WHANUABEI MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT /?> CLASS.

Northern Advocate, 1 September 1888, Page 3

WHANGAREI MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT CLASS.

o* Friday, the 24th inst., the Class held their usual weekly meeting, Mr D. C. Wilson, -vicepresident, in the chair. The meetings of the Class had been interrupted for two successive Fridays, one of the nights being very wet, and on the other the Council Chamber was occupied by a Council meeting. The attendance was in consequence smaller than usual, but the discussions were fully as lively as that of any other meeting this session. The business of the meeting was debates on anonymous letters contributed by members of the class, as follows : — "Is Civilization a Failure?" and the writer contended that it was, pointing out that civilization increased our misery more than it- increased our happiness. He contrasted the worry and anxiety experienced by civilized people whose whole lives consisted of one prolonged struggle for subsistence with the tranquility enjoyed by the savage. A savage hod no bills to meet on the 4th of the month. He could take a "wife, who, with a supply of bark or other materials, could make clothes for herself and her husband too. The writer of this letter concluded with a fervent wish that he was an untutored savage himself. Mr H. McKenzte admitted that the civilized man and woman bad more cares, bat cares bad their uses in making people better and wiser. Many savages had to subsist upon little and some of thorn were in the habit of going hungry for days together. After all, savages taken as a whole were not so sure ot a subsistence as civilized men. Mr Bxjckhdbst contended that we ourselves were only half civilized. Compared with our ancestors we might be considered civilized, but those who come after us would certainly look upon us as half savages. We eat, drink, and talked barbarously, poisoned ourselves with impure water, and disregarded the laws of health generally. Our manner of executing criminals was barbarous in the extreme, and altogether our civilization was not much to boast of. Mr Skaley said that civilization increased our wants, and this was one cause of pov srty ; but the greatest cause was our present land system. Laws were originally supposed to be founded on Scripture ; but the cleverness ot men had twisted them to the advantage of the few. He differed from Mr Buckhurst on the subject of capital punishment. The human animal was so constituted physically and mentally that he was bound to transgress, but lie must be punished all the same, even to taking his life, if the welfare of society required it. Mr J . Wilson contended that civilization was not so progressive as Mr Buckhurst tried to make out. The civilization of Egypt, Greece, and Home almost equalled that of the present time. One great advantage about being civilized was that men were better able to help each other, and act in unison. As for the happiness enjoyed by the savage, he contended that although a Maori might be happy squatting on the ground eating his food out of a Kapura Maori, this style of enjoyment was purely «.n'")»d, and the highest degree of' happiness was only to be found in civilization. A lively passage at anus here ensued between Mr Bucknurst and the speaker, who had prefaced his remarks by a criticism on Mr Buckhurst's pronottnciation. The latter gentleman now craved permission from the chair to correct Mr Wilson's pionounciation of the word "herbage." MrWiUon submitted that he had adopted the American pronunciation of the word. Mr Buckhurst retorted by hoping that the next time Mr Wilson addressed the class he would tell them which style of|pronounciation he was going to adopt. MrN. G. McKay agreed with the author of the letter, that civilization was a failure, and questioned if the happiness of savages was increased by its introduction. The usual mode of procsedings was to kill some of them with firearms, poison some of them with bad grog, and then preach the gospel to the remainder. Where could we find a race of savages so miserable as the poor of London. He also blamed the land system. Bents should go to pay the expenses of the Government and to

prevent poverty. He also thought no man should be allowed to occupy more than he could cultivate.

Mr Kysh related a true story about the Maori law of Muru, and showed some of the disadvantages of savage life. He still admitted the evils of civilization, and agreed with Mesers McKay and - Sealey that the land system was responsible for most of the poverty. The practice of one man taking the bread out of another man's mouth should be stopped by law. There was one good feature in Sir Thomas More's Utopian Scheme, viz., every man had to work, and the hours of labour for everyone was mnch shortened. Now in old countries one half of the people worked to keep the other half in idleness and luxury Mr D. C. Wilson, commenting on Mr H. McKenzie'B speech, said that taking the rate of wages received by agricultural labourers in England, it was utterly impossible for one of them, with a family to provide them with meat. A weekly ration of beef alone for one man would take a week's wages. A number of Other oocupatiocß followed by women were worse paid still, and there could be no question but that an enormous number of the people : lived in a state of semi-starvation. He thought, therefore, that the writer of the letter had good grounds for his contention. The second lette? asked the question " which conduces most to civilization? Eeligious teaching or Secular teaching ? " There was not time to finish this debate, but two assertions were made by different members of the class each sufficiently striking and worthy of note. One was that the Infidel of the second generation was always worse than the Infidel of the first generation. The other was that in the United States for every one crimminal classed as an Infidel there were 20,000 classed as Christians. The subject for to-night Friday Ang 31st will be *' Is Federation of the British/Empire desirable" affirmative Messrs D. C. Wilson, F. Kysh, F. Scaly, and N. McKay; negative Messrs Buckhurst, H. McKenzie and others.