " is 4735 tons, being thus 1335 tons larger than the two largest .'Frisco mail boats. There was a large crowd of people on the wharf on Saturday afternoon to watch her arrival, many of whom went on board the North Snore bteamers to obtain a nearer view. In addition to her passengers and cargo, the " Doric " brought us two thinga which we could very well do without — measles and crinolines. Fortunately, the former were confined to a small section of the Government immigrants, so the infected families were landed at Motu Ihi, where, I doubt not, the majority of them are thoroughly enjoying an extended picnic at the expense of the New Zealand Snipping Company, as the island hi a very pleasant place at whicti to spend a few weeks of $uch fine weather as we are having just now. The crinolines, unfortunately, were not quarantined, but they and those afflicted with them were turned loose on our streets to spread and become epidemic. Visitors to Auckland, particularly those from Dunedin, Christ* church and Wellington, are loud in their f expressions of admiration of our wide footpaths, bNit the wide foot-paths will be found all too narrow when "afl $iq ladies wear crinolines. At presepii most of.them declare^hat crhiGhnea are ugly; and that they, Will not wear them, but I am afraid that, as soon a?, they, find that fashion say* they ;must we.ir.themj their good jresolutiau will •go to help to fom,jtyvementripr''a. certain , place, the, familiar, old name <of. .which" is teJU^^m^ YW M tho New

*re"n'6w being taken for Sic extinction of the Britiuh National Debt, i Tho news will be received with dismay in tho Old Country by many old ladies of both soxes who t considered investments in the funds tho f only really.,certain source of income in this transitory World, but they will get rid of thair , fears 1 byo-and-bye. I should very much like to soo a proper start made to reduce'our national debt, but our legislators serfjte to jlrink that the only step that they ca^tako irt that direction is a step backward.- Any alteration that is made in the amount of it is always in the way of an increase Well ! if we cannot lessen the amount of otir indebtedness, I hope we will fs^'on be in a position to make an alteration in the personnel of our creditors. The amount of interest we have to pay annually isjjsomething huge, but we would not feel it were it not for the fact that it all goes out of the colony. It is a matter of history that the" United States hardly felt the imniense debt in which it was involved by the war between the Federal and Confederate States} because the money was borrowed from the people themselves. So albo France n<H>n recovered from tho effects of the prodigious war indemnity paid to Germany for a similar reason. The Colonial Troa^urei explained why he had not exercised the authority given him to raise a baby loan in New Zealand — because the money would simply have been taken out of the Post Office Savings Banks, and it would thus have been a case of "robbing Peter to pay Paul." I believe that this would have been the case only partially, and I ceitainly ljgpe' that the experiment will soon be made. -/•• .' ' " V It is to be hoped that there is no truth in the (statement that the Government propose to erect wooden railway station buildings'" on tho reclaimed land opposite the T^iauies Hotel. We Aucklauders are a patient and long-suffering people as is proved by the length of time that we have tolerated the wretched shanty which has* done duty as a railway station ' for so many years, but, as Shakespeare says, " tho smallest worm will turn, being ttodden on." There is no town south of Auckland w ifcli a tithe of the population which we have which has not an infinitely better r.iilway station. We have put up with the wi etched - want of accomodation in the past, in the that when the new station was erected it would be such a building .is would be an ornament to the city, and afford all the facilities required. Now, when both th 3 corporation and the citizens are doing all they can do to improve and beautify tHgcity, we are informed that the Government propose to erect a wooden building tojbe a source of dangor to one of the most important commercial ccnties. I ie.illy dtnnot believe that the Government would be guilty of such a disgraceful act. [We learn that tho intention to erect a wooden structure has been abandoned.— Ed.] Tho great " conditional immortality" de bate was brought to a clo-^e la,st Friday evening, leaving eveiylv>dy in pietty nearly the same position .v, they woie when it began. Both disputants availed themselves of the opportunity to have a. (lug at the congregation of S. Andrew's Presbyterian Chinch for raising funds by means of the chess tournament v ltli living pieces. I cannot say that I wholly appiove of this way of raising the wind ' for a church, but ifc is much lesn objectionable than the nioie general practice of holding a bazaar. People who went to the chess tournament had the satisfaction of seeing the most goigeous pageant ever witnessed in the colony, as ifc was infinitely superior to that held in Du'iedin, and they knew beforehand what they had to pay for the privilege, wlieieas a man who goes to a bazaar has very little • idea vihat ifcis going to cost him. I once went into a bazaar with five pounds in my pocket, and cam? out of it a pound in debt, without hiving anything to show for my money, I would much rather go to a che-s tournament than to a bazaar. It is much cheaper at any rate. Sr. Mungo.

The director** of the Te Awamutu Cheese and Bacon Factory Company unite tendeia for the &upply of pollaid for pig feed during the next eight month-.. Mr J. S. Buckland will hold his annual cattle fair at Oluupoon Tuesday, the !)th October ; 350 head of cattle aie ahoady enteied, and those who purpose offeimg stock at the fair iire lequestud to make their entries early, ho that suitable pens may bo erected. In another olunm i-s published a list of the valuable projiei ties, belonging' to Mr E. B. Keynnlds, m the town of Cambiidgo, which aie to 1)3 sold by public auction by Mos-hm Cl.irk and (Taae at their nnnii, Uake-street, on Wednesday, October 17th, at 2 p.m.