BY THE WAY

Evening Star, Issue 19764, 14 January 1928, Page 2

BY THE WAY

[By Q.V.]

“ P'S Ome has conic," the Walrus said. To talk of many Ihings/’

Our climate may be a little' rigorous at times, but it develops a more hardy and stronger-nerved race than the more enervating North. We noticed the other day, for instance, that the citizens of Petone were perturbed by the sight of three sharks in their vicinity. Here we do not take any notice of such a common sight. Only a few minutes ago one actually called on us, offered a cigarette, and a half-share in a syndicate which proposes to develop the castor oil wefls of the West Coast. At least we fancy the wells are supposed to contain oil, and very probably it is castor. This is the offseason for sharks, many of them being still on holiday, yet any wellposted Dunedinite could pick out half a dozen in a five minutes’ walk down one of the principal streets. Although the Petone people do not seem to know it, the shark is really very affable, and though not easily rebuffed, departs with a good grace, and without bearing malice, when he realises that there is nothing doing There are, as any student of natural history and human nature knows, many varieties of the shark, some more dangerous than others. Some frequent racecourses, some have fixed addresses in town, and many invade the privacy of the home with bags of tools on their shoulders and cigarettes between their lips. The lastnamed are exceedingly difficult to get rid of if allowed to effect a lodgement, and on the whole we like them least of all. It used to be believed that the shark could only bite when lying on its back, but modern observation has proved conclusively that it can do business in any position. The best way to deal with sharks is to tell them the plain truth. If you can only convince them that you do not possess anything worth their trouble, they will go away at once. We have adopted this course on many occasions with entire success.

“Everything that suggests the glorification of war should be put aside, la a town on the West Coast a machine gun had been placed in a children’s park and the children smashed it. I thought that was a fine action.” So Mrs M'Combs, of Christchurch, on war relics. The implication that the interesting West Coast were actuated by a reasoned conviction of the savagery and futility of war is too much for our palate, and even if they were, their mental development would hardly qualify them to be competent judges. We "cannot even follow Mrs M'Combs in her contention that these relics constitute a glorification of war. To our mind they no more suggest a glorification of war than a memorial to a drowned lifeboat crew constitutes a glorification of shipwreck. What either does suggest to us is a glorification of courage, self-sacrifice, and, in the former case, patriotism. Although praise of tho last-named virtue is regarded as old-fashioned now, we have some hopes that it will come into its own again. Even in-that happy time when war will bo only a misty memory, we trust that men and women will be proud of their country, and will remember that it was preserved for them by the dogged endurance of quite ordinary, common, sinful men, who hated their job, but having taken it on, had no thought of giving it up. We have no record of the names of the immortal three hundred Spartans who held the pass of Thermoplyte, but probably a. good many of them were called Smith.

* * * * Every three mouths the various banks doing business in this dominion issue ..returns, which are studied by politicians, ' business men, and a few- of the commonalty. Tho figures are supposed to disclose whether, nnancially speaking, wo are doing nicely, or whether we require a change of air and a tonic. To most they are a mystery, the more so as authorities differ as to their interpretation. The last information given, which embodies results up to the end of the year, seems to the lay mind to suggest that we are saving more and spending less than we used_ to, which is good. No doubt thrift is a mean, niggardly sort of quality. If we remember rightly, Mr Hobson once wrote a book on the fallacy of saving, in which he proved conclusively, on paper, that it was almost a sin not to live up to one’s means, and he has many devoted disciples. More recently a writer in one of the heavy magazines complained that all the money that he had saved had been transferred to the pockets of more astute financiers, while, had ho spent it, it would have left some trace of its existence in the shape of a motor car, or new furniture, or even some hectic memories. Two American investigators have lately published no loss than three volumes arguing that the saving habit is the cause of those trade depressions which devastate commerce and industry every ten years or so. incidentally, a Dunedin man gained a prize of, we think, some S.OOOdol for the best criticism of this theory. Good luck to him! Ho had plenty of competition, as no less than 450 essays were sent in from all parts of the world, in spite of all _ this weight of authority, we lean heavily to tho side of the thrifty ones. The wise people who denounce saving never suggest any substitute for cash in tho Savings Bank when illness or old age makes its appearance. Our advice is “ carry on.” a ♦ * Those people, and there are many, who wish to push one job after another on to the shoulders of the Government in hopes that one glad day we shall find ourselves under a system of State Socialism, might pause for a moment to consider the question of the rabbit. This engaging little animal increased and multiplied till he became th-at a nuisance and then a menace. His white tail could be seen anywhere, «ven on our Town Belt. He was discussed in Parliament, and bitter things were said about him at fanners’ meetings. The Government took steps. Bunny was banned officially. The edict went'forth that he was to be kept down, and large numbers of inspectors were appointed to see that he did not get up again. The rabbit, sociable and gregarious, continued to multiply, particularly on Crown lands. The inspectors continued to inspect. Dogs were loosed on the enemy, poison was laid. Sneaking little stoats and ferrets invaded his burrows, and destroyed the rabbit’s home life. Still he kept his end up bravely. “The individual withers, but the race grows more and more” misquoted the wise old bucks to their great, great, great grandchildren. Alas, there is nothing stable in this changing world. Someone discovered that rabbitskius, after passing through several mysterious processes, could reappear as costly furs. From that day bunny was doomed. What the whole power of the Legislature had failed to do was effected by the power ot lucre. The incentive of personal gain did the trick. Already men say that the rabbit is becoming scarce. If the price of skins keeps high enough he will follow the golden eagle, the great auk, and the bison into oblivion. The time may soon come when the man who sees a rabbit will write to the Press about it, and be contradicted by eminent naturalists. As an incentive, hard cash can give a Government decree fifty points in a hundred and a beating every time.

“The Thames floods were unprecedented. The death roll is now fourteen. Many thousands have lost virtually everything.” “Colonel Day, M.P., telephoned that the furniture in bis flat was floating.”—Recent cablegrams. Now list, my dear, while the tale ■you hear Or one of our best and boldest, Who stayed in town when the floods came down With the winter at its coldest. You could not see on that brave M.P A symptom dismay denoting; “ I’ll let folks know through the Press,” says he, “ That my furniture is floating.” You may go bail that he did not quail When he witnessed this disaster; His sticks might swim, but the sight to him Made his pulse beat no whit faster. Ho made no moan at the telephone, Which might influence the voting; He merely said, in an even tone: ‘‘Sir, my furniture is floating.” ’ Tis proof, indeed, that the bulldog breed May as yet be well relied on; When things go wrong, faith, it makes no song, But probably puts more side on While o’er ravaged town and galeswept coast All the gods of wrath were gloating, The thing that troubled the colonel most Was—his furniture was floating.