ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1857, 31 May 1884, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

The Queen's Birthday on Saturday last was not observed as a public holiday here, only the banks, wholesale houses, and the stationers' and ironmongers shops being closed. A regular bungle was made about the holiday. The Governor received a telegrahi, intimating that it was her Majesty's pleasure that the celebration of her birthday should be postponed till June 28th. or a later date, but the Governor very wisely decided that, as the colonists had made their ow n arrangements, he would not interfere in the matter. A large number of the citizens of Auckland petitioned the city council to appoint Monday last a general holiday, Saturday being almost inconvenient day. However, the council decided that, in consequence of the Queen's expressed wish, they would defer the holiday until June 28th. The result was that those w horn I have mentione 1 made holiday on Satuulay, a few people did so on Monday, and the bulk ot the citizens will either have a holiday at the ond of June or not at all. Tho general opinion is that it is a pity that the Queen interfered in the matter at all, as it really could not make much difference to her when the people at this end of the world celebrated her birthday. In England the Queen's Biithday is not observed as as a general holidaj', few people knowing anything about it, except those who hear tho guns filed at the Tower, or one or other of the depots or aisenals. What makes the Queen's action the moie unaccountable u the fact that she was at the marriage of one of her grand-daughters since the death of the Duke of Albany, on account of which sad e\ent it is supposed she wished the holiday to bo postponed. •* Though Saturday was only a partial holiday, the Takapuna laces were hel.l in the afternoon. The wore not by any means an unqualified success. The attendance was laiqcr than might have been expected under the circumstances, but the banicatlvs usually erected on the Auckland and Devcnport wharves weie not put up on this occasion, the consequence being that tinee people were pushed into the water by the ciowd on the uhnif at the North Shore. At tho races themselves there was an unusual number of accidents, none of which, fortunately, lesulted fatally. The running of Diessmakcr excited much unfavourable comment, and is to be the subject of an enquiry on the part of the Stewards. [The mruc has since been disqualified for one year. — Ed.] In the Winter Oats Handicap, carrying the lightest weight, she was Ladly beaten by three second -rate horses ; whereas, in the Birthday Cup, contending against infinitely better horses, she came in second, being beaten on the post. It is such " peculiarities" in racing as this that brings the pastime into discredit, and give colour to the statement that no honest man can affoid to keep racehorses. Ido not mean to say that, if a jockey finds that the horse he is riding is badly beaten and cannot possibly get placed, he should compel him to gallop to the veiy last, but if a horse can finish a good second among first rate performers, it does seem strange that lie should hmebeen beaten just before by thiee second-rate auimals. The finale to the Takapuua Races was the saddest thing of all, far worse than the " crooked running," if snch theie was. A lad named O'Keefe, aged 18, went to the races and got drunk. A friend of his, who was with him, had great difficulty in getting him on boaid the steamer to come over to town, but did succeed in so doing. However, while coming up the Queen Street wharf, O'Keefe threw off the hold that his friegd had on him, lurched over the side of the wharf into the water and was drowned. There was the usual inquest, the usual verdict ot accidental death, the usual rider about chains on the wharf, and there, I suppose, the matter ends. ♦ ♦ * The Governor has gone, having left lure on Tuesday and the Maiiukau on Wednesday. I have no doubt be is glad to get away, as he must have been rather bored, being called upon to preside at all sorts of meetings from the opening of the session of the University College, to the Band of Hope Union, w ith the Auxiliary Lunatic Asylum thrown in is a side show. We must give Sir William Jervois great credit for the way in which he worked up every subject on which he was asked to speak. He seemed as thoioughly acquainted with each one as if he had had nothing else to think about. Look j this speech at the opening of the new building of the Auckland Sa\ings Bank, for instance. He not only told his audience when, where and by whom the first Savings Bank was started in England, but also gave them a large amount of useful statistical information about savings banks here, in England, on the continent and in the army. It was the same w ith all the other meetings over which he presided. He, evidently, took the trouble to study caiefully every subject on w Inch he spoke. This must must ha\e involved a very considerable amount of labour, so I'can readily believe that he was not sorry to leave here and return to Wellington, to the usual routine work of his official position. Our old fiiend, Sir George Bowen, was always ready and willing to make a speech, particularly after a banquet or dinner, but those speeches were alwajs of the same soit, composed of equal parts of twaddle and blarney. In these matter of fact days we cannot afford to spend our time in listening to speeches of that sort, so we may be thankful that we have as our Governor a sensible, practical man like Sir William Jervois. Our big dock has been in trouble again. One of its most persistent and consistent opponents has been Mr D. H. McKenzie, a man not unknown to fame, as he succeeded Mr J. M. Shera in the dignified position of chairman of the Greyite Central Committee. He has been a member of the Harbour Board for some years, having been elected by the payers of harbour dues in the first instance. His term of office expired soon after the proposal to construct a large dock at Calliope Point first took practical fprm, ho being an opponent of the resolution. Seeking re-election, the big dock question was made the watchword, and Mr McKenzie, an excellent member of the board in other respects, was defeated. He was, however, sent as the representative of Parnell, and so has had the opportunity of objecting to the big dock, which he has regularly done whenever he could 6nd or make an opportunity to do so. His latest attempt in that direction was in the form of a motion to reduce the depth of water on the sill from 33 to 30 feet, to increase the length from 500 to 600 feet, and to make a division in the middle. Seeing that wo have had cn3 dock spoiled by beii q made too shallow, the Harbour Board very wisely decided not to make a similar blunder this time, and so rejected Mr McKenzies motion, he alone voting for t. What about thore Birthday honours? About a fortnight rgo a London telegram announced' that Mr James Service and Mr Graham Berry, of Victoria, and Major Atkinson, of New Zealand, were to receive the honour of. knighthood, but the little 'eveuU do riot www''to'fo&Ys come • > ' . > ,'i

off. Among colonial statesmen, whtf Irnve" not yet received the honour of beinpf enrolled among the knights of St. Michael and St. George? I do? not know of any -who have a „ better claim to the distinction than Mr Service ' and Major Atkinson, and I have, no doubt but that they will receive it before ,very long, but what Mr Graham Berry has done to deserve the honour I do not know, and so I would inform her Majesty if she asked my opinion on the subject. He propounds a similar theory in Victoria to that which Sir Goorge Grey advocates in New Zealand, but has not the ability of the latter, and when the Berry Government were in power in Victoria they brought that colony to the verge of ruin. Is it for that that he deserves the honour of knighthood ? • * Our postal regulations are really very funny. One of them provides that press correspondence, being sent for the public tjood, shall be charged book rates— two ounces for a penny. I have, therefore, been in the habit of putting only a penny stamp on the "Echoes." However, it seems that the regulation requires that press correspondence must he left open at the ends, and because I did not cut the ends of my envelopes the publisher of The Waikato Times has been fined. Could anything be more absurd ? It I leave the ends of my envelope open, as I shall do in future, what possible advantage can the postal authorities gain ? None whatever, but it is just such a regulation as might be expected in a department in which the officials do not know the names of the post. I daresay most of you know that, at one time, the official name of Ngaruawahia was Newcastle. Despito this fait letters for people resident at that place weie always addressed "Ngsmiawahia " and always reached their destination. A friend of mine determined to tiy whether a letter addressed to " Newcastle '" would be delivered there. He chose, for the purpose of his experiment, a letter of no importance, addressed it to "Mr Blank Blank. Newcastle," and posted it in Auckland. It was promptly sent to New castle, New South Wales, thence to Newcastle upon-Tvne aud several other Newcastles in England. Thence it was sent to a host of other Newcastles, and, after about a years travelling round the world, it was ultimately returned to the writer, not ha\ ing been to Ngaruawahia at all. A department that behaves in such an cxtiaordinarj m inner may well requite that the envelopes of "press correspondence " shall be open at the ends. St. Mdxgo.