ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1976, 7 March 1885, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

The New Zealand lien eminent li.ay p, 1 think, come to a pioper decision with repaid to oflviing the services of loc.it volunteers for the war in the Soudan They have decided that they shall n t make the offer to the Imperial authoii ties, at any into until our Parliament meets, and it is to be hoped th it, befoie tlut event takes place, the martial ardour of our fellow colonists will have c\apo rated, or, Letter still, that Loid Wolsek-y will have succeeded in capturing the Maluh and di.spei sing his followeis. It is well for those who an* anxious to go to the Soudan that the Government have aimed at their piesent duteimination, became the volnnteeis will lit bettei em ployed in attending to then- own affairs, and' it is well for the colony at In ye he cause we cannot affoid to lose any of our population nnd it would be a useless cvpuitc sending home thu o'For by eiblo, only to lia\e it detlmed, with <>r without thanks. In the meantime vm 1 have 111foiinition of a diflViuit •><» t of vohr.iteus fm the Sond in, it being stated that a thousand Fenians vvne about to leave Cliv i,fo to help the Mahdi. This u a no v pha^u of the lush question, and I f( el (jnite sun! that tins action on the pv t of the Fem.UH will do as imieh as th * a;'i.ir!,i!i murders to i^tra-Jgo from the Irish the sympathy of all loyal F.iiL'hsh speaking people thioughout the woiM. It 11 sinceidy to lie hoped that this is only a piece of blunter, for it would be .1 most lamentable thing to spe m 11 botn nndei the Butish flag going to assist the enemies of the laud of their biitli. • * That wai a most shocking accident winch occurred in Customs street on Monday, when a man was run over by a tiam-cai, and received such severe injuries that he died almost immediately. Of course, however meat care is exercised, accidents will happen, but I think they might be made less frequent 011 the tiam hues if each car was piovided with a bell to be kept constantly ringing while tlio car is 111 motion. At present the cars move w itli so little noise that it oltcn luppens that people walking along t'lt stnets are not aw.ir« of their appioach until they are so close to the unwaiy pedestnan that he is apt to pet confused and inn into instead of from the daugei. I believe that 111 Ainciica the engines of the 1 ail way ti.u'ns aie provided wi tli bells, which trnd to lessen tne dangois of the level crossings, and I tlmiU the adoption of a similar expedient lieic would be .-itteuded with beneficial i» milts. At any rate, as the Presbyterian minister said to the old miser who asked him whether it would improve his chance of to Heaven if he bequeathed all hid money to the Kitk, "it's an experiment woith trying," with regard to both tj.un cars and railway liains. Pioni the c\ idence given at the inquest on the man who v\a,i killfjel on Monday it would ap* pear that the unfortunate was under the influence of liquor, but even in that case the ringing of a bell might have warned him of the approach of danger, and he was not so diunk but that he might have got out of the way of the tram car.

The newly elected Licensing Commissioners have been letting the publicans ate that they mean to be a tenor to illdocia, whether or not they will be a pt.usc to them that do good. They have stated their intention to cancel the licenses of those hotels which carry on Sunday trading, and the public will uphold them in their action. At the qinrterly meeting of the City East Com nuttee held on Wednesday, Mr Earl, the solicitor, rnther " put his foot in it." The chairman had made some lemarks with regaid to a charge of Sunday trading brought against the license* 1 of the Occidental Hotel, which the police had been compelled to withilniv became the principal witness was »<i,i i\i nnnitiii. (By tin- way, I had bett.r "ny that I know thnt this is not a ci;i rcot, though a usual ccpiession, or I )ii ,y lie liaul'-d over tl.o coals by some Si honlhoy. I suppose I should f.riy, if I wish to mix Knqhsh and Latin, tint he was n<,n utvfiifn,) Mill til di'pieciited the remnrks of the Lhairniaii ami made a statement ng.irdiii^' the case. As soon as he had ii"isiicd, Mi Insj.uctoi Thomson conti.ulu tt.il that statement and said that dimkuiy and gambling had been RO'iig on in tlu v l.otibj fi*i>m 9 o'clock on Saturday night until 3 o'clock on Sunday moruiug, when a depute took place and tin 1 bci'iisee struck tiic inn;i who laid the liiforni.iinu. IMng satisfied that it was a ca^o of Sunday trading, the police had instituted proceedings, but the ca=e had bioktn down through the man who laid infunnation having disappeared. Without knowing anything further about the nnttcr thin what is contiined in Mr Thornton's statement, lam disposed to believe that he ropu'stnteil the nnttor cornctly, but the police are deterred from tiking action by the cxtieinc difficulty of obtaining a conviction, and by the ri'apectabihty of the people who frequent the house.

T linniii a very (Hnd *tory about resp ctable young men frequenting improper i!L>ii»L<j in toii'ii btiun v.itiia case which came l>efoie tin* Police Court in h Sontiicm town not long ago. A pompous old gentleman who sat on the bench, a. horn I v. ill oil Mr Ferguson, though that was not hi* name, said that he con ■liknd that tlie names of the joung men wliottL're in tin; house should be published, nt those hows would not be kept open if tin y weie not patronised. Tlie Police li)t[)Ci toi f-nid that he did not think it Decenary to publish the name?, as no flood could result. The magistiate said that he believed that good would rpsult and that lie insisted on the names being given. Tlie inspector still demurred, but tht in.igistmtc WA3 determined to have his un\, so a witness was put in the box and asked the names of those who were in the house. "There was Mr A. nnd Mr B. and Mr.Feryueon and " "Stop, that wilt do," said the mn<:io*Tatc, all his pomposity disappearing when he heard lm son's name. It is supposed that young Ferguson had a " bad quaitqr of an hour " when he ieached homo,, that evening.

Tlirrc was a very general feeling of rcqn t when it became known that the Lite Mr John James, secretary to the Board of Governors of the Auckland College ami Grammar School ha<] embe/'lfd the funds of the institution, his defalcations amounting to a very considerable sum. It was uell known that, like the man who wan going to Jericho, he had fallen among thieves, who had robbed him of all that he had, but it was not known tint the thieves had induced him to follow their example and rob his em ploycM. The wonder is that the Governors, knowing that he was in financial difficulties, did not have his accounts properly audited. I knew, and I suppose other people knew, that he was in the habit of collect in^ the rents of the hoard's tenants befoie tiny were due, and it seems \ery strange tli.it the Oow inors. of all othei people, \teie wholly ignorant of the fact. They calmly .u tcpted his a»Beitiou that their tenants \\< te in arrears with their rents to the exte-it of .some hundreds of pound**, and, npp.uently, made no attempt to a->iortain whether the statement wcie corieet or not. The lesult is that upwards of £1200 of public money has been lost, and the Governors will have to observe the moit rigid economy, in order to make their income cover their expenditure Some, at least, of the (ioibiuor-i aie good business men, who would not allow .inch a state of attiirs with regaul to their own private finance?, and \\ hy thy should, have been no lnx with trust funds no one can undertstand.

A Hlalfinent was mrufo at the last meeting of tlie H.irbonr Board, which shou'd he fully investigated. Mr Golclie p.nid that it was (.•unt-ii'l, ieport°d that (he successful tenderer for th« furniture of / t

the new oHices was m the employment of Mi W inks, a i»cml>ci of the Uuiil, ami tliat, as a m.ittci of fact, it wa* v.illy Mr \Vii)k-> temlor. Of com-e, if tliit> i-t tnu i , it h u most imprnfM r pioccdlini;. Tlic matter uai dufuncd till tin- nu\t nu-ctin^ of tlie bonnl, a* Mi Winks \v.»s not pio sunt, so v\ u must w,nt till tlun for any exjiliination he may ha\e tc> ollnr. Sr Mi m,o.