PASSING NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12991, 4 June 1904, Page 6

PASSING NOTES

By his long and laboured dealing with the prohibitionists the other night Mr J. Millar took little, probably expected to take nothing. I, too, in my time have laboured long, and even now could find it in iny heart to bestow all iny tcdiousncss on their worships—as Dogberry says—were it not labour in vain. lam not thinking of anything so. rude as "pearls before swine"; or, if I am, I -think of it to say expressly that I don't think of it. lly notion about the use of rational argument is that its time is cither past and gone or lias not yet come, and that consequently the only available cure for prohibition is—prohibition. For that reason I rejoiced in the Seddon Bill—it set forth that in prohibition districts there should be prohibition. For the same reason the prohibitionists rose against it—rose as one man, and the Prohibitionist newspaper lias ever sinco been occupied in proving that prohibition would be the ruin of the prohibition cause. In tin's whirl of lunatic paradoxes, confusions, contradictions, the sane reformer's policy should be silence; his strength is to sit still. Soon or late the prohibitionists will have to accept prohibition—in spite of themselves, and prohibition will work its own cure. Concerning the Seddon Bill-

That fatal and perfidious bark, Built in th , eclipse, mid rigged with curses dark-

there is now litllo use in disputing. It. contained, I believe, soino objectionable proposals about licensing. Not for that reason did I admire it—l never admire the objectionable; the feature that captivated me was its proposal—the first in the legislative history of New Zealand—to actually establish prohibition. And this feature it was, precisely, that made (he Scddon Bill odious to the prohibitionists.

Tlip lloscley Commission on t-eclmical education in America, report ing for British readers, has a curious remark on the consequences of allowing "the teaching profession to fall almost entirely into the hands of women." In New Zealand also is this lapse threatening; here, as in America, " tho salaries are not high enough to attract men," Then under the presidency of the school, marm wo may prepare ourselves for such results as these:

'i'ho hoy in America, is not being brought up to punch p.nothcr boy's heart or to stand having liis own punched in a healthy and proper manner; that there ia a strange and indefinable feminine air coming over the men; a tendency towards a common, if I may so call it, sexless tone of thought.

It is Professor Armstrong, a, competent member of the Moseley Commission, who is testifying, and in his last remark I entirely fail to follow" him. What is a "sexless lone of thought"? And what would be a. sexful tone? It appears that boys under the school maim are not taught to punch e;ich other's heads—which is a serious omission, they arc taught, I suppose, to mako faces at each other and then to run and " tell teacher"; whereas they should be instructed to punch and be punched '' in a healthy and proper manner." This I understand; I follow without difficulty here. But. the " indefinable feminine air coming over the men" and the "sexless tone of thought" consequent on neglect of the gospel of punching stick me up hopelessly. Is it, insinuated that women cannot fight , ' Then I beg leave to dissent.' It is not for nothing that a cat has c'aws. lam not saying that woman is a ait. Let no one misunderstand me, I beg!—or I should have to run tho country, and life would no longer be worth living. I am merely suggesting that tliere are other weapons ■ than the closed fist, and other ways of fighting than punching and being punched. Ah me, yes,—and most effective ways, too!

[PRUIATIUS ANGLICANUS, tho. father of nil such as preach in surplices and say lhair prayeia by booh, drenmeth of tho high-roofed Cathedral, having tower, and spire, and silverchimiug holla, wherewith lie purnosath to oildow the citizraiß of Duncdin ns toon as tho same citizens shall have given him tJie money. Alro ho mtisctli cm Iho nature of gifts nnd of Rivers, how diverse they he, and. how that gifts to ''loly C'luich savour not of Hie giver. Whereh is much comfort.]

Pecunia non nlel;— this n Gesr.r said, Needy, •rand frankly oynica!;

So have I load. " Sinca money does not smell," Said lie, "small reason io bo finical; Tax all, tmd tox them well; Tax even the shameful earnings of the more.trix." Which precedent wore put For sending round tho hat To Jews, Turks, Infidels and Heretics. But, no—we don't do t'nall

Pecunia non olet;—Erasmus to Dean Colet Perhaps had biogthcd it, . And bequeathed it Of Leo tho Magnificent, whose blunder, Blotting liis Renaissonco en'ulgencios, Was iuuiscreetiKss in collecting plunder; Whereby, to get St. Peter's out of debt, He spoiled tho German nrarket for indulgences.

We did not so When Colet's church, went up in flame— St. Paul's on Ludgato Hill. We built another, true,—the church you know. But then, to pay tho bill— . A million und a-lialf—wo thought no shame To clip a tax on coil, And thus take toll Of every Londoner, with or against his will.

That would not I ;—I could not an I wo\ildl Never a shilling Bat torn the willing— Tho willing, and—the moderately goodl

Of these my principles no breach, . Discontinuity or interruption l v "Subscribe, and you shall preach,"Were bribery and corruption— Contusion, strife, disruption! '{■ For what you yield to one you needs uniat yield to each. Tho Reverend Moderator first; then , , for anotlier, The Methodist from just across ilie street; Tho Rabbi, honest rami, tho Baptist brother; A)so—that justice bo complete, Apportioned equally through nil tho spheresCome General Booth's poke-bonnet gicncdicrs! I think I seo them!—telling me, one aid all, ".Wo don't believe in Bishops, and must say so; And to th? surplice should prefer the stake; We. couldn't preach so, and wo couldn't pray bo;— '• This, kst a- judgment foilHades, perdition, and the fiery lake!" Thrso tender souls—why should I sin Against their peace! Suffice it that I get their money in; And then, surcease! But, for the rest, why—Chncun ai son gout; So thought tho kailyard! danic, mkl kissed her coo'.

Mr Andrew Lang, speaking at the jubilee celebration of the London Association of Correctors of tho Press: Onco I quoted in a, daily paper Mr Browning's " Just for a- handful of silver he left us." This appeared in print as "Just for a handle of silver he left us." I complained to tho gentleman who was doing editorial duly. I said everybody knew that quotation, and that "handle o£ silver." vtas not sense. Ho said that ho did not know the quotation, and that he did not expect ser.se from Mr Browning.

" The quotation being nonsense as it stood, no doubt tic editor took that for proof that, as it was from Browning, it was correctly printed; but the right sort of proof-render," Mr Lang thinks, "would have corrected the misprint." lam not so sure of that. For ray own part, I should have felt disposed to change "■handle" into the good Scotch word " hantle "—" Just for a hantle o' silver lie left us." Thus should I have illustrated the unconscious purpose pf all printer's errors, namely that of improving the text, Last week, in a note on affairs in the Federal Parliament, I wrote, "Given aLabour majority, it is past argument that Labour must role. But this indispensable datum, the FaAes as yet deny." For

"indispensable" the , printer substituted " dispensable "—" this dispensable datum." Looking at the passage as n whole, I am not at all clear that ■ the error isn't an improvement, uoi that the Fates, who had been lightly named, didn't so intend it. But I have yet <i word to say about the Browning line; it is from an early poem, The Lost Leader:

Just for a handful of silver bo left us, Just for a riband to slick in his coat-

to which follows moro of the same sort. And the reference, say the Browning scholiasts, is to Wordsworth. It is tho poet Wordsworth who is here pilloried as a,

Judas, Tho Radicalism of his fiery yquth hnd somehow ripened with ago into Conservatism. Tim sume development has been that of many another honest mm; I have a notion that it was the development of Browning himself. Yet this early piece with its odious imputations he allowed to stand. It is certain that no handful of silver, no riband to stick in his coat, influenced Wordsworth's political opinions; it is certain that of this fact Browning must have become aware. Why then (lid ho neglect to extirpate his slanderous poem The Lost Leader? I pause for a reply, being well aware nevertheless that I am not likely to get it;

Dear " Civis,"—l am not in any particular (rouble—not to iny knowledge. If I wore, I should consider that I hnd received n sign. Opposite my window, eight or ten feet away, beyond the garden path, stands a rosebush in flower. When there' 13 a. good fire in my room: the blnze, reflected Irom the window pano, appears projected beyond it, falling upon, this •rose Irce, lind I bcliold ilic phenomenon of Moses's burning bush. Tho illusion is perfect, the ilamcs dancing in and out and round about, and I think of the ijVco Kirk motto, " Nee tamen consiiniabr.tur." l-ionie arrange- , m?nt of desert pool and flickering sunlight might possibly - explain the story given in Exodus;

I am afraid this contributor ought to be sat upon as a. Rationalist and a Higher Critic. His Higher Criticism is of the Jtark Twain school. I have read, gmd have not quite succeeded in forgetting, 'Mark Twain's expli'inatiori'of Elijah's performance on Mount Carmel—" Kerosejie, my . dear sir, kerosene!" Tc understand (he-bush that burned and was not consumed we are to suppose " an arrangement of desert pool and dickering suniight." I find that a large order. Almost as easily might one suppose an arrangement of glass window and kitolien lire. On the whole I prefer that any Higher Criticism offered me should be the real thing. Bring along your Higher Critics! The amateur, sprung' from "our own midst'," as the consecrated plirase is, should be resolutely sat upon. He is a pretender and a nuisance.

Dear " Civis," — I was much amused by (lie enclosed clipping, and I thought you certainly would like to ecc such a paragon of virtue— A. E.

"Talking grey parrot; most beautiful plumage; free and distinct speaker of about SOO words, sentences up to 3d words; six years old; thoroughly acclimatised; healthy; charminjj ladies' pet; so docile; no swearing; good, tempered; its equal at talking 3oldoru scon; sent approval before pnrchasa: .€lO ]Os, incliid- , ing cage; evebange entertained." ~ .

Tho account is full mid yet defective; it says nothing of the parrot's religious beliefs. "No swearing" counts negatively and is important, since most cultivated parrots swear; "good tempered , " and "so docile" are points on the positive side, which, in a.' "froe and distinct-speaker of 800 words' — whereas an English peasant gets through life with 250—imply nqt only religio'n but opinions on passive resistance, prohibition: and fiscal reform. I consider that the moral influence of such a bird, "cage included," is worth £10 10s in any family—always provided that his character does not deteriorate through injudicious cracking-up in the newspapers. Wo cannot afl possess, this desirable, parrot, but we may all participate in a certain brand of North Otago beer. of which a thoughtful correspondent seeds me a sample. (He will please accept this, acknowledgment.) Round the neck of each bottle is a label which he thinks interesting as "an ambiguity " —" To ensure the perfect brilliancy of this ale please keep in an upright position." An ambiguity, quotha!, —like Pitt with the Speaker I see two. If it is the bottle that you are to keep in an upright position, how aro you to get any-, thing ont of it? • This "ambiguity" I.treat in a liberal spirit, sacrificing "brilliancy" to other effects, and passing on to the next. Grammatically the "Please keep in an upright position " is addressed to the consumer ; it hints -of tlia potency of tlie beverage, and offers a disinterested warning. Short of being prohibitionists 'the. brewers of this beer—and' very good beer it is—appear to have conscientious objections to , its passing down the throats of tho people. "An upright position" is stipulate! fov both you and the bottle. Then nothing cah happen; it is a case of paralysis. And' paralysis, whilst it blasts,, is ths one really, effective form of "no license.". '. ' ' ' '. \ Cms. '