THE PASSING SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 182, 3 August 1929, Page 8

THE PASSING SHOW.

I | (By THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.) ir .* "V '• .•"••• THE REASON. . I note with gay and gladsome glee i .. The Budget plans to hand :.- . : HAYill further fax the citizen"' " >'* "I •: Whb owns- a lot,of land. Oh, squeeze the squatter, tax him high, A And let us be partakers i In monev wrested from' the man ! Who owns the most broad acres ! i,--y • You usfii m'e why I acquiesce; J i And take this sturdy stand; 5 My answer, sir, is-simply this : ■ I don't Qwn any land-. •Noted that Lieutenant-General Sir R, Baden-Eowell>' originator of that wonderful organisation,, >the; Boy .Scouts, is. to be created :. . : —■'a ibaroni Perhaps he'll'be \ . HAT. 'i Lord M.: feking—one never 'l; ■■?>»' i;•'* kno* ■->' He was the only •pukka 6ld donte'mptiblo general in SoUt.lL, Africa to ivear ••tlie' Arijericau. style „hat he has ever since, affected—perfectly unconventional aiidiunique in t'ljie, British army at the time. It hiis been often said that it was the' hero of Mafeking's admiration for, liis hat that ilic];ubecl him to create a juvenile force to per - pctuato the fashion he so adorned himself;, .itp.M, is a Numbers, of military details at a dismal placein South "Xfriira tailed on for ..rations.'" Stuck to the quartermaster's, depot. with a dab of ration jartt > was 'a'bit of paper torn from an A:S'.G. issiie book. It contained the laconic message "Mafeking relieved.'? 'Of. the hundreds of soldiers who filed, past that notice and read it not; a, single 'liian vliborayed : oi;-turned hand?' springs or threw tip"'rodkets.' Nobody cared. Next day, after a .slight' affair, the announcement was promulgated, that an extra ration of-. rum "was- to •'be'issued. Then the troops cheered! -.y t PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK.'

'fion. Heury Leslie Michel, M.L.C., has been in New Zealand'most of his seventy-four years, but he,, was jn Newcastle, New . . .. f '■ -v*Wales. He-is ; oue-b'f the HON; H. L. MICHEL. Senior' J.P.'a in this s .i ■ -jCouiitry. n-j: A ;.;vHokitika ihefchant, Mr. Michel of that town for y,ears j .,-a < iuJ'• has, of "course, been prominently associated "w,itii .many local bodies on 'the' West Coast;; .Re was captain-'6f > the Holutika Fire Brigade ! 'for twenty-seven years, and'foi 1 many years president/of ttie ; Associatidft .of New Zealand -Brigades, having "been responsible for most of the legislation trolling them. ' Sir. Mioiiel contested" the 1 Westland'seat against Mr. T. E. Y.'Seddoriin." 1906j being;'defeated by ! tlie great Premiers -He afterwards contested the Grey seat, ' being defeated on the second ballot by Mr. P. C. Webb. Mr. : Michelthas\ : held ,many .of the higher offices in New Zealand Freemasonry." A friend'who happened to be in an alcoholic refreshment parlour..(possibly by accident) remarks on'what to hiin was a curiosity. A f. /•'" ; -''gentleman refreshing himTHE SYPHON, self with a: glass. of ; ibeer - ■j ; ' did not :clutch-it' in'i-'the orthodox '• way, dr, |>oUr •' it roughly: down- his throat; IHo pfodtlced from his p'beket -what appeared to be a long cigarette 1 holder, or- a small; pea r blbwer. - Inserting it in the standing -fluid,-': he drew his "refreshment, through - the. implement. For the lower part of the refreshr merit lie produced an even longer, implement. The inexpert friend assumed that the gentleman thus syphoned the refreshment into his •system'.so.-that the : maximum exhilaration and nutriment' might' be obtained for his; threepence.- Many bon vivants-hold that exhilara-. tioii:'3s obtained.iiiore readily by this mechanical: means. * Hd was; /however, informed:- that: the gentleman, Realise"' of a trembling- hand,' was nriatile t eaiTy/ the vessel to ;his mouth.' Ho instantly " assumed, that the refreshens nervous eompiaint had been induced by a repetitive' course of alcoholic indulgence. Not so! One has seen the most hardened,teetotaller unable to carry a-cup of teajtoWfhe lips Ivithout c .exhibiting palsy. eminent' surgeons whddo tbufch',.'. taste. oV handle alcoholic medicament#„whb; suffer- from m anual ■ agitation, ' but who call ."i.cou-,-trol their hand's ! when ■ "it is form* infinitely delicate is that the -.man- who ,sy-phong v of hop tea into his system is qbt an inebriate.'' .'.' .v..

. . Rather stnuige that the Prime . Minister; and M.A.T. ; should think alike! Sir Joseph in r his mj£st'eily Budget speech mentioned a' .;1 ■; "~" :i • cash shortage of a couple; ; THE OLD 'UNS. of millions (pooh!) in the ' current pensions account "due to the misleading policy of early retirements" from i tllte: • StatS':! services. v .will 'come When vigorous young fellows of fifty-five and so forth will combine in a demand to keep .on' working! in a- eoUiitrv- whieli Wants menmore than it wants anything on earth. It has always been a quaint business for men who have apparently been trained to a hair for $*pm thirty-five to forty years to be scrapped. IM.a moment when" it would" appear that their ■services were most valuable. How valuable ;sas sh'pwn during the .Great .War,.\vhe.n. the, ! Civil Service was denuded of its young men and the cry. went forth, "Bring the old 'uris' $ack!". TJjeiold 'uhs.went back in comparative fdroves .and ;did the' country's job while the ybung 'uns Were doing their country's job, too, v s'6mewhere else. Very, of course, to be ! %,hle to become a gentleman (largely at the expense of you and me^brother!J .When there is still twenty or thirty years of good, hard, wo'rk 'in one; but is. it. c.rjcket? . The ime.n.tal and physical yigpur of pensioners is frequently by'-the. fact;! being .superannuated :l>y-a grateful country, they turn their attention other work, successfully reaching, down two salaries;: .There are .many notable, examples. THOUGHTS FOR TO-DAY. ; t t Impossible is' a word to be found in the dictionary of'-fools—Napolpon I. - t i •• .. -j..«•'• • • §$; T-h.e-real'things' are inside.- The real world •is-the inside .world:/ .God is not up, iior down, I but in .'the ;i|nidst.~Mrs. Whitney. . 'J : r-