MY EASY CHAIR.

Clutha Leader, Volume XVII, Issue 834, 11 July 1890, Page 6

MY EASY CHAIR.

The great thing after all in this busy ago, is to know " where to draw the line.' Not exactly between an easy chair and a sofa ; for either possesses a nice environment. And if a body is a little weary or has a touch of " la grippe," no kindly person would object to the use of either meantime — that is, until things look up a | little. It must be difficult, anyhow, to " draw the line " in the realm of politics. Some people say, " Give us the man " — i.e., put as much manhood into our national assembly as you can - decently cram in. Others again demand the outward expression of party politics — " If you don't stick to your am side you are a goose." Then ■■one feels rather posed as to the "side" business ; and as to sticking to it, much depends what's in it. There are some to to be found who can stick to almost anything ; perhaps their boots are made flyfashion and they hold, on by thsir leather. But whether the sticking material is in the ".side" or in them, who . knows ? Draw the line there if you can ! . Of course' opinions will differ, and frail mortals will differ,- too — worse luck. But to get principles and patriotism all together — there's the rub ! ; A lot is said now-a-days about the social customs of the age. Very dry folk find it hard to draw the line. in the liquor, domain. Their -forebears could swallow down a large quautitj' of " real highland dew" without as much as sneezing ovor the serious, business. . And they, honest men, attempt the same feat ; but as the man remarked to his friend as looking out from the lower storey., he got a spoor at him while dropping down from near the house-top, " Sandy, I'm having'" an awfu' fall!" Surely someone failed to draw the line, or else we could take as much as in the days of " auld lang syne." Whatever may be the cause, the gvulefolk are more careful now than formerly ;■ and they look twice before .they .spend: their hard earned cash in mere luxuries. The line is being drawn— and pretty "taut ".at that. If some enterprising .shipwrights knew where to draw the line, no one would have seen . that huge steamer known as the Great Eastern. No doubt she was a smart boat, and might have been useful as a transport in war time. But the war-paint was freely used in the tinie'bf the Abyssinian conflict, and troops had to be' embarked for the • seat of war.' Then there arose a cautious feeling to this effect— " Don't put too many eggs in one -basket," and in consequence the big ship had to remain at her moorings in the waters of' the Mersey. And yet- that bi<> idea has not been altogether useless.. It was the launch of a great thought:— as well as a big ship — from Mil wall on " royal towered. Thames." In some, modified form .. the thought of size in our steaming and sailing vessels has been most practical The skilful engineers who- modelled thp Great Eastern simply lived about, a century before their, time.. Sleepy commerce was not. wakeful enough to, seize hold of theadvantages -of such ' a big . undertaking. . .Call it a Yankee notion if you." will (and, '.by tho way, Britains are seeing a great deal of inventive sense, in such a notion), but this mighty ship was the germ of thought of the immense steamers now, afloat on the great, briny — ,their. size , and power evi.dently on the. increase. Were it not un-, profitable — arid the line .must be drawn somewhere— it might be said that we have, for years past entertained the notion'Jihat, in the near future we* shall have, immense floating palaces moving at the rate of 40 knots — nautical miles — an hour ; ; and instead of 40. days being a smart run home, the voyage will be negotiated in 20 days. Why not? .""-." '..■ , ," . To get away quickly from our. marine contemplations to more mundane we! might say that the. line has been drawn, too much anentth'e ensilage business! "It" would delight us to know about careful

experiments concerning the preservation of green fodder for the' winter ■ season. We suppose that soine' silo has been' made ;in,,this richly agricultural; district, „ After , careful, experiment, this impor,tan,t subj ect may , obtain in a, , large scale. ' There. , is proof positive of its practicability, and its advantages, in Otago especially, must be very marked. Stall-fed beasts, fatten-' ing in tne winter should commanda good iprice and recoup tlie entire ; to say ziothing about the manure which could be returned to the landin-duo : season. . Being ; so near, a good market, the conditions of; swocess should be. most; excellent. - ,; „v But this sort , of thing must stop novvj The great thing is to .know where: to. draw the line! Well, we must- do that now. Should there, however,' be anything like a ''consensus of opinion that 'this sbrh of chitchat might profitably go on, we have only to say— we' 11 see. ■;• ••■• ' ■*. ■ ;:•:•.:..- .• ;' ■ "Rusticus.