AN EARLY IDEALIST

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1929, Page 10

AN EARLY IDEALIST

A SOCIALIST ABROAD

A DREAM OF THE 'FORTjES

(By S. Saunders.)

In his "Passages in a Wandering Life," which was mentioned in this column last week,' Mr. Thomas Arnold recorded many of. his ' experiences in New Zealand, extending over a period of less than twelve months, which'have lost none of their interest b} r the lapse of some eighty years, nor, 1 trust, by frequent iteration. Mr. Arnold, my readers may be reminded again, was a son of Dr. Arnold, of Rugby School, and a younger brother of Mr. Matthew Arnold, of literary fame. After giauuatinj at Oxford in IS4G ho was elected by his college to a university scholarship; which, "in no long, time,"'as ho records himself, "would have led, without competition, to a fellowship," and to a comfortable sufficiency of the good things of life for the remainder of his days. At that particular- 1 stage in his mental development, however, he was imbued with the. higher ideals of the French Communists, and with his mind turned towards New Zealand by tho fact that his father had purchased land in the young colony, ho conceived the idea that the distant isles might become the birthplace of well-ordered British Socialism'; ."The descriptions of 'virgin forests, snow-clad mountains, rivers not yet tracked to their sources, and lakes imperfectly kndwti," lie wrote-fifty years later, "fascinated me as they have fascinated many since. And joining- the- two lines of thought together,, my speculative fancy suggested that in a perfect 'locale' such as New Zealand it might be destined that' the true fraternity of the future —could founders and -constitution-builders- of tho necessary gfcnius and .virtue be discovered—might be'securely built-up." Similar dreams to those that possessed Mr. Arnold brought many, other aspiring spirits from the , Mother Country to New Zealand during the 'forties and 'fifties of last century, and succeeding generations always must remain tho debtors of those; sturdy pioneers who held fast to the faith that was within them. Tho Oxford graduate's contribution to the subjection of tho "glorious wilderness" was only that of the passing' visitor, but its revival to-day is. not without historic interest. S THE ADVENTURE. In November, 1847, having satisfied himself that New Zealand offered a possible Held for that exploitation of the particular brand of Socialism. dear to his heart,- Mr. Arnold, then in his twenty-fourth year, took passage by the ship John .Wickliffe, which was carrying the first instalment of Scotch settlers to Otago under tho leadership of Captain Cargill.,'The .budding Socialist, whose ultimata destination was j "Wellington,: seems readily to have ingratiated himself with 'his fellow-voy-ajgers. On--Ms part ho. appears tv have been particularly impressed by a little service rendered him by one of Captain Cargill, Js younger sons, who .after-' ' wards.,became a prominent figure in tho commercial and political-life uf tho young colony. "When'l appeared on dock, tho ship being, then somewhere in tho mouth of, tho Bay. of Biscay," he wrote fifty . years, later, "it was plunging up and, down.huge rollers of bright purpb'soa, on the tops of which were little wavelets sparkling . and breaking in the sun, while between them was deep shadow. Young .Cargill came forward, and|' seeing I was still far from .well,-recommended a glass of Bass. The composing and invigorating effect of this was wonderful. .1 lost all feeling of sea-sickness and have seldom been troubled by it ever since." - Another incident of tho voyage recalled by Mr. Arnold threw some light upon one I of tho perennial, reproaches cast upon the British mercantile marine. One morning, the trade winds having faded away, the John Wickliffe and a Dutch barque lay so close together in a calm sea that their officers- and passengers were able to exchange several visits. The young apostle of democracy naturally was struck by the accommodation provided on; the Dutch vessel for its crew. "Each man," he write in his "Passages,", "had, his comfortable curtained berth,, with bod clothes spotlessly clean, two or three little pictures hanging beside it, and plenty of light admitted through largo portholes. One could but. think > .that dog-hole—the forecastle--of the uvhn .Wickliffe —with, its hammocks, griminess, :ni<l ' gloom, which was the sleeping and living quarters of our poor fellows." And report has it that a similar comparison might be drawn to-day. THE REALITY. ' ' The John Wickliffe was detained in Port Chalmers for nearly' two_ mouths, ! unloading, supplies and material required by the Otago settlement, and it. was not until towards* the end of May. that Mr. Arnold found himself in Wellington —then , boasting of eight years of existence—to be welcomed by such sturdy friends as Alfred Domett, Frederic Weld,> William Cole, the Anglican clergyman" of the province, and several other adventurers who held his father's name in high regard. That the young man ,was made of suffc' worthy of Bugby and; Oxford may bo judged from the y fact that within a few days of his arrival from the South ho acted j upon a suggestion from. Mr. Colo that I before making up his .mind as to what I he would do next ho should walk out to Otaki, then a mere Maori settlement, some fifty miles along the west coast, with a letter to the Anglican mis-

sionnry tlicro. and bring back a horse to Wellington. ' After executing this commission with exemplary precision, under conditions that might have dismayed any seasoned settler, ho turned his attentioiv to his father's land interests in the province. Here, however, there were difficulties which only time and capital, could.overcome, and as tho latter requisite was not available at tho time, he accepted a scholastic position in Nelson offered ; to him through the good offices of Mr. Domett. To roach the scene of his new activities ho had to accept tho escort of Sir Frederic Weld 'to .Flaxbourne and the hospitality of his friend while awaiting the moans of completing hi 3 journey. It was during his'enforced sojourn' at Flax bourne,' the out-station of Sir Frederic, that he suffered his iirst experience of an • earthquake. Tho uncauninoss of the commotion is told in his "Keminiscences" I—another1—another story— and only one -paragraph from his graphic description of the unpleasant visitation need be quoted here. ; "Six days after tho earthquake,'' ho. wrote, "we walked to the top of the Hummock, a hill about 1000 feet high. . . .

While there we distinctly saw the top of the hill heave to.and fro." Just upon a week after it had been set in mo-, tion! That must have been some earthquake. . NELSON AND AUSTRALIA. Mr. Arnold ultimately made his way to Nelson by boat from Flaxbourue to Port Underwood, in Queen Charlotte Sound, and then by horse transport through thickly, wooded, valleys and hills to the Waiinea. Plains, which gave access to Blind Bay and the goal he was seeking. The whole journey occupied fourteen days,..and was regarded at tho time as a highly creditable achievement. To-day motor-cars, following a different route, bi*t still climbing a succession of ' formidable hills, can travel from Flaxbourno to Nelson comfortably in three or four hours. The wanderer, did not remain very long in Nclsun, a pressing invitation from the Governor of Tasmania to accept* the position of Inspector of .Schools'in that Settlement drawing his across the Tasnian Soa and to a. now outlook upon life, lie had seen enough of tho country nestling.on.-the shores .of Blind Bay to appreciate its beauties and to picture its future. "The country around Nelson is of singular loveliness," he wrote after years of. reflection and remembrance. "Like Athens, tho town slopes towards the sea and the mid-day sun. Blind Bay, though our . coarse .British perceptions hav.e invested it with that ugly; even calumnious name. is hardly less beautifulthau the'Saronie Gulf. Standing on-the' Fort Hill in the middle of the town, and looking westward, ono saw a range of mountains stretching for twenty miles or more from south to north,, apparently about 2000 feet, high, and forming the western boundary of the bay.

The rest of the north-east .horizon was filled with rock, and ferny ranges, ending in tho cliffs.of D'UrviUe Island, and duo north stretched the ..blue waters of tho bay. I"'have seen panoramas more beautiful, strictly speaking,' than this— for instance the lake and. shores of Conio . from above Menaggio—but never one more humanly-delightful and .enchanting, when the softness and delicacy of the air, the land in view for human needs, and tho vastness of tho area of vision-are. taken into consideration*" And so tho high claims of "Sleepy Hollow" stand in the/eyes of tho world historically vindicated.