ROUNDS THE CORNERS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 907, 19 July 1889, Page 17

ROUNDS THE CORNERS.

The highest rank in great Britain, Bext to royalty, has adopted the strawbersy leaf a* one of its symbols, and, for the- purposes of illustration, I shall make further use of the plant that bears a veritable regal berry, and liken the Mother Country to it In connection with colonisation. The Mother Country grew upon itself and.' produced quantities of the higher kinds of' humanity, in arses* in arts, in song* m science, and in mechanics,, and then propagation proceeded. Runner® were, thrown out, from which depended’ tiny plantlets that put down roots in. congenial soil, and commenced, growth ora their own account, but still drew some sustenance from the parent root. Now, with the strawberry, the connection with the parent root ceases.as soon as th,e offshoot can grow alone. And so with colonising. A time must come when the vigorous offshoots of a great nation, like the British, must stand alone. And this is exactly what is happening to the only colonies of the world worth the name—the British*. They are standing almost alone, but yet are. knit by bonds of sentiment, sympathy and commercial relations with the Motherland; Theblood stUl tells, and will long continue to tslS, perhaps for as long as the English; language is spoken. But special and peculiar care will have to be taken to bring this about, for It will be found that the aim is one most difficult of attainment*

There & already the germ of Antr'ifc-Saxon anfl a strong germ, teo, spite of the ravings t>t agitators and malcontents with the dry Vot of sedition in their joints. To promote the growth of that germ, to encourage and. maintain its vigour is the task that has been-, already set for the doing. As is generally thecase in the pursuit of all great objects, the* efforts at first are uncertain and cluiL&y. A. primary mistake to be avoided is too much# haste ; the position cannot be stormed out of hand, but must be patiently sapped, and them it is to be taken at all it will be taken for all time. And the sapping process must consist in enlisting the adherence of the great, bulk of the people, the people who hold thevoting power, and make the laws, not the few? weighty ones who, having succeeded in loading: themselves, with wealth, roll off to the Mother Country to spend it and shabbily tnrn from the breast from which they have sucked their profit. Such people are of very little account in considerations so high as Anglo-Saxon unity, or, to use the current phrase, Imperial Federation.

Special effort?, if wisely directed, wifi be of;’ value. But not such efforts as that which--sent Sir Bcmer3 Vine spinning through the. colonies and interviewing Chambers of Com»-i

inerce. Efforts of that kind must have much broader aims for the purpose ot bringing the people of the various countries together. And once make the people understand that a strong Federal bond would be to their mutual interest and the end will be gained. Ido believe that much good would come of apostles from the Old Country preaching the doctrine of Federation, but they must bo apostles to the people, not to any particular class ; apostles that would come to stay for a while, apostles bearing credentials from the bone and sinew of the land "they came from, Trades’ Unions, Friendly Societies, Working Men’s Clubs of the Motherland talking to the same institutions in the far removed lands where kindred speech, manners and customs prevail. That is what would materially aid the cause, hut, above all else, is the leavening the youth ot the colonies with some reverence, some respect, some love for the Mo therland of their immediate progenitors.

And there need be no npology for doing this, but abundant reason can be shown for such a course. There is nothing so good for raw and presumptuous youth as to place it face to face with heroic deeds, great accomplishments, genius, talent, which are of itself, and yet do not belong to itself, and thus bring out in strong relief its own. littleness. Yet that there is something which, by virtue of birth, of con. sanguinity, it may, if it likes, claim as its own. 1 think the curriculum of our State schools would be vastly improved if it brought the scholars into close relation with all that is best and noblest and most useful of the Mother Country, that there should be a special line of study in this direction. The old classics are good, for they educate in this direction, but much better would be a distinct line of English classics created for the occasion paid carefully inculcated. Moreover, Latin is not taught in the State schools, and hence the great bulk of the children are not brought face to face witbtbe past by the aid of systematic teaching. I have no doubt, whnrever, that the classics played a uot ir (important part iu the formation of British character, but it was the classical alone that then presented a grander record than anything British.

Now this is all changed, and it must be allowed that, bar architecture, there is no record so grand as that of the British. The achieve ments of Eome and Greece dwarf by comparison. Our conquests by force of arms are greater and reach further, and our scientific and mechanical conquests are incomparably greater. We have a record that any Anglo-Saxon youth may well study with pride and bow to with reverence. For almost the whole earth is his and the fullness thereof. Let the Anglo-Saxon only be true to himself, and now as when ’twas written, the four corners of the earth in arms shall not ‘ shock ’ him. These are the ideas to plough into colonial youth. Give them a past to be proud of and make them proud of it, and inspire infinite hope of the present and future ; give free scope to their au lacit3 r . But whilst linking them to the past, helping them to recognise the good policy of being connected with it iu bonds of mutual sustenance, cultivate to the highest the primary duties of love of the country of their birth, the purest of patriotism. That to him, or htr, should he above all. The youth of bo'h sexes ought to exult in their birthright and elevate thesentiment to the zenith, develop ing to the uttermost the good that comes of autonomy, self-reliance, persisted of purpose, wise and careful administration, and independence of thought, word, and deed ; that is,an independence always under the control of just consideration.

The ends of the’federation, that I fervently hope will be accomplished some day, the federation, of all people of Anglo-Saxon speech, will be much served by free intercourse. The ends of the earth are drawing closer together year by year, and in the not very distant future will nearly be in touch. That is, I venture to predict, England and New Zealand will be within a week of each other, and if satisfactory fiscal arrangements can only be brought about, federation will be then accomplished. Forms of Government are only means to an end—tlio happiness and well-being of the people. What care wa whether the head of cur Government here is a patrician of the Empire or is elected by ourselves, providing we are all the time solving the problem of the greatest good to the greatest number of the men, women and children which constitute the New Zealand community ? That, indeed, is the gist of the whole matter, not the interest of a.few vi-sUrt* and ingrates, but the welfare of the whole peop’e, the raising of the masses towards sa, higher and better and more useful plane, tend fu-iog the whole mass of the people of the ?Kim pi re in on irresistible combination for certain purposes hereafter to be determined.

The motives of the most lion, member for the Dons tan in connection with that Private School* Bill are patent enough : in fact, he does not cloks them, that is some of them, and yet 1 can perceive in that Bill a great deal more virtue that does the versatile parent of it. For if It were only possible to devise machinery, fry the aid of which the spirit as w-dl as the letter of the. enactment would find effect, the Bill would be an unmixed ble-s-ing to the country by relieving congestion of State education. The cost of edu-.athm is a very serious matter, and if because of religions, or Sl ijy other scruples, a section of the people * ould contribute directly to the cost of educating their children, a very gr at gain to the t-tnte iv.>u'd result, providing the system of •education prescribed by the State were faithfully adhered to. But would it be adhered to, and would it be possible to devise any system of inspection by which adherence would be compelled ? This, lam afraid, is the lion in the path of the Private Schools Bill. The people are suspicious, ‘and not unjustly, of possible consequences, and hence their unwillingness to try the experiment so persistently proposed,

Collective wisdom of the country in that Parliament House, indeed ! Fiddle-de-dee and fiddle sticks end and all the rest of it. There are a lot of singularly shallow wits among ’em. And the worst of it is the shallowness too often takes adestructive form, is given to breaking in pieces with never a hint as to reconstruction. ‘ Let well alone ’ is not to their mind, but a monkeyish, mischievous desire to be meddling and unmaking, merely for the sake of posing as possible reformers. I think there should be a standing order of the House prohibiting any member from proposing the abolition of anything unless he is prepared to replace it with something better, and to demonstrate, there and then, conclusively that it is better.

The issues of life and death are solemn considerations. One has just been decided in the grim sentence of death passed on Chemis in the Suureme Court for murder. The concensus of opinion is that he did kill Hawkings, but that the evidence against him was weak, And that it was weak may be placed to the debit of police account. The action of the police at the outset was of the weakest, and at times, puerile. Take for instance, the revolverpractice at a rock when members of the force were on a most serious errand, the investigation of an atrocious crime ! And then the indifference displayed in collecting evidence immediately after the crime was discovered. The unaccountable laxity wore a criminal aspect. Public confidence in the police as public protectors has been shaken by the incidents of the Hawkings’ murder.

The Upper Cnamber has signalised itself in passing the Newspaper Libel Bill through the throe stages, and really sent a useful measure down to the Lower House. Opposed, as I am, to undue freedom of the press, I can see nothing in the Bill to take exception to. It merely gives the newspaper press of the Colony fair play. But the most taking of all its clauses, to my mind, is that one introduced by Mr Shephard, making speakers at public meetings responsible for their utterances. Heaps of libel and scandal are talked at public meetings, and hitherto the speaker has occupied a comparatively safe position, and the newspaper that reported them has had to suffer. Mr Shephard put the saddle on the right horse in that clause—a bit in the mouths of public speakers at the same time. If the clause is net struck out, public, speakers will henceforth have to govern their unruly tongues—give up the cowardly habit of pot-shotting from behind cover.

The introduction of drag-hunting at the Hutb has raised doubts among some of the worthies there as to the meaning of the term ‘drag.’ An amusing explanation was given by one to the other on interrogation, ‘ Drag ? Why, don t you see the Governor is a very bad horseman, can’t ride much, and so just to suit him they are going to do the hunting in drags !’ And the other was satisfied with this, and went home to prepare to harness up. Fact !

One of my old chums up country Writes thusly and prettily at the same time. ‘ A wise mother who believed in the bracing power of self-denial, asked her little girl and boy to give up sugar during the season of Lent. They agreed to do this, and for two whole days drank their morning and evening beverages unsweetened. Then, it seems, they consulted over the matter, for the little daughter formed a deputation of one to the mother, and said, ‘ We don’t like things without sugar, so instead, mother dear, we will use for the whole of Lent; that will be giving up something won’t it.’ Another fact !

Perhaps the next Hunt Club run at the Hutt will bo conducted on proper lines. If it must be a drag hunt, lay the scent in time—two or three hours beforehand —give the hounds proper law, and not ride over 'em before the first fence ia reached. And the distance. Well, make the run worth the name. But why have a drag hunt when there are plenty of hares about. A good jack hare would be worth riding after and would impart some reality to the affair. People who really know how to ride to hounds had, perhaps, better keep away for a time or two and let the new chums pull themselves together and learn a bit, it’s live and learn in hunting as in everything else ; learn to ride in a ruck without colliding, and to avoid the dogs.

Still my cry is New Zealand for the New Zealanders, and a plague on all who would breed mischievous differences among us. What have we to do with Old World social schisms, Irish or other. Let the Home Buie question be discussed and settled where it found inception. Shame on the day when the nitric acid of its bitterness and hate falls upon and sears us of this land of promise. My advice to both old and young New Zealand is to let the accursed thing severely alone. We have enough, and more than enough, of our own troubles and factions to engage our attention, and tax, to almost past bearing point, our fortitude and wisdom. Anything so extraneous as Irish Home Rule should be placed very far outside our own Home questions. To meddle with it sentimentally would be the acme of folly. To meddle with it because it happens to come in the way would be idiotic, and to touch it for political expediency • would be traitorous and rascally. Let it alone, mates, that’s my word to you, People who come here to breed strife ought not to be welcome. Asmodiojs.

For removing dandruff, Ayer’s Hair Vigour has no equal. It restores faded and gray hair to its original colour, stimulates the growth of the hair, and gives it a beautiful, glossy, and silken appearance.