CANDID COMMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 153, 27 June 1908, Page 11

CANDID COMMENTS.

(By "xaLDAT) m

The approaching visit of 63 British battleships to Copenhagen is evidently exciting keen interest in Germany, and ' the Kaieer, .will, nq.-<|oubt; 'feelhimself quite tt."injured". I of Wellington, at. the present juncture, if, Mc is usable induce the ■British squadron "drop.'! in" at Kiel for * j view of eventualities, "he. hasy we under- i stand, formed hjnuelf; into a Meet '.Conir. j mittee, and in his capacity' as chairman ahdv>liord High Everything■ Else, ,, has already ■ approached xthe-Auckland com-; mittee bycable—he^'is' notably fond of telegraphing—for.-bints as to' the' pro-, posed , entertainments that are designed for.;- the- -edification-of >the '■' American sailors, what tune they reach these hospitable chores.- vWeviniy' confidently as-' eume, .however, that so original a? monarch' ;; , will*rsucceed 'in"introducing some rrealrhote of-, novelty in to his .reception' of/his visitors. , , (no aspersions ;are "here cast upon the Auckland'plans qfi amusement!) ,>«ind J we can -Only: hope v. that? "fleet .week'?,.'in-, the, Baltic; may be 1; marked .by. no unpleasant contretemps. ]W7l»ere.. the host is;. of. a' notoriously; impulsive, disposition,; things .are apt to happen "promiscuous-like," and it would ■' really: be a pity if some genial .and hospitable, remark, such as "Let 'em all come;",'should be .construed r by;:-his .and otherrnations;vinto ~■_»;; gage ;.de 'guerre; ■thrownin : the;. teeth of- \the visiting squadron..' ; ■ .-■ . ■. ''.■■'■.'-. .. :- ■-': \. ■. -■ ■■:'"; .': -• Father Vaughan, though sometiibes ill-v judged in ; the vinUence,of \his attacks; ■upon rmodern life-.and methods, is nothing i£ not interesting in,-. the . selection of his »subject for denunciation, and his. latest, will be; approved by-all sensible; people.: This notable ecclesiasticjjobjects , to-the tone of the,-literaryr matter which -finds.its way into the hands of thk risipg generation. ; ; One, might easily go,a. step further, and say. it is .difficult to approve of tie reading matter, which. finds its '■•way.into the hands of \the risen generation! Of the making of books, and more especially of novels, there is literally no end—*nd as the supply is always regulated by; the demand, w« may conclude that all these many books are-read. By Vwhmm? -^Chiefly...by; idle women, who be-, muse and excite themselves with r tfte imaginary.' troubles-■ of the fascinating hero and heroine; .l>y.we*nen. who should be busy, but who neglect their duties to(i&»]k|wHhe"\eiH)lutione of the tortuous and. Tjewiidering r "plot; by business' girls, who go to their daily occupations •with glued to the with their minds confused byCthe. details of the books, and all their hopes centred upon the coming of the luncheon; hour, when theyfniayonce^.moreJbury thoneelves in the enthralling volume,, to the detriment of their digestions and of i their powera of business concentration^; Book-reeding ceiried to an exeesai..:is almoet «c hmrmf ul to the character as the drug habit. The book-mankc, sale ..or female, is a being, who finds common nature's dai](y needs tdb paltrytoieceive attention, while actual fleet, and: blood personages become in contrast jwith!' the picture-people too uninteresting to be worthy - oire and «>hsideratioia»,; Daily taake, the. dafly routine, the commonplaces of real life, «re to thei book>maniat obnoxious in conipaxison with, the glaminVesting :the picturesque. enrjuroa meat in wbich the book-folk live and more and have their fictional being When a\ torn* ' ox ■ mmasiL' eiyi: '".;. ?QBi>.l don't know what I should do without ny booke!" that person can be rapidly class ifled as 'one; who hak failed to take anj real grip on life; who cannot be relied upon in an emergency; who is impatient of, or indiffearent to, the ciairne of surrounding human beings. ) If there ean'be so many bad effect* consequent Trpon perusal of comparativelj innocuous works,—and few who -thought in3ij"'^canadt*/:tte^iutiter' will be disposed to question the- truth. : of my deductions—Father Vaughaa is, indeed sounding a needful note of warning whe he ep«*kß of the pernieioue: influence o3 niiflyii w''t-'"g» npnn the impressionabli minds of the young. . He suggeets * stricter censorship of panted madter, ant though this is JBri tain, wiim'; co ''many • thousands :■ of ito! umes are printed m publidied yearly it might be ednaßble if New Ze«i*ndfor the protection of ite rising genera tion— were, to estabßeh. a crnaorrfiip t< restrict the coming-into.tb* cwintry. o literature not necesaarily purutent (fa such is, of^^.coatee, barred already), ba ol » eweehbuckler order, "which, is liahl to deterioacate the mental calibre of; th reader. , •> „* % Talking of tike "rifling gmattiao? i would «ppear f rom a recently pobßehe* letter of an indignant "Motihe* :Ift* drildren nre very muob. a* a discount ii Neleon in particular, and in the;Dojnia ion in general. She sUtes that she as rivedin that town with four small child iwi,,.and -^^ ber of where she iiapplied. for ao conußodatioa, on. the excuseithai the pro prietor "objected: to \, childrem? Set wants know wfcetiber there vis not some iiawsto. compel •; hotel, ajndrbpwding hous*' \>rom&eUm to? enterbun.'persons accompanied cbilfcn. -In this leUei a serious danger, is, ahadewred \ forth,- fw it ;is really xatber terrible in : its f. effect* upon the far latin* of the civilised nations,' thii boycott of -the children wiiob iq taring place all thbworid over. -UeTi Zealand i»: n*ans u tb*,onl^ .place where "chadren. are; objsscted. ; . fashionable seaside resorte in England ii is quite impossible;. to obtain aceommo dation in•" the : best-c]»ss ''privttte hotel* and boarding-liousee, -where a child ii admitted' to.. be a. member of- the party Proprietors >wlll.,,nc»t; /have,.children,-a) any ;price, during the height of the sea eonj. ana asked\ reason: will say that ■ the other boarders wouli object to the presence of children. Eyei in less faehionable apartments the prfc is always enhanced when ..chdldxen"that word direful r import—iis : . met tioned. ■ ■.. ■■■■ -"■■;■.■■,.: ■,:■"; l ■'■.■■■■: This increasing objection to cbil dren means, for one thing, that pai ents have trained their children so badl of latter days that .these become ret live nuisances to all unfortunate enoug t to come in contact with them. ' Housi ttgente ,vi : .New; Zealand, jWhen ;interr< ' gated as tiTthe :bbyoott of" children whic is noticeable in the. =tone mente 'oV houses ■; tovbet tet, /assert tbi their' in the-past have'found the properties so seriously deterioratedv.b the , mischievous hands bt-children, the : they have biren obliged to frame son private" bylaws for their own proteetio) Where children are;' permitted to: tes dowii;,- the' '• -waU-papers, scrape ■ the: pain 'ji of doors and winddwsj and break thVreil of verandahs and gates, it is hardly,em : prising that tho owner of a prefers to let th*t property to * ■ of adults. It certainly does look «v thousrli the remedy ./or thjsj boycott o • the m^o^m^^^^ rather haidly; upon, the fetters anc motker» of the penba—li« right to th«

-.vi ■'■-.- ' : ■-■•■■'-< ■■■ .' mmmmmwmimmmmmmmmmm^mmm^mmmmmmm I ' ■': . ■; ■■ ■ *■.". ''■;;,.-•';■, -.'I-; -',— - --. ';;:V:^^ band of the parents themselves. If they would all combine to teach their offspring to occupy their rightful place in the'social. Bcheme—and that is a "quiet back seat"—they might' manage in time to re-establish confidence in the minds of the' large majority;. of "persohs" wbo .now, look at'children, with, oakant: eyes. Per-.S ' ' haps a "Mother^';. and ; ; .her friends who.:, have suffered - even as. she has recorded, may-.''chance; to- read' these lines end ac- ■■■:-. v. 0»pt; the'suggtrstiMi.fpr what it is worth. ■":■,-.■ I am afraid,'however,--that- the improvement -will be long incoming, for each set of parents,cherishes, the undjnng conviction that their own little."brood" is just asi "good : ",'«s g01d.".?- And; that;being the JV, -ease,; no -improvement, of .-manners, is, pcasible! •-..,,'. ' ;■,"...'.,'. >;.;,;' • ■■' •>..■.. ■■ y. : ■