SEARCHLIGHTS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9125, 8 June 1895, Page 8

SEARCHLIGHTS.

Fob pig-headed bigotry, narrow-minded malice, and all manner of uncbaritableness commend mc to a publication issued in Dunedin, under the title of The Christian Outlook. There is a delicious irony in the title. It must have been named on the lucus a non lucendo principle. For unless to slander, to distort, to lie ; to be narrowminded, malicious, and uncharitable, be " Christian " virtues, then this is the most unchristian production it ha 3 ever been my lot to read. A recent I3sue is devoted to a tirade agaiust gambling. It is only fair to say that the Christian Outlook ia as rouijli on chuich baziara as on trotting met tnigs ; the parson aud the bookmaker are rolled together on the same mud heap of abuse. The editor of the precious production evidently believes himself and hi? fanat ical (supporters to have a monopoly of Uhiietiaiuty, tor with the exception of a guarded reaeivation in favour of Presbyterian chuiches he involves all Churches and religions in the same condemnation he pours on the heads of "betting men "and journalists and bookmakers, aud all other such wicked folk.

It ia commonly supposed that the worst vicss for which the hotel and the racecourse are responsible are drunkenness and gambling. I have ceased to believe it. All tbe wretchedness, poverty and cruelty, the drunkard or the gambler inflict upon society, are not half so poisonous and pestilential aa the malice, lying and uucharitableness of which the anti-drinkers and anti - gamblers are guilty. If the publican and the betting man are to be held responsible—as I suppose they indirectly are—for the vices of the "reformers" who oppose them, then is their sin deep indeed. We are tolerably familiar with the distortion and malice of the Prohibitionist. The Christian Outlook out Herods Herod. In the eyee of the Prohibitionist, an honournble and upright citizen, who in the course of business deals in wines and spirits, is an object of execration and contempt. Let him be ever so good a Christian, ever so zealous a worker ia God's vineyard, his motives are base and his conduct criminal if he sells a case of spirits. Iα the same way, th« Christian Outlook proceeds to abuse a gentleman known to lead an upright, unselfish and benevolent lite, for the monstrous crime of giving a thousand odd pounds to build a '* showy red brick church," while at the same time he seconded a resolution at the meeting of a Jockey Club ! And the congregation which benefited by his lavish benevolence is held up to ecorn and contumely because it accepted money to be spent in the cause of Christianity from a man so shameless, so base, so criminal that he dared to ishow his face at the annual meeting of a racing Club 1

Are the men who write Vnat sort of thing vwd —or what are they ? I firmly believe that an expert in lunacy, reading the Christian Outlook, would pronounce its writers insane. For they have that peculiarity of some forms of insanity that to their vision everything is distorted, magnified, out of proportion. Here, for example, is the description or " the betting man"—noli the professional "bookie" miud you—he is dealt with in another paragraph—but the man Mho goes to a racecourse or plays a game of cards. " The very face of a betting man is enough to let you know what his soul is like ; it ia a face such as can be seen nowhere but on the racecourse or in the betting-club ; the last truce of high thought has vanished, and, though the men may laugh and indulge in verbal horse-play, there is always something carnivorous about their aspect. They are sharp in a certain line, but true intelligence is rarely found among them. Strange to say, they are often generous with money if their sentimental side ia fairly touched, bub their very generosity ia the lavishness of ostentation, and they seem to have no true kindness in them, nor do they appear capable of even shamming to possess the genuine helpful nature. Eternally on the watch for prey, they assume the essential nature of predatory animals; their notion of cleverness is to get the better of somebody, and their idea of intellectual effort is to lay cunning traps for fools to enter. Yes; the betting ring is a bad school of morality, and the man who goes there as a fool and a victim too often blossoms into a rogue and a plunderer."

Was ever such drivelling nonsense conceived by the brain of a sane man ? Lord Rosebery, the Premier of England, is a betting man. He has risen by his talents and probity to be the first man in the British Empire; he is supported by the •' nonconformist conscience " ; he has at h» back the sober, thrifty, industrious, middle-class of England—the " puritanical middle-class"; no breath of slander, no charge of vice or dishonour'haa been uttered against his reputation even by the bitterest political foes; acd yet this man is " a betting man," and has a face that is gross and debauched, " carnivorous "—and above all "unintelligent!" Three fourths of the male population of this colony are probably " betting men " in the sense that they make wagers; and we are seriously asked to believe that all these men have faces that are " unintelligent," " ungenerous," " carnivorous." Well, it's a good job for the photographers that we don't all agree with the Christian Outlook. And as for generosity all I can say is that if I wanted a subscription for a charity, if I wanted real sympathy, ungrudging generosity, simple, unostentatious helpfulness, I would apply to " a Bport." I would appeal with more confidence to the frowsiest welsher in a check ■uit and a horse shoe pin than to the smuggest "Christian Outlooker" in his broadcloth.

It is a trite truism to say that these people always confound the use with the abuse of a thing. But I wonder if it has ever occurred to them that they themselves gamble, lay wagers, and are nvghty proud of their prudence and foresight iv doing so. The proprietor of the Outlook probably insures hie printing office. He pays a premium say of 10a per cent. Has it ever occurred to him that he is simply accepting a wager of 200 to 1 that his office will not be burnt down in twelve months ? Or he inaiirea hie life for say £100, paying an ano ual premium of £3. What is this but a bet 3 to 100 that he will die in the course of the year ? And yet the same man tells v;, that to lay a wager on any subject and at any price is essentially a wicked and immoral transaction !

No ONE, I feel sure, who is genuinely interested in social reform, who has a true respect for the sacred principles of Christianity, can fail to deplore the tissue of malicious exaggeration and unblushing falsehood which is here promulgated iv the name of religion. Meantime, there is just this ray of consolation about it: the zealous editor, amid all his abuse and scurrility, manages to do my friend the sporting editor of the Weekly Press, a good turn. He publishes a comparative table of the number of columns devoted to sport by the leading papers of the colony. F'om this it appears that the Weekly Press, with fifty columns a weak, is head end shoulders above any other newspaper in this department, the Canterbury Times coming next with seventeen columns—or one-third of the space, while among the dailies the Press is facile yarineeps with tweuty columns, the Lytteiton Times being credited with s-ix. There could £c no more reliable teslimouy to the position of these two papers aa par excellence thesportintj journal* of New Zealaud. The editor of the Outlook does not scruple to insinuate that this space is devoted to gambling —whereas it is made up of football, cricket, rowing, polo, and every other kind of sporting copy. But that is only on a par with the rest of his mendacious twaddle.

A visiting Savace at the korero on Monday night delivered himself of a philosophical dissertation on tiip geaus larrikin—as he is in Duncdiu. In Christchurch, of course, we have uo larrikius; they have all turned Worthingtoniaue or Prohibitionists, or Bomething else equally respectable, and been converted. But, inasmuch as we still take a keen interest in the moa, though extinct, co we may ba amused to read a description of a class of society which ie here unknown— of course.

"Our man and brother—the larrikin, may be viewed both from a useful and ornainentat pomt of view. 1 am still iv doubt In which class h-i haa the moat claim to be Included. We all know hi* uses are many, Btte it it -whta we regard him kg ou artist

that our admiration passes on to a feeling of fear—lest he may be taken from us. As a decorator of pavements he takes what he himself would call the 'kike.' Testimony to his ability as a blender of profanity and slang is supplied by the blucness of the atmosphere that immediately surrounds him when recreating at street corners. Bu: these accomplishments are insignificant when the high order of his descriptive power is brought under notice. It is theu that he is truly inspired. What ornamental touches does he nob give to his sentences. When we consider the scantiness of the sentence-making material at his command we marvel at tlie dexterity of his constructive efforts, and regard with pride, tempered with awe, this champion embellisher of our beautiful language. I fear that a word for word sample of his style would not be appreciated, but the following specimen I recently overheard, though somewhat pallid from beiug necessarily robbed of its natural colouring, may serve as typical of his oratorical accomplishmentis:— "Mc and George was doin' a loaf on the wharf the other dai 'avin , a look at a steamer as was loadin' for Sydney. Just as we was torkin' a express comes up with some mile bags; wen they ilnds as the slings and ooks was all took on board ready for goin : the chaps on board lowers a net fake for pullin' the bags in, and wen all the mile bags was in this 'ere net they sets the winch goin , and up goes the bloomin' lot like smouk, express and all !—which the net catch by the lamp socket. This 'ere socket was fastened on to the seat and when the express was lifted up the seat gives way and a, bloke as was sittin' on it nlliu' 'is pipe gets isfced into the air about ten foot and then lobbed fair on 'is back on the 'ard wharf ! I tell yer '& give a start wu3 an' a galvanised battery could 'a done. Wen 'c picks 'iaself up, 'is gills wos as white as a paper collar, and beiu' a bib stunned by 'avin 'is ear hole whacked on the wharf, 'c catches 'old of 'isaelf weed like and says, 'Gawd's truth, what gaim ia this ye're playiu' ?' And mc and George 'ad ta go and look at a dawg tight as we sees at the other end."

His freedom ot speech suffers no sentimental check when he deigus to discourse on the halloaed subject of woman. This is the style of the preux chevalier :— "Mc and Sal 'ad a turn the other dai about a bloke as she went to a durnce with. I didn't mind 'im being a speiler, but what knarked mc was the giver she put on cos o' bsing with a cove as belong to a Sydney push as put a stopper on a "iug a bit ago by kickin oles in 'is bloomin stummuck. Bly mc if she didn't arst mc wot I was alookiog at when she parst mc with 'er Sunday duds on. ' I'm looking at you and yer friend in the straps,' says I. ' Gam/ ees she, ' Don't get yer rag out cos 'c knarks yer with the gels Wot do yer take mc fur?' 'Fur a fair ceon,' says I and travels. And now, bly mc. if she don't want mc to take 'er to the gaff on Saturday, but not mc ! unless she parts for both of us !" The Bohemian.