THE OPEN COLUMN.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3706, 5 April 1899, Page 3

THE OPEN COLUMN.

A HOME WANTED FOR INFURIATES. The urgent necessity for such an institution ni this colony is i writes "V iutiemu T again panilully demon.-Aiated o,> Die, terrihh fate of poor demented Geo. \V. Ewart. another victim added to the Inn'" iEt of Ihe down-fallen men of "culture and of highly rasperIsiolo COIIMOCIioIi.S. On JHTiV;-.; i:- the colony at the latter cot of He sixth few had hotel- 'M>R; intimities than tin- di-cea.sfcd, lor under too kind auspice* und influence 01 ins '\vide.y respected uncle, he obtained employment in the secretarial branch of the Customs, wherein so many young and promising lives have been ground down and sacrificed by man’s spleen and inhumanity to man; and Ewan, being of a remarkably un yielding nature, and not very susceptible to good, wholesome advice, tendered most kindly, came necessarily to grid. Thu writer hereof most tenderly advised and succoured him snortly after l.s arrival in Wellington, and earnestly besought him not to cast aside and spurn his dead mother's sister’s affectionate regard, sheltering cure and solicitude. 1 would theren/i e tender too wholesome warning of tho illustrious William oolibett’s advice to youths to a voi‘l cnte:n*g tho Customs branch ol the Cavil bervicc. but rather lice from it and the wrath tr, come, for the Umiptnlicns of evil and espionage in it are like the upas tree, wide-spreading and deadly. Alas, poor George !

MFAN THEFTS AT DAY’S RAY. “F. 8.” writes : —Yesterday' p. party ol fifteen cr more children, v hose ages varied from twenty lo four years, and nearly all little girls, visited Day s Lay for a picnic. Arrived about 11 a.ru., they proceeded to partake of lunch, ail ci which trey ca.reiuily packed the remainder of tho refreshments into one kit. This They covered with jackets, innocently thinking it was sufficient to lade, am! went to the sands to while away tiie time in amusements. On returning a low hours later to prepare for their afterneoii tea before departing on tue itturn journey, they discovered that some contemptible monster diad carried away tluir kr;., leaving them to return homo hungry—some having to go a lung distance after reaching W ellington, between .7 and 8 xnm. I trust, some means n bo found of lousing such evil-eyed monsters to a. sense of justice to such bit) l ones. If they cannot cultivate common honesty and in future provide themselves,' let them descend to the more honourable means of begging. , INNOCENT DIVERSIONS. Writes ‘•JEggshcllcnt” : --1 revelled as a youth in wonder amongst the antiquated lore and musty deposits in the British Museum, and was amassed at their significance. Ascended in imagination with .Sir Charles Coldstream to the di/.v v heights ol iMonnc Vesuvius to kill ennui, and gazed down its yawning, orator, and found nothing in it but steam. Dived deeply into the depths of Fu, yard’s Ancient Nine veil, but found nothing ni I hem but monstrous sph.vnxcs, pu/./.lng symbols, marvellous hieroglyphics. ' Studied incessantly to obtain a cine how it. was possible lor Rrolessor Ovv'cu and,-other antiquarians to construct those fearfully repulsive antediluvian mammoths exhibited at flic Crystal Palace grounds, Sydenham, out ol a. single hone. Travelled sixteen thousand miles to the An I ipod.s, and wondered at Now Zealand ; monstrous ntoa bones, and found many other perplexing projects started to keep tho fossilised game alive; but what struck me with'the greatest amazement, and stili nicks my brains, is the problem — VVTiv cannot our City Fathers be got out of the antiquated ruts they have sunk deeply into, and above all, bow .do tho almoners of benevolence in tins cits obtain such an inflated state of obesity, which tho vulgar characteristically term “bingey” T Is it by ordering the applications of the unemployed “to lay” upon tho table, without the aid of a hoaltuy, well-fed pullet, or any laying bird oi amphibious animal f THE SAMOAN TROUBLE—SQME HINTS TO THE GOVERNMENT.

“An Old Volunteer” writes as follows to tho editor; —Your leading: article of Monday hist, referring to Samoan affairs, will, !i opine, be read with great interest, and the sentiments contained therein will bo endorsed by the groat majority of your readers. Since tho necessity of sending our Volunteers and Permanent Militia to tight the Samoans Ims been, or is likely to be, averted 1 , it may not be out of place to make a fow suggestions re our Government steamers should a contingency arise in tbo near future—from whatever cause —whereby a considerable number of men may be deported from place to place at the shortest possible notice, without tho necessity of' herding them together like sheep in a_ truck. The departure of our permanent force at the late Maori disturbance in tho lar North will bo fresh in the memory of most of your readers. On that occasion well on ;o 150 men were crowded on to the Hincmoa, with no sleeping accommodation for two-thirds of them, and a greater number liad to return in tho same manner, when, with the outlay of a comparatively few pounds sterling, tho whole of them might have been provided with hammocks. Mon can put up with a considerable amount of discomfort through the day, provided they get a comfortable night's rest, which they would all do in hammocks. So I trust you will assist, with your valuable {ion, to Induce the powers that bo to provide and keep in stock, say, 400 hammocks, which would ho supplied for about £l2O. Not a very largo amount considering the groat boon it would confer on those who may he called away at a few hours’ notice, either to fight for our hearths and homes, or for any other important service. I notice in your paper that it was proposed to send some 800 array to Samoa in tho Tntanckip. I presume this was a misprint, and 150 or 200 would ho nearer the mark; but, even so, with no sleeping accommodation for three-fourths of them, those who survived the journpy would not bo in condition for fighting or any other duty on arrival, for, I take it, that none or but very few, are provided with proper raiment for leaving, say, latitude -Iddeg. and running straight, into latitude 12 or ISdeg. They would swelter to death in their present uniforms, and would he very susceptible to tho numerous miasmatic fevers always to bo found in the tropics am! their vicinity, even when every precaution is taken. I, therefore, sincerely hope that the Imperial Cjovcvn moat will decline our proffered services while we are so unprepared to combat climatic influences. Our American cousins have furnished ns with an object lesson in tho many hundreds who left their bones in and about Cuba, from the very same cause. At tin' same time, I say ail honour to our Government and the. Volunteers who so quickly responded at a. time when thev thought they could be of service to the Mother Country. juvenrr,K mspravity.

I sea (writes E. 8.) thorn is another little flutter over tho abnvo subject. Strange, tliis only happens wdien a case eomPi! before the Court ; then a. few air their opinions on the ever existing evil, and a lull comes. I am well aware that a few are ever moving in the desired direction, nut what can they,do ? What I ask is—why do they pot enlist a strong public feeling and approach the Premier -cd enlist, bis powerful aid ? Then something might be expected : and the first stop which would prove of immense

service is to legislate in tbe direction or k>,epiu<f girls of tender acre oli‘ tbe street after a reasonable hour Until this is done, wo may just a's well try to turn over Mount Victoria in one lump into the harnour ss try to check the ov.l. Wnat do thoHM w{..-jso business takes them through or pa.-t oi.r reserves witness during lute hours ‘f Why, youmr girls in sliort dres.-ej, some jiiM entering into their teens, gripped in the eiabrncis of huijo feliov.v, rour.e or .jom in years are old enough to he their fathereven gmud Perhaps we may hr* met by tne old cry, “ Why do not parent ■> heep teem at homo at such times I reply ail respectable parents do, so tar as possible ; but bow many h-*ve to get homo at Into hours from their (inpayment ? Those are the owp *rtnnities which are taken advantage or. Le*visbition must Come, or G«*d only Irnovrs what is before us. Tho Premier would he doing 1 a yood whtTh it is impossible to estimate it he could be induced to take this matter up. -By comparison for £-ood, his old ago pension would lie trifling 1 . It is impossible to conceive why such a vast question is so strictly avoided by those who have tbe power and the right to move, and who proi'ess to have the of the people so much at heart. Should nothing 1 be done during the approaching sossion, let us force each candidate for Parliament to pledge himself to move at the earliest possible moment, t have not road Mr Wilford's letter, but from references to it by other writers f cm fairly £iieas its purport. Mr AVilford will no doubt be a candidate, and is now trimming 1 his sails. Political promises are a drug in the market—dirt cheap ; and some, when seeking the suffrages of the people, are most extravagant in this connection ; but, alas! what is our experience r I will do my little bit towards keep ins? this subject fresh and green (if permitted) until I see reason to relax. This is no party question. Aoy genuine effort to cope with one (ff the gravest questions of the ago will bo hailed with delight Bom one end of tho colony to the other. Unfortunately, the prana in many cases soon gets “full up” of any subject, quite regardless of its importance to the people. How different tho papers treat tho various games and pastimes ; the question of space there is not thought of. I appeal to you, sir, not to shirk your part; your aid is most valuable. In your issue of tbe Ist hist. I see the “ Salvation Army methods tJ come in for some severe strictures, but not, to my mind, unreasonably so. Time will disclose much to us which now is hidden from public gaze; then the cry “ Who would have thought it ?” will be heard.