LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15056, 27 July 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

'■'jfepSj: BY MERCCTIO. 'I'L a remarkable peculiarity of these , ?.,„ dava that we are all apologising for l i established tilings, and are prodigal of jlltions and panaceas for moderating •font customs without treating them too ; Sceptically. Looking out from our SI peepholes we see a world in whir ing '] : * n fi in chaotic bewilderment, like ' ' • La fixed and stately city in the throes ' VI imfflWC earthquake, and wo forthwith ! ! lit our phylacteries and write out pre- . tins- Wo are apt to forget, in our .' dement and disquietude that, the world : endless progression, that life implies ." ; - * rttiw , that nothing stands still, that ' 7. r& is no finality in anything, that transi- ; • ' :J„ is the order of tho universe, and that * Z. old is being hourly swallowed up by • Z »*. There is no remedy for cbang6 1 " old aei because change and old age .* instable. The great stream of Time gows on for over, carrying us on its surface pas* the pleasant places on its banks Lrvrer much we might like to terry '* there, past smiling landscapes that seem t - invite us to stay, sometimes into dark „„• frowning defiles, sometimes into '■:'/ raging rapids that threaten to engulf us, and a ? am ont * nt ° e °P > a lan d ail new 3 nd strange but peaceful and beautiful. So let. us be of good cheer though the ■ waters around us grow tumultuous and foreboding clouds cover the face of the <iun. Wo are flowing onward to placidity : ; and light-

The good Bishop of Auckland, Dr. Crossley would re-energise the Church by % a&Mng pew rents, if not the collection • plates. He would trust to voluntary offerings dropped into boxes affixed at the : doc. Alas! not even the Church is above all considerations of finance. Without money it must surely perish as we ,inow it to-day. His scheme, lam afraid, would make it poor indeed. As a means t'm increasing church attendance it would prove futile, for people are not kept, away • from divine service by visions of the collec- ; ticn plate None of the devices which 'have been suggested for filling- the I churches are in my opinion worth trying. Thev are all, at the best, only temporary 'expedients. The great cure for the evil complained of must come from the p°ople themselves. There must be a quickening of the spirit amongst them, a reawakenuk; of their spiritual sense. Every spire that points upward to the sky is a silent reminder of the historical truth that we belong to a race that became great because of its faith, and I am one of those who believe that though indifference and half-knowledge may at times cause that faith to grow dim it will yet blaze out with all its olden heat and glow.

The paragraph which I wrote the other week anent certain scandalous things .which existed in some public offices has brought me many coinn.linications, not a few of the writers expressing some doubt as to whether I had not exaggerated. I can assure them that if anything I understated the actual facta. When Parliament meets I hope that attention will be. called to the matter, and that the Government will be able to make an official announcement on

the subject. In the meantime a correspondent supplies me with other instances of 1 wrongdoing in the public service which he alleges has come under his notice—of officials who have stolen money and . falsified ' *«oks'and papers and who are still in the Service. If this, be true it is a monstrous f;ft' wrong to the whole Civil Service, which, r.vrith the exception of a few black sheep, is ;■ composed of honest and honourable men, !; and they have a right to demand that the \ : service should be purged of these moral delinquents.

i Our school cadet system is such an admirable and picturesque feature of our i public education methods that I trust Whatever modifications it may have t<

undergo its general character will not bo j impaired. When one sees the schoolchildren of a nation playing at soldiers he May regard its future with eqanimity. I Wliat is the chief end of every patriot i ;To defend his country. And that great ) lesson cannot be learnt too young. Every | ■ schoolboy in New Zealand is learning that I he must bo prepared to guard his country | :; ; from foreign attack, and is thus learning i one of the greatest lessons that the youth of a nation can.be taught. There are other advantages, too. Besides being ; trained in physical culture he is acquiring some of the chief qualities which go to make up character—a sense of duty, obedience, discipline, self-control, and selfreliance. Ido not know what, the military authorities may have in their minds, but I- would advise them very earnestly in.deed to hasten slowly in this matter.

The roadmaking movement now very visible in Auckland emphasises the absence of any Greater Auckland authority. Excellent streets and roads are being laid at a dozen points, but largely lose their value owing to the abominable state of various connecting links. In Wellington the good streets and roads are continuous and make a most favourable impression upon visitors, but Auckland looks like the famous suit of old clothes which the economical housewife patched from a roll of good cloth:

■Here is what a rhyming Southern has to say about Auckland :—

Streets laid out without design, With buildings of all sires, Some in and others out of line, A city of surprise?. Tho roads would make a statue weep, 111 made and cot too cleanly, On which some dirty tramcars sweep Upon their way serenely.

_ The Minister for Railways is about to introduce a reform for which every son of Anak in the Dominion will rise up and bless him. He is going to have the sheets 'and blankets in the sleeping carriages made • longer, so that they will cover the feet of everyone, tall or short. At present they ■ seem to bo made for those who boast no more inches than Napoleon, the result being—exactly, you have guessed it aright. An extra supply of covering on these bitterly cold wintry nights would also bo much appreciated.

The gravity of the problem as to whether or not the legs of an organist should bo screened from public view is fully appreciated by the Auckland musical world. At the Town Hall the pedals are worked in full view ox an audience, which * is not commonly musical enough to be enraptured at the agility displayed. To most of them the frantic gymnastics frequently called for by the complexities of organ-playing are the reverse of graceful and distract attention unpleasantly from the music. But organ-players, lam told, look at it differently. Like those who can read sermons in etones, they can follow with respect and admiration tho most terpsichordic pedal-pressing. They see no- . thing laughable in what to tho uncultured are spider-like antics, and would feel deeply grieved if they were deprived of a .' great educational experience. Under the circumstances it may be best not to screen the organ-seat. Those who don't like to look at tho organist's legs can shut their eyes for they listen only with their ears.

The Auckland City Council has become so well known as a business firm that neighbouring local authorities begin to regard it as a selfish "trust" and are thinking of appealing to the State to establish competitive industries to check its extortions. Does it never occur to those councils and boards who grumble at the- price charged them for water, and are indignant at tho conditions proposed for electric supnly, that they could avoid all trouble by forming a Greater Auckland? Thus they could share in all the extortionate profits supposed to be enjoyed by the city and practically obtain the use of all the city services at cost nrice*