ROUNDS CORNERS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 936, 7 February 1890, Page 17

ROUNDS CORNERS.

PUBLIC SPIRITEDNESS. Too much cannot be made of exhibitions of public spiritednesa on the part of numbers of the commonwealth who have sucked at her breasts, and prospered. There aresome few good examples, on record, and the last is the action of C. Ik Carter in presenting a collection of vajaable: literature to the Wellington Museum LibraryIt was a handsome donation that is dulyappreciated. The progress of the Wellington Free Library fund must be gratifying to W. Levin, the founder of it. It ia growing apace, and the library is already an almost assured, fact. NO REST. 8 Rest and be thankful ’ is an old aphorism that, however, finds little appreciations now-a-a-days, when the march of progress is dependent upon chronic dissatisfaction. Discontentment is a condition of mental healthiness that is always pushing on, and I should like to know where that man or community would find himself or itself that relaxed the pushing on effort. We have to ‘get’ a 3 the ‘Yanks’ say, and another old aphorism, that used to be in every one’s mouth, finds more fitting application now than ever, ‘ There’s no rest this side of the grave.’ And neither there is. Rich and poor, alike keep on the move, for there is no condition so intolerable as that of vegetating. And to* work right up to the end of life is much to b© desired. The world, mostly now, rei&sta with disdain the idea of an old age of do nokhingism, To me such an idea is repulsive in the extreme. To keep going, right along to the edge of tli® grave or the door of tho crematory, and alm.cn fe literally walk into one or the other, is much to be desired. There are breeds oh horses, notably, the American mus tang, that go till they, d;ro,p, keep up top speed till the last ss. r jsG, and then fall cead in. their tracks, i Thera ia something fascinating in such an ending as that; it is really worth living forThe passing away of my old acquaintance,. Captain Thomas, was an enviable ending. Hs kept on pretty well to. the last moment, and then passed, on, while sleeping, the heart just worn out with seventy-five- years of constant work. But to.be fussed over in infirm old age is npt, to my mind,, a desirable termination of a Useful life. Think I’d rather be pole-axed out of thp. way.

CHRONIC DISSA LTSF ACTION 13 the father and mother of useful re-forms and innovations of all kinds—and there arcplenty of them. Faddism is in volume in the atmosphere, and is sucked in, more or less, by everyone. But some assimilate it mors readily than others, with the inevitable result of proposition propounded. And the fad is own brother to hobby, of which every person ought to have one or more. For hobbies a-e life’s condiments, just'-fi tVour existence. To the

young they are indispensable, and when I see a youngster in his flannels on his way to the boating shed, or cricket held, or tennis court, or with a case under his arm bound to a music meeting, or tackling shorthand with a stoiiu heart, I know that youngster is about all right. And oldsters should have their fads ; why not ? Happy is he who has something in the way of a rooster that he will back against all creation, or whose hens lay ‘ Yessir, almost all the year round,’ and who has a garden, ever so small, that he takes a pride in ; anything that will keep him in touch with home. Preserve us from the curse of * galivanting,’ finding rest everywhere but in the house, but not from finding rest only along the highway of progression. After all a lot isto be learned from hobbies. I know. of a society in this town that is bursting with ’em. The most astounding theories are formulated and discussed, and nothing much less than the regeneration of the planet, as a whole, is the common object. There is a good deal of chaff, no doubt, but not without a fair complement of wheat. A MIXTURE. Something good will come of it all, but I think the advocates of ‘a single tax have their work cut out in the establishing of it, for that means a resolution so thorough, so sweeping, that it must be very gradual indeed if it is fco°sncceed. The radical propositions of the age really take one’s breath away. They are piled one on the other a mile high, and it strikes me are inclined to be crushing. Certainly, there is a tendency to destroy individuality, and to convert society into flavourless uniformity, a dead level of sameness, a lump of uninteresting homogeneousnes3. The State is to be the pater and mater, and ladle out pap all round. Everyone is to share and share alike. This may seem extravagant, but very little short of it is aimed at by the ultra ‘rads’ of the Old Country while, indeed, there is a strong whiff of it much nearer home. But the propounders of all this may be sure that the greater the extremes they go to the surer the conservative reaction will be set up. People of really liberal tendencies shy at the radical scarecrowism, shrink back upon themselves, and keep the spectre at arm’s length. They become conservative, and so the balance of power is (maintained, and rushing madly into extremes avoided. SHAKE HANDS ON IT. The Jubilee muddle has taught us all a lesson, I hope. A lesson to sink extreme local prejudice, and to shake hands all round. A writer in a Southern paper says it is all the effect of provincialism and can’t be helped, but I say that as provincialism has been out of court some few years now, we can help it if we like to try, and could arrive at definite conclusions, as regards certain social fundamentals. There is no radical differencs, psychological or physiological, between the inhabitants of any two parts of the Colony, and they entertain on the whole common objects, and each has something that may be profitably exchanged for something the other has. Also the fable of the belly and its members would be appositely applied to New Zealand if only a common understanding was arrived at as to which part was the belly—that’s just the trouble. Anyhow nobody can deny that there is strength in a bundle of sticks, and that amicable agreement is worth cultivating. Naughty names have been banded about over this Jubilee business, and uncharitableness and intolerance fomented exceedingly. We’ve got to put an end to this matter, ’twon’fcsuit the camp at ad, and if the vigilance committee were worth a cent ’twouldn't have happened much. But the vigilance committee is almighty . small beer, anyhow, can’t see an inch beyond it’s nose, and doesn’t lead the people as it ought. If it had we would have all hurrayed together on one Jubilee Day. Well, it is never too late to mend, and iE a good lead is taken now, tha\ and one or two other little differences will be amicably adjusted. A RIGHTEOUS PROCLAMATION. I notice by the Gazette of last week that seagulls have been brought within the provisions of the Animals Protection Act, but only those of the Auckland District. This is rather rough on the Auckland people, for the implication is apparently very plain, and is nothing less than wanton destruction, confined to the Northern District, of one of the most of sea birds H this is so, the Northern district may well hid® its head. But I sbonld be sorry to think this was true, while at the same time the action of the Government in protecting the birds is to be commended. But why was not every part of the Colony included in the proclamation ? The poor sea-birds are made game of by every callous sportsman from North to South. REAL GOOD OF HIM. Awfully complacent of Mr .1. M. Larnach to -offer to stand for any constituency that might --ial" bitn. (See telegram from Dunedin.) The minis just giving himself away out of sheer Kore of country. Now then, fellow.-, don t all speak at once. ■ TWO AND TWO Cable news from one side of the tlantic Oc»!»n tel! of t:is wreckage of an Atlantic iron st 4ner cast upon the shore, and cable news from th* other side of that -me cv-e m informs (lie .-trainer Erin from New York is long overdue, and it is feared has foundered. The two messages together give the true facts of the case I should say. Asmodeus.