The Man in the Street

Dunstan Times, Issue 1974, 29 June 1900, Page 4

The Man in the Street

[By Qui vis.]

Whether girt with friend or foe A man may speak the thing he will. This Note, if my readers wi 1 ! allow me, will be devoted exclusively to the giving of some well-needed—though, perhaps, not very palatable—advice to a would-be journalist, who, under the nom-de-plto/w of "Contributor," writes what purports to be Public Opinion in our contemporary the ' Cromwell Argus.' It is not very flattering to the public to have foist upon them as their opinion the scurrilous and misleading jingle of words which " Contributor'' strings together —evidently by the aid of Webster and Company —and which finds such ready publication in the columns of our "esteemed" contemporary. It is neither more nor less than a venomous attack by person who either knows nothing of that of which he writes, or. knowing everything, writes deliberately what he knows to be absolutely untrue—and to this our " honorable " and " esteemed' neighbor, the ' Cromwell Argus,' lends itself. 1 will be charitable, however, and think, what is most likely the truth of the matter, that the 'Argus' printed the paragraph, unaware of its falsity, in that spirit ot rivalry which is a characteristic trait ot our Cromwell friend. Some of my readers possiblv-aml very probably -have not read the precious paragraph in question, so 1 will explain. •' Contributor " says (1) " that the ' Argus ' deserves well at. the hands of residents of the district for the enterprising manner, etc., etc., etc., in which it makes public the proceedings of public bodies, reporting important cases, etc —contrasting in This particular with the want of enterprise shown by the Dunstan Times. Now, anybody who reads both papers, and thus has' the'opportunity of judging, will sav to this —"tommy-rot!" How many important cases have the ' Argus' allowed to so unreported ? 1 have a certain case in my mind's eye now, which for some unknown (?) reason our " enterprising" contemporary refused to report in their columns, and which would have been of paramount importance to the residents of the district. The case alluded to was

heard in Cromwell. This is the way out " enterprising'' friend disseminates news 1 Then, again—L am only justifying my side-place together the third and sixth pages of the DUKSTAK TIMES with those of the ' Argus' and then ask which paper shows the more enterprise by the dissemination of news. So much for clause one of " Contributor's " allegations. In the second count of the indictment our " truthful" friend says : " Though only a few chains from the County Ofhccs, that paper (the Duxstax TIMES' rarely ever publishes the transactions of that leading public body, with the exception of Rometimes a portion of the Enginee-'s Reports, until the proverbial nine days have elapsed ; that the Duxstax Times does not always <end a reporter to the meetings, and seems disinclined to print or publish any public matter unless paid for at so much per inch." Here, again, " Contributor ' puts on the mantle of Ananias. The engineer's report is always published in full in this paper, and as a rule half the proceedings of the Council is inserted The March meeting was published in full the week the Council sat. A DUXSTAX TIMES representative is always present at the County Council meetings. Last meeting was an exception, the proprietors having to make other arrangements to obtain the report, owing to the work entailed upon ! taking over the business from the former proprietor. This was the only occasion upon which the Dunstax Times has not been represented at the County meetings for years, and the gentleman who acts as the ' Argus' representative at these meetings could have informed his employers of this fact had he been asked, and so saved them from falling into their criminal blunder. What if I could prove that the full report of the proceedings at the last meeting was in the hands of my editor at four o'clock of the Thursday—the last day of the Council's sitting I— yet this is what I could prove! But, enough said ! I would recommend "Contributor"' to take the advice of a journalist of many years' standing-that when he again writes to the Press he should be careful to write about what he is conversant with, and above all adhere closely to the truth. Fiat juslitia mat coclum ! Who has given the dor ? —o — Thinking to see something interesting as well as instructive I walked clown to the Clyde Domain on Saturday afternoon to witness a game of football between the champions of Clyde and Cromwell. Football is a peculiar sort of game that is, to my uninitiated eyes. I may as well confess right away that I don't understand the game. One man kicks a ball into the air, and all the players converge into one common centre and await the fall of the ball. Then ensues what -looks like a free fight, during which a man without any uniform on keeps alternately dodging about and blowing a whistle ; until at last a player, whom they call a half—although he looks physically whole—takes the ball in his arms and careers madly down the field with the others after him and places it between two posts. The spectators say " Try." This is unfair of them, for I never s-aw a man try harder than did this one. This is all the game amounts to. with the exception of a good deal of very warm language, which I suppose must be put down more to the extreme Arctic severity of the weather than to any disregard for the presence of ladies. The atmospheric language was not confined to the players, a number of the spectators evidently finding the need of its warmth-giving qualities. Is there any wonder that the fair sex evince no interest in a football match. —o — every town, large or small, has its vagaries in the matter of public meetings. An interested stranger, attending last Monday's peace meeting, would certainly come away with the conviction that Clyde was by no'means exceptional in this respect. Some towns insist on punctuality in commencing business; others— well, Clyde is among their number! No experienced citizen could for a moment consider it necessary to make his appearance till at least 15 minutes past the fixed hour of meeting. The election of a chairman is also a matter of diversity of custom. Our local custom has no doubt its advantages, in that it prevents loss of time. The chairman is usually elected by general agreement in the afternoon- a worthy illustration of the maxim carpe diem. Unanimity of opinion is a wonderful assistance to the speedy transaction of business. In this respect Clyde stands half-way ; no doubt owing to a firm belief in the golden mean ! We are all agreed that something should be done, and* there seemed on Monday to be a substratum of genuine sorrow at this inevitable necessity. Di-vero-ence of opinion commences when we begin to consider what should be done, how it should be done, and how also we should decide what should be done. Amid the vague indefiniteness of desultory discussion and irrelevant reminiscences, a piping voice suddenly rose upon the desert air and proclaimed that whatever was to be done—even (sic) if nothing was to be done—let a committee be formed. A committee for what? asks the uninitiated patriot! But that is one of the peculiarities of Clyde. Sad experience has educatad citizens to the futility of drawing up a scheme of duties and then calling for volunteers to do the work- ride the dole-, ful wail of the Town Trust in search of a factotum at £— a year. No, catch your bear first—kill him afterwards. However, the piping voice is drowned in the senatorial tones of a true-blue patriot, who demands a secretary, and forthwith catches his bear, after a death struggle in which the righteous wrath and strident refusal of Bruno°to be taken prisoner are effectually quashed by a chorus of patriots, anxious to escape the burdens imposed by the sad necessity of " doing something." A sigh of relief runs round the room as the newly commandeered official sadly settles down with lugubrious mien to his task of noting the minutes. The joy at being " a day's march nearer home" might be expected to enliven and enlighten the desultory go as you please "discussion. Vain hope! The revival is but temporary, the relapse is sudden and soon and prolonged. At length after the meeting is again talked to a standstill, a whiff of humor once more spreads its beneticient intluence o'er the scene. A bright eyed patriot in the pit of. the assembly ejaculates in significant tones his opinion, that since sufficient patriotism and good feeling had already been displayed, probably the best course was to club together and have "a good go in." Presumably he referred to a hitherto unconsidered* method of disposing of a ■ universal poll tax of a shilling. The suggestion excites hilarity, and fortunately rouses the assembled patriots to serious business. A committee is formed of the whole, and numerous sub-committees are appointed with a celerity worthy of the decapitating proclivities of Judge Jeffery. The functions of each sub-committee are left with magnificent foresight to themselves to determine. Only the collecting committee presents any difficulties. The dunning capacity is not evidently highly developed, and most patriots are doubtful of their ability tor the position. Ths

chairman declined nomination —he is the only patriot who can successfully do «o without being: ruled out of order. However, the difficulty is got over with excellent good feeling, and the business concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair, for allowing itself to bo put on every committee by a commendable side wind. The patiiots are to meet a week hence to decide what they are going to do. Fortunately in the ordinary exercise of human nature it is impossible to imagine, much less to appoint many more sub - committees. We were glad to be able to inform the stranger bAore mentioned that in spite of its vagaries and pro crastination Clyde would undoubtedly rise for the occasion when the auspie'rs peace holiday eventuated.