THE PASSING SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 232, 2 October 1933, Page 6

THE PASSING SHOW.

(By THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.)

A lady ofikially connected with a. great Melbourne hospital came lately to New Zealand, mentioning among other things that each successive month, SECOND-HAND, staff and officials dine together and subsequently discuss matters of common interest to professional healers. A gentleman sitting next to tho lady official gaily remarked that he had sampled the dessert," nuts, raisins and so forth —even to those "small, green, hard little things in the saucer." "I don't like 'em much, either," ho said. "What are they?" "Oh, those aro the insides of my olives/' said the lady.

Conducted tours of inspection by groups of school children round museums and the like seems a better way of seeing exhibits than to wander lonely as a THE ZIPP. cloud amid unexplained •wonders. Present scribe has been bored to tears after wandering through a mile or two of marvels in tho British Museum and has almost wept with tiredness among tho marvels of Naples Museum, the wonders of tho Louvre, or the charms of Melbourne collections. If the adult could see the exhibits dug out of their cases— could feel them, handle them, be told about them, he'd bo as happy as a schoolboy. Priceless missals and illuminated manuscripts remain unfingered through the decades, and many people wander among them unseeing and unedified. And apropos the personally conducted tour among the marvels, the other day a party of local school children were taken to the Old Colonists' Museum. Tho kiddies were really interested and took back to their homes definite ideas of what they saw. "I saw some pictures of the old British soldiers of the Maori War," said a little lad. "One of the soldiers had zipp fasteners on his tunic."

Two men sat in the sun on a scat facing tho Pacific and chatted, of world events, with special reference to the League of Nations, for there "was a photoROMANCE graph of tho League OF GENEVA. Buildings at Geneva in the paper both were scanning. The elder man remarked, "Come to think of it, Geneva is a wonderful place! Eminent men of all countries meet there to try and solve tho problems of the world. In this great building some day someone may speak tho words that -will give the world universal peace. Through those great gates may some day march exultant crowds cheering the achievements of the statesmen who sit within those historic walls—by the way, you've been in Geneva, haven't you?" And the other man, gazing longingly out to sea, murmured, "Geneva? Oh, yes, I've been in Geneva. I had tho best fish and chips in Geneva I ever tasted in my life." Dear M.A.T., —Apropos barrels of beer and the tapping thereof, as mentioned in your column, my mind goes back to Moascar camp, where many thousands of ONE HOT DAY. '"Diggers" did some 1-efty foot-slogging in preparation for tho trip to France. The camp canteens run by "Greckos" had to keep a big supply of beer for the thirsty "Diggers," and it was the practice for the barrels to be I brought into tho camp on brewery carts drawn by tho usual stunted Gippo donkey, led by j Abdul of the long white (sometimes) shirt. The sight of two largo barrels being taken into camp proved too much for a couple of Aussies, who hit on a plan for buckshee beer, as follows: Whilst Aussie No. 1 engaged the Gippo driver in conversation and'walked beside him Aussie No. 2 busily interested himself with a largo jack knife cutting away at the rear barrel. This went on for some time, when suddenly tho Nut Brown October started to flow very freely, much to the concern of the Aussie, who promptly yelled for buckets, dixies, etc. These were supplied by New Zealand Artillery men camped in the vicinity in tho space of a split second, and the curtain was drawn over the scene of a yelling Gippo surrounded by thirsty "Diggers" doing their best witli the only free beer that ever found its way into Moascar.—A;J.E. Those who remember the Earl of Kanfurly and the affectionate regard ho inspired as Governor of New Zealand for seven years from 1897 will much regret his LORD RANFURLY. passing. Both during his occupancy of his high office and ever since he relinquished it he kept in touch. It was he who undertook the task i of organising naval and military veterans and founding homes for those who needed them in the autumn of their lives. But it is not always : understood that tho work was absolutely per- - sonal, Lord Kanfurly himself doing all the ] necessary correspondence, keeping tho records, 1 and making intricate inquiries. Latterly Lord ] Kanfurly had suffered one of the most grievous i I handicaps to the correspondence he loved, for t lie lost tho use of his right hand, precluding < personal communication. IJe. had colonial i experience prior to his Governorship of New t Zealand. lie took up malice country at Mil- e dura under the Chaffey Irrigation Scheme, \ planting orange proves, vineyards and peach 1 orchards. ]t was interesting to Australian t and oilier settlers in the irrigation area that t Lord Kanfurly brought out many workers i from his estate at Dungannon, in County [ Tyrone, Ireland. Probably present writer is i ono of tho few who has seen this scion of a c historic family driving a farm cart full of o oranges in a Victoria town. Ilis heir, Lord n Northland, killed in action in France, spent fi some time, in New Zealand, and is remembered, a especially by military people, for his care-free ways and his vivacity. v

A disciplined mass of people is a force. A crowd oil masterless men is a mob—hence tho apparent necessity of Mussolini, Hitler, the schoolmaster and the DISCIPLINE. traffic cop. No crowd is ■ ever orderly, quiet, restrained, disciplined unless it is "put" —and it doesn't stay put when the disciplinary hand leaves it — hence riots and the people who block out air, light and efficiency when somebody has tho misfortune to ge't bowled over by a car, or meets other accident in a public place. Mentioned that in a recent accident, three men being injured, the ambulance, men were gravely handicapped by tho curiosity of the j crowd. It is the same universal curiosity that has been common to humanity since Adam was a boy—and before. Humanity will make confusion worse confounded on'merely seeing aj crowd, and will crush and jam not knowing in the least what it is all about. The usnal"cry is "What's up?" —and everybody wants to know. Everybody everywhere has this sheeplike quality of following leaders. There is the New Zealand case of the wreck of the Penguin. When (he - victims were buried at Kai-ori Cemetery (Wellington) the crowd carried tho cemetery gates and main- fell into open graves. In tho absence of disciplinary force the crowd —any crowd —would carry a jgate to see a dog fight, or a girl sewing on buttons in a shop window, supposing their curiosity was stirred. Quaint thing about it is that we are all the same. Wβ ourselves I elect to have police forces and Mussolinis and ! traffic directors to prevent us from being too j human and too nosey. Once the white hand is j still—where are you? i