THE CHANGING SCENE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 140, 7 March 1908, Page 5

THE CHANGING SCENE.

''——* A BIRD'S EYE VIEW. (Br i Casual Chhonicler.)' ; ( Thero is nothing bo useful to the jour- , nalist. as a really good vocabulary and an unerring oyo for ie mot justo. For example, consider the following sentence from a local journal : "But if a- thousand philosophers ■ woro to spread themselves over the market places of the, earth and inculcate that axismalic truth every day,in the .week they would never convince your genuine anarchist of the error, of his methods." If the writer liad merely said "that self-evident truth," his reflection would have' lost all its forco. ■ As it is, tho justice_of his observation strikes once. So much can be' dono with a well-chosen word. 1 \ On tho other hand, another local journal seems : to have selected tho wrong word in the following sentence:' "A matter mentioncd by; Mr! 11. Rao in.an article In tho Tost' last week can bear somo connection.". "The Prime. Minister," said 'k brief telegram from Kaihu on' Tuesday, "addressed a meeting at Kaihu to-night, besides receivingdeputations. , Ho; expressed the opinion at the meoting that road boards'should not have road work going 011 unless they had n ' highly-trained and "cxpei-iencod engineer working for them. A motion of thanks and confidence was passed." - The motion wao well earned. And yet they say that Ministers' visits to the backblocks are of no practical value*! • : ' t "Settlors of |orsewood," said a'paragraph . in The Dominion on' Thursday,'have' been [ anxious for some time to acquire, the Rakau-: tatahi block of land in 'tho vicinity of tho, town for closer settlement;". ' Surely it ■ia time that : the Government altered j these - quocr-looking Maori names. To call the town <. Jorsewood smacks a little, in any case, of atoo pedantic precision..: :: 1 r v ' At tho annual, meeting of;. the Auckland Slaughtermen's Union "the incoming officers/ , •were requested to ignore theory and cheap .talk of universal 'brotherhood, and to do 'something" practical.". Their secretary (Mr. F.. R. Busty . asked • tho meeting V whether.: unionism -or Socialism had placed them . in : the; position , thoy enjoyed : to-day, adding,:: "Nothing succeeds, liko: success, > and your success to-day is duo-to vour dispassionate adhcrenco to the ,lawsi of tho Dominion and. . your, self-dependence in ; place of; blathering about the brotherhood;"" A, friend of Mr. , Andrew Collins's. is indignant, as'"' his 'verses will show 1 : . : I . To wot deps of degradation'can a traitor go ...'aiid siuk!, V ;"-v.;';-, y ■■■. It'S;-,enoughV.ter. make a- solf-respectin' wuckor • tako (er drink! ■ On /our' one-liinolovely •' gardin'g I 'there 'as, fell • r a Moomin' blight >' ' Which 'is -namo is Bust, symbolic, of 1 me faith : mail .ternight. .: a , ;i ■ j . /•..; Which Ilups'W. te^s' ! Jer^B.USt,' ; ''■ \. .V"'■' As-yeivfiUs'-'nie--witii;ldisgust 'V W'en. vcr: plead fer self-dopendonco in tfca ; .Q'fifece jOf;. blatherskite. ; ■ 'i?lvnri' ',S• : '■ '' - ! Wo /'avo toiled (our tongues,.aro weary!) wo " 'avo worked (our,lungs:is.tirod!) ' On. the soap-box' at tho corner wo 'avo. faithi ... fully perspired; ■ / \i/'' ■ i ■■ . ■ • / An'; we get this noble hanswor, wo 'avo hearned ; • tliis gratitood:. • ; ///' ';J '> , iThab'i'a.i wucker . snbors.-and 1 sniggersat 'the;' . '■■ 'name of brother'ood. . •• "• Blow, blow, you winter windl ' {:• / ' Yon i hart not 1 .so hnnkind > ' As the Busts 'oose solf-relianeo'marks 'em out .as Mammon's 'brood. V . • y W'ich this Bust* 'no doubt, ■ considers : as 1 a| : wucker oughter toil, ' • . • ■ ■An' ter keop the laws (0 Mammon!) w'en 'ia . blood should bo ai-boil. ' ' . . j .'As M'Cullough-beamed the title of tho blokel . . ~ tor give 'em beans, - . i 'As 'ouf Haiidrew rose ter honour as 'the mod'' 1 ' creri Demosthenes . ; Just tor son tliis baleful/Bust ■ ; i" ..•■ ■..'Turn .their-'dreams'.ter. hiaie dust? .: J An' their 'opes of wealthy leisure crash tesr bloomin-: smithereens ? •" ; When the ram at last really did.prive,' it' caused a universal delight that was promptly reflected in tho newspapers, which referred to a day as being "pleasantly ovcrcast" . or "enjovably wot,", and to other days as being _ ; again spoiled >by a "gloomy continuanco of ■ blue skies.'' If Tennyson had been; m Wellington lie would have said ''Splendidly - dull." . . .. '.-''l "A ; perfect.'day! Tho air is drab! . . Our overcoats are sodden through; •. Gay sprays the mud 'neatli tram and,cab; 5..;-'. The.sky and Ino more aro hlue." \ So happy peoplo eliatter in .tlie ; we,t.' With charming piquancy of epithet. We love to!say, "I'll-leave, my gamp'. . ''v : f '-'At liome, in. case of accident— ■ ... / For,' -.tliough. it's, beautifully damp.v; ' It's quite a,possible event v;. . I may .be caught in'somo stray burst of sun."' ,A'.paradox' like' this;is■ rather/fun. , ■ '•A: tliousand : centuries'' .norniarchange ■' . " .; ... Of, weather drained the topio dry, ■v' l ;■ And loft it, .in its narrow .range,".'.." ■ '•>; . The'worn shcct-anchor 'pf tho shy, ■ .But now, vast .opportunity ,it t;ives 1 For wit in:topsy-turvy, adjectives. Nowv.weather-'gossip,:one;,taboo, ;■ Mark .of a cortain .gauchcne, Long, banished,, is a topic now , . /For fresh' originality..'.' ! ' I feel, now weathor's meet for talk again, ' Liko Cortez when ho spotted Darieii. I But too much bliss may bluut the edge Of appetite, and' l spoil the fun— . By •,Sunday wo shall tend to hedge' • r And. think kind tilings about the ■ snn,' "r'i . Tho older phrases: will resume their sway, 1 And'sodden folk will growl, "A. filthy day!" It was ..natural enough that Dr. Ingram, tho : Bishop of'. London;. should 1 havo doclare'd, after personal investigation in St. Petersburg, Moscow, >, and Warsaw, that ; "ono cause of tho great unrost and revolutionary tendencies of young nien and: girls ia that Russia, is without publio school games." Tho marked improvement in tho administration of Government, iii tho United States, as is well known, was tho direct result of Dr. Ingram's instruction of President ',Roosevelt in tho art of playing lawn tenuis.: Tho Bishop, it is understood, intends to visit Macedonia, in order to persuade the Turks and tho Bulgarians to givo up playing tlio devil arid take to playing diabolo instead. Ho will then inculcato tho golfing habit in tho Zulus. In the meantimo soveral prominent peoplo' liayo' disagreed with tho Bishop's diagnosis, and, forward tho following replies to tho quostion: '"What doos Russia want ?" Mr. M'Nab.—Tho rovolntionary. spirit is duo ' to tho failure of Ministers to carry, out ox- ' tended (ours of tho. country.. [ Wellington Trades Council.—This Council | rosolvos that peace eanuot cumo to Russia ' until the right to. work:is recognised. Mr. Samuol, tho Zone railway ' system is,,introduced;: there can bo no order Jji that .unhappy land-.

' Hot.' D. C. Bates.—What Russia most need s a large Zoo to distract the public mind frot oombs and to teach tho.people the wonders o , Nature. .-■ •. • "Pro Bono Publico."—The unrest, Sir, 1 j'v'.V!due to tho high steps on the palace' cars.. ... trust" that -, your -.valuable journal. will - bad • op my views, and that an abler pen thai v ffiino • 'will; take- up, this burning question.; _. \ ■ ■ Sir.-Joseph' Ward.—l can only repeat m. r- ; deep-conviction; that tho true ivlnedy- for al social disorders .is '.a large supply , of prison • / p'own vegetables., (••-.it "Them ' scientific'lilokes," said the .smal - . man:with.-iwliiskors,! '.'is-wasting tliclr- time. They're gradgilly inventing., things ; thai 7 • work-'without'any iworlts,; but they've .been • . .--missing the true need of 'tho country.. llk superfluities what they're-removing are tin . v ones wo don't need removed:" 1 . '. ... "Wot 1 about• wireless telegrams?" asket. - the. man with -the - clay pipe. • "Well, wot'-about -them Wot good arc thoy? i How.'do they 'clp mo and you? W'y : don't' thoy give .'lis wireless! wire-netting ? And'motor-enrs—they'ye'''invented ;'brselpss :cabs, but: what is moro superfluous than. tho . 'one is tho smell. Another bloke's invented ,ri noiseless,;smokeless,;;Cashless : gun.) 'And •*!- if , next- week; a'notlier. bloke .will invent-'soidier- - loss;-armies, ■'and; things .won't;! bono, better. ? W>y •don't :the''scieiitists give us' yhat ji / r'cely, needed?". . : ' '. . . '. : v. 1 .-■■' -".Wot things, .f'r instance?" . asked, the . i-',:. -. man with tile clay.pipn.. .'. "Well, I can put them ontoafew. 'What •V-! »bout .frothless beer ?.Tho man, who invents ■ frothless, beer will do more for the 'uman rnco than all the scientific inventors ever --known. It's reelv no convenience to -avo .. ;'; ! ' wireless / t?lJgrnins> wlion..' ,'al.f the beer-,-,'is > 'rumour. /And. we; nqed : ;speechl(3ss;!politicians ' ; . IiVL When the spccehlcsi politician comes ;' Dlong, ho. gets "my vote. But most -of all,' ■ -;.f A'. ,- what's, : ,needed i is '.a-rwoHdess! job."'. It-makes mo sick ito see the way scientific blokes is • wasting their time." V- . -'S •: