PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2173, 17 October 1895, Page 36

PASSING NOTES.

It is rather hard on tho poor Tork that Armenians should, of malioe prepense, get themselves killed in the Btreots of his capital in order to bring him into dihorodlfc. That is how I read this week's oiblegrama. When a prcoession of Christians starts to march through Constantinople shouting "Liberty or Death I" it o»n soon be aooommodated. The Armenian processionists understood perfectly which alternative they had to expeot ; they intended to provoke the Turks to murder them, and they wero not disappointed. Nothing could have been bettet contrived for bringing matters toa point; all the same, it (seems rather hard on the Turk. Not that we care in the least for that. It is high time that somebody were hard on tbe Turk ; if somebody— anybody but ourselves—would administer « posteriori a sufficient kiok to lounoh him flying across the Bosphorus, great were tho gain to Christianity and to civilisation. Bat why auy body but ourselves? Well, yon we, tha Q»ueD, though not a Mahommedan sovereign, iq the Eovttreign of a good many millions of Mahommedma— in fact, as a Turkish diplomatic has recently reminded the English people, "England is the greatest Mahommedan power upon earth, and the Queen's Mo-letn subjects art the mainstay of British rule in the East." This being bo, wat with Turkey might mean a very larga order ; it might mean mutiny in India, Bullying the Sultan for his own good— in protocols and dti«non»lxai ions by the British ileot— is one thing ; bombarding Constantinople is another ; if Constantinople is to be bombarded I should prefer to see it bcmbaided by somebody else. Russia need have no scruples, nor Franoe ; aa to our sbare in these international police operations, if share wo must, it ought to bo enough )f we sat upon the h.ftd of Moslem populations fclaewtusre, in India and in E^ypt, and kept them down. But we are not likely to gat off on any terms co eaoy ; if there is shooting to be done I expect we shall have to be in it.

Labour Dxy is not now what it was at its birtb, fivro Years ago, in tho passionate times of thestiike. The procession of Wednesday lacked morel earnestness. Aad yet nobody would have pronounced it gay. The truth is there is only one kind of ceremonial walking in publlo in which au Englishman, Irish* man, or Scotchman feels at ease, and that Is a funeral. It i 8 in bis British blood to be self-coneolous, sensitive to rioicule, morally a r rald of makiog a fool of himself ; to put him into a street procession ia to give biro the h'ing-3og look of a criminal on bis way to j*il under convoy of the police. To get him to carry Mb head up you moat cones di him the moral support of uniform aad stimulate him bj military mas Jo. O.»r soldiers march well; aluo our volunteers. Dot for the rest of as any kind of public marching is funereal, aud only at a funeral do we look and feel in character. In the dreary defile of the Labour Day proiwssionists relief arrived at interval* with the bandsmen and piper?, strutting with oMas In the air and chests expanded; these had something to do; they ware in place ; they made their own atmosphere and therein walked as in a glory. Next to the«e the perkiest were the mounted bafcober boy*, who are perky by natore. In all tho rest, barring oue or two fantastic costumes and a fcrolley of bootmakers working in leather, there was nothiDg more interesting than a string of tradesmen's carts and express wnggon». No, it is only too evident that we don't understand prooennionu. How differently they manage these things in Italy, France, Germany, Holland.

Imagine a L\bonr Day proceaeion at Munich, for example. AH the great industries would be represmntetl, all the arts, all the crafts, all the professions. Ifc would not be aa afr-tir ot two or three lab>ur unions, eked oat by advertising tradesmen -butoherß, bakera, milkmen, and the Ilk?, Munioh Labour Dsvy would be rhe carnival of universal indnstry ; the whole population would tarn out to find the streeta transformed by ornft guilds and artist societies into a kaleidoscope of colours and costumes; fun and frolic would be everywhere, cla?a distinctions nowhere. Munich is a centre of the fine art», bo perhaps the comparison is unfair. Bat in the Netherlands, three centuries ago, how well the roanufacfcnrlng towns and seaports could do Miis sort of fchiog, we may read in tba pages of M tley. They do It still. We <un never hope to do it well ; our B'itish stiffness is in the way — our incapacity for self-abandon-ment unless wo get drunk, our habit of taking our pleasure earlly. But we might do it batter than now. We need not as now make the Labour Day proce»6ion a olass prooession, with half the labouring rltases left out — merchants, for instance, lawyers, doctor*, parsons, school teachers, journalists. Do not mosb of these labour more hours a d*y than the labour unions 1 It I were boss of this show they should all march, to a man ; the Bland Holt Company should maroh, the taHoressea, the university students. I would have a grand parade of the whole indufttrial army, from bank managers to the corporation du«tmen, all marching under their respective totems -allegorical, satirical, or otherwise, as ralgbt be determined for each. That were a Labour Day to be had in remembrance.

The First Ohnrch, having got baok its minister sound in wind, limb, and doctrine after eight months' wandering in strange places and amongst strange people, ia to be congratulated. For a colonial pastor there iB always a degree of peril in these excursions into tho great world. Bes-ides exposure to the contagion, of new ideas there is the ri-k of capture by Borne enterprising kirk eesfelon with a long purse. Mr Gibb has returned unharmed by tbe first of tbeia danprrs, let ns hope, and anyhow be bin certainly returned, which Fcetns poof that he has rsfliated the fiecond. And it's greatly to his credit — In spite f all tempUtion3 From other enervations, He remains a First Church man.

Mr Gi b is tb« bind of First Church man that the Fir-t Charcb, and Otago likewise, wonli be lotb to lose. Particularly now that ha has been broadened a bit bj the ed&catioa of travel— c g. i

Look, for iDsUnce, at ttio matter of dfualcm' nesl in this country and at Home. He told the Free Church Assembly, aad *]«o otbei assemblies on vaxloos oec&iionß, that in one hoar and IS minutes in Edinburgh be saw more druukon men and. women than be had setn fa his 14 )ear<» of colonial txptjru-uce. How muc^ br'.ghUr aud more hopeful wtv« the ootkob feerij with regard to drnnkeuntsa ; and one mfg^i say the same thing of other matters. He returned to tbe ooionjr m » distinetfy hepeuu mcod. Oompue with this the "seamy KKto" U*fr rolads of tbe same Mr Qibb tiro or tntta years ago. Danedin, which is now a HUT 91 Zlon, wa^ then as one of the Cities o€ the Plain. When one reftsefca thai ti» wbo^e change is la Mr Cribba&dnofc La. «•— ! c mmo& jectlTe,not ombiective* as Ookri^gv wm have said— and Sh&k ib ia to b* aiotibed to tire eys-opeoiog iriflaences at a trip to Che <ffl World, one regreti t^st tbt Berr. Hi Sanadew, the prophetic colleague of Mr tHbb ip tfa**i' B«amy side "apocalypae, ha* not Jud the advantage of a stmUar experier.oe. Jeremiahs and their jeremiads are UUto esteemed nowadays. Swes-vous poarquoi Jdre*mie Se htmanUlt toate sa vie T Cost qu'il prevoyait Que Pomprgnan h uaduirait t Which graceless French epigram b to tfie effdoc that Jeremiah worn moved to Us "lamentations" by fomiffbfc of the Cast that Bishop Pompignan would translate him. A Jeremiah in the modern pulpit may generally be explained as a case of either provincialism or indigestion. Oiio discovery by Mr Qibb in the old oovmtry will bo nuts to the Tabuit and Bb. Joseph's. AH the char ekes are moving towards Ronwv— some faster, come alow*?, bat all alike are on the to*A. Mr Ctibb himself, it is conifoxtirg to know, baa returned to Daoedin a more a Pto&utant than ever," bnt if he had 3 ayed loogw one hawily sees bow he could bi^e e*sap«fi ahadag in a movemeot so geiwal. Tho Choi, mers Church people will shake thiilr heads In gray« doabt wha4b«r ha really has escaped, aad whether anybody- fjs escaping, ezeps fchemirfve^. Wbafc aboat organs t Wh >t aboa* f?*d wraow 1 What about "rcsJida«:cd" f.-rsfysci ? Wtiat about "hataan hyaalis"! W-^C ab>uc kirka with BteepkAt Are not all tifcwe innovationa in tba nataxe of a xstoxa towards Rome? thaA in what the fuithful remnant ttill protesting weoM say, and I should very mach lik» to know want Mi Gibb would say ifl reply. This fiomew.«xd tecdeccy, ie wsms to me, is more geiieiwil ti^an ho ia isioiioed to admit ; we are all in it, more or lc*3, Fust Cburoh and Knoz OharcU kcladed. Le«s us hone that It need not oarry as tbe whole way. Personally lam not much impcs«wd by the argam^ot from tendoociee. T«se te«.d-jooy of a growing boy Is to bo i.Ott nigh, but he has Berar boaa known to gee th^rs.

Mr Sxidoo'a notable fdea about dootor*' f«ea— that they ah-auld bo ftxed by biw— is warmly approved, I observe, by anonymous correspondents in the newspapers— parsoni, doubtle3P, who have I«£fc their own doocora' bills unpaid. A3 S:«fal&m pr: gre«K«! we may look for better th*n thi-j. Healing is as properly a function of the B*ate aa eduaatioo, or life inwrauce, or money- landing ; I look forward, therefore, with calmness to the time when doctors' tees shall have twen abolishad and all Joctoring shall be undertaken by the State. The doc.ors themaelvei", like the school mastefa, vriil form a branch of tho civil service, and may think the*us*tv«s handsomely i>hUl on salaries of £150 a year and upwards. Personally I haw a preterance f«r things as they are, bnt that doean't count. One has to go with the times and adjuat one's preferences, a* bast one can, to tbe resfatless march of Sjcialiet ide*3. Th«ro are storieß of dootors who could be gruff and grixa to • surprising degrso under tha fee system ; wbat would they be aa Stata officliLi '/ Hsie ia on example from a recaat magaziug article: —

Dr Jephson, of Loamfogton, was famous for bis caustic Baying. Oae day ho »v called on by a great society lady, the Hurchioofss of . Having liflfct ned to a <?ewript'on of her malady, the oracle delivered juiguH-nl; : •• An «gg a»(J a cup of ti a for broyfe'ast, tW» w»lk for two hours ; a slice of cold beef and half a glaM of Madeira for luuc^con, then welk again for two houra ; floh (except; B»taaon) and a cutlet, or wing of fowl, for dinner, with % singhs gUJas of Madeira or daret ; to btd at 10, and riua fct 6, &c., &o. No <»rriige exercise, ple4*o." " BnC, doatof," she oxcUimed at list, thinking he was nmu.k v in his visitor, u p«y do yea know who I am ? Do jou know— ahem— my poaftion?" "Po ftfetly, mtdam," w»s the reply; •' I am pr<Mcribing for an old woman wifcb. a deranged stomach." In a State official this would be ioßoJencer ; in a doctor who lives by Mb fees it might bo tolerated, or even commended, as an «r:unple of Bitnplicity and straightforw*rdnes<. But c/nsiderations,of this kind ace, of course, the merest futilitiea. State Socialism moat pursuo its much of triumph. When m come to be treated by tbe State doctor, and he has scheduled our aymptoma for report to the head of the department and fa pondering whether be shall kill or aura us, ire may think ourselves luoky if he decide* the question without reference to politics or considering whether we are "of tbe risht colour, CiV2B.

The Tuapeka Times atntes that aa Mi David D/yidale waa woending Mnnro'e Hiß on Friday with a waggon and ftv« horses be n«r it bicycli-.t approaching ab fpll tpeed. Td mmi Imiie tho chance.? of accident he polled hit horses up. The cyclist apparently made no attempt to tlacken spsed, and as he flaw past tha hor?ej swerved, broke bottt sa»fts, and bolted. D-yscMe wm thrown among the horns and was dragged some distance by the reins, but foitnnately cacaped badly bvuised and Bhakeu. There is a probabiKty cf tfie mutter bthij ibvestigated ia " another place."

Btonfs' 11-i.tly Rt-fereuce New Zealand Customs Tiirilt is now ready, and ai it includes duciaions of the cemmisaioner and ' the exciae du«ie« fully revised and corrected up to tba 30ta September, it must prove of great service to all business mon a?>d be invalnabla to those wto have to cl<-ar goods at the enstonu. It cocUisa 32 pages of three colurncs each, svdraging <0 items per column, or 3810 in all. Every caxe om b«en tiken to m»ke the little book comply with ita titlfl of "Handy Inference," and to this end several items appear in Bsveral pl?.cca undtr all the headings to which reference is likely to bo made. The orlca ia tho nominal one of Gd.