ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2000, 2 May 1885, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Thk talk at the Cafe nnd elsewheie thioughout the citj is still of vvais and liiniouis of w.ns, of the [iiobabihtics of an Angl»Riixsian wai tnking place at once or ot tho e\d day being postponed foi a time and of what alliances may In* formed bj England and what may be foi mod against her. The gi nciiil opinion seems to bo th.it England will have Italy as an ally and that Russia will have Fi mcc on her side, and that, in that event, it is not at all improbable that (ii'im.my may "take in hand in the game," and, if she does so, that Austria will be almost sine to i"oin u» against Russia. It is believed that Geiinany enteit.uns a mine fitendly feeling tow'aids Kngl.uid tlmn tovv.uds Russia, whom Auxtna would be glad to humble, but, on the othei hand llisuiaik cnuliallv detests Gladstone, and Ins personal dislike might bo a bar to an \nglo-(ieriuau alliance If the Gladstone Ministry vveie outstcd m England it would piolubly lead to a him union between Kneland and (Jcunauv. Meanwhile it is wry x.itisfactoi y to obseive th" fnondlj feeling shown towtids England by the I nitcd States. Should they maintain the stuct neuti difv which has always charactenscdtheii foicigu p<ilic>,it will bo all that wo lequue. So long as they do not help our enemiox, wo may rest as>ured th.it we have their moral suppoit. They will not allow the Russian^ to hiio Aiueiican ste.innus as cruisers nor Fenians to organise fihbiwteiing cxpcditioiis against us. Here in Auckland volunteoiing is still the older of the day, and, judging b\ pie -cut appeaianci's, thcie does not seem much inobabibty that the militia will be called out, a.s the volunteer companies will soon | absorb all the ,\\m- available. This is very satisfactory, becaiixo thno is much umro spirit and " g"" among volunteers than among militiamen, and no one is likely to join n volunteer company unless ho can spare the time to attend dull and lendei himself ethcicnt, wheieax all who aio liable would bo compelled to join the nnliti.i, and a man is not likely to take much interest in dull if ho has the uncomfortable feeling that his business is " going to the dop;s," oi if he does not know wheie ho will got his break last when the dull is- ovei. Thus latter would bo the case of a munbei of vonng men now employed in dehu'iing milk m tho city and Mibmbx, who, if they had to attend drill in tho mornings, would lose then situations, their places being filled by men exempt from soimco in tho militia. It is stated that, in tho event of wai being dccl ued, the si\ \olunteer companies now efficient will be lequiu-d to go into camp week about for tho piotectiou of the bttteues at the Noith Shoie. This is a ni'.st neco ? saiy piecautioii, as, if hostile cmisors did como heie, it lx tolerably enthat i foi re would be lauded for the put pose of taking tho batteuex, and wo should look veiy foolish if we found the guns erected for otu defence vveie tinned against the town, and the only way to pievent tins is bv hiv ing a xtiong body of tumps to ie pel an\ nivadiis who might laud. If it should* unfoituiiately,beneces.saiy to adopt tin-, plan, it is to be hoped that tho men, while m (amp, will spend a consideiable poition of thin time in ufiV practice, as the moio uneiung then aim the buttci piotectcd vvill they be. I do not think tlie Defence Mintstei s'lowvd a gie.il amount of judgment in calling for th.it geneinl p.iradoof volunteeis on Monday afternoon. No doubt it was desirable to ascci tarn how many men v.eie available at ii few horns' notice, but it can sod a gieat doal of alaim, and that quite unnecessarily. Why Monday, the busiest day in the week with most people, should hiv o been .selected is a. thing I cannot iindei stand. Saturday would have been much irore suitable, as a large pinportion of the volunteers hay pa half holiday on that day, whereas many of them had to foi feit a half day's pay on account of their ibsence fiom woik on Monday afternoon. However, there is no use in crying over i-pilt milk, but it is M be hoped that we shall not have a lepetition of Monday's peifoimance Even should war be declaicd, it will be quito sufficient for the IK ft uce Minister to instruct Col. L yon to ■ssiK- his ordcix to tho volunteois by ad voiti-oment in tba new-papeis. We do not H'ipiiio tho whole town to bo placarded with alai tuiug posteio or women and ch ddien to bo frightened by staitling announcements fiom tho pulpits of all the chuiche-.

Talking about niihtaix matteis lcminds me of a m.'ii who piofpsvud to be n ictirod officer, who was pietty well known in Auckland, and who has tinned out to bo an an ant fiaud. He ciinie hero about half-.i-do/en \eaisago fi >iv Japan, wlnne lio said ho had been m business, and bought ,i small f:\im near Mongonui He then tilled hunsolf Keiuiecly de l*iotiowxKi. He stated that ho had been an olticoi in the Lane 'is, giving tho inunbpi of the iegi nuMit, but two letued offictis cmfulh s^aich d the "xubdten's bil)Io," i.e. the ai my list, without finding his name .is an officer in that or iiny othci icgim.-ut. Howovoi, being a good conveisationabst, liivnig plenty <»f check, and hiking tjavelled a good deal, he. managed to make many acquaintances, and was lecoived in s uno of the best houses in Auckland. Ho went over to Sydney at the time the InternitioiKtl Exhibition whs hold thoic, he n iid, to act ah a Japanese cominixsionei . My t< vue meaiiH, which he did not tuku the tioublo to explain, his name did not appeir ah a commissioner. He has been heie seveuil tin. ox .since, and, accouling to his own account, has been tiavelling all lound tho world, having real good times, .is tho Yankees say. It was among those folks that he was at last reports. A paragi a\Ai in a Now York paper thu.s refers to him. " A sh'iiper calling himself Captain Hemy I'iotrowski has just boon dit>covuiod m this city, and flod to gioener pastures. He g iv e himself out as a retnod officer of Hei Majesty's service, and a l.iigo landownei in New Zealand. He was intioduu d to .oc.oty hero by Signoi Do Vivo, who, it appears, had met tho "captain " m Auckland years ago. The gallant soldier in'7l'atiated him.self in the affections of a wealthy widow, and everything was in readiness when the " captain ' was discovered to be an arrant fraud, and the in itch broken off. Tho "captain," leain ing of being discovered, hastily retieated, and went West by the emigrant train, since when all trace of him has been lost." What makes hi« conduct all the woise is that there is, or was a lady living on his little fai in at Mongonui, whom Piotiowski acknowledged as his wife.

I do not think that much sympathy will be felt for the captain of tho Zealandia in tlie trouble he has had through the stiiking of his crew in consequence of his oiiinloying Chinamen. No white man ought to omplo\ " chinkies" when ho can got white men to do his woik, and theie is no excuse in the present case, becau.se tho .steamei is cm ployed in a luciativo tiado and can well afford to pay the curicnt rate of wages. At the same time, the members of tho Sea men's Union are going tho right way to alienate public .sympathy fiom then.sclvus and their cauxe. Not content with tending an impertinent telegram to the Postm.ixtciGeneral, they talked in a most disgiaccful manner at their meeting on Tuesday even ing. Though they did not know whether the crew of the Zealandia was composed of onion or non union men, one of them said that they should do all possible to prevent the mails being placed on board, while tho Vice-President and another member said they were sorry ono of tho big guns on the North Head could not be brought to beai on tho bows of tho Zoalandia. I think that a fi w weeks' compulsory residence in fieo quaiti rs at Mount Edon would bo good for fellows of that stump.

At a meeting of tho Oramnuu School Governors hold on Tuesday it was dicided to ask tho Head Master to repmt on the jul viability of adopting a scheme for piomoting tho masters when vacancies occur. This has not been done hitherto, as no one Hoems to have been obgiblu fis a candidate who wa» already employed in the school. This does not socm to bo the piopei way to encourage the suboidiuato inasteis to apply themselves to their duties. As it is the hope of reward that sweetens laboui, tho absence of all hope, of reward tends to make people perform their duties in a ppifunctmy manner and to embrace f he first opportunity th.itoffeis of obtaining other employment where there is a prospect of advancement. If one of the junior masters at the Grammar School works haid and shows good losults in his class, that seems to be considered sufficient rensou why he should remain a junior master for ever, and when a vacancy occurs the appointment is con fen ed on someone else, of whom the Governors know very little if anything, beyond his scholastic acquirements. If the Grammar School is ever to become as useful as it should bo, tho mastprs mu»t be fairly treated and must feel sure that, if they do their woik well they will receive promotion when the opportunity occurs, that they will have the first claim to better positions in the school, in-

stoad of being, as hitheito, the men most completely debuted fiom those bettci positions. St. MlM.o.

LOKD CIIARI.KS BbRbSM)RI». — Tlie Right Hon. LorlChailes Beiesfoul, ac coiduig to a London paper, was l>om on Feb. 18, IS4C, and became a cadi't when only I; 'i years of age. He became a sub lieutenant m Jannaiy, 1860 ; a lieutenant in September, 186S, and commanded the Condor dunng the bombardment of Alexandria, when he distinguished him self to such an extent that he was pro moted to the rank of captain. Loid Charles Beresford's latest achievement was his gallant lescne of Sir Charles Wilson and his party, who »we stianded in the Nile at the Shablnk.i Gitai.ict. Theie is a prettj gcncial belief that Lord Charles is just a jolly, reckless, and clashing Irishman, who goes into danger for the fun of the thing, bnt those who know him best think cliffeiently. He is not only a gallant, but a very simple minded man. His pmatc telegrams show this pretty cleai ly. On his arrival at Metammeh, and after the defence of the zereba, his first message was: "Quite well and cheeiy." An other message, after the leturn of his steamer with the rescued paity, ran like this: "Quite well. Desperate action; but Providence took care of us."

STORItS OK MOSTK CARLO.— Two curious incidents in connection with Monte Cailo aie mentioned by the Nice Journal, and reproduced by the Pans eonespondent of the Times. The Ciovvn I'iince of Sweden, while on a visit to Nice, had the nniosity to see Monte Cailo. M. Borriglione, Deputy-Mayoi of Nice, and chief champion of the gaming tables, made an advertisement of tlie visit in his newspaper. The Piince was annoyed, immediately left Nice for Mai seilles, and is not expected to return. The King of Wuiteinburg, though related by inairiat»e to the Ptinceof Monaco, and though staying at Nice, has avoided giv ing occasion foi a similar advertisement and Ihglit. A Fiench deputy, M. de Lacretelle (son of one literary man of some note and nephew of anothei), has not been equally wise. Ho has not only M-itcfl Monte Cailo, but ho was theie lobbed of his portfolio containing a pass over all the Fiench railways, for the supply of which, at a low price, the senators Iml deputies an anged a few years ago. Instead, moreover, of holding his tongue, he has made a complaint, and charitably suggests that the pickpocket must have been an Englishman or an American. Yes 1 It is certainly true. Ask any of >onr friends who have purchased thctc. G.irliek .indCramvell h.ivc numerous un.iskcd for and very favourable conmenrfations from country custon<ors on their e\C( llent picking of Furnilun.-, Crocker}, and Glass, &c. Lidies an> <entlemcn about to furnish sliould > remember that Garlick and Cranwoll s is tiik Cheap Furnishing Warehouse of AurkI md. Furniture to suit all classes ; also Carpeis, floor Cloths and all House Necesvanes. If your new house is neirly hnishod, or \oa are coinj to Ret married, visit G^rhck and * 1 inwc 11, Qupcn-street and Lome-street, Auck land. Int. nciinKP'iTh iscrsrin h.ivcaratK.lotrtif ,-n frrv.