North Otago Times. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1885.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3967, 29 May 1885, Page 2

North Otago Times. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1885.

The visit of Mr R. T. Booth, the temporaries lecturer and founder of what ia called Blue Ribbonism, has set people thinking and talking in various ways. Mr Booth's visit has done more than that, however. As waa to be expected it has led to considerable additions to the ranks of the Blue Ribbon mission, though, as it was also to be expected, those additions have not been strikingly numerous. The organisers and workers of the 81u.3 Ribbon mission in Oamaru have labored so industriously and so intelligently for quite two years now — since the date of the establishment of the Blue Ribbon mission here — that the woik remaining to be done is not work of a kind that can be made to show large results suddenly. This fact must have proved as gratifying to Mr Booth as the founder of Blue Bibbonisin, as it is creditable to those who have labored in the cause here in Oamaru. At the same timeagre-tb deal remains to bo done even in this small corner of the world bpfore sobriety becomes universal or before it is generally and intelligently realised that without sobriety no man can attain to or remain at his full stature as a rational being. And this being the case the doings and sayings and suggestions of Mr Booth while here may prove of considerable service to those who still cany on the work of Blue Ribbon temperance reform. And yet, ■ though to some it may appear to be paradoxical to cay so, we are fnot sure but temperance workers should be able to learn more from their adverse critics than from the best erampleis and most friendly counsoUois on their own side. It is not sufficient alone to realise with intense vividness the miseiy that results from tbe abuse, or — if any one piefeis the phrase — the use of spiriiuous liquors, and then to proceed to work with might and main in any particular way, not only against the increase of intemperance but for its absolute annihilation. One of the things chiefly necessary to a reformer who wishes to do work lasting in its effectiveness is a knowledge of the feelings and opinions of tho3e whom he desire 3to biing over to his own side. The Blue Ribboners naturally desire to biiug the whole community over tc their side of the temperance question, but if they are to enjoy more aud more the gratification of that desire they must necessarily endeavor moi'e and more, by discieet means and methods }f course, to get at a knowledge of the feelings and opinions of those who maj >s yet not only not be with them bul igainst them. For these reasons the piivate and public criticism called forth by Mr Booth's recent visit, anc 3alled forth from time to time by theii awn local sayings and doings, shoulc be especially welcome and valuable tc those who are intelligently engaged ir the noble work of temperance reform And perhaps the best way to tak< advantage of that criticism would be not by means of counter-criticism, noi by means of expositions of the princi pies and practices of Blue Ribboniso: as these at present exist, but by usin< it as something suggestive of new methods whereby the objectors am critics might be brought to see and assimilate the beauty and rightness o the vital feature of Blue Ribbonism— abstinence fiorn that which dwarfs j man's vital energy, and degrades hii excellence, as a rational and mora being.

There ate other matters bearing on tbe dtink question, which are, perhaps, not sufficiently noted by temperance reformers ; for example, what may be called the evolution and the ethics of drinking. An eminent authority in the regions of strong thinking and deep drinking says that,

Man, being reasonable, must get di dDk. And there seems to be a mighty as well as a roelancbolv meaning in the observation. As men ceased to be animals, and went on becoming more and more reasoning creatures with limited means of rational recreation — even yet tbe mentis are as regards very many people very limited — it was, perhaps, natural that they should seek solace or surcease for their ennui in such exhilarating or intoxicating drinks aa society placed within their reach. And, like the bad and barbarous habit of going to war to right wrong and adjust qnaive 1 ?, the bad and barbai'ous babit of seeking relaxation, or respite, or relief in the use of strong drink has so entered into the blood of mankind, and become so intertwisted with the texture of human society, that, disgusting and demoralising as it is in itself and its fTxVct', it still retains amidst human beings a woful amount of vitality. If this view of the origin and continuance of drinking habits is founded in reason it follows that a great deal more is nenecessary in temperance reform work than the mere getting of men to sign pledges and to keep up an attendance at meetings where the glories of simple tempeiance are chanted unceasingly. It might not be reasonable to expect temperance reformers to tell the convei Is bow to develop and gratify all sides of their nature as reasoning beings, or to provide or tell tbem how to find meaus of rational recreation ; but we should think it would be imperatively incumbent upon them to show and to insist that, while no man i can Jead an effective or worthy life without consistent sobriety, yet sobriety ia by no means the one thing needful. Sobiiety is only a means to an end, and unless, while being led clearly <md intelligently into its ways, men are at the same time taught the necessity for drawing upon all the rational resources I of life for blameless pleasure and riyht- • ful recreation, it is not only likely in many cases to prove barren of large and good results, but to become prig- [ gish and puritanical while it lasts or , to last nob long. A most sincere desire 5 to see tbe temperance movement es3 tablished on lines, and carried on by methods, calculated to induce all men to come within its scope, to remain for ever temperate, and become, as a consequence of temperance, comprehensively humane and happy, and compreheneively energetic in all the regions of

right action, is our sole reason for making these plain though perhaps vn~ philosophical remarks, of throwing out bhese well meant though probably crude suggestions. That they will be received by all concerned in the spirit in which they are offered we have no doubt. To doubt on that score would be to doubt ihe intelligence and fair-mindedness o*f those who are engaged in the active work of the temperance causa.

A conterßßzione in connection with .he Upper Waltaki Presbyterian church will us held this evening in the Duntroon h? 1 !, commencing at 7i30 o'clock.

At the meethig of the waste lands board on Wednesday, the board considered the res port of Ranger Valpy as to the mode of dea'inp with sections 3 and 17, block XIV ; 36 and 43, block X[ ; and 2, block IX, Moeraki, — Consideration deferred fira week;

At a sale of Crown lands held in Dua .din. yesterday the following sections at Waitakl Bridge were sold . Jslock 2— Si >ti ns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, fi, 9. 10. 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 37, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, at L 5 p..r >»c>e, J, M'Lean ; sections, 14, and 18, L 5 15s, Frederick Gilbert. The Rev. T. W. Dunn delivered hid lecture on " Lips and Noses " to a good audience. Hia subject was treated in a very capable manner, and the audience were evidently plracel. At the conclusion of tr-n

lecture four gentlemen antt two ladies Btcpptl forward to have their faces read, or ratber what their lips and noses exore3Sid, for fie ,c were the features specially dwelt upon by the lecturer. To-night the subjact of Mr Dunn's lecture will be " the heads of the people."

On Wednesday, Mr William Christie held a more than usually successful sale at Kurow, of horset), cattla, implement?, drayp, htrnesss, &c, on account of Messrs N. I me, J. Laurie, and the attorney for the Clarksfielcl estate. There was a large attendance of buyers, the special traia which lefj Uamsru at 8.30 a.m. for Kurow, taklag buyers aud others to the aale. Every lot offered was sold, horsea bringing up to L 32. kt .he conclusion of the sale the auc'oonei ' intimated that he would hold quarterly sa 1 ' . at Kurow, notice of wbioh would be given,

At the courthouse yeifcerday, before the \ vdent maglstiate. the hearing of the ad-

journed civil case of D. Dunn against Mra Nelson, claim 8s 51 for me»t supplied, occupied the court for a good while. Defendant pleaded that she hid paid the amount sued for, excepting the last two items on the ao ount, which amounted 111 1 Is 4d, Hia worahip gave judgment for the amount claimed end CO3M. T. S. Hardy vJ. H. Phillips, claim L 9 19a for rent due. Defendant a<lmittfd the debt, but handed in an agreement, whereby tho plaintiff undertook nob to press for the at rears, L 6 163, under a certain time, on condition that defendant continued to pay 7a per week for the house. Defendant had left the houae, glvlnq; as his reason that it W3 oub of repair, and he wr i compelled to do bo on at >,nunt of his family's

health His worship said he had no option bafc to give judgment for the amount claim( 1, and 10-> i is l i. The l»rl Alfxander Hols, who was remanded from the previ >us day, pending a reply from tha mas' t of the

Industrial School, at Caversham, was again brought up on a charge of absconding from his employer at Waimate, It was stated

that the master of the school had f )legraphed asking the police to return tha boy to the school, which his worship ordered to be done.

A writer In a recent issue of the Melbourne Argus amuses himnelf by writing n account of " How he didn't find Mount Cook," and aft^r carrying tho^e who cared to fol'ow him in a dyspeptic tiip un and down the E-jst Coast of the South

lands himself in Oama.u, whether t^ seek medical advice or not we are not told, but

this \b what he says of the pi: c : " I have

mentioned that I passed through Oamarn on my way north, I was delighted with its appearance. Tha whito, marbie-like stone of which the town is built, and the

form of the buildings themselvei, which harmoniEed with the itone, gave it, to my eyes, a classic air. I grew quite exoi' d. Surely that sea i 3 the blue /Egean Pan iB not dead. It is ancient Athens that I bahold, Hero is the temple of Victory, and

there Athena'e altars lise ; that mistshrouded height must be the Acropolis. As the train whirled me by, a vision of such bright beauty lingered ■w.th me that I determined to vist the town as 1 returned. In an unhappy moment 1 did so, Whother it Wf i tha weather, which was deledf-.ble, or my liver, or my temper, I don't know, but everything we • changed. The Parfchenon was a wool store with gr -ay loafers hanging round ; the temple of Viet jry a bank with clerks behind tha counlor ; the Acropolis an ugly hill crowned by a wooden shanty, The bleak, wide, empty streets affrighted me. I ahuddered aid fl \' ■ the railway station. At the ireetlug of the coun'y council on Wadnejday, attention wag ca"ed Co tbe fact that the- excessively high charges for freight for short distance on the railways caused additional tn to I > thrown on the roa(?3, with the result that, so far as this district is conc*raed, the county ii put to enormous expense in keeping the roads ?u repair. It was resolved that the ohairman wrlLe to the member for the district calling h'fi attention to the tariff, and rcquestiog him to endeavor to obta.a a modification of the same We may sLaf:e that the inju't'ea of the tariff (even in its revised state, h: i

bee i frequently pointed at by us, but we were unaware that the obfcusenesa of those who framed it had the effect of

saddling tbe diatriot with bo muoh expense. We understand the estimate of the county

engineer is that it will take cl iso up<.. i LIL JO to put the roads in the same state they were a year ago, owing to the cuLL'ng up they have undergone by dray traffic. If th<s r; ? lway department had, without altering the tariff for distances over eight mi es, begun a cheaper *cale for dntanc i under eight m ; 'e*, it wou d ha-/e sheared all the traffic, wou'd have Bhown better returns, and would have saved the expenditure of enormous sums by county councils for repairs to roads. What are the railwavsfor? They wei'e surely not constructed for the purpose of running empty trains on them, while farmers are compelled, through excessive cha ges, to rpsort to the old method of getting their produce to market. No mattsr how long delayed, a redaction will hsve to be made in the railway charges for distances under eight mile 3.

A concert under tbe • uspices of the No 2 company, Otepopo rifl 3, took place at the Maheno Public Hail la^ evening. Captain Co3?grove occupied tbe chair and the attendance w 'S vpry . atisfactory to the promoters. Amongst ihe visitors were Major and Sergeant-m.jor M'Pherson. The programme was a very lonr? one, and each contributor to it was well received.

The oomic duet by Mess s Hicklnbotliam and Storey came in for an extra rouo'l of applause owing to the local character of Che hi - e. Mra Kinnear accompanied the majori y of the vocalists during the eveuing. Mrs P. Williams and Miss Diehl alao under-

took the task of accompanying several nt of the siDgers, in which they each g tve entire satii-f action The pogramme was asfol'ows : First part — P'anoforte duet, Miss and Master Diehl ; song (comic), " Picaboo" (encored), Mr Poll"ck : n jitation, " The Frenchman and the rats," Mr Barrett ; song, " * ed batter bide a wee," Miss Franklin ; song, " The Irish emigrant (encored), Mrs Kinnear; song, "The old brigade," Lieutenant Ohfiffey ; «ong, " Ehren on the Rhine," Miss Pollock ; song, "Anchored," MrJ. Walls; song, " Masks and Faces," Mrs P. Williams ; song, " Oar Crew," JsMr Weymouth ; duet (comic), "Far Away (encored), Messxa Hiokinbotham and Storey ; Second part— Pianoforte so'o, Mias Diehl ; song, " Killarney," Mr J. Walls; song, " The Bouquetaire," Mrs P. Williami : step dance, Volunteer Knight ; song, "My Heather Hills," Mr Meikle ; Bong, "The Vacant Chair," Mrs Kinnear ; song, " The Powder Monkey," Lieut, Chaffey j soDg, "Oh sing to me," Miss Frankland ; eosg, ' ' Oar Jacks come home, ' ' Mr Weymouth j oomio song, " The

Cork Leg " (encored), Mr Hickinbotham. A verso of the National Anthem concluded the conoert, when the usutl votes of thanks were carried by acclamation to those who rendered assistance towtrda making the conoeiu so successful. We understand that the proceeds from the concert alone amounted to over Lll, so that with the urn received from the dance, which w 1 held immediately afterwards, the volunteer company will net a very handsome sum, quite as much as, if not more, thin was anticipated. There waa a large number preaent at the danco, which waa proo 2(iing very pleasantly when the visitors left for town

A. SARGEA.NT, PHOTOGRAPHER, TEES STREET, IS NOW TAKING PORTRAITS FROM 12s 6d PER DOZ.

Mr Robinson-, Surgeon pentißt, will make his usual profemuonal visit to Waimate on Monday first.— [ Advt ]

They cay Russia wants India. Let them say, for they will hae to tak it first, if they can. They s»y P. Cormack is very busy. Is he ? Aye, is he. Get a suit frao him, if ye oan. Be h*s lots of cleth, and he does not mak slops for ye. The cheapest house in town is Cormack's, tailor and olothier, Tees street, Oamaru.— [A.r»vr.

Don't Die in the House. —"Rough on Rats ' clears out ratß, mice, beetles, roaches, bed-bugs, flies, ants, injects, moles, jaokrabbits, gophers. — Kempthorne, Proster, and Co,, Agents, Chriafcohur. h.