Round THE Corners.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 763, 15 October 1886, Page 17

Round THE Corners.

I fail to detect the logic of the argument used by the Benevolent Society when it so emphatically snubbed the Petone man who wanted a little girl to adopt. The Society “tip-tilted” its nose and repudiated any connection whatever with a registry office. And why should you not be a registry office in a pinch, Mrs Society ? Than whom, I should like to know, is the public more likely to succeed in its search after a little orphan girl than through you ? Benevolent Societies are supposed to be particularly acquainted with the shady side of life, and to have at their finger-ends the great majority of distress cases of their respective districts, and having got them there, to be ready to shake them off into any decent apron held out to receive them. In all probability that Petone man had a snug corner in his modest household wherein to bestow a little waif. And yet the Wellington Benevolent Society wouldn’t, or couldn’t, find one for him. Well, all I can say is that, if it couldn't it has lived to little purpose, and if it wouldn’t it has sadly mistaken its vocation.

I call that a foregone conclusion, Mr De Mey. You want to start on a tour of gymnastic inspection in order that you may be able > to give a very satisfactory report to the Education Board at the end of the year. At least, that is what the newspaper report says, and I, of course, write under correction. Why so sure that it would be so very satisfactory ? Had you covered th 9 ground already and knew all about it, or were you prepared to make it satisfactory anyhow ? You will observe what room there is for imputation.

It was a very harrowing tragedy, indeed. Suicide under temporary aberration of intellect; and no wonder. The verdict ought to have been suicide, for which there was ample justification under the circumstances; but, alas, the pity of it 1 A man of a highly nervous and sensitive temperament is charged with an atrocious offence. For the conduct of a schoolmaster who would dare to tamper with innocent girls committed to his charge is atrocious—devilish. But then, did he tamper with them? These kind of charges against schoolmasters are becoming too common, and they are so easily trumped up. No man is safe. And to a man whose past career had been both blameless and creditable, such a charge must be inexpressibly shocking, quite enough to throw his mentality off its balance. In the interests of the living such charges demand the most searching investigation. And the living will not be wise if they do not see that this is done. The suicide of poor Mr Gurr, for I hold him innocent till proved guilty, is something that affects every public school teacher in New Zealand, and the various teachers’ associations ought to take it up and thoroughly sift the miserable business to the bottom. It is true the Auckland Board of Education has recommended that no further action be taken. But to my mind the reasons adduced for this course—some correspondence received—are not sufficiently substantial. The school teachers’ associations had better look to it.

Lei them be paid every grain ef respect that is their due, and a great deal has been placed to their credit by their determined enterprise as early colonists ; still it is quite possible to have too much of a good thing, and people whose entire ideal system is centred in the past, who do not seem capable of grasping the present or forecasting the future, may, just possibly, find themselves very much in the way. The true citizen of the world, the large-hearted broad-minded man, has precious little to do with the past; he has practically buried it; his sympathies are with the present, and his aspirations with the future. And that is how it should be. We may use the past as a sort of sailing direction to avoid certain rocks and shallows in life’s fair way,

and for the purposes of entertaining narrative. But to be everlastingly relating experiences is exasperating. ’Tis as bad as “ toffy for breakfast, toffy for dinner, and toffy for supper.' 1 It reminds me of those grumbling, but going, old salts whose daily psalm of praise was about the last ship they sailed in, or the bombastical gold miner of the old school, whose nightly yarns over the fire dealt with how he “struck it on Ballarat,” and what he “did at Eagle Hawk.” The gold then under his nose was nothing to what he had been burrowing amongst. My allusions in this “ corner ” are to the “ old identity.”

Well, if there is one public servant whom I hold in particularly high esteem it is dear ■old Mr Best. Of course the captious ones will say, “Ah! Asmodeus, you dog, you have been there for cheques, you know you have ; and as the cashier cf the Treasury had nothing but good things to dispense, your liking is all selfishness.” Not quite so, dear boys. I have had a counter signature or two from the precise methodical official, it is true, but there was something else in the cheery voice, the pleasant smile, the bonhomie of the staid grey man that endeared him to all ■of us. I don’t wonder at his brother officials ■cutting up rough because they were excluded from participating in the presentation of that testimonial after they had subscribed to it, and I should like to know in the interests of fair play how it happened. Eor has not someone written to the New Zealand Times complaining about it. And if the charge is true, has not scant justice been done to both subscribers and the subscribed for? Perhaps the head of the Department will deign to explain.

If such a dread ful episod e as the attitude of the man Burrows at the suicide of poor, weakminded Elvin, is a possibility when the present rising generation has charge of the ship, public ■education will indeed have been exercised in vain. Burrows must be peculiarly constituted, .must be destitute of those common instincts •that prompt to the saving of life when the ■saving does not involve personal risk. A man ■will instinctively put his hand out to save .■another from falling, while that same man •might—would, we will say—decline to jump into water to save another from drowning. But that wholesome instinct does not seem to be in Burrows ; he appeared to be under the thraldom of a Dogberry officialism. No, my masters, let him hang till the constable comes ; its the duty of law to cut him down, not ours. Well, happily such hideous cases of deliberation are so very scarce that I do not really remember one other liavingbeen placed on record. Bet us hope the public schoolmaster will educate them off the face of the earth. Meanwhile the rule to save life when ever possible, and tinder every conceivable circumstance, cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public mind. I notice an emphatic disclaimer on the part of Burrows has found publication. But it does seem odd that he should have run out of the bouse in search of a knife. Surely one might have been found within. The police bungled dreadfully in not bringing him forward as a witness at the inquest.

Yes indeed ! And was there not some bungling over the Cook family larceny business! What dreadfully lame and impotent conclusions ! Out of that cartload of evidence, of all sorts and sizes, the police couldn’t manage to secure a conviction ! It was really astounding ! ! Inspector Browne had better shake up his department.

New South Wales is a big colony. It is remarkable for one or two specialties besides the rowdiest Parliament in creation. One of them is a pertinacious Trades and Labor Union ; another is the still more pertinacious and outrageously cheeky delegate from that D mon to the Old Country on the subject of emigration to the colonies —‘ ‘ Which his name it is Norton,” and a very reckless kind of individual he seems to be. Appears to have struck up a correspondence with the affable H.R.H., the British heir-apparent, and absolutely coaxed a reply from that distinguished personage. How Norton will cherish that bit of paper ; bet he 11 make a sort of fetish out of it. That would be just like his sort. Wrote to the Prince of Wales, he did, begging him to discourage emigration to the colonies, anl H.H.H replied averring that he took the deepest interest in the questions raised by Norton. A nice neat way of disposing of the latter. It needs no diviner, nor oracle of Apollo, to convince us of Norton’s partizans'hip, his faithful services to his master, the union, and that he is all wrong. Por emigration to the Colonies is just that which is wanted. We are not at all surprised to hear that New South Wales is in troubled waters The reckless administration of her affairs during the past ten years pointed to no oth°r result. The Welshmen have been burning "the candle at both ends, and like all the other Colonies, are suffering from that curse of Australasia centralisation. And in N.S.W.’s case a good deal of corruption and one-sided politics may be added to this. But if there is one thing more than another that NSW does want, it is a strong inflow of people of the right kind, and there she is in the same boat with New Zealand.

It happened in a wholesale warehouse during overtime, in the mysterious dusk, when objects magnify. There were two of them, and presently one observed to the other “Do you hear anything upstairs ?” Keply-“ Yes, the pattering of feet.” “Go up,” said the first, “ and se e ” “ Shan’t,” curtly replied the second. “Not "oing to get my head broke, if there’s burffiars in it.” And then they fetched a policeman, and presently a procession of three, headed by the “ bobby,” ascended to the upper regions And when the procession got up as far as it could it found two small boys who had been locked in the building by mistake, when the general dispersion at the five o’clock hour took p 1 ace Tableaux— Immense relief of the procession ; boys’ delight at their release, * Asmodeus.