The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1907. THE DYING YEAR.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 307, 31 December 1907, Page 4

The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1907. THE DYING YEAR.

Before another issue of this journal is published the year 1907. will be reckoned with the past, and a new year. will have been hailed with the customary salutations, many of ■which by the way, could be very, well dispensed with. The custom to mark the close of the year as something of special . significance has long been observed, and year by year it shows no sign of dying put. Some observe the period in a fitting manner, as a time of sober retrospect and careful exaniination, with the view, of making the new year better than its predecessor, though they do not neglect withal a little seasonable merry making. Others again, regard it merely as a season of mirth and pleasure seeking, some even going to excess, in their determination to have what they regard/as a good time. Many senseless practices are' indulged in ,to the annoyance, and often to the lpss, of the more sober-minded members of the community. \ Let us hope -there will:'• be. a ininimuin of siich observ^ncies this year, and a more general recognition of the fact that there are bettlrnieth'ods of making New YearnsEye S a merry one than by, over indulgence in intoxicating liquors, or engaging 'in silly and mischievous pranks. A review of the year is not witbjout its advantages, but, after all; one year comes and goes, just like another, and the chronicle of one is almost the replica of its predecessor. As Tennyson sings of the brook, may be said of the year as it dies—" Men may come and men may go; but I go on for ever." This is the difference mostly apparent while observing tho passing year. Each such period comes and goes, with little or.no variation upon the occurrences of the one before. What is mostly apparent is that those who are playing their little parts upon life's stage are year by year getting nearer to that period when to them time shall cease,' and eternity begin. Some have, indeed, during the year, stepped over the border line, and solved the great problem, as our pages only too surely testify. Elsewhere we publish a resume of the year's happenings. The chronicle is-full of " moving incidents by flood and field; of hairbreath scapes in the imminent- deadly breach;" and any other matters of wide diversity and varied interest, both far1 and near. Fortunately, wars and rumours of wars touch iis but lightly in these favoured lands, but they show us the need for preparedness. Wrecks, earthquakes, floods and fires, while affecting us in some respects, have troubled other lands rather than ours, for which we should feel profoundly grateful. Droughts scarcely concern us, that which we call drought being only the faintest possible imitation of tho real thing so well-known and dreaded in Australia. Climatic conditions generally have been beneficent throughout the Dominion, and as a result crops have been good, high prices have been realised for all our productions, trade has been steady and of large .volume, and prosperity has been most marked all over the Dominion. One result of this is that a steady stream of immigration has set in towards New Zealand, which each month is in volume. / The men and 'women.,wlio are coming by every ship i are of the right' stamp, who are readily absorbed, and there is also a large and increasing tourist traffic, which serves admirably to advertise the country in the Old World. Politically, all is smooth sailing, with Sir Joseph Ward at the helm. Parliament has heltl a record session of ;92 sitting days, passing 114 Acts, many of them of the highest importance. These include land laws, tariff amendment, native land settlement, gaming and lotteries, public health. Chinese restriction, and several

measures affecting labour conditions. A fortnight after the House rose the IristoricarXParlianient Buildings' were destroyed by fire, and it is in contemplation., to eroct i-n their place nevV- buildings worthy of the Dominion, probably, upon the present site of Government House, and ; provide a new vice-regal residence.'. Very many large works of progress, both Government and municipal, are in hand or- in contemplation, land i settlement is proeoedingly rapidly, and everywhere the indications of solid prosperity are unmistakable. The tide leading on to fortune, which has been flowing for some years now, still continues its favourable course, and ■all the indications point to a.continHiailceN'of the ' happy ' conditions associated..iv;it^ ,Peace, Progress', and Prpsperi^Ki :f;rAs;.-! one -sign. of. the country's advancement; we have now emerged from : fjhe cKrysalis stage, of .' ' Colony,'' and ■ jtiave become a fully fledeed " Dominion." The ship of state has been launched upon a smooth sea, with favouring gales, and "If our souls but poise and. swing Like the compass in its brazen ring, Ever,level and ever true To the toil and, the task we have to do, We shall sail securely, and safely reach . The Fortunate Isles, on whose shining beach 'The sights we see, and the sounds we hear, Will be those of joy and not of fear !"< ThW this prophecy of Longfellow may be fully realised in our history, that; tempest and wreck may not overtake our barque , . "In spite of false lights on the shore;" But that the Dominion may achieve the haven of its destiny, is our earnest hope. It may hot be given to all, if any, of our readers to see the end of the voyage,-but all may do something, much or j little, to help along the progress of the ship of state. Meanwhile we.may thus apostrophise her:— , v ' ■■: .-• : J ■ ■ ';' Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears., Our" faith triumphant o'er our fears, Are all with ; thee-^are all with ■.;■ : . ;■ theel*^ *" '■;■-■■'" ■ ■■ And so we wis^. each and all of her voyagers a happy and prosperous New Year! ■-■'<