ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2018, 13 June 1885, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

TllK unexpected defeat of the Gladstone Muiistiy has naturally caused a good deal ot surprise, and theie is .my .unoitnt of speculation as to w hat \\ ill be tlie result of it. Seeing that the Government declaicd that they staked tlieii existence on the cauying of their budget, it seems most piobable that the\ will lesign, and that Sir Michael HicksBeach, who moved the vote of censme, will be sent foi by Her Majesty foi the put pose of foiming a Cabinet The Queen will be peisonally pleased with this tesult, as. it is well known that she is noc an adniitei of the Giand Old M m, and much le->n so of the Radicals who have had &o potential a voice in the policy of the Gladstone Mimstiy. The question which most ncaily alfeets us is the change which w ill take place in the toieign policy of England, and whetliei that change will precipitate wai with Russia. The geneial opinion among those in Auckland who most cm-fully study Home politics is, that it a Conservative Ministry takes office now, the Russians must either retire from the Afghan territory they have recently seized, or else piepare for war with England, that she will not be willing to retue, but is both willing and anxious to fight, and that therefore an Anglo Russian war will be an inevitable result of a change of Ministries. This is not a very cheerful piospeet for us, as we are sure to suffer thiough war, but it is \ery satisfactoiy that our loan was sneersfully floated befoie the present crisis took place. %* Yes, we may fairly congratulate ourselves on the fact that we have obtained om loan of a million and a half, ns we should have found ouiselves in a most awkward position had we failed to do so, more especially as we have somewhere about a quaitei of a million steiling the p.\aot amount we shall notjknow until the Colonial Tuasuicr In ings down his h'uan cial statement) to provide for our defences. The tacts that the loan has been dispoced of above par, and that it Wcis subsciibed more than fourfold, piove that the English capitalists are very anxious to obtain a safe investment for their money, and that they have great faith in the ability of New Zealand to pay the interest when it is due. Had the loan not been floated, we t-hould have been reduced to the unpleasant necessity of severe retienchment, of stopping all public vvoiks, and of seeking a new Colonial Treasurer, for it is quite certain that Sir Julius Vogel would soon have found that his health made it imperative for him to seek change of air if there were no millions to manipulate. Life in NewZealand would have no charms for him if there were no money in the Tieasury, and there would soon have been none if we had not got our loan floated The majority of our Auckland members have taken their departme for the seat of war, I mean of Government, for it is by no means certain, though it is highly probable, that there will be fightimr dining the present session. That the Ministry have laid themselves open to attack will be readily conceded. Their management of the iaihva.ysh.is ceitainly been no improvement on that of their predecessois They have failed to place the depaitment on a business like footing. While earners.are successfully competing with them, they aie unable to pay then way, although the rate of interest they have to pay on the capital expended is much less than that paid by those earners if they hav e to borrow money. This ought not to be the case, but it is, and it will continue to be until the system of railway management is completely altered. We want more common sense and less red tape, and the officials must learn that the railways aie not constructed for their beneht, but for the benefit of the public. Talking about railway matters, one of our Auckland business men received eonclus \e pioof of the necessity for a change 1 fiom the present state of mud dhng. He had occasion to send a small parcel to one of the Waikato towns, Hamilton I think. It contained two articles, which were put in a card boaid box, which was wrapped up in brown paper, properly addressed and booked at the Auckland station. It was duly deliveied to the addressee, who paid Is 4d carriage, took one of the articles out of the box, and sent back the othei in the same box, paper &c. The sum of 2s 5d was charged for return carriage. Now why should more have been charged for biinging that parcel to Auckland than for taking it to Waikato ? The size of the parcel was exactly the same on each occasion, while the weight was conaideiably less, not much more than one half, when the higher rate of freight was charged. It is really very funny or would be but that we, the intelligent New Zealand public, have to pay for the blundering of our oiiieials. Indeed we have to pay twice over, both the exorbitant charges and the loss made by the railways through the mismanagement w Inch makes them possible. I was telling one of the legnlai dincis at the Cafe the little incident I have just i elated, when he said that it was i.o woise than his cxpeiience on the Hutunui-liluff line. He was coming to Auckland f i om Oaniaru and had a good deal of luggage, so he took it dow n to the station some time befoie the train was due, to get it weighed and pay for the excess. When he had asceitained the amount payable he found he had not sufficient change, so tendeied a £5 note. The parcels clerk said he had no change, but that it would be jiibt the same if he paid at Lyttelton, to wh.ch station the luggage was booked. On arrival at Lytte(ton my friend went to look for his lnygage. Me &oo» found it, and tendeied the clerk the amount be was told he would have to pay at Oamaru. The clerk said that that was not sufficient. Being asked the leason why, he said that the luggage had been entered on the way-bill as having come from Dunedin. My friend said that it had come fiom Oainaiu and pointed to the Oamaru labels on the packages. It was of no use, as the way-bill said Duuedin, and so my fiiend, not wishing to leave his luggage behind him tor the sake of a few shillings, had to pay the carriage for nearly a hundred miles further than the railway had canied the goods. Another licensing committee has foi lowed the example of that of the Archill District, and stated plainly that, if they are re-elected next year, they will girnt no licenses in the district. This is the Mount Eden Committee. At piesent there is only one house that is licensed by them, the Epsom Hotel, and the committee seem to think that that is one too many. I believe that the house is well conducted, and that there lie plenty of other houses much moie deseiving of being closed, but yet I cannot agree with Mr Ui owning, the solicitor who appeared for the licensee. He said that the decision of the committee was unfair. Now I fail to see this. It in ceitaiidy not unfair to give ample notice of the, result that will follow their to election. They are doubtless of opin.ou that no hotel is required in the district, and if the majoiity of the residents aie not of the same opinion, they will not re-elect them, but will elect a committee who will renew the license. If theie ii any unfairness in the. matter, it lies with the people who elect the legislators who make our laws. JSo long as the law giv es the ratepayers in the district the powei to deet the licencing committee, I think it is quite fair tor any five men to say, " We offer ourselves for election on the clear understanding that, if elected, we shall grant no licenses in the district. " I think it would be unfaii if the committee made no such statement, but lefused to grant any license, as they have the power to do, but to state their intention openly months before the election is quite fail, straightfjiward and honest. + * * The laying of the foundation atone of the Free Public Library and. Art Gallery

was attended with the pomp and ceremony befitting such an important event The actual eeiemony was performed by the Mayor, who mado a speech, in which he was, followed by Sir George Grey, Sir Fipik-rick Whitakor, and Sir Maurice 0 Rorke. Ow ing to the fact that the '•peakeis weie standing below mo<-t of tlie spect.itois, vcr> little of what was <-aid could be heaid by the large audience assembled on the occasion. However, those who weic sufficiently inteiested could read the speeches at their leismo, as they weie veiy fully reported in the* daily papers. There is one thing which seems to be evidence of mismanagement on the pait of the city council, and that is that, though it is three months since the conti act was signed, the contiactois aienotjet in possession of the gionnd, as the excavations winch aic being made by the council aie not yet completed. Howe\er, it is to be hoped that there will not be murh moie delay, and tint what is wOlw 01 tli moving in the present libiaiy will soon be housed in the now building, where there will not be the same nsk of fiie as theie is the old wooden building now in use. St. MrM.o.