Striking Diversity and Strange Unanimity.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XIX, Issue 3231, 22 September 1892, Page 4

Striking Diversity and Strange Unanimity.

THE WORKING MAN'S MILLENNIUM.

It is said that " Variety is the spice of life," and that "it adds to its flavour." The poet (losac Watts, or Cowper, we forget which) was not very far wrong when he penned this couplet, for Certainly if c would be bat a dull monotonous thing were it not for its pleaßing contrasts. In the animal world we have the graceful and shy deer, and the bold and ferocious lion, the huge elephant, and diminutive though destructive' mouse; there is the plain, humble-looking thrush, with its rich aongv and tho beautiful humming bird whose musical talents (and he has sense enough to know it) are conspicuously absent ; tlren there is the mouster whale and the tiny shrimp on which it feeds. Whilst in mankind the contrasts are still more marked and numerous, for not only are their •'Dhysical features," so to' speak, different, but they differ intellectually and morally also. In some countries certain acts are considered dishonourable and even criminal, and in others the same acts rrould be looked upon as legitimate and onourable '

In Ctiina and India, for instance, we believe, lying is a virtue— we won't say a raie virtues while among the Negroes of America chicken-stealing is considered one of the favourite »03ttirn«l pastimes, and perfectly praiseworthy, too — provided they " don't get caught in^ the act." In this country our tastes differ, a-nd our ambitions carry! ns higher. We don't believe there is a single bank-teller in the whole of the country mean enough to )ry violent hands on a poor unprotected fowl.

As to varying opinions on political matters, they are legion, everybody has an opinion of some Bort; some thiok that Ballance and hie party are the willing instruments of the evil one ; others think them the only men caDable of ushering in that era of unexampled prosperity termed by Borne enthusiasts thf Working ' iilen'ts Millennium ; others, again, are loud in their praises of the author of tha'PuliJic Works Policy, whilst others clamour.for Sir Harry Atbineon ; but one find all are unanimous in pronouncing Buchanan's House of Commons Whisky "I be Pnrepfr and Best in the Market."

rTTHERE is no section of tho public bo -.JL- extensively -galled -and -taken in-aß-tbat portion comprising the musical classes. We refer particularly to piano* purchasers, although it occurs to some degree in the case of other mueical instruments. Tbe advance of music during the last ten years amongst tbe middle classes of English people has been a grand opportunity for palming off worthless pianos to persons who, in tbe majority of cases, never had a piano before, but would like their children to " learn music." In Germany, there is a very' low class of piano manufactured especially for export to England and Australasia— a so-called piano which any fairly-educated German would not attempt,to get music out of. Tbis "machine" is made by inferior workmen in their own private houses ; wood bought anywhere, irrespective of seasoning, and, if it will hold together six months, it is considered quite satisfactory by tbe merchants, who buy them up and ship them to England and the Colonies to supply tbe demand for a cheap piano. Anyone would imagine that it would be a hazardous proceeding to retail these instruments, but they are usually sold by persons trading under some name whereby tbe actual proprietors cannot I be reached without a lot of trouble and expense which tbe purchasers are not usually in a position to go to; or they are palmed off on to furniture dealers, sewing-machine dealers, or auctioneers, who retail them with every confidence. One cannot take up an English or Colonial paper without seeing pianoß advertised under the most extraordinarysounding foreign names, which even the most experienced man in the trade never heard of. In the case cf firms trading as tbe Timbuctoo Piano Manufacturing Company, bead offics Dre9burg, or any other nice-Boundiuer name, which keeps the actual proprietors of the concern dark ; and also leadß the public to believe they are purchasing from the actual maker, when, as a matter of fact, they are retailers of a very low class piano. These fictitious firms, we understand, even go the length of guaranteeing the instruments for auv length of time, their security laying in tbe fact that they cannot be easily found. Another favourite mode of celling them is in country towns, through innocent but ignorant agents. Such trading as this, we may mention, is not allowed by law in Germany. it would seem that the best security tbe piano-pnrcbaser has is to buy from established dealers, whose guarantee is of value, and whose interest it is to Bell genuine instruments. There is also a large amount of injury done to the bade by men calling themselves tuners, who travel the country and prey on the unwary people who pos&esa piaDos. These men usually offer to put the piano in urde>* for a few shillings. If the public were only aware of the fact, it would pay them better to give tbe man £5 to leave the instrument alone. In some cases irremediable damage is done, the piano completely unsettled, tbe delicate mechanism disarranged, and the tone almost spoilt. The injury done by theqe men to valuable instruments is so great that some of the largest English and Colonial houses have greatly increased their timing staffs, and are undertaking the tuning of their own pianos throughout the country. If musical people were more conversant with the complicated construction of the modern pianoforte they would hesitate before allowing a valuable instrument to be tampered «vitb by itinerant tuners, and would employ oniy legitimate tradesmen, whose efficiency ia guaranteed by tbe piano-manufacturer or a local in-strument-dealer ot standing. Extract from the English and Colonial Pianoforte Gazette, Jan. 1892.