REVELATIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4322, 3 April 1901, Page 3

REVELATIONS

ROVAE CU-M .MISSION SEEN KROM VVITHJ.V. “JOHN, OK NELSON.” T[l£ WAR OK THE CHANTS. HI SCR OS!.'RE OK A HAT TRICK. (I'y a C;inip Followers I’.'.irr 11. It k part of I !:<■ buHvr.ss of the Rov.-i ( omirn.' .j.oi to examine the lino betiv.oi, ihlgreive ;i;irl Non F’s dullv, ■ihn. being (he p ;u ( const meter Ihy the Aiid.lund Railway Coinpanv. Kor (Ilia l'"n>o-.o wo look a. special (rain to Bels.MO'a', a,nr] (here begin an inspection of rails, bolts, ballast arid sleepers. Tho jHS’ial train contained a carriage ivilN !' (usd and second-class compartment. Ibo luniiiT o mil:,; n n,l (Jin Royal CVnii-

• !ii-«ion.!r» ami their suite, while IJn If T t'[* ivos filled '.vil li mo'st (‘Xv'f nialcrial.s far InmJi The door bclweei tbo )■(•!),[iiutmciiis mii,.; I.JI reveal ni:; to a c.anpanv tb.d bad breakfaste; very 'virly a, beautiful array of wellNivni: Imd ha-kilp an.l bottle crates As (bo train 'Triv.’le-J slowly over (In boo in orrliT lo (lonnit 11,0 ofllo'al in--rmotiini tl, 1,0 made, it became obvious tlj.'il, jittcnUoii of flic ConiiH's-ioii■ rrs was bning distracted by something, and tin; Cliairnnin s( crnly' ordorod t be door between flic compartment.', to lie ■■■dint ai’d kept closed. The ncccssarv alt.-ntion was tbns again secured. At a dttlo wayside station a bait bad to ho made fo permit the ordinary train from Motnpiko (which bad not yet put. in an appearance) to pass mir special, MV K{ ,t ou t, anf ( w(T e waiting on (be pla.u'urin, wben one of llm Commissioners - John of Nelson mentioned that there was an orchard bard by. Join) of Nelson, it must be mentioned, was ‘-till within tbo territorial limits of bis constituency, and •while, officially and do juris the' Cliairlean ol the Commission (Roderick Dim) ■was our chief, tbo real do facto man of power and importance in those parts was John himself. There was a Jiandseme touch of (he manorial Seignior about his manner that won rather than commanded obedience, and wben bo was asked whether he could obtain admission for us to (bat orchard, be simply stopped oil witli a confident “come and sec.” Wo bad to walk soiao distance alonp; tbo line, and a.s John rnanthed in iront. like a, Tambour Major, and the remaining twelve followed him at a re-r-i cctful distance, some ef thorn whistling familiar airs in anticipation of the treat to come, tho troop might well bare been nristakou. for a party of Cocik’.s personally conducted tourists on a cheap excursion. The owner of the 'orchard gave one leader such a tvnlcnine as Hie .subject gives tbo true prince. A. few words of explanation were exchanged, and our chief do facto announced, with tho dignity of a Royal proclamation, that the fruit of that 'orchard was at onr disposal. Crapes, apple's, pears, plums, peaches, and all ripe, and all for nothing. What wonder, then, that the whole hungry comTany, including the Royal Commissioners, got into effective positions, with all the promptitude of a fire brigade, and thirteen (or fourteen, including tho Receiver in manner aforesaid), became suddenly silent ns they foil tooth and paw upon tho poor man’s trees. Finally, John of Nelson, from, the verandah nf bis constituent’s house, loudly called off the attack, and assembled th ; party nround him. Then bo made a speech, in which ho almost wholly succeeded in avoiding politics, and while impressing upon our host the distinguished character of the gentlemen who had robbed him, he thanked him with a. wealth of phrase and compliment, which seemed to make the poor man fancy he had been overpaid, and should return tho change. What a fine faculty politicians, have for this kind of h nsoiess, but, then, their speeches I. are often their only ready cash—a kind i of verbal money tender for services ren- I dercid-—a currency which from the excessive puanl itios put in circulation, always' becomes most infernally inflated, i All of which I hasten to say has no kind I of application whatever to our worthy John of Nelson, who is a man of true mcrnl, with a ring of the genuine and ; sincere about him. Wo each added our feeble thanks., and with more than our ■ hearts full, returned to the railway line. Tho ordinary train having passed down, we summoned up our special . and got aboard. The Receiver had greatly enjoyed himself, hut admitted that, in nautical phrase, he felt a little'"out of trim.” A large miscellaneous cargo, it seems, had been shipped rather hurriedly, and the process of finding proper accommodation in the hold, although going on actively, still left a , somewhat embarrassing sens© of being overloaded. Curiously, tho Flimsollmark was still above water, as the facility with which additional shipments were made a little after one o’clock plainly prmed. Onr train started off again, and as I had nothing to do with the work of rail, way inspection, I was able to devote myself fully to the enjoyment of the scenery. Such a day as this, calm, sunny and cloudless, would have made the (Jreariost prospects smile, but here amid the beautiful valleys clothed along the railway track with a wealth of blackberries, ferns, wild flowers and shrubs, and. there on the hillsides and hilltops, with the tall and stately rimu, white pine and birch, the Divine Mother showed us how warm, kindly and beautiful she can present herself in her , summer moods. Few or no traces of man save the iron road on which, we were moving, and silence, sav e for the noise of our train and the murmuring of tire streams. A few hours more of ' weary railway track examination, in which it must he admitted the Commissioners did their duty like soldiers, and then at tho mouth of a long tunnel beyond Belgrove w© halted for the great event of lunch. The solemnity and se. verity of official discipline gave place to chatter and conviviality. In the Finnish language I believe the soul is a kind of stomach, and it has been suggested that the true way to stir and stimulate the social and spiritual side of man is to feed him. This may bo why tho most serious of our Commissioners joined now in the general hilarity, and not only permitted themselves to bo joked at, but even got off themselves a few dignified jokes of discreet age. Perhaps the lunch was a trifle long, or it may bo that Royal Commissioners carry their unfailing habits of thoroughness oven to the table, but bo that as i- may. the energies of tho Commission for tho rest of the day seemed somewhat relaxed. Next morning we drove from Motnpiko to tho Valley of the Sherry with th 0 object of ascertaining the value for the purposes of settlement of the land there served by tbo railway. Tho Commissioners occupied the box scats, while the caulp followers, myself among the number, sat inside. Amid the rattle of the coach I heard fragments of the discussion on the box, “sheep to tho acre.” “cost of clearing,” “ settlement.” “population,” but the general drift could not bo ascertained even if wo had cured to listen, and nobody did. In an insido corner sat the Receiver trying to settle some ..serious difficulty with his lengthy. legs, and persuasively attempting to get: general permission to stretch them di-l agonally right across the coach, to the

discomfort of “Tho Hurricane’’ and a “ Barrister Lost in Bacon.” This permission was resolutely refused, and thereupon tho Receiver began a series of changes of position, in tho course of which his bools spr’med to appear and disappear under ns, all over the floor of that coach, with tho suddenness of Do Wet’s best feat. Tho day was very warm-—the country uninteresting, and tho inside company for the most part sleepy. Someone thought to quieten the Receiver's restlessness by bandin'-’: him the “Odes of Horace” with the remark that it was well-known ho kept nr> his Latin. This was a strategical blunder. The Receiver imbibed a lino at a timo, and then, in a loud voice, and with a reckless disregard of quantities, snouted it at tho company liko a, boy using a. squirt. One of tho lair.Vers suffered keenlv from these quantities, while the other classics in the. coach declared that they hated them like an empty stomach, or an unfilled cun.

A cond deal of banter aud merriment of this kind beguiled this drive of any element of weariness. 11. L. Stevenson has said that the idea] way to enjoy r. tramp is to go alone,, “chacun a, son gout.” To ran tho company one travels with js a more important, factor than tho journey itself, for cheerful com. oanions will make tho hardest sod longest road a pleasure, while in gloorav company or alone a path in Eden would, I fear, soon pal! upon and woary me. It is not expected, indeed, that from tho number of jovial souls working their passage there, perdition itself, notwithstanding tho discomforts of the climate, will bo made distinctly tolerable. Notts verrous; shal Iwe not? T do not wish to imply that the prospects about us as we drove on this

. fresh morning wero really dreary, but ■ th c landscane from Motupiko to the . Sherry Valley has but few prominent features, and not a little monotony of colour, vegetation and configuration. There are, however, pleasant looking farms in small areas here and there along the way, and one is led to reflect upon the struggle these small settlers must bare had to win their homos from the forests, for all the country—and there are miles and miles of it—was but a few years ago in dense hush. If that man is a benefactor fo the race who makes two loaded of grass grow where one grew before, how much do wc owe to those pioneers who have in many parts of this colony converted thc trackless forest into groon fields and cosy homesteads. In tliis battle with nature the light in tho lonely woods goes on far from the applause of crowds or the encouragement of spectators. There are no Victoria. Crosses for its heroes, but they are heroes all the same, and, like tho .yeomanry of Italy who mot and overthrow Pyrrhus twenty-two centuries ago. they make at onco your sturdiest soldiers and your best colonists. Nor is the analogy of such a contest an inapt one, for tho land which lay about us that day might well bo called a battle-ground. On many a hillside, and many a level stretch lay countless fallen blackened trees in all the disorder, dismemberment and positions of the dead strewn upon a dearly-won field; and the battle is still going on with axe and fire. Long and deep are the ranks of the forest that still confront the settlers’ attack, but the assault is unremitting, and conquest moves steadily forward. These men labour late and early, day in and day out, for such poor reward that if it were expressed in terras of a weekly wage it would make a trade unionist put on his coat and go out on strike. But these pioneers know nothing of Eight Hour Bills, of Labour Acts, of labour unions: In the truest sense they are tho producers of their own livelihood, and they prefer to devote to their tasks' their own honest hearty toil rather than waste time in endjess petitions and prayers for the shoulder of Hercules. City life, and more particularly city idleness and luxury, foster most of the imaginary grievances against society which result in communism, anarchism and other pestiveronsisms. The true anodyne may bo seen hero in honest, hearty toil and frugal living. These are the parent of the severer virtues, without which a nation must sooner or later become sapless and decadent.

Our Commission’s inspection of this country was finished about four o’clock in the afternoon, and an hour’s drive brought ns back to the hotel at Motupiko. There we found that we had come into collision with another heavenly body—the “Royal Rivers Commission,” and as two Commissions into one country hotel won’t go, tho overflow of curs had to find accommodation for the night at another inn some miles down the line. The meeting of the chairmen of the two Commissions in the presence cf their respective suites was marked by a somewhat formal and forced affability —Tor few men can harmoniously unite the demands of official dignity with natural bonhomie. Of the two leaders ours appeared- to be “facile prinoeps,” for there is a fine manly bearing about him; much of the front of Jove and the stature of the Herald Mercury; albeit a little on the heavy side for the messenger business. Moreover, he headed a bigger party, and in these democratic days numbers, whether "capata” or “corpora,” count for much. The River Chairman saw that his prestige was threatened, and suddenly disappeared from the throng in front of the hotel. Just as he withdrew I noticed, amid the impedimenta of the Rivers Commission lying outside, a curious hat-box, which I then learnt had for five months followed the Royal Rivers in all their weary wonderings in the wilderness of Central Otago and other goldfields. Its contents, howovr, had only thrice, and then on great; occasions, been exposed to the light of garish day. "While I was getting this information the. box was sent for. and shortly afterwards the Rivers Chairman appeared, his head decorated with a belltopper possessing a singularly long flue. Its g'oss was some what unhealthy looking, betokening a recent application of a wet cloth, but still it was well-pre-served, and might be described as having passed through a well-speut youth into a hale and honourable old age. Nay, its very years lent it and its wearer a dignity which entirely altered the situation. The Rivers walked out and stood beside tho Midland. What a transformation a bat can work. A few moments ago wo were proud of our chairman, though his head was crowned only by an old weather-worn slouch. Now—well, now we were disappointed. Roderick saw how the tide had turned, and tried \ to make every ounce of his physical su-| perioritios tell—but it was hopeless.! That hat was invincible. For a brief space I believe he would have given* his trousers for a belltopper, but the Rivers had the only one within forty miles. Then ho manfully accepted the situation, and when I left with the overflow tho belltopper and the battered old slouch were marching up and down before tho hotel like recently-met affectionate brothers.