POLE STAR AND SOUTHERN CROSS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14465, 3 September 1910, Page 1 (Supplement)

POLE STAR AND SOUTHERN CROSS.

by m.a. How can a comparison be best instituted between England, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand; between Britain and Australasia, between Home and the Antipodes, the lands under tho pale North Star and those under the glowing Southern Cross? They differ much, yet aro they very similar—geographically they are far apart, yet in sentiment they aro practically olio. Climatically they differ very much, for summer is generally much hotter in the south than in the north, and so winter is much more rigorous in the lands of the Pole Star than in. those of tiio Southern Cross. Tho seasons differ absolutely, as to the time of their befalling in tho year, for summer in Australasia means winter in Britain, autumn in the north means spring in the south. Yet certain customs, usages, and festivities pertaining to portions or days of the year are observed in the south at tho time of their falling in the calendar of tho north. Put briefly, Australasia has adopted the British calendar, independent of season. Christmas under the Star or Cross is observed on the same day in December, and the plum pudding and holly are as discernible where the thermometer may register about a hundred degrees as where it may weep to zero. The festivities of the New Year, as observed in the far north, !"~e not forgotten in the south, far or near, only do they vary in form. Hero climate is a great determining factor— tho picnic or athletic gathering, with all their outdoor charm of sun and pleasant shade, by which the time is generally marked in southern communities, being impossible in the cold north. Yet are there compensations, for in the land where the Pole Star gleams high o'er the horizon, to the Scottish youth, although the New Year is associated with cold and snow, yet it is especially the time when King Frost, sealing the streams and lakes, makes skating possible by day, and drawing the curtain of night early, gives the long evening for festive gathering and song, when the roaring of the winter fire in the chimney is j drowned by the laughter of the young folks ringing through the house. What do such similarities and differences under climatic conditions mean for Britain and Australasia? There is law in environment, and climate affects life and character. Get a company of octogenarians, say in England, and inquire of them individually as to their manner of life, what habits they have formed, what sustenance in the way of I food and refreshment they have taken ! during their long lives. It will be found that while their testimonies differ remark- | ably, as a rule they all agree in this, that much of their time was spent in the open j air. Thero have been vast improvements made in the way of ventilation during the | past generation, and its importance is now, I in every civilized community, full}* recognised as a factor for the maintenance and | promotion of health and longevity; yet indoor life under the best conditions of pure air and equitable temperature cannot necessarily bo compared with life in the open air. It should be remembered that we are dealing not with exceptional cases, as, e.g., with tho invalid, who may require special indoor I treatment, although it should not be forgotten how many invalids are every year sent from the north to southern climes for health reasons. Nor are we dealing here with exceptional cases, as e.g., in time of ! rain or tempest, when a man finds, for comfort and protection from the elements, it is hotter to bo under shelter than in tho open. Looking at tho matter generally, as far as health is concerned, out-of-door life is absolutely to bo preferred to that of indoors. In this respect, then, tho lands under the Southern Cross take precedence of those under the North Star, Australasia is to be preferred to Britain as affording far fuller opportunity of life in the open air. But tnere is another side to our subject. What of the effect of climate on character ? Looking at tho nations of the world to-day, don't we find that those in the van of the march of civilisation, the strongest, the most humane, and enlightened, have been born, bred, and reared throughout their generations under cloudy rather than sunny skies, that they aro children rather of the frost and snotv, of the storm and tempest, than of the heat and balmy clime? What of tho inhabitants, say, of Scotland, as compared with the natives of New Caledonia, or what of the people of the British Isles as compared with those of Polynesia? The answer is that the difference between the peoples so compared is so great, so striking is the contrast in general character that comparison is hardly possible. Yet it should also be pointed out that climatically tho comparison is scarcely fair, as Scotland and the British Isles are not proportionate! v so cold, v as New Caledonia and Polynesia aro cold. It is a well-known fact that it is the temperate climate, whether found north or south of the Line, that is most conducive to the growth and maintenance of character in the race. An extreme of cold in this respect seems even worse than one of heat. The Esquimaux, e.g., of the extreme north", are but few compared with the Polynesians, yet are not more comparable with the inhabitants of Great Britain than the islanders of the south. Further, important as climatic conditions are in tho framing of character, it should not be overlooked that there aro other factors, which ay even a more important part in building up a true manhood and womanhood. Climate is essentially of the material environment, which without doubt indirectly if not directly affects character, but the forces which directly in the man make true and lasting character, are even stronger than the environment of man. Otherwise should they bo useless. Real character is grown through fighting environment. It pertains not merely to the will, but to the life. Will has doubtless much to do in its development, but it is equally true, apart from character, tho will's power could never be maintained. Thus it is seen that the potent living forces which make character, spring not from material environment, but are best described as religious and spiritual. They are of that vision, without which men or nations perish. In this respect, then, must the lands of the North Star take precedence, spite of its suggestiveness, of those under the Southern Cross ? It were unfair, if not absolutely false, to say that Britain is more Christian than Australasia. Social conditions in the two tell a different story. Such conditions are certainly of the material environment, yet none the less are they a test of the Christian spirit producing them. On the other hand, the lands tinder the Pole Star aro possessed of religious institutions and a history, which those under the Southern Cross know little or naught of. So we may claim Britain as more religious than Australasia, but to say whether is the more Christian surely lies beyond our power and province. • Enough, however,-has been written to suggest how helpful the one is to the other, how near in heart and sentiment, if far separate in clime, are our lands of the pale North Star and those which lie under the glowing Southern Cross,