THE AUCKLAND YOUTH—ALTRUISTIC AS WELL AS EGOISTIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11162, 7 September 1899, Page 6

THE AUCKLAND YOUTH—ALTRUISTIC AS WELL AS EGOISTIC.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir,—War to the knife has been the drastic and relentless policy pursued in reference to this fraternity of hope and promise, He ha* b-en remorselessly vivisected, ripped up, analysed. and shown to himself and others. The scathing remarks of his censors may be warranted, and his condemnation but the reflex of actions, which come out nude and deformed when the mirror is upheld to the face of n?ture. . Like sharpshooters, his critics have fired their weapons all along the line. The youth, however, is precisely s hat education and environment have made him, and in this connection it is obvious that " prevention is better than cure." We boast ad nauseum, and point triumphantly to our unrivalled manufactury of manners, character, and conduct (great is Diana the goddess of the Ephesians!). What are its cardinal processes? Well, we send the drilling master and gymnast to train the body and develop its thews'and sinews: we pay teachers to evolve tnd trai.i the mind, and having succeeded in vaulting the pupil over the sixth standard, we sing the song of triumph, and leave an immortal creature to navigate the dangerous sea of liTe without an iota of moral ballast to keep steady, silc, and prosperous the barque of his soul. No wonder, even when we. under the eye cf the pilot, foolishly consider him safe in harbour, he drags anchor, drives before the simoon of passion, and beoomes either disabled. or a total wreck, for we do not allow the lively oracles to whisper in his ears, I " Tell also youthful lusts, which war against the soul." The character of the youth, when plastic, is never placed in the moral mould, so he comes out lop-sided, disproportionate; like Jeshuron, he waxes fat in self-importance, and kicks away all those specific and divine and human restraints, which in operation evolve character, grace, conduct, purify the heart, and ennoble life. Astronomers declare the orbs which float through space reach the era of their decadence. Poets sing: The sun himself grow dim with aee. And Nature sink in years. Empires and nations reach their zenith, and then decline, but no nation or individual salted with divine truth, leavened by divine love, illumined bv divine light, can possibly become moribund or sink in the scale, for assuredly these are the tonics and antiseptics, which preclude the possibility of corruption and decay, and ensure the continuance of health, strength, and vigour. The golden 'treasury that enshrines these priceless treasures is the Bible, the loftiestknown classic. To shut it out of the school, and expect a high, moral, youthful standard is the quintessence of madness, all tho trite stook arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. There is, however, another side to this vital shield, and on this spectacle verily we i may gaze 'with ineffable pleasure. A few | weeks ago, when driving through the Domain, a young gentleman opened the gate near the pond without solicitude, and with admirable grace. Close to. on the opposite side of the road, is a second gate, which was promptly opened by another gentleman, who said. "I am going on Monday." Immediately thereaftei I alighted, and found that he was one of six, who after training and thoughtful consideration had determined to go out as missionaries to India. Amid much emotion, I commended him for his noble resolve, and gave valfedictory words of counsel and advice, that I trusted might, under the solemn circumstances, be made profitable to him and his coadjutors on their momentous pilgrimage. If the revolting traits of character manifested by some types of Auckland youth are such as to bring down the sweeping condemnation of your correspondents on these "lewd fellows of the baser sort," surely the sacrifice and heroism of these six heralds of the Cross should be regarded as a redemptive feature. Are they not fired with a lofty ambition to I do and dare what the pilgrims and martyrs j essayed in days of yore, and may we not anent them singBehind yon, holy martyrs, Uplift the palm and crown. Before you unborn ages send Their benediction down. Take heart, take heart, ve mariners, God's errands never fail; Sail on through storm and darkness The thunder and the hail. The region of their enterprise is all but a boundless domain. Jts diversified fields of i Buddhism. Brahminism, and superstitions, hoary with age, are "white already unto harvest." That they should have elected to labour herein reflects the highest honour on their character, is an object lesson worthy of imitation, an evidence of the strength of Christian principle, and a pledge that amid the rank and file of our Auckland youth, there are still to be found moral heroes ready to carry the vestal lamp of truth into " the dark places of the earth, which are full of the habitations of cruelty."— am, etc., Jso. Abbott'. St. George s Bay Road, September 4, 1899.