ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2013, 2 June 1885, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Tin: Queen's liuthd.vy having fallen on Sundiy last (by this way tin-, is one of the English i>hi bts which must puzzle .i Chinaman, because lie cannot undeistand why the Queen s J'n thd.v> should fall, noi c.vi 1, fm tint uiittot) Monday was ob horved as a holiday miteul. "The condi tioiis w.isn t fuoiuable ' f<n out dooi amusements or display, the woathei being show eiy, but theio was a veiy f.iir mustei of Milunteers, who hied a feu do joie m liononi i)t Her M\jestv That is anothei thin^r that muit be apu/'l<? to the betoie mentioned Chinaniiin, why, with all our wealth of woids, wo have not an English equivalent for feu de jmo, and why, though it would be coiisideiod very improper to say or w nto " hred a hro of joy," it is quite pernussable to say or w rite " hied a feu do joie," which mc™s the same thing. Howover, the volunteers did it, and the artillery hrcd the usual salute with the big guns, and we must hone that the Queen was more happy in consequence. I wonder whether any of those people who aie so fond of totting up figures, a form of amusement to which I muit confess I am not partial, have over made an approximate of the cost of the powder annually blazed away, on her birthday, Accession Day, &c, in honour of the Queen. If so, I have not yet seen the little sum, but I think it probable that it has been woiked out, or will be, as this is becoming a siuprismgly utihtaiian ago, the motto of a goxl many folks being " Nothing foi nothing." Tho.iijii Monday w.is a geneial holiday, the p.ioi haid-.voiked bank othcials weic nut contented with one day, and so Tuesday is well as Monday w.u> proclaimed a kink holiday. The leason given was that the Queen's Birthday being a bank holiday and tailing on a Sunday, Monday was observed instead, and that Monday being Whit Monday, another bank holiday, Tuesday was appointed instead. Of course, this wan very light and proper from a bank cleiks' point of view, but what about the general public .' The public labour under the delusion that banks are maintained at thsir expense and for their benefit. This is true enough, as far as the expense is concerned, but not with regard to the benefit. As was shown on Tuesday, they are for the bpneht of the official*, because it was a boiuce of gieat inconvenience to the general public, who "pay the pipei," that all the binks were closed on mail-day, making it necessary for all those who required to make lcmittances to get their drafts on Saturday. I must -ay that I know of no good u\i>on why the legislature should be so paiticnlaily kind to bank officiaL-, giving theiii holidays which aie not enjoyed by the general public. Ido not think that it can be tiuthfully alleged that they aie, as a el i-->, o\ ei woiked (Jeneially they have shot tor houis than cleiks employed in meichants' ottico-, who, m addition to longer liour>, usually voik haider and have moie brain woik to do. Then why should bank cleiks have mom holidi^s ' I pause fora ltpl}, and I think I will have to pause a long time befoio I can leceive a satisfactory one. Anothei of tlio nl<l colonists has "joined the niaji'i ity, and 111 this case it is one who "boie the licat and bmdm of the day,"' and was fauly mtitli d to spund the evening of life 111 well-eained lcposc under his own \lllr and tig tiec. Hut it was otheiwise oiduiiL'.l by tho All wisi> Ruler of the I'mvi ise, and Mi Uobcit (iiaham died on T iie-day last at tho ago of (>">, after having spent 11 yeais 111 the colony. He was a 111 111 of gii> it eneigy and undaunted will, and did much In develop the losouices of this poitmu of X( w /(.aland. Not only didheiiukc Wiiiwoi.i, a veiy mtcie.sting desciiptiou of which appealed in a leceut nui Tiber of the '" Aiistiahu-ian, ' a most delightful plaeo of u-oort for invalids, touiists and holiday makeis, but he did moie than any othei one man, to popularise the Wondeilaud of New Zealand— tho Hot Lakes and Tei races. To my mind the most cm ions feature in his career is that, though he piovod himself in every way a splendid colonist, he was constantly annoyed by (coveinment opposition. The. most fl igrant instance of this was when he succeeded in making pe.ice between two tubes of Maons 011 tho East Coast, who weie determined to annihilate c ich other, and when one of those tubes acknowledged his soivn.es by piescntmg him with a piece of land, tin ( >nv eminent of the day did evci \ thing p i--iblo to pie\ent him getting the benefit of tin gift. The land given was of veiy little value to tho donois, and the capital expended on it by Mi Giaham enoi-mon-ly 1 nhanced t!ie v due of the sniioiindmg land 'till in tho possession of the nitives, so why the (Jovemm^nt should liavc endcavouied to piovent him getting •1 title lo a lnystei v p.ist finding out. is * * Ag.'i'i we have had a sad gun accident, with a fatil 10, nit The victim in this c ise w 1 Mi Nicholson, a, s<>n of the late 1H J. K. Nicholson, who was at 0110 time l'rov mci d Tuisnier. It vuiild appear that lie must have known that the gun was loaded, as the young man to whom it belong! d hid bi en eudeiv 0111 ing to extract the cai tv Igo whil" tiavelhug in the train. Of coiii-M-, theic was a coionoi's inquest, and, of emu sp, a veidiet of accidental death, tho jiu y not wan adding a uder censuring the y.imr,' in,-n nli'i, in contiavention of tho legukitions, c u ned a loaded gun in a lailwav caniago. I notice that the railway •uith iiities aie going to take action in the mattei. This is quite tight, a", though nothing can bung poor Nicholson back to l'fi, and probibly nothing can inciease Jiiabi/on's legietfoi the occurrence, thi. iiiuway nutiioritioi would Ue neglecting thoir duty did they not prosecute an offo'idci agiuist one of tho most necessary of then lugul itioits. A man who can ies a loidod gun into a lailvvay oariiago cannot tell what may be the ie»iilt of his action. Of couise, Biabuion says that he tried to cxtiact the charge. Ko doubt he did, but. failing 111 his endeavour, lie should have kept the gun in his own possession, well know mg that a loaded gun is us much as one man can look after. < * ♦ Theie is a solicitor heie who certainly Hhould be given an opportunity of tin mug his attention to some other occupicatiou by having Jus name stiuck otf tho 1011. Though "a gentleman by Act of Pailianient' he has been guilty of innumerable " ways that are daik and kicks that are vain, 'among others misappropiiating trust money s and applying to his O w 11 use money given Inn. to pay into court for clients. One of his baief.iced tricks was that by means ( .f which he lobbed a man of £10. Jleowmd .1 piece of land about twenty miles f 10111 hue. On that land was .1 small house, which ho sold to a man foi flO, for removal. The man paid the money on the iiudei standing tint he was to remove the house when it suited '-is convenience. This wa« not until some tune after he made the pui chase, and when he went to look at the house and make preparations to lemovc it ho found anothei man living in it. He told the man 111 possession to clear out, as ho had bought the house. Tho latter said ho had bought the liou.e and tho land on which it stood, and so had. The lawyer had mortgaged the piopoity, and taking advantage of tho f ict that it was so f.u fioin Auckland •wheiotho mortgagee lived, had hold tho house without his 1. now ledge. Not iou i\ mgln-, mortgagee fon, cl^hcdand .sold tho piopi rty, tho man who w.is living 111 the lioim; b- ing tho purchasci. Whether the man who bought the house got back his I'lO I do not know, but, if ho did not he certainly will nevci do so now. " Tliat Tfeithon Cluiioo" isgetting (|uite civilised with the civilisation of tho 15arbfuians. The latest pi oof of this is that tvvi> nitives of the Klovveiy L.iud have lust sought the piotection of tho Bankruptcy Court at Dtimdm. Rejoicing in the names of Chick Yu and Ah Kuin. (f think . 1 fioe tianslution of these names would b' 1 Cheat you and A. Kascal,) a year ago tlu^y ])eg.m biHim sas mnrket garlletieis, and now they file their schedules, showing liabilities of t'S.'H, and assets (book debts) which may pioducc t'lo. Then puucipd cioditor is Sow Hoy, the l>uno<lin lnoichivnt, who h,^ .such ])henoJiien.il luck at all the lace meetings, always m.Mi igmg to hive a ticket in tho totallsatoi on any lioise that pay* itsbackcis an unusally l.ugo dividend. Tho opinion of the enditois was that they had got money " plautorl " soinevvheio, to SevV Hoy was appointed supirvisoi, to assist tlio Official Assignee to realise the estate. It would not Ik much iim- foi the Assignee to attempt tho ttsk without '-uch a«sistance, as no whitomm cm equal a Chinaman at tnckoiy and doceit. JllJ 11 Melbourne, wheio then- ,u< a- l.ngo nunibei of Celestials, thcio nre_ Chinese detectives employed, t\n the mdinaiy detectives conuot copo with the innocent childien of the T'lowcry Land. It is to bo hoped that Sew Hoy will be xnccossfn] m Ins -onich for tho " hidden treasino, ' and th it tho result will be that Chick \ u and Ah Kuin will bo |»iovido(l with board and lodging at tho o\|h>usi> of Hoi Majoit\ for frindulonl luiikiuptiy. .Si. Mi.v.,o,