ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2067, 6 October 1885, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

„ _^. Tiihif has been .1 good deal of sentimental nonsense talked and wnttcn during the past week about the injustice of the quaiantine regulations under which the anim.ils belong ing to the American cucus are prevented from landing. No doubt it is a hard c.v-e for the owner* of tho animals, but they h»ve only themselves to blune for the unfortunate position in which they find them selvps. For mutual protection, the Australian colonies, Tasin una and New Ze il md bound themselves to prohibit the imputation of stock. Of couise, it may be said that the proprietors of the circus were not nware of the prohibition. Well ! th it is their misfortune, but not fhe fault of our Government, who had tho information advertised in the United State-. Tho Colonial Secretary takes a piactical view of the matter. He refers to the l.ugp number of cattle and horcea sent hence to '\ustialia. and says that we cannot afford to lo«e that trade, as we should do if we removed tho restriction, for tho sake of nine ponies, eight doga and two goats. What iv severe loss it would be to the Stud Company if they were deprived of the Antralian market as an outlet for their blood stock just when the splendid perfoimnnceof tho Musket colt, Nordenfeldt, ha\e shown the grand quality of the stock, as his brother Martini-Henry did before him. If New Zealand hornet could not be exported to Australia the Stud Company would be limited to New Zealand for purchasers of their horses, with the result that there would be, comparatively speaking, little competition and low prices, While we are soiry for the cucus peuple, we must allow them to Hiiflur tne Josy convenient on their ignor.moe rather than that ttie Stud Company HMiiuld lose the Australian inaiket for their stork on account of nine ponies, eight dogs and two goats. That was .1 scathing article on Sir Julius Vogel which appeared in the Stitist, and \\'M copied into the Herald. Of course, there is nothing in it which we did not al ready know. Still it is well for us to ha\e our attention forcibly drawn to our position by an impartial outsider, more especially when it is our financnl position that is shown by one of the leading English m«ne tary newspapers. It is an easy matter to talk about the elasticity of our resomcc*, but those resources have been too >,e\erely strained, and we are now suffering from the lebound. lam no pessimist, and I firmly believe that this countiy has a great future before it, but I am quite sure that the Statist is correct in haying that we allowed Sir Julius Vogel to mortgage our futuie too heavily. This would have not been the case had the borrowed millions been economically expended on reproductive woiks, but \ we know that there was disgraceful extravagance and waste, and that many of our railways were constructed where they were not required, simply for the purpose of buying political support. Still, _ despite all the blunders and jobbery, I believe that New Zealand will soon recover from the present depression if only Sir Julius Vogel gets his "walking ticket," ana we have honest and economical administration for a tew years. Tho writer of the article in the Statist concludes by saying that, in all he has done, the first care of Sir Julius has been to provide for himself. Now, is not this cruel ? Was it n«t golely for the benefit of the people of New Zoaland that ho proposed his public works nohenie and that ho borrowed so many millions? Was it not purely from philanthropic motives that he returned to Now Zealand? He would not put in a claim for £(i,QOQ for raisiM a five million loan nor oxpeots to get a commission from Moiggs and Co. Oh ! no ! It was another man with the same name. » People are beginning to make tho tlis co very that the cutting down of Emily Place has been a flagrant waite of public money. It wa» said w-hen it was first proposed that it wou}d re«ult in providing another outlet from the harbour, and that it would relieve <2no j n street from a con--ldenblo amount of traffic, and it was m that lepresentation that the City Count < was induced to boar a sharo of tho c i-t 1 The work ii now nearly coiuploted and

tlieie doo-, not sl-liu to bo the slightest appeu.ini.oof the piob Utility of obtaining a gradient winch will be of any use whatever .is an outlet ftoiu the wlurf, and coiise qnently the m< ney expended bj the city h.is boon simply thrown away, or, at any into, given as a bonus to the Frozen Meat Company The company wanted the cat th to make their reclamation and they should ha\e paid for it. Unfortunately foi the ratepayer, the majority of the City Council behoved that tho cutting down of Knuly place would give a pi.icticable grade from the Railway whaif to Piinces-street, anrl behev ing tfi.it, thov considered they weie contubuting ti> an linpoit.int city linpiovement, but, unfoitiinatcly, it has once more happened that sonic one has blundeied. At piesent, there is absolutely nothing to ihow for the money expended by -he council but a hideous eyesore, and, unless I'iinces street is- cut down to such an extent as will en danger the sUbility of the museum, Masonic Hall and Noithern Club, 1 l>ulic\e it i- impo-siblo to obtain a giadient that will be of any piactical use. The best thing the council can do is to slopo otf the cliff so as to olm.ite my danger of its falling and then let it for an advertising space. We have just had a Police Court case which reveals a sad state of aff.Mii at the Kohnnaiama Training School. A boy named Knoxwas brought up charged with d.umging i pair of hand culTs, the piopeity of Him Most Gracious Majesty (,>ueon Victoria. It seems imm the evidence that the hind cuffs weie put on the legs of the prisoners brother and another boy to p- event tliom running aw.iv from the ti .lining school. Despite this exquisite device, this boys managed to escape and to reach town, vvl'cio the pusoner filed thiough the bteel link conneiting the. ham! cull-, -o that the two boys might he &opaiatod. Of course, it i» well known that a numhpr of the boy- at Kohnnaiama aie nnicli nioie like black sheep than the pine little lambwe slimild like to s>je tliem, but fastening them together with handcuffs on their legs, as if they weie hirdened ciuninils in the rli.iin-g.uig is ceitaiulv not the way toimpiove them, mrj the inhuman animal who finds it nxe-siry to resoit to such a practise is manifestly unfit to be the master of the Ti .lining School. The ju-tices befoie whom the cue wns brought yon pmpeily c'-nr ictensod the tro itment to winch those little boys were subjected as brutalismg, and said tint there . "hould bean enqmiy held. Certainly there should, and it is to be hoped that "those justices have done what is their clear duty t.i the public, to the boys and to themselves— repot ted the matter to Government, and demanded an enquiry. There is one thing which I appears to me rather strange— that Hog in, I the mister of the school, was not in couit t<> give evidence. It is a pity the bcndi had not an opportunity of asking this gentle gu.irdiin of young children to what extent he upfli the handcuffs. I fancy he would have had what the French call a bad quarter of an hour, if he had been there. Tlvmp seems to be every probability that the colon iei will benefit by the lecent change of Ministries in England, provided that the Conservative Government obtain sufficient support in the coming general election to enable them to remain in olfice Should they do this, there will be a icvei-al of the Fiee Tiade Policy, which has been in existance for the past forty years, and wh.it is called Fair Trade will take it- place. The advocates of Fair Trade combine the children's motto, "you be good to me and I will be good to you," with the patiiotic utterance of Henry of Navarre at the Battle of Ivry, " Down ' down with all the foreigners, but let your biethren go." They propose to place protccMve duties on the goods of all f«,ieign countries which impose piotcctive duties on 13i itish good-, and to admit duty free goods from foreign countries which charge no duty on British goods, and to charge a lower rate of duty on goods from the colonies than on those fiom foieign countries. Thus, our corn and wool will bo admitted at lower rates than corn and wool from America, our wines at lower rates than those from Fiance and Spam, Indian tc.i at lower duty than that fiom China, &c, tec. It is not within my province to discuss the advantages 01 disadvantages likely to accrue to Great Britain from the adoption of this policy. All that concerns us it. the manifest benefit we shall gain fiom the enhanced price we shall obtain for our produce. For our own sakes we must hope that tho Conservatives will have a substantial majority.

I have discovered tlio " champion mean man."' Ho lives in Auckland, and belongs to one of the honourable professions. Some time ago a sttwiner had just staited foi W.uwer.i when the wean man was seen itislmig down the wharf. Tlio captain called out to him to get a waterman's boat, and come out to the steamer. Ho did <.o, and when ho got alongmde ho offered the waterman a shilling— half of his piopci faie. The latter demanded two shilling-, but the mean man said he had no moie change. After wasting a lot of tinio in arguing he had to buriow a shilling from one of his friends ®n board tho Ktcamci, and pay the waterman. When the fairs wero being collected on bo.iid the steamer he otfeied two shillings less than the piopei sum, stating tliat he had paid that amount to the waterman, whom he lv.d engaged by instruction of the captain. The captain insisted on being paid the proper faro, and s.nd that the fellow should pay more rathei than le>s, as the steamer had lost twenty minutes waiting for him. Tho mean man paid under protest, and when he got back to Auckland wrote to tho owners of tho \essol, complaining of the captain for having refused to allow him the two shillings ho had paid to the watonnin whom he had engird bv his msti notions. Such n fellow nhonld not bo allowed to lne in a civilised community. Ho should bo put on the hulk with the (.uciis animals. Si. Mi M.o.