CALAMO CURRENTE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6829, 6 October 1883, Page 1 (Supplement)

CALAMO CURRENTE.

The embroglio in the French Cabinet is strikingly significant of tbe con ' vhich French politics have been reduced. Ihe drawing aside the veil disillusionises the Id L to the divinity thatd thhedge-a ivernment, and lets the vulgar see how Xy the causes controlling the proceedings ofthe administration of the st "" e3 ° f L, The reception of King grbt na ' , t he hootings of a Aljionso was marred "r * & Jit mob, and this is sufficient to produce Uis that may alter the whole cours, of a nion's history. It » 0 se ° thin admiuistration subject to so tr.v.a Lfl-lces must be lacking in the powerful elerohts that are needed to give stability to tovelment, and we cea-e to wonder at the w L . It is impossible not to SutThere must be an inherent triviality f rtifiallic mind, that requires a strong hand P control and guide in the paths of -inrv and fixity of purpose, and events past few years seem to force the eonviJon that, however great the blessings of K Jblicanism, they are not applicable to the "inch nation. With a people of such aercurial temperament it seems to re tire either the presence of overwhelmg danger to awe them into prudence, ir of a master mind to bind together toe iisgular and impulsive forces. Tha* mastetaind ia clearly not found among the preaen governing powers of France, and there is something very ludicrous in the picturj of ic administration supposed to be gtidia the movements of fleets and armies U Asttut and difficult positions, yat squab31inj iogether over the eccentricities of a /strat mob.

I Vhatever has become of that horror ef / gre;t darkness which overspread the land I wh-n we heard of the landiog of the apostlo of '* red-handed rebellion " on the shoies of Australia.? Where that social convulsion, 3nd fierce political turmoil, in which every man's hand was to be at his throat ? The Redmond h-is arrived, and is there nobody to sound the toc3in and summon to the fray ? The Doric has come and g-ne, the Surrey Hills .Estate has ceased to excite, and a good sensation would seem a necessity for the mental and physical health of the People. The hour has come, but not the man. Or 13 it that we have prematurely had it as a malady, and, that having run its course, we aienot liable to a second seizure of the epidemic? It seemed, for a little time, to have attained a high state of fever, but that was probably the crisis, followed by collapse, convalesence, and we are quite well now. True, we have r\ small whine now and then showing that somebody has a little twinge of the complaint remaining, but generally the community haR attained to a sound state of health. On the whole, the people of Auckland are_ the most sensible crowd in the colony. Vag'srits they do indulge sometimes, but, as a rule, common sense reigns, and they are not long subject to bumfcum; and of all the bumkum yet attempted to be foisted on them, nothiug equals the screech of " tbs State in danger,' hen the envoys of the. Irish Land League' proposed to narrate the talc of the Irish question. One would think that the State must be in a very ricketty condition, when its friends would shut their ears and stop the mouths of those who criticiseifcsielations just s people might think religion was on a very hakey foundation, when iis professors bold up their hands in pious horror, at any discussion of its doctrices. The day is supposed to have gone by for the forcible suppression of enquiry, but the old feeling lingers lovingly in the human mind, and there are hundieds of people who hold the practical belief that the best treatment for argument opposed _ to their views is not to listen to it. They know that they are right, and it logically follows that, those holding different views must be necessarily wrong, then what on earth is the use of listening to them ? -why should any countenance ba given ,The_ thing is as clear as mud. These people are wronjy tneir facts are false, and their deductions necessarily delusive, and it follows as naturally as anything* that the results must be bad, and such being the case the plan is stay away, don't listen to them, shut the doors of all the halls against them, so that nobody else may listen to them, and in this way we can maintain the supremacy of truth. This is the logic that reigned a few montfis 'Sgo, but we feel better now. And what is it the Redmonds want to tell us? They say that England has treated Ireland badly in the past. "We know that without their telling, 30 they can do ns no harm there. They say England treats Ireland badly now. That's what we want to know about. We hear from the accused aide no ; now let us hear the accuser's yes, and let us see what they have to ssy in support of it, That won't hurt ua either. They say Ireland wants a Parliament like New Zealand's. Well it has done ub no harm here? .we'should.;nqt be ■ alarmed if they offer to show us it would do them no harm there.""! Other people say it would dismember the Empire; it has not dismembered us yet, and it does not seem ikely to. People used to say it would, and hat the cry for representative institutions in the colonies was veiled rebellion and incipient disruption. They have not disrupted us yet, and we are not rebels; indeed we think •ourselves more loyal than England. _Bot ihen, oh, horror.' these people are inciters to murder. That is what other people say. They don't say it themselves. Ttiey say these outrages are the bane of their cause. That is whcii they protest. It is only fair to let them have the opportunity of clearing themselves. They say outrage is, unhappily, the wild weeds that grow in the field of agitation, j perhaps inseparable, but ruinous to the I hopes of the husbandman. They say thej murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke blasted their hopes and threw ■their cause back a dozen years, and that if it were not for the succession of Irish outrages the sympathy of England and Scotland would very soon obtain for them the rectification of what they regard as the wrongs of Ireland. It Beem3 a reasonable contention. In fact their opponents show it, for they say that so loDg as these outrages continue there will be no more concessions. In these circumstances it is not unreasonable that the leaders repudiate and reprobate murder. Let us hear what they say about it. Redmond does not look a scoundrel, not even a little bit. He has a good-looking face and a kindly manner. We need not be afraid of him. Then on the land question they say the people have rights as well as the ■capitalist. That, though, need not frighttn us. We hold it ourselves. We asserted it in the Surrey JSillß- Estate; we maintain it in the face of the dangerous monopoly of the land-swallowers with which we are threatened. It may he the interest of some to denounce the theory and suppress its advo- . catej, but the people of Auckland are not afraid. In fact the advent of this muchdreaded emissary affords an opportunity of seeing hera "the other side" of questions on which there is the keenest discussion in 3cenes and circumstances to which we have not ready access j and the man has poor faith in the reason and common sense of his fellows, and little sympathy with the spirit of the times, and small faith in the force of truth, who dreads the crucible of public discussion.

There is a very old adage that cleanliness is next to godliness. Strangers call our city the City of Churches, and we are certainly a church-going, if not a God-fearing, people. But nobody will ever say that we ara devotees of the second virtue, or that Auckland is a city of batha. Indeed, if we did not keep to ourselves the fact; that we have nothing of the nature of a public bath, people ■would be wicked enough to say that we are the dirtiest people in New Zealand. Some years ago,swhen the question of public baths agitated the City Council of the capital of one of the sister colonies, a worthy councillor, in opposing the project, stated that he had not washed his body for thirty years, and that water would roll off Mb skin like the rain off a duck's back. It may be charitably hoped that our civic administrates are more observant of their religious duties, and that in the observance of personal ablution they keep themselves up to the right standard of religious propriety. Bat,after havingattended to the claims of personal piety, it may be fairly expected of them that they should Pay some attention to' the requirements of their respected and dirty constituents, whose advancement in personal .religion must* be

marred by the absence of public baths. It i* true there is an apology for gone—the Bole , survivor of sea bithing facilities, since that, at the railway pier has been closed. But it l is not to the c r edit ot the Council's attention to the people's welfare that, with the abundance of water available, fresh as well as salt, this primary requirement of a warm climate has been so systematically ignored. Of eoursp, those who can afford to pay can find baths enough in the city at which to indulge in thin luxury of personal cleanliness, and those who can afford it better can have baths in their private dwellings. But for the vast body of the people, who need it most, " the great unwashed," there are neither faeiliti' s nor opportunities, to say nothing of inducements, to practice that cleanliness which has *uch a potent influence in promoting the gen-ral health, and preventing the spread of epidemic or infectious disease. With the large supply of fresh water at the disposal of the city, it would be ea s y and inexsjeosive to have in a central place, or several places of convenient access, small ponds as plunge baths iU which at the lowest possible charge, Or no charge at all,, this, the greatest and most valuable luxury of life, might be placed within the reach of the poorest inhabitant. It is not for the wealthy that this is a crying want; they can help themselves. But neither to the wealthy can it be a matter of indifference, for so intimately are the interests of citizens bound up together that fever in the cabin finds a ready entrance through the window of the mansion ; and on the grounds of mere selfishness, if no higher motive influences, it is a matter of general concern t'<iat those who, by their habits and manner of life, may be most exposed to uncleanliness, and levst disposed to wa*h, Bhould be even tempted to the bath. The summpr is upon ns, and whether by saltwater baths on the margin of the harbour, or fresh-water swimming baths up town and within e'sv access, as on the market reserve, it certainly seems a very pressing duty that the guardians of the interests of the city should take prompt and effective cteps toward* bringing the means of cleanliness within reach of the whole people.

The case of the Roys, the youthful homicides on the Southern railway, has resulted as might have been expccted. A nominal penalty of two months' imprisonment, without hard labour, was imposed on the elder, and the younger was discharged. It seems a mild amount of suffering as compared with that inflicted on the relatives and dependants of the unfortunate victim; but there is f-uperadded the stigma that will attach to them til; their dying day, and the memory of a d' ed of bloodguiltiuess that can never leave them. The kuowledge of this weighed with the jury in recommending them to mercy, and with the Judge in giving weigh); to the recommendation. Dreadful as the consfqu-uc<?s were, the act was not one of wilful cruelty, hut just the result of the only too prevalent habit of boyish recklessness and practical joking. It is probable that the lessons the dreadful event is calculated to convey would not have been enhanced by increased neverity iu the punishment, for the very lightness of it throws the attention back upon the melancholy event itself r.nd its surroundings, in the tears and desolation of the bereaved relatives of the man that was slain. It is a story that should be vividly impressed ou the mindu of the young who are at, or approaching to that period of life when the human creature becomes aware of its powers, without being yet conscious of the mor l responsibilities attached to their possession ; and it is a story that every parent should bring under the notice of bis children, as showing what irreparable sorrows may flow from a moment's thoughtlessness or indifference to the welfare and happiness of others.

It is pleasant to note the different manner in which the street corners are generally turned by the lords of the highway, since the cases now pending in the Police Court appeared, and a bine-coated guardian of the peace is seen with his eagle eye on passing vehicles. There is room for improvement yet, but a little time will have the effect of making people aware of the rule of the road. It ia urged that the by-law on the subject is ultra vires. Tnis may or may not be so, but if it is, then the vires will have to bo increased, fur it is intolerable that a law which -ijLin-force in every other city of crowded thoroughfares should not uu iu Auckland. In Melbourne, not merely the street corners, but the street crossings, are sacred to the safety of pedestrians, and the way in which the lordly oabman reins his flying steed, even where there are neither vehicles nor passengers in his way, is a testimony to the care with which human life is guarded. In Auckland, of all places, the necessity for such a by-law is apparent; for the steepness with which our side streets debouch, on the central thoroughfare is peculiarly productive of danger. Judgment must be susoended on the cases now before the Court, but it is to be hoped that, vires or no vires, the City Council and the police will find a way to protect the poor pedestrian from the faugb-a-ballagh of the man on wheels.,f POLLKX.