LABOUR DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2173, 17 October 1895, Page 35

LABOUR DAY.

Wednesday, being Labour Day, was pretty generally observed as a holiday. From a comparatively early boar crowds of holiday-makers were to be seen in the streets, and, judging by the number of " billies" and soggestive-lookiag hampers that were to ba seen everywhere, the majority seemed to have decided to spend tbe day picnioking at some of the many sylvan retreats in and around the city, A goodly nunilwr took advantage of the facilities offered by the Railway department to Inhale some Count?y air in Central OtegO, otfcew patronised the Bteainera and ferry boate plymg about the harbour, while large numbers again spent their Wme in the favonrite snbuTb of St. ClaJr. Tho principal place of resort, however, was the Caledonian grounds, where the Labour Day sports ware witnessed by ft vait number. THE) PROCESSION. The feature of the d&y naturally was the Labour t)ay procession. The procession, It wew wraDged, DhoxiW leave the. Triable at

hftif-past 10, and, proceeding by way of Cumberland aud Frederick streets, march througt Gcorgo and Princes olrcets to the Caledonian ground. About 0 o'olcok the crowds began ta gather in tbe streets, nnd an houc or eo^ later the prinrip il thoroughfare and the vicinity of j tho Trianglo wc*ro thronged. Vautaae points along tho roubo of tho proo»«sion wore iv great demand, and were oooupiei by an eager, happy-lookiug lob of sigh^osrs. Tho weather being bright and warm tho fair sex were attired in all the glories of spring fashions, and the sbreetu presented quite a gay and animated ftppeuranoe. In point of number and also as regards tho display of the various trades the pageant may be said to quite equal that of la»t year. To give some id«u of its length it might be stated that while the leading bacd was at Maose street, those bringing up the reir were passing Moray place norm. The butahtrs, who held » prominent position in the procession, were ao ncuftl conspicuous for tha display thoy made. Although tha number of hor»em°n did not appear t3 be so great an last yo^r, the noat uniforms of tho men and the gaily decked horses were generally admired. The Shag Point Coal Corn* pauy were represented by a number ot well* filled waggons, and tho Oiitlo Hill Company likewise made a good display, some of their carts bfting well decorated. The KaUaugat* Coal Company's vehiolos were uot likelf to be overlooked. Several trollies conveyed canvas hoardings, upon which viewa of the compsuj'a minoa wer« features of the display. The Society of Engineers, with their Quo bannexv, cani') nf xt, after whom followed Messrs Powley and Keast's " luru-out," whioh waa certainly of an intarostiog and creditable character, ia« cludiug, tvs it did, trollies in which the process' of bottling their favourite brands of liquors was beiog goue through — a process, it may^ be added, whioh was watched with interest by( mauy * droughty sonl preteut The aerated wfttar marnfacturers followed, after which came a vehiole filled with strange stuffed birds and curiously wrought wirework, representing tho firm of Messrs Rimeiy and Docker/. Tho flihermen displayed a huge nob, in which som&i "spoils of tha deap" wero visible Federated Sonmon was well represented . Some tempting specimen 1 ) of tho bakers' and fancy bread makers' arb were held aloft over the trade vebioles, and Mr Wright's ett iblishnunt was certainly brought uuder notice in a manner worthy of the flcra The •' Tiger " and •• Hasleuwra" tsai were well ta tho frout, as w«8 ako the firm of Messrs Wardell Brcs.- Th<s bookmakers oarried off the palm as far as the most interesting dispUy was conoamod. Operatives wore to be seen at work in various departmonls, whilo riders, dressed in curious leather ojstuous, wbiob gave them the appearance of ancient Britons, headed the trado. Shortly tfter the procession reached the Onledoaiftn grounds thVspartd, tha vet proceeds of whioh are to ba handed to tho Miners' Association, were commenced. A FEW INCHES OF PLAIN ENGLISH. Nowftdiys men are doing all sorts of wonderi by means of t-L-otiicKy, both iv mechanics and in chemistry. I see by the papo-s that theji expect to be able to produce it*\ diamoudß by it. Perhaps they may ; m«vtls l.over cease. Bat we will wait till they do before ye crow over that jcb. Uo to this time, anyway, everythtng that is both valuable and useful is the fruit of hard work. Even diamonds are mostly gob out of rocky mines. And, within reasonable limits, it in good for us to have to work. Ten shillings honestly earned is better for a man than twenty in the shape of a legacy. Tho best oonditiou of thiags for any country would ba when fair wages could be earned siraight along, without loss or deduotion for any reason. But iv tho present aspect of human nffairs this is impossible. Whose fault ib is we cannot now di*cusa. Ore source o^ 1039, howevor, is plain enough, and somo wmodv for it ought to be found. Io Ei'ghnd and Wales every working man averages ton daj s of illness per year, making the total loss of wages from this cauoe about £16,000,000ayear. Weare talking uf the avei-m/e, you eeo But inasmuch as all workinii men are not ill every year, this average dots nob fairly show the bufteriug aud lOBJ of thoee who arc ill. Iv any given year many will lose no time at all, while others m*y laso individually from tea days to six m ntha each. Nooharity, no saving?, no iucomo fvom clubs, &3., can inako up for thia— even iv money alone, to say nothing of the pain and the misery. Alluding to an oxperienco of his in 1888, Mr George Lngdon pays, "I had to give up my work." How th ; s came to pass ho tells us ia a letter dated from his homo ia White House roAd, SttbWug, n«ar Dunuaow, August 24, 1892. He had no inherited disease or weakness, so far aa he knew, aud was always strong and well up ta April of thf.t year— lßßo. Then, his strength and energy began to leave him. He felt tired, not as from work, but as fiorn power gone out of him through coma bodily failure. He sat down to his meals, but nofc with hU old eagerness and reJiab. There was a nasty, copp* r-llke toato fn his month, h?s teeth and tougue were covered Wiih filimo, and his throat clogged with a kind of thick phlegm, difljcult <o " hawk up" and eject. He &\ c o ipeaks of a nagging pain in the stomach, flatulenoy, and much palpitation oE the heart as having been among his eymptoms. As tho ailment— whatever ifc w»s— prr-gressedl he bogau to have a hacking cough which, ha I saye, seemed as if it must ehake him tp pieces. Eo ctiu!d scjroely sleep on aocount of it. Ope I of the moat alarming features of his illness, ! however, wero the night sweats, for the reason that they showed the existcuoe of a source of weakness which must goon, unless arrested, end in total prostration. In fact ho was obliged to give up his work altogether. To him— as to uny once active man — this was like being buried alive. One doctor whom Mr Lagdon consulted said he was consumptive, and ifc did indeed lobk that way, "Fur 12 weeks," ho said, "I went; on like this, getting weaker and weaker, and having raason to believe that ib would end in my taking tbe one journey from which no traveller returns. "It was now July — Hummer time, when life to tbo healthy is ao pleasant and full of hope. At this time my Bioter-in-law got from Mr Linsells (Stabbing) a medicine that I had not tried yet. After having used one bottle I felt better, and when I had used the second I was cured, and have not lost an hour's work since." Tho reader will notice that between the data of his taking this medicine and the date of his letter there is an interval of four years. We m&y therefore infer that his cure was real ana petmftueni. ■ The .medioino, by the way, wsi Mother Beigel'a Carabivo 3; rap. It is noli likely he will forget itsjiamo nor what it did for him. Bis disease was indigestion and dyspepsia, the deadly enemy of every labouring man or woman under the sun, no matter what they work at or work with — hands, brains, 0* botn. Is it necessary to draw a "moral"— school* book style — from these facts ? No, ifc is not. We have talked plain English, and that ia enough,