ESTABLISHED 1875 Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Conducted by E. D. HOBEN. Published Every Morning. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1909. SATURDAY MORNING. Watchman, what of the Week?

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 664, 13 March 1909, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1875 Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Conducted by E. D. HOBEN. Published Every Morning. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1909. SATURDAY MORNING. Watchman, what of the Week?

A week of outbreaks—the splutter atNgaruhoe, the flax controversy, the College street eruption. The first-named will, it is safe to say, oause more comment at the other end of the world thau here. Curious that we have been living within a few hoars' rail of one of the world's most rnagnifioent and awesome phenomena, one of the most perfect volcanio cones in the universe in violent eruption. Clouds of dust and ashes, smoke and steam have beeu hurlod eight thousand feet skyward, spreading mushroom-like a pall over the earth. Pillars, of flame have bhot on high, with titaniorumblings, the beautiful moutain has belohed forth stones, and molten lava has poured otfer its crater lip, yet we have gone on onr way unmoved by Nature's mighty oouvulsion, and mnoli more disturbed by the ouvulsion that took place between one large teacher and one small boy.

So muoh depends on the point of view. The next mails from Australia and Ebgland will bring the most anxious enquiries from friends in these plaoes as to whether or how we escaped with onr lives, whether the oountry js still inhabitable, whether It would not be best to leave it while it is yet time. For to the Australian New Zealand is a place where the voloanio briok awaits every wayfarer, and the heaving earth rolls in waves under his feet, Just as to the New Zealander Australia is a oountry where the vine and the fig tree shrivel in the scorching blast and all is sun-baked desolation. And as far away as Britain, Ngarnhoe, in divers unrecognisable variations will tfe a dread and haunting horror to frighten the hope of the family with next time he is'threatened with exportation to the Colonies as punishment for his ill'doing. '

* # * # Thns is history made. It is quite safe 10 say that sea-Bnndered millions who were struggling to pronounce "Ngaruhoe" this week don't even know that little boy Renme suffered. Yet see the relative size of the two outbreaks here, though Ngaruhoe blackened its gigantio neighbour Ruapehu, aud considerably more tliau fifty square miles of oountry, while the other disoolouration, as has been well pointed out, was not even "fifty square inohes."

The various contributions to the controversy have been most interesting in their various ways. All the sohoolmasters, and most of the olergymen unhesitatingly declared for corporal punishment and subscribed to the old 'lspare the rod and spoil the child" saw. Mr Jolly, with reoolleotions of Caledonia stern ana wild, had no time for the "namby pamby" folk who oonsider that moral suasion shonld suffice. In Scotland porridge and the tawse are popularly supposed to be national institutions. Henoe the appelation "raw-boned" as applied to the Scot, henoe, also the convenient invention of the kilt, for the Soot was always intensely praotioal and adapted means to an end—whichever end he had in view.

' Then Mr Harper, wluose view one agrees with and who considers, that' punishment should be at the hands of a headmaster as presoribed by the regulations, and not by a hasty assistant, conjures up quite a dramatio piotnre. "A most serious and solemn affair," he dosoribes the infrequent canings at Christ College and he points out that the strap should give plaoo to the oane, whioh ought to bo wielded "in a dignified and oalm manner by the headmaster only." One oan well picture "the dignified and oalm" pundit with solemn mein going through the daily ceremonial.

* * * Has it not struok all these educational and theologioal experts that

there is something wrong where it has to to admitted that a generation that has. had the inestimable' ad van : tage of hieing taught and preaohed to for so long should still require to be flogged into good behaviour? Years ago I was muoh impressed by one of the first works I read upon Japan. It tolri the experiences of a British military expert and diplomat who after being with the Japanese Army during manoeuvres said that, although they exeouted them in wonderful fashion, they could never make good soldiers beoause they wero so completely submissive to discipliue, that theie was "absolutely do suoh thing as military orime." They were, in fact, aB the Rev. Mr Jolly would put it, "namby pamby." That military man and the world in general has had reason to ohange viows sinoe. But those soldiers, like the soldiers and the people of Japan to-day were brought up as ohildren, absolutely without corporal punishment, and the spirit of reverenoe, and the patriotism, discipline, and courage and elan of the nation are things that the' world has been marvelling at for years, until those little, gently-broaglit-up brown children, grown into, little brown men, have beoome a sort of nightmare to the regularly-flogged and well-preached nations of the Southern Gross.

One always has great respeot for the opinions of exportß, and I had considered with interest the views of Dr. Greig ou bruises. "Now a brniseofan inch or two inches," writes the doctor, "is not a 'severe braise' nor is it undoubtedly a bad buise. . . . have seen .braises the size of one's two hands, or say fifty square indies, which might fairly be desoribed as -severe' or 'undoubtedly bad,'but these words onght not to be rashly used to describe small injuries of an inch or two." Thasenlightened, the .'late parent of the future, before setting forth to "deal with" the assailant of liis obild will procure a tape and oarefnlly measure the disooloration. If it should be only inches he will bid his offspring dry those tears, for his brnises cannot be 'fairly desoribed" as'"severe"'or "undoubtedly bad."

Two reflections suggest themselves. One is, what of the case in which there are not, say "fifty square inches" of superfloes to bruise on the affected portion. The other—methinbs mopfc men can recall some braise or another of "an inoh or two" in their personal experience which in their heart of' hearts they regarded at the time as "severe." # * *

Overheard on the railway station this week i-Newly-travellel She, just off the down Trunk express, to He: "oouldn"t stand Auokland any longer; too slow-no life there-just too dull for anythiug—simply HAD TO oome right baok to Palmerston." Yet HE, preferred to the Waitemata, was one of the most or'nary looking specimens of the bi-furcated sex. There is no accounting for the vagaries of femininity?; ' ; *: # »

One oan, of course, say as inuoh of the 'Lord of Creation,' but surely the "young farmer" of Teruuka, one John Edgar,.is.what our American friends would.call,'•■ the limit." He preferred to pay £2OO damagos and costs rather than to marry a girl to whom he had been engaged for four years "beoanse she was too quiet," Wait till he marries the other one 1

*#« ■ # There is one aspeot of the railway accident at Marton that seems to have been overlooked and that ought to be looked into as a warning for the future. MoGonigle frightfully, injured at 7.80 p.m. was brought all the way to Palmerston by train leavingß.2sp.in. to be treated at the hospital some three hours after the mishap. The bleeding was stopped by a tourniquet and through those hours and through those weary bumping miles the arm was tightly compressed, when had he been taken to the private hospital existing a Martonjand either one of the looal medical men utilised or a medical man seoured bv oar from here the pressure would have been released, the suffering of train travel avoided and the gangrene. from whioh he died would then probably have been obviated. It is too late in: MoGonigle's oase but there is too lcuoh bringing away of cases in that condition whioh might well be treated nearer the scene of aooident. MoGonigle was seen by a medioal man up tiiere after Guard Grant had applied first aid, and it would be intereating to know why that medioal man or whoever was in authority, let the patient come on under suoh oiroumstanoes. The present custom doeß not give a man a fair ohauoe.