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KETROPOLITAJr MEMORAHDA.
' [Br Auxoltoctb.]< . ■'(\
■A amxHP of mumnidned teUaL**!
South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria
bavekhown no sovereign except her present
-Majesty, and May 24th has beenbbserrjsd ea
a holiday by them ever since: they . bad a
history. Some day, I suppose, it will drop
. down to. the level of an ordinaryday.and the
monarch's birthday will become a ^movable
feast. Only the ancient colonies of-New
South Wales and Tan Dieman's Land have
- lived under a king, and here and there in
Sydney one can see G.E. surmounting the
crown, while in Launceston and Hohart there
are also Testiges of the days before. 1837.
Tour Mr. John Dunn was born before
Governor David Collins abandoned the camp
at :Port Phillip to fonnd a - settlement at
'Hohart. Within easy walking- distance of
Sydney,, however, is the tomb of a priest who
wsb buried in 1788, and some buildings are.
still extant which date beyond the century.
As a general rule gunpowder is burnt for
incense ut the shrine of Vietprja.ih all lands
owning her governance when the anniversary
of her hirth comes round. In Adelaide this
year, however,-the review and its Jeu-cU-joie
were omitted, though great gnns boomed.their
salute at' noon. The usual levee was held,,
bnt it was. neither a spectacular nor a.
numerical success, though officialdom was
naturally present in -force. The display of
bunting in the city was toy meagre,, and
there was nothing to suggest that a regal
holiday was being kept. There wm no birth
day ball, and if the military rforbes bad not.
boldly seized upon the occasion and the.
Exhibition-building there would have been no
opportunity for prond soldiers ter air their.,
uniforms except in the morning. ^LoriS.
JMntore.ought certainly to so far uphold th^
traditions of viceroyalty as to give admiring.
" loyalists a chance to don their best drefees on;
• at.^ Am AIRMnl'ftinVkW w a
very limited fashion of entertaining society;
who ache to have their names on Government-'
-house list.; The Mayor of Adelaide is thought
to be very'remiss if' he does not give citizens
at least one day in the year to magnify them
selves and him, and the Governor's
responsibilities include the whole. colony.,
On Tuesday Lord Kintore was kept pretty
busy, for the levee, the noes, the official
dinner, and the military bafiliad to be.
attended to. Probably the second fixture
was the most enjoyed, and certainly bis
Excellent^ looted happier seated high aloft.,
driving his spirited horses to the racecourse
than he did either at the levee or the dinner.
He and Captain Milner occupied the box-seat!
of one carriage with a donkey behind, while
Inidy Sin tore and the rest of the party vera
- accommodated with a more comfortable,
conveyance, each, however, having an orderly
to look after them.
Mr. William Bignold, who opens
" Nowadays " at the Uoyal to-morrow night,;
is a handsomer man and a better 'aotor than
his spectacular brother George, although he
' is not so well skilled in the art of advertising
himself. He has a splendid head, with a fine
mass of greyish hair, and a firm, manly figtue.
He is tall, and he carries himself like a soldier.
In conversation he is pleasant and unassum
ing, while he has a well-filled storehouse of
information which has been gathered intelli
gently and with a right appreciation of its,
value in many parts of the world. In speak-'
■ing highly of William I do not wish to
disparage George, who, however, is more
successful as a stage-manager than as ah actor.
If any of your readers have the opportunity
they should endeavor to see Mr. William
Hignold and Miss Bessie Hignold, his
daughter, in " Nowadays." It is very easy
to spend a pleasant evening in the city jost now,
for the Lilliputian Opera Company is well
worth a visit, while lovers of realistic tragedy
have their choice of the Cyclorama and Tier's
Polytechnic.'
I think if South Australians appreciate^
how much better the Adelaide Zoo is than
the collections of animals in Moore Part
Sydney, and in the Boyal Park, Melbourne,",
they would extend more liberal support to
the director. At present Saturday, the .day
of free entry, provides the only crowd of the
week, and it is not uncommon on that after
noon to see. carriages at the gate with liveried
servants in attendance. The wealthiest men
ate not always the most liberal, and at theatres
and other places of ..entertainment they often
. try to get in oh. the cheap, while, lessoepnl ent.J
individuals pay. The - doorkeeper at the
Soyal could tell some interesting stories on
thiB subject, and so could the man in charge
of the-gates at the Zoo.
A large amount of money is being spent" in
the Botanical Gardens in reinstating works
which in the latter years of Or. Schotnbnrgk'a
control were allowed to go to rack and rain.
The Victoria Begia honse is being entirely
refitted, the palm-hoose is being "palled to
pieces and re-organized, and nearly all the
fountains are being repaired. The drought is
making itself felt in the lakes, which are now
so low and stagnant as to he foetid fever-beds.
Even the docks and geese look unhappy in
them, and when they leave the water they
show a green, slimy mark upon the breast
whioh is not reassuring. The - principal
beauty spot of Adelaide ought at least to be
kept healthy, but I believe the Hope Valley
reservoir is so low as to prevent any liberties
being taken with itB supply, and the Botanical
Gardens trustees eannot afford to ran op a
big bill for water in excess of their ordinary
allowance.
Of the seven lawyers in Parliament Mr.
Stock is the only one who has not held
Ministerial office. Mr.-Baker had .almost a
monopoly in the Council for many yearn; Mr.
Gordon, considering the short-ltime he .has
been in politics, has done very well; Sir
John Downer has been Premier; Mr.
Kingston can be almost whatever he likes; -
and Mr. H. E. Downer has had his share -4>f;
the loaves and fishes. As there is a great "
likelihood of Sturt proving unfaithful to Mr.
Stock at the next general election U would be
a shame for the Oppsition .to overlook
his claim to .preferment , if he shows an
inclination to vote for'them. . Stnrt has had
its share of Ministers within the last few
years. It was the constituency .which lifted
Mr. Way to the bench, while THr. Symdh,.
Mr. King, and Mr. Jenkins have all reached
offices of profit and honor by its help.. ;.
The know-alls Bay that the Ministerial
party at present consists of Messrs. Ash,
Baraelt, Blacker, Butler, Castine, Catfc,:
Gilbert, Gould, Horn, Hawker, -Hague,
Hamburg, Hack, Hopkins, Jenkins, Johnson,
S. Kelly, Kingston, Lamshed, Miller,
McDonald, Playford, Bounsevell, Sir ~E; T.
Smith, Messrs. Solomon, Seberk, and White.
That makes 27 votes, while Messrs. Caldwell,
Stock, and J. B. Kelly may be classed as very
: doubtful. Still the Opposition are .'not .with
out hope of-drawing the balance of power to
their ride, especially when they remember
that by instinct, if not by interest, Messjrs.'"
Ash, Bartlett, Hack, Lamshed, and Scherk
belong to tlieir side in politics. It is r pretty
certain that the matter "will be teBted'ialmbstj
immediately the House meets, although some*
Oppositionists are known to be averse to
harrying matters, as they think, by waiting,
the downfall of the Ministry will come of
itself, like the oollapee of the " walls of
Jericho. If a Ministry -could be fore-,
shadowed by the Opposition without con
taining objectionable names, why : there
would be bnt few supporter* - left with
King-ford Government except the philosophic
Hague, the faithful Castine, the 'admiring
"Gould, the well-recompensed McDonald,'the
contemptuous Johnson, .the stipendiary
Solomon, and the aristocratic Smith. Sap
posing the Ministry ore in earnest about
their " Four Steps " the squatting party have
nothing to gain by remaining faithful, white
any advance towards black labor on the pais
of-Mr. Playford would scare away all members
who trust to the Trades and Labor. Council
for the retention of their seats, Mr. Kingston
must feel himself in a very awkward position
just now, for both in what the Ministry
propose and in what they omit he will have to
risk the loss of valuable support both in the
Assembly and at East Adelaide. ? it *
Some of the more nervous spirits of the.
Opposition are very frightened lest tlie pro
gressive land tax should hob up inopportunely
at the beginning of tbe coming session. Dr.
Cockborn will-have to, fight the matter single
handed atthe next general election, for I fear
none of his former colleagues will ^give. him,
much help. Doamerhaagcb wn qbltlJOsnian
seems indifierentjiTButgoyne is Ootso 'sure
about the matter, Holder has other and more
popular means of raising revenue^ Tt has
been the lot of most ex-Premiers to . be left
in critical times to tread the wine-press alone.
It has been made plentifully apparent that
however popular the progressive, land tax
may be outside the House-it is a moBt un
pleasant subject within the walls. ' Whether
: the. fact..that, the .general election sjare .close
ahead will make any difference in the attitude
of honorable member*-remains to be seen.
Messrs. Miller, McDonald, and Gould—if all
is true that has been said ' about their pub
lished "views in April, 1890—most he feeling'
verytrembty just now,: and 'perhaps they
would be glad of an opportunity of setting
themselves right with theuf$liBtricts.? :T fidb
not think,~however,- that any Miuistry which,
may be farmed on the rains of the PlayFord
^vernrpnfjrill.^Ul >general election has,
intervened ,HfJelude \ the ; progressive lend tax:
in their policy. - . * '' !" ■"■ " '
For a democrat Mr. Kingston is veiy well
snpplied ,wit)i.--uniforms. tin the first place,
be lias the" silk jgowtf tnd the wig ofa Queen's
Counsel; then he has the 'scarlet coat and
gold.cheyrons ofJiatBergeaut of .militia,; {and 1
lastly' liehas jthe resplendent' 'Windsor "uni
form, wish", its" "magnificent conked hat, its.
wealth of gold'braid, and itshiuidsorae sword.
In this last he appeared at the levee on
Queen's Birthday, and he also donned-it 10
"do honor "to .the - military ball, -to which, of
course, in bis capacity as head of the depart
ment it would have heenvimposriblfe^for liim
ts have gone as a non-commissioned officer.
Does it not appear to von strange that a man
who would refuse a knighthood with contempt
should thus . masquerade . in Imperialistic ;
garb? Surely if-it 'is'not distasteful to
democracy to.aecept a merely lpcal distinction,
such as the title of " Honorable" under the
Duke of Newcastle's despatch it should not
bo to take a, knig}ithood, which has currency
all over the .Queen's dominions. .'Mj" own
impression is that the ihdiscrimiuate fashion-,
in which they have been granted has done
more to cheapen titles than any intrinsic
demerit in the decorations themselves. Only
one flagrant mistake hp: been made' in South'
Australia, but ip som^ of the other "Colonies
veryextraohdinkry selections have been -made.,
' The totalizator is a tempting machine.
Four adventurous youths on Tuesday clubbed
together to plaggdElmi tlie.hprse which paid
the biggest divi<^nfc-5jhd<&lS«ach rewarded:
them. One -at %east'speiifc" his unexpected
fortune in getting drunk, while probably that
was not the foil extent of his wrongdoing.
He would have absolutely -been better -off had ■
'pe''stuck to his original 5s. Winning big.
'dividends is often more - fatal than losing
.SjnalLvent urea.. .„ ..
- f t; acknowledge with gratitude the compli
'jmentrwhich Qjdr paid-ldst week to the very
able and well-informed gentleman. who filled
my place in thesd .columns. during the recent.,
weeks^'of "*my "absence.; PraiBe;from such a
source is doubly welcome, because the con
ductors of that clever journal are well
qualified to pronounce tan opinion.: onliterary
matters, and thejr" have the' reputation of
speaking {their mind without fear or favor.
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