IS THERE HOPE IN THE FUTURE?

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 426, 8 July 1913, Page 2

IS THERE HOPE IN THE FUTURE?

In a short time we'll bid good-bye to the holder — The holder that gave us the light m our homes — The holder that cost us a great many thousands, That caused us to add to our numerous loans. i >if The blunders we've witnessed came many and often ; Ofttimes do we wonder if ever they'll cease. We wonder if chance m the very near future Will give us a prospect of peace, perfect peace. The money that's squandered belongs to the public ; No fool would thus treat it if it were his own; If so he would see the result of his efforts Would give him good profits from what he had sown. But m this fair City, with hills all around us, Where the dawn of the day makes all of us yearn For the right to remember the gift of the sender Of the good things that make every loyal heart burn, We forget that the duty which is cast upon us Is something akin to self-sacrifice ; We forget the great Nelson, whose motto was ever: w This day, do your duty, and that will suffice. The Harbor Board soon will have money to squander ; Of course, it's the public's; could one of us think That there is any fool, m his private capacityi Would burn up his money without even a shrink? From a thought of the future and what lies before it, With the name of posterity looming ahead, I The blunders we're heaping upon many bluitders Will cause them to jeer at us after we're dead. When they look at the sheds that are lowroofed and useless, Badly designed, and extending for miles, While moored close beside them are rusty old hookers, Rubbing their sides against fast-rotting piles, They will get out some screwjacks, the roofs will be lifted, And overhead gear will be fitted to do The work that is now made so hard and vexatious Because of the brains that are muddled and few. Sometimes (but it's seldom) the berths are all needed, And then the poor merchant receives the rebuke : Take notice that you will incur storage charges Unless you can cart out your goods through the roof. He smiles, and then into the wastepaper basket The missive is dropped, and all that he says Is aeroplanes may m the future be useful, But until then the by-law is ultra vires. The matter is ended, no action is taken. I forget — yes, it was, and it's still on record, That a very small pebble was picked out from many Who had laughed up their sleeves at the threats of the board. He was summoned, and had to appear, with his counsel, In the Magistrate's Court, -this unfortunate soul. Well his hooks he did bait the board's six and eight, But his task was much worse than a dash for the Pole. He had up against him a man whom we all know, Who thinks it is better to give than receive. The witness who lieth has met a Goliath , In Mac, who will counter him, throttle, and cleave. . . j Perhaps, on a glorious morn m the spring- 1 time, ' | When the grass m, the meadows all sparkles I with dew, A cloud m the sky -will herald. a warning, And the verdict -will drop like a bolt from the blue. Maybe, when the thunder peels and lightning flashes, Maybe, when the wind blows with pitiless blast, A viking of old may come down m a whirlwind. And with his sword sever our' link with the past. Father O'Flynn. Dunedin, July 1, 1913.