THE KEY TO NATURE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 144, 18 June 1926, Page 4

THE KEY TO NATURE

(By F. C. Dalziell.)

An appeal to members of the Now Zealand Parliament to have investigation mado into the source of goodwill, for the reason that it is tho only known cau»e of growth and happiness in Nature, as illwill is the only origin of disease and unhappiness. Having found goodwill, tho most enjoyable thing in life and desiring more of it, I have always been interested in tho search for its source, and having found what I believe to be that source I am appealing to Parliament for a public investigation of it. If I anl right, the source of goodwill is hidden behind the common belief fostered by learned authority that tho purpose of Nature is unknown to men and unknowable. You know that in all organisations in your experience there is a known purpose to which all members arc expected to work, and that if all devote themselves whole-heartedly to that purpose goodwill is developed among them; while if they work at cross purposes they breed ill-will. If, then, men do not know the purpose of Nature, it is plainly impossible to establish universal goodwill, because men are not great enough to organise Nature in ono purpose; but if there is a universal purpose known to men, then universal goodwill can be, and can only be, secured by a common devotion to that purpose. I am appealing for this investigation because I believe it will disclose the fact that the development of goodwill is the only known purpose of Nature, and tho further fact that there is only one known process by which it can be secured. This appeal is~tho outcome of a close study over a period of twenty years of the practical difficulties with which general and local governments have to deal, and no reliance at all has been placed^ upon books or opinions; nor am I putting forward an opinion. . My- purpose is to place before you in a simple order that is known to you facts with which you are all familiar, and to urge you to investigate the suggestion that in the universal experience the arrangement of tho things of Nature in th_j,t order is a source (and the only known source) of goodwill in the universe. In the close observation of the work of Parliament that was available to mo I was always looking for one thing— namely, the true basis or design on which a nation should be built. I felt there should be some key that would open to men the knowledge of what a nation really is; 'and ono day some twelve years ago an idea came to me which seemed to be that key. On investigation of this idea I found it to bo a design not only of a nation, but of everything in the universe within my knowledge; for in my experience things have come into being and grown only in accordance with this ono design—thus a knowledge of this design gives one a knowledge of all things in the known universe^ In reflecting upon this key design I realised that I only know of tho existence of one body, which I had been taught to think of as Nature, and that all things in this body are ideas made by it out of its own substance. In this way I was brought to the consideration of this important quesr tion: If Nature is the only body or being—if it is all that exists—then the being I have regarded as Nature must also be the same being that I have been taught, to regard as God, whose kingdom consists of His own body, which He organises in the formation we call the universe. _ This conclusion led to a wonderful simplification of my experience. I found that the words good"" and God are really tho same word; so that the expressions "good will" and "God's will" mean the same thing, and goodwill exists only where God's will is being carried out—that is, where things of Nature are being organised i-i accordance with His key design. This design can^nly be really understood by reference to your owii experience. You know that when you form an organisation it is necessary to define its purpose and membership and governing rules; and if you would understand Nature you must realise that in your experience every structure in it, "natural" or "artificial," has the same purpose, the same kind of membership, and the same governing rules, all of which may be roughly described in this way. (1) You know that, if you want to bring about goodwill among a number of people, y<>: try to get them to join together in working out some problem or game or purpose in which they have a common interest. "Well, straiige as it may seem, that is the only good purpose you know in Nature, and the only means by which goodwill can be secured. It is the whole scheme of life in tho universe. (2) The members of all combinations i". Nature, even those you may regard as evil, are equally parts of .the body of the one living being, and the only difference we know between one combination and another is in their formations, every Combination being in some degree a different idea or formation from every other, so that it can fit more easily (and therefore more efficiently) than any other into some place in the universal design. These formations are all ideas of Nature, so that living—and therefore thinking—consists only of the association of these ideas with one another, and the supreme control of this association is so perfect that no investigator has ever found a mistake in it, cause and effect being perfectly adjusted. There is, therefore, no evidence of, or need for, mystery about the purpose or structure of Nature, the only difference we know, even between the visible and tho invisible, being in the formation of their parts, the visible being a closer formation than the invisible, with the usual limitations accompanying close formations. There is in this membership no insuperable obstacle to a universal sensation of goodwill in Nature. (3) The governing rules of this key design are equally familiar to you. They are:— (a) That all members of tho body must keep in mind the whole body and its purpose. (b) That all members niust actively co-operate in that purpose. (c) That the members must bo fitted into those places in the body for which they arc specially designed. In this familiar purpose and membership, and these simplo governing rules, you have tho design on which the universe as known to'you and everything in it, is built; for there is no alternative upon which anything in human knowledge, natural or artificial, can be built. Thus every structure you have helped to build, natural, or artificial, mental or physical, spiritual or material, has grown only as the things of Nature have been fitted into their designed places in accordance with this universal constitution. If on investigation it is found to be the common experience that goodwill has only boon secured in obedience to this key design, it will become plain that in the building of a national organisation we should be guided by our experience vi those organisations in which goodwill has been most success-

fully developed, such as our amateur games and other forms of recreation. Comparing, then, tho operation of our games with our experience in the build- j ing of v nation in the light of this key design, tho cause of national unrest hecomes apparent. Our games are consciously designed for the promotion of goodwill, and the constitution is a close approximation to the key design I have described. In organising the game every effort is made to put the players in those positions for which they arc naturally fitted, and the game is controlled by expert referees, who watch every detail of tho play, not for tho purpose* of tolling players what methods they should adopt, but solely with the object of compelling compliance with the constitution of the game. Tho only real difference between a game and a national enterprise is that in the latter there are more combinations of tho things of Nature than in the former, and, therefore, a need for a. more intense loyalty to the key design, in order that everyone in the distractions of a varied life may remember that every unit is engaged in solving the same kind of problem in a vast scheme of life designed for the maintenance of universal goodwill.' But men are allowed a measure of freewill in Nature, and' in the exercise of this gift they are apt to accept the idea that they can make a better system of life than the natural svstcm, and they are allowed to try, and thus learn from their own experience the difficulties of organisation. The process by which human authority tries to build schemes of life for men is always tho same,- for there is no other available to them. It consists Jii t.akmg practices which have been round good in their special circumstances, and trying to lead or drive men into a system of living consisting of a repetition of these practices; which means a stagnant and decaying life. * The result of this procqss in New Zealand has been that each of our principal occupations—such as religion, education, politics, law, finance, medicine, manufacturing, commerce, transport, farming, science, and art—has become enclosed in a complex system of technical phrases and habits, in which the fact is lost sight of that all occupations are working out different varieties of the same kind of problem, so that each has information of interest and value to the others, and therefore a means of . bringing about national goodwill. In the pursuit of these systems we have abandoned in national and local government tho simplo and inexpensive method of control used in our games Which maintains goodwill without interfering with individual initiative This method of control is only avail-' able to a people united in tho pursuit ct goodwill. In its stead, wo have set up m our national organisation, at great and increasing cost, a number of general and local governing departments which are compelled to control the national enterprise by means of arbitrary regulations, which add eiiorm- ? U_V° f o. B* of livi»g hy disturbing that individual concentration on fitting things into their natural places winch is essential to the efficiency of i The influence of human system is especially, disar.tn.us in our Educational .Department of government. Instead of teaching this key design, and our experience of its operation, and directing valuable enthusiasm, imagination, and powers of observation of youth into the great enterprise of fitting the things of Nature into their designed places in a goodwill association, this system of education concentrates attention on the memorising of conventional forms, which divert the youthful mind from the,,development of goodwill in Nature into the path that leads to stagnation and decay. The national policy proclaimed by Mr. Coatos, which made so popular an appeal at the recent General Election was a close approximation to the key design I have described. It was an appeal to the people of New Zealand I6r national goodwill in a co-operative effort to make New Zealand a great nation, part of a great Empire, having as its purpose international goodwill. I do nof understand Mr. Coatos to claim that he or his party made that policy, "any more than I claim to have made this key design, which is in substanco the same thing. I gather from the Press that (like Henry Ford) Mr. Coates was not educated in our technical system, but that in choosing his" course ho relied on his natural instinct, which gave him this key design that is inherent in each of us because it is the design upon which we are all built. But the task of the Prime Minister of. Now Zealand is much more difficult than that of Henry Ford, who, by tho exercise of a great and persistent courage, was able to escape from tho influence of the technical systems of his country and rely upon his natural instinct. The Prime Minister is not able to escape from these systems, for it is his duty to control their operation in the national interest; hut, instead of coming forward to help him in his purpose of building a great nation, those in control of our different occupations in which these systems exist, try to get his' sympathy and help in the special interest of their different sections. Thus, far from realising his hope of being the leader in a great national effort, the Prime Minister when he takes office is forced to become mainly an arbitrator in a process of sectional strife brought about by our attempts to set up our human systems of government in place of the key design in which Nature is inevitably controlled. But these confusing systems cannot be set aside by Act of Parliament, or revolution. They are a means of showing people the evils of departure from the key design, and relief can only come through a national allegiance to that constitution. , No Government can load a people out of sectional strife unless the general body of them desire to bo loyal to a common national purpose. It is, however, the function of the governing body of an organisation to understand its constitution and see that it is brought to the minds of tho members and obeyed. If, therefore, this key design is tho natural or real constitution of New Zealand, members of Parliament must know it and see that it is known and obeyed by the people if national unrest is to be avoided. The question -.vhether this design is the key to the problem of Nature is very easily answered. It depends on just the same consideration as the solution of a picture puzzle. In each case there is nothing else involved but fitting things into a known design, and if even one part, however small, docs not fit perfectly into that design the solution is wrong. I urge you to realise that our evil practice of trying to make systems f/>r the, government of Nature is built upon the mere opinion of learned authority that the scheme of life in Nature is unknowable, and that a short inquiry will reveal the fact that, whether we like it or not, all life is governed in accordance with a natural desiga that is a matter of common knowledge. Vast sums of money are being spent; in the world to-day in the investigation of the practices of* tho things of Nature, but no consideration at all is being given to the constitution of Nature, though it is common knowledge that it is impossible to build an ordered body unless the members know both their places in the design and tho purpose of the organisation,

The investigation I am seeking need not involve much difficulty or expense. What is neecfed is an independent tribumil before which I can bo questioned, and the experts in our human systems will have an opportunity of showing whether it is human system or the natural system that prevails in practical life. I suggest that even tho remotest possibility that the familiar design I have described is the controlling design of Nature justifies the public investigation I am seeking; and I appeal to you, in the interests of national goodwill, to have that investigation made.

Queen Elizabeth wore a red wig when she wished to look her best. Tho ancient Egyptians hated red hair, and the Brahmins were forbidden by law to marry a red-haired woman.