A LITERARY CORNER

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7027, 15 January 1910, Page 9

A LITERARY CORNER

BOOKS. (BY "LIBEK.") *ND\V ZEALAND TN EVOLUTION; Industrial. Economic, and Political. By Guv "11. Scholefield. Witli a" Introduction by the Hon. William Pmuber Reeves. Loudon: 1. Usher Umvia. Of tho manv books on Scr Zealand, which have boon published during the Inst few years, -Mr Scholefield s is the first to deal specially and exhaustively with tho subject of the Dominion s economic evolution. Much, perhaps a little ■ too much, has been made of. various phases of New Zealand's political notary. The native troubles and wars, too', havo been recorded in almost wearisome detail Tho superb scenery and one climatic conditions of the country have been the theme of several writers, and our legislative experiments have also been discussed by various visiting journalists and literary men. At first sight it might appear there was surely no need for yet another book on NewZealand, but Mr Scholefield gives us most convincing proof that such an idea is tiuito erroneous. He has -planned and carried to a very successful completion a work which is not only on original lines, but from the pages of which even Now Zealanders may learn much that will come fresh and new to them. Mr Scholefield's special task has been to write a history of-Now Zealand's economic evolution. lie has endeavoured, ha says, and we may add, has successfully endeavoured, to trace the origin and growth of the social and industrial system of the Dominion and tho operation of those laws by the enactment of which Now Zealand has gained the title of tho economic laboratory of the world. Whether theso laws constitute an advanced form of Socialism, whether Socialism in this form is desirable or not, must- bo loft, he says, to the student to judge, but the author -wisely points out that in the making of that iudgment, the student "will not overlook the fact that tho advanced democracy of New Zealand co-exists with a self-respecting passion of Imperialism so strong and 60 Bpontaneous that it bas more than once prompted the whole Empire to united action/'

The special feature of the book is dt<» discussion of the industrial history and present position of the Dominion, tut this is prefaced, and after all. necessarily so. by a description of the country a. brief but succinctly written account of the, fight for British sovereignty and a record of the political development of the country from the time provincial Government was first established to the introduction of centralism and the institution of -what is practically a national Parliament.' In separate chapters the author describes the timber industry—duly lamenting the profligacy with which New Zealand has -wasted so large a proportion of -what ought to have long continued to be a valuable national asset; the start, growth, and temporary decline of the flax industry; and also describes the various minincr enterprises in which the colonists have been engaged. The wool and meat industries are also the subjects of carefully written disquisitions, permeated by elaborate statistical tables, and to the dairy industry also many pages are devoted.. It is, however, when we reach that section of the book which deals with the varying phases of the labour question, from 1870 to the present day, that New Zealand readers will be more deeply interested in what Mr Sohoiefield has to say. After recording and explaining the Vogel policy of development by means of large loans and an extensive system of railway construction and public works generally, and giving a consecutive, and carefully, and, on the whole, very accurately written account of the land "breaking up" and settlement policy initiated by the Ballance-McKenzie Government, the author proceeds to" deal with labour organisations, labour disputes, labour laws, labour conditions, and the relative positions of employers and employed as New Zealand has known them since 1890.

For the three chapters alone in which these questions are discussed the book well deserves to be carefully read, not only by English and other people outwide the Dominion, who would fain understand the genesis, the progress, and the general effect of the labour legislation by which the country has become so widely known to students of economics, but by all New Zealanders who desire to possess a really coherent and comprehensive grasp of such legislation and the history of its introduction and development. Mr Scholefield does not fail to point out what is frequently forgotten, namely, that when the Arbitration Act was introduced it virtually marked a-dual alliance, "Arbitration and Protection." At first the protected industries were chiefly affected, but when the raising of wages had. necessarily, to be followed bv the raising of prices, the tariff "had to bo invoked to raise the wall higher and make the enclave secure again for local manufacturers." This, savs the author, "has actually happened, not once or twice, within the last Few years, with the full concurrence of Parliament and people, and with only u few hesitant voices to call it vicious." The following extract will serve to show that Mr Scholefield can state a position very fairly and accurately:— - . Mindful of the terrible depression of the eighties. New Zealanders are at present quite willing to pay high- . 'er tlian Free Trade .prices for the sake of protecting their own industries from foreign competition, and *hey console themselves .with the reflection that the cost of living, ex- ■ cept perhaps for the low-class worker, who is a feature of the English industrial towns, is cheaper in New . Zealand than in England, and much cheaper than in' America. On the other hand, they are forbidden to look forward very hopefully to the growth of their industries beyond the needs of the home market. Unless ;6ome great trade depression intervenes, and the price of land,falls headlong—the last thing to be desired—the cost : of production.and of living must apparently continue to rise, and the time must come when the tariff barriers cannot possibly be raised higher. At the same time, the product of New Zealand industries lias not yet nearly reached the limit imposed by the homo market, and possibly by the time it does the population will have so increased as to enable the cost of production to be considerably Jowered by specialising. In the meantime all increases in the cost of production, whether caused in a perfectly legitimate manner by the action of the industrial courts, or in a questionable manner ny manipulation of tho tariff, must be recouped from the people of New Zealand,

We are somewhat surprised, however, to find Mr Seholefield telling his readers that

The immigration of men has been, quite inadequate to fill the vacancies in industries, chiefly _ because the workers of the Dominion, misled by false and selfish economic, ideas, have always opposed tooth and nail any movement on the part of the Government to encourage men of their own class to come to the country. In this respect Protection has been carried ad absurdum, and .the industries of tho Dominion are feeling the effects.

Mr Seholefield is here very far from the truth. There may be, it is true a temporary lack of labour (in tho conn-

try districts at special and brief seasons of tho year) but we question very much whether one simile manufacturing industry in New Zealand could be found that is "suffering from any lack of labour. The verv contrary is. wo are only too much afraid the case. Mr Scholefield sketches at length, and, on tho whole, -villi fairness and accuracy the history oi the Conciliation Boards and the Arbitration Court, and his account of such comparatively recent happenings as the slaughtermen's strike, the . Auckland Tramways strike, and the fining ot the Blackball coal miners, constitutes a valuable record of these events. State Activities" is the title of a chapter in which the charge that New Zealand is a Socialistic State is very neatly disposed of. The author considers that at the end of tho eighties if "labour had been able by organisation to work independently of the Liberal, party in politics Now Zealand might indeed have gone to" the extremes of Ited Hag Socialism." He says :

As it happened, labour formed an alliance witli tho Liberal party, and with its help the Liberals were returned to power. By this instrument labour obtained the palliatives it desired. But the Socialism of tho Labour party, crude and extreme as a propaganda usually is, was kept in rigid check. Tho Governments of Ballance and Seddon set their faces steadfastlv against State Socialism for its own sake. They wouM entertain no proposal that did not have its origin in an honest desire to check a. pressing abuse. :. Seddon. m particular, as the leader of the party when its strength gave him tho position of an autocrat, time after time refused point-blank to entertain the suggestions which wero made to him almost every month that the State should step into the arena and operate some now industry or purchase some new utility.

"State Eailways and Government Managements," "A Country of Engineering, "Some Industries : Subsidiary, Protected, and Coddled." "Shipping and Trade, "Interchange and Markets, Protection and Monopolies," are amongst the title headings of other chapters, tho book concluding with an examination ot tne economic position of the Maori race. The book is brim full of statistics, skilfully tabulated and kept well up to date. Tho author seems to have missed no point that is pertinent to his subject, and although here and there an attitude of greater detachment, as it were, would have been an advantage the 4™™ to be scrupulously fair and to give both sides of a political or industrial q uestion upon which opinions differ, is most aSreeahly noticeable. The Hon. TV. P. Beeves contributes an introduction, and a special and admirable feature of the work is its wealth o£ illustrations, the majority of the pictures being descriptive of the various industries referred. to by the author. A comprehensive index is another excellent and very welcome feature. Mr Scholefield must bo congratulated upon having produced a work of the highest importance and value to all who would study the questions he deals with. The book is well printed, and misprints are so few that a specially bad one—on page 192 where the "legislation of 1822" is spoken of, instead of 1892-eomes rather as a Joke than as a grievance. In a. second edition this, of course, should be corrected. ' AT THE SIGN OP THE LYRE "THE SHEPHERD : A Book of Ballads and Songs." By Herbert Arthur Morrah. London: George Allen and Sons. 3ir Morrah is a poet who attempts hi"h flights and often succeeds His verses reflect various, moods and emotions, but the prevailing effect is one oia dignity which approaches almost austerHv. The world is not what he would have it be, but he is no pessimist. Faith in a Creator who, to him at least, appears all beneficent; a patient acceptance of what Pate has m store for us, accompanied by that constant striving after the right and good which should make reward well deserved; a reliance upon spiritual comfort rather than material welfare—these are all part of his moral scheme. The poems vary m merit as they do in metre. There are at times a-.vagueness and a sense of incompleteness both in thought and poetical expression. But one rises from a perusal of the forty or so separate pieces with a feeling of deep respect for .the author s outlook and his hopes and ambitions, for the betterment of nations and individuals A rare and fine achievement is "The Gates of Chirysophase,' wherein the author pictures a crowd of pititul figures, once, maybe, sinful but longsufferin" mortals, waiting outside the heavenly portals, and crying in vain for entrance, until a little child appears : With radiant air he came and'certain His P form full fair, stainless his very guise, . Passing with joyous triumph in i his face. . ... ~ . . He touch'd the-harrier, with dinning grace Of knowledge in his eyes. Whereupon, the gates fly open, and : A thousand .phantoms, worn to shadows faint: , , , Weary of the wild • waste of human Sick of the wanton passion of dead days, And conscious of their taint, Pass in, led by the child. .... unstain'd of hate or sin. Patriotic, but verv far removed from "Jingoistic," is Mr Morrah There is the right 9wing in his TJurlston Bay. Sunset over the hills, and far at sea One ship, a living mark, sighting the land. Hails us to measure what her strength may be. t How master'd and how maim d. 'Tis England's flag she flies: England s, whose charge . Rises beyond the dim world s widest marge, And keeps our future free! Sunset over the sea gives answer fair, Sunrise shall gild the shore with one reply—"ln that vast England of the brighter air, The sunlight cannot die. What we hold fast is all the wide world's gain;. What we hold not, let other hands retain If Freedom flourish there!" Ay, Freedom! To hold the Cross still o/er the Crown — Though "half the world take vengeance for a text— So pledge your faith, 60 charter your renown For this life and the next. And they who ventured lamely in the fight. Longing, shall watch you from tho li9ts of lights Until the last sundown.

In "Else, •Greater Light" there is an appeal to the country to eschew pessimism and to merit success by a national spirit of courage and righteousness.

Shielded, enpanoplied, sure of her honour, Proud in the children she bears at her •breast. Worthy the love that.they lavish upon her, Blessing and blest.

As it is written, displacing the evil, As it is written, desiring the good. So that the force and the scorn of the devil May bo withstood.

Thus let it be: and though trouble, though passionSpite of her wisdom, her courage, increase— Lies past this transient world and its fashionUltimate peace.

"A Dreamer's Venice" is a spirited apologia for the so-called "dead city, and championing of its never dying beauty.

ITere. if labour lags a little, here, if tires the spirit soon, Time is short as glass is brittle—wo enjoy life's afternoon; . Quickly fall the evening shadows, night sinks down on the lagoon.

So your hand, sir, met and nations are but accidents of birth. What if those your desolations wide you spread and far your dearth, Venice rests the great protectress of the beauties of the earth.

Our final quotation from a book in which there are many boautiful lines shall be from a set of verses entitled "The Bells of Bromley Village .:

Bells of Bromley Village! Chime, as you chimed of old, Ere the new world came to taunt you And nothing on earth could daunt you From ringing the age of gold!

A gentle whisper at evening, At morning a cheerful chime, And always a mellow completeness To tincture with sound and with sweetness The falling waters of time.

Mr Morrab's verse should find many admirers amongst New Zealand readers. It may not be of that highest quality which we associate with the name of, sav, Mr William Watson; it has little of the vigour of Mr Newbolt's or Mr Noycs poetry, but it is sane and wliolesome, and for the most part imbued with a dignity which must make strong and successful appeal to the cultured taste. (Price 55.)

'THE BOOK OF CUPID: Being an anthology from the English Poets. With, twenty-three illustrations by Lady Hylton. and an introduction by Henry Newbolt. London -. Constable and Co.

"Dainty" is an adjective much abused, we fear, nowadays, but never could it be applied more properly than to this prettily bound and most delightfully illustrated anthology. Love is the one subject, the one motive power, which never grows old,'and as Cupid is the outward embodiment of tho passion in all its phases, this collection of poems, in which his arts, tricks, devices, and conquests are celebrated, was a very happy thought. In an Introduction, which is gracefully and humorously written, Mr Newholt asserts that Cupid is a native of South-Eastern Europe, and came to us from Ancient Greece. Chaucer first introduced the mischievous if cherubiclooking god to England, and Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Elizabethans followed in the steps of the author of "The Knight's Tale" and "The Legend of Good Women." Mr Newbolt makes an ingenious defence of the Elizabethans, concerning whose "abuse of amorous fancies and far-fetched conceits" Charles Lamb, and, in these lateivdays, William Watson, have been so eloquently scornful, and frankly' admit that the days when Cupid was "a very animated shade and often something more," are now past, it would seem irrevocably. All the more reason, contends the author of "Admirals All," for gathering up the record of hia achievement, and above all, for securing its most fitting commemoration by "a tender and imaginative art such as that by which these pages.are adorned.'' In these last few lines is a graceful tribute to the charm of Lady Hylton's drawings. It is a tribute which is well deserved, and merely anticipates that which cannot fail to be expressed by all who turn over the pages of this charming little volume. Reproduced, apparently, from pencil drawings, the pictures represent Cupid in every conceivable posture and occupation. It we have a fault to find it is that the central figure is too uniformly "pretty," and that the face lacks that archness, and the eyes that twinkle of mischief which we associate with the artful little god. But for the figure-draw-ing, Und that of the backgrounds, and the general accessories, we have nothing but praise. The designs exhibit a great wealth of imagination. Stothard or Kate Greenaway never drew pictures more in.stinct with tender grace. For its pictures alone the book is worth buying—and preserving—but as a collection of some of the choicest gems of English poatry—chiefly lyrics—it deserves the popularity it will no doubt achieve. An index of authors—including several whose works are rarely met with in anthologies—and an ilidex of first lines will be found very useful. (Price 4s 6d.) WRITERS AND READERS (BY "LIBEE.") Personally, "Liber" is old-fashioned enough to dislike the idea of anyone writing humorous books on the subject of an after life, but Mark Twain's latest satire, "Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven." seems to be so innocently mirth-provoking as to induce me to waive my prejudices. Mark appears to have written the book with the idea of satirising the pictures of heaven painted by well-meaning but foolish preachers of various religious American sects. I am glad to notice a hard hit at that vulgar money-grubbing, selfadvertising fellow, Talmage, who visited New Zealand a few years ago. Sandy McWilliams, Captain Stormfield's adviser and friend, is supposed to be speaking :

For instance, there's a Brooklyn preacher by the name of Talmage who is laying up a considerable disappointment for himself. He 6ays every now and then in his sermons that the first thing he does when "he gets to heaven, will be to fling his arms round Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and kiss them and weep on them. There's millions of people down there on earth that are promising themselves the 6ame thing. As many as sixty thousand people arrive here every single day that want to run straight to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and hug them and 'weep on them. Now mind you, sixty thousand a day is a pretty heavy contract for those old people. . . .

They would be tired out, and as wet as muskrate all the time. What would heaven be to them? It would be a mighty good place to get out of —you know . that yourself. Those are kind and gentle old Jews, but they ain't any fonder of kissing the emotional highlights of Brooklyn. than you be.

The latest book of French Memoirs is "The Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino," the witty and accomplished niece of the famous—or infamous ?—Talleyrand. Talleyrand brought his niece with him when he came to England to represent France at the Court of St. James's in the thirties of the last century, and the Duchesse has a good deal to say of contemporairy: English celebrities. She liked tho Duke of Wellington for his simplicity, his (treat common sense, and his good manners. In conversation one day the Duke told the Duchesse of his acquaintanceship with Madame de Maintenon, and how that lady once said that what she liked most in the world to hear was a declaration of love. She was so elderly, and so ugly, that the Duke could not help replying: "Yes, when you can be sure that it is genuine." Lord Palmerston's masterful way in foreign politics, of course,.did not please tho Duchesse de Dino, and she .can find

nothing too hard to say against him — as, for example: :

I looked at him closely yesterday. It is seldom that a man has,a faco so expressive of his character. The eyes are hard and pale, the- nose turned up and impertinent. His smile is bitter, his laugh forced. There is no dignity, or frankness, or correctness either in his features or his build. His conversation is dry, but. I confess, not wanting in wit. He has on him a stamp of obstinacy, arroganco, and treachery, which I

believe to be an exact reflection of his real character. Nor did the Duchesse care very much for either Lord Brougham or Lady Holland, but Sir Robert Peel appears in a favourable light. Lord John Russell is described as "the mildest, wittiest, and most honourable of Jacobins; the most simple-minded and-the most candid of revolutionaries, the most agreeable, but also, by reason of his virtues, the most dangerous of Ministers." The DjicKess tells an amgsins story, of

the Marchioness of Salisbury, of that day:—

Last Sunday she was at church, a rare thing with her, and the preacher, speaking of the Fall, that Adam, excusing himself, had cried out, "Lord, the woman tempted me." At this quotation Lady Salisbury, who appeared not to Have heard of the incident before, lumped up in her seat, saying: "Shabby fellow, indeed I"

Queen Victoria, as a girl of fifteen, impressed the French lady very pleasantly both as to appearance and as to her disposition— ber expression was sweet and kindlv," and her manners perfect; she will one day be agreeable enough to be almost pretty." The Duchesse includes a very well-known 6tory about old Samuel Rogers, the poet. Someone asked him why he never opened his month except to speak evil of his neighbours. He replied: "1 have a very weak.voice and if 1 did not say malicious things I should never be heard." Hie book is published by Heinernann.

"Eeminiscences of a K.C.," by Thomas Edward Crispe, of the Middle Temple, is published by Methuens, and contains some good stories. Regarding Lord Chlei Baron Kelly. Mr Crispe tells the following story of Mir Wharton, who afterwards become mildly famous as a member of the "Fourth Party" and used to take a ferocious delight in helping Lord "Eandy" to • block. Mr, Gladstone s Bills'.

He was an inordinate snuff-taker, arai in caricatures in ' "Punch was always depicted with a big snuff-box and a huge bandana, in the use of which in court he made an unseemly noise. One dav in the Baron s Court he had been extra .vigorous, and after an explosion of unusual violence the poor judge, writhing, lifted his hands, and in a tone of pathetic expostulation uttered, "Mr Wharton ! Mr Wharton I" The aggressor, thrusting his handkerchief into his pocket, said "My lord, I will retire to another place where I may blow my nose in peace '■"

Another judge, the late Baron Cleasbv, had, says Mr Crispe, two peculiarities. One was that he never spoke on argument unless when absolutely necessary ; the other was a cuirious trick of automatically moving his head as if in dissent. Hence the following assize anecdote :

It is related that a farmer took his son into the Crown Court; on the bench was Baron Cleasby, gorgeous in scarlet and ermine, statuesque and motionless. The yokel Raped with open mouth, -as he gazed at the resplendent, figure on the raised dais Suddenly the Baron moved his head from right to left and left to right. "Whoy, feyjther," said the boy, 'its ..aloive!".,,.He thought it was a waxwork. -...''

Judge Bailev, of; the,, Westminster County Court, was nearly ninety when Mr Crispe tried his last case before him. On that day his summing-up. to a jury was the most, laconic .Mr Crispe - ever heard:—;'-,.:. . -,:. -.'-" •'

"Gentlemen, I don't know what you think, but if you think .as I think vou will find a verdict for the plaintiff.". The foreman (of a very common jury) immediately responded: "We does,.your honour, unanimously." ! ■ ' , ■

Mr Commissioner Kerr > was a terror to the young counsel ' at) the Central Criminal. Court . "personal in his remarks and occasionally offensive." A display of jewellery' would put him in a fever:— ■ ';:'.' f >

"What have you got there, sir?" he would eay.in a broad Scotch accent. "What have you dangling from your waistcoat? A gold chain, is it,

and a watch? Eh, sir! put it away, cover.it up; this is not the place for a display, of trinkets." .:,,-'.:

Mir Crispe has'. something to say of the average chances.of success at the English bar. He says the. Bar "is one of the most delightful of avocations," but it is no use a man going to it .'[unless he has a 'very strong constitution, a vigorous physique, an independent income, the' higest ability, and, above all, plenty of ' patience." As to this lastmentioned qualification . the following anecdote is amusingly significant : A young "briefless" was perambulating the courts ; with an air of scarcely being able to find time to do anything—when his boy tracked him down in one of the corridors. "Oh, sir!" said the: boy, "there's a man at chambers waiting with a brief, 6ir.!" "What! a brief 1 Great hea--1 vens!" And the young fellow, began to run through the passages as fast as he could for fear, the prey should escape him. "Stop, sir ! stop!" cried the boy, who could scarcely keep . pace. "You needn't hurry, sir. I've locked him. in!"

Literature deals with ideals,'the jour- : nalist is a man of action. He is not a student, but.a man of. action, and he is concerned with the real; and if he is a wise j ournalist, as ■we all are, he will understand that what he takes or mistakes for the real is not half as real as a great deal of: what is ideal. Would anybody deny that there are half a dozen lines of Burns which have .more offect upon political thought and action than all the millions of leading articles that have been written in Burns's country and even in the southern part of the island ? Far more potent is literature. Its business is to furnish a cure for conventional rhetoric; the journalist must more or less follow conventional rhetoric—Lord Morley of Blackburn.

An astonishing number of this season's novels -deals with wicked-heroines of British nationality living in Italy, mostly in Florence. —"Westminster' Gazette.".

The -book catalogues of a New. York auctioneer in advertising a Defoe's "Life and Adventures of Signor Roselli at the Hague, London, 1709] 1724," added ' this note: "Rare.. Both volumes bear the fine old bookplate of Reginald Pole. Vol. 2. has the initials S. P. on a fly leafquery, Samuel Pepys?" As Pepy6 died in 1703 the query is queried and the joke obvious.—" Buffalo Commercial."

Of all South African tribes the Basutos are far and away the most interesting, and since they came under direct British rule, in 1884, they have made a progress which is ireally remarkable. One of the "books of the season" is Sir Geoffrey Lagden's study of "The Basutos and Their Country," published by Hutchinson, -a work which is, reviewed at great length by several leading English papers-to hand by this week's mau. The Basutos are naturally industrious, and seem to be -a vers- fine. race. Sir Geoffrey Lagden makes out a strong case against Basuto: Land being "submerged by incorporation under an Act of South African Union*with a loss of tribal entity and interruption of -the national evolution on their- own. lines now in progress." The Basutos fear the power of the Cape Dutch will be predominant. They are quite willing to live at peace under the British" flag, but they distrust and hate the ' Boer. The author, I am pleased to notice, pava a tribute,to the splendid work done by British missionaries in Basuto Land. He says:— . As one within whose office it has fallen through a long experience to become acquainted with a wide latitude of mission and educational work,-the author feels it a,duty to state how impossible it was not to be struck by: the piety and intensity of conviction which fortified the missionaries against the odds and impediments they met. If their zeal [ occasionally outran discretion, the. I cause was good. They were the heralds of discovery and civilisation I .when .the majjg of 4-frka were bara

and millions thirsted for enlightenment.

When one reads 60 many cheap sneers against missionaries and their wort, such testimony as that of Sir Geoffrey Lagden, who spent fifteen years of Ins official life amongst the Basutos, is worthy, I think, of special notice.

To the dispassionate critic, the literary; greatness of tho nineteenth century, of what will he known as the Victorian Age, grows with tho passing years. As we move away from it the great peaks begin to take their permanent position in the sky. . Another fifty years and wo shall seo them standing out serene and solitary, mighty memorials of an age that will most truly bo called the age of the second Renaissance.—" Contemporary Review."

For over fifty years of his gossiping existence. Horace Walpole was in the habit of garnishing his multifarious letters with "tho latest bon mot of George Selwyn"; but it is no exaggeration to say that scarcely one in a dozen of them is above tho level of tho joker's column in a halfpenny newspaper.— "Wits. Beaux and Beauties of the Georgian L'ra," by Mr John Fyvie.