The Otago Witness, WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1908.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2818, 18 March 1908, Page 67

The Otago Witness, WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1908.)

" Raafaaa all»4 aitara, alia* «»»i«nti» iixlt."— Jonim,. "4Md aaitira a>4 cm* »nn nuit «v«r jam." — *»ri. This issue of the Otago Witness is an • endeavour in some sort to Otago'* Diamond present to our readers a Jnbilee. permanent memorial of tr-e Diamond Jubilee of the province of Otago, which, event will be duly celebrated on Monday next. Tim© flies apace, and it is difficult to realise that another decade has gone since the publication of the Jubilee number of theWitness, an issue which gave in. outline, both pictorially and in letterpress, the Eisttry of the founding of the Ota:jo settlement, together with a passing glance at its subsequent development. Ten years ago the vivid contrast between, past and present was marked and striking, but today that contrast is even more clearly defined. And while to some extent it has proved imposible to avoid going ovir the same ground, the present issue will be found, on examination, to contain a lucid account, suitably illustrated, of, the beginning of things in Otago, contrasted w'th the state of affairs which at present prevails. It is fitting that such an account and such a contrast should appear in these columns, 6ince the history of the Witness synchronises with that of the province. In order once again to emphasis that patent fact, 'perhaps we cannot do better than quote from the account of the rise and progress- of this paper which appeared in our Jubilee number •. — " In December, 1848, was commenced the publication of the Otago News, which was conducted by Mr H. B. Graham. Its opinions and the death of iis proprietor brought about its demise in December, 1850. On February 8, 1851, was commenced the publication of the Otago Witness, so named after- the paper made famous by its connection with Hugh Miller. Ever since its commencement the Witness has faithfully and fully reflected the opinions and interests of Otago, has grown with its growth, and now commands respect as one of the leading weekly journals of Australasia, and is an honour to the province in which it is located. Mr Cutten was the editor and proprietor of the Witness until the discovery of the goldftelds and the advent of Mr Vogel. whose glowing language fed hopes of prosperity and induced Mr Cutten to issue a daily newspaper. Successive editors of the Witness have been Mr W. H. Robinson, since well known as a. stipendary magistrate; Mr George Bell, who has been called the "Grand Old Man of the New Zealanl Press," and who was formerly well-known in Victorian journalism; Mr Robert W'lson, who lost his life in the Octagon fire; and Mr William Fenwick, who occupied the editorial chair from 1879 until his lamented demise towards the close of 4906. Associated with Mr Julius Vogel in the ownership of the Witness was Mr B. L. Farjeon, the well-known author." Since these lines were written no effort has been spared to keep steadily in view the upholding of the best traditions of the Witness, together with the introduction of such new features as the exigencies of the times and the progress of events fiontinuaUy demand*

THE WEEK.

0n« of the greatest wants in any newcountry — and which rr>iliThe Talne tates to some extent against of Old the making of a nation Associations, and the development of the national spirit — is the absence of a history and the lack of stimulating associations which history gives to the older nations of the world. The memorials in brick and stone and bronze a-nd iron which abound in older countries in the shape of statues and buildings, each and all endowed with potent associations, mean immeasurable things in the education and inspiration of the rising generation. From the nature of ' things, the Dominion of New Zealand, with I less than a century of existence behind it ; cannot hope to compete in this respect with the older and greater civilisations. But at least we can treasure and 1 keep in remembrance such scanty records as we i possess of the heroism and perseverance of the pioneer men and women to whom we owe our present position and pros- ; perity. And herein exists the real value of the reyival of old associations, such \ as the publication of our Diamond Jubilee , number brings about. Carlyle, in one of his numerous essays, remarks that Nations that do their Hero worship well are blessed and victorious, while Nations that do it ill are accursed, and in all fibres of their business grow daily more so, " till their miserable afflictive and offensive situation becomes at hist unendurable to Heaven and on Earth; and the 60-callcd Nation, now an unhappy Populace of Misbelievers, bursts into revolutionary tumult, and either reforms or else annihilates itself." Reasoning along this line we discover the power of old associations , in the solution of many of the complex problems which life in the present century presents. For, as Carlvle, elaborating his theme, proceeds to point out, the evolution of any nation proceeds exactly according to the ideals which that nation worships. Or to quote the somewhat ponderous Carlylean phrase: — " As propitiation or as admiration c worship ' still continues among men. will always continue- and the phase it has in any eiven epoch may be taken as the mling phenomenon which determines all others in that eporh. If Odin, who 'invented runes' or literatures, and rhythmic logical speech, and taught men to despire death, is worshipped in one epoch ; and if Hudson. v.fhn conquered railway directors, and tauorht men to suddenly become rich byscrip, is worshipped in another— the character of these two epochs must differ a scod deal." And turning orer the pae«s of this Diamond Jubilee issue examining the portraits of the many old identities which appear therein, and rcadinp the interesting recital of the har6"«sh.ips undergone and the difficulties encounterwl ana oonomercd in those earlr days, it is impossible to avoid contrasting tho ideals of the men and women of the forties and fifties with those prevalent to-day. Thoughtful men are disposed to argue that the lack of fibre in The Pioneer's the present - generation is eiftto due to the fact that nowFoiterltf. adays everything is made ! so easy, especially for our hove and girls. The absence of real difficulties to meet and overcome- induces a flabbiness of moral muscle and an ' absence of steadfast purpose for which I no other qualities — not even, an amount of superficial brilliance — can at all compensate. And if there is one lesson more than another writ *large in every line of this Diamond Jubilee number, it is that while the pioneer men and women, whose portraits are therein printed, helped i undoubtedly to make New Zealand what .it is, the primitive conditions of life j amid which they were suddenly precipitaj ted helpfed to make them the men and 1 women they afterwards proved to be. The ' absense of the customary comforts and appliances brought out all their latent j powers and hidden resources. They were not specially gifted above their fellows, ; but by undaunted plodding they carved a I city out of an uncultivated waste, and transfoimed virgin bush into tracts of smiling cultivations. Nowadays it 'us the fashion to sneer at the plodders; everyone is in so great a hurry to grow rich, that the old-fashioned ways of making a living aTe in danger of being 1 forsaken for ftenzied speculations, and all kinds of dubious and hazardous gambling, however thinly disguised. But in the long run it is the patient plodder who comes ont on the top. As a modern writer | recently remarked, " Consider the moot • brilliant boys who worked beside you at i school, how they coruscated at the head of the class without effort, and carried } home nearly all the prizes, yet when you come upon them in the world of men you are surprised to find them doing nothing in particular, and not doing it particularly well. They had no staying power, no plodding capacity. Triumphing easily at first, they expected to go on triumphing efl&ily, and so grew incapable of any but easy victories ; or they loved the reward and glory of their work more than the work itself, and when the reward dwindled, and the glory palled, they had no incentive to go on, and did what they had to do pei'functorilr, and without pleasure, with the inevitable result. The plodder loves his work, and finds his pleasure in it; that is the whole secret of his perseverance and of his ultimate success ; for you may rely upon it that a man works best when he does not kiiow that he is working, and that you will pever do any task well if you make a task of it. "There you have the secret of good work," says George Meredith, and his own life has proved it, "to plod on and still keep the passion fresh." And lokiug back over the dim vista of the T»«t sixty years, we plainly tsee that Meredith' 3 axiom was at the root of the enterprise and enthusiasm which, ppssessed #by Otago's pioneers, brought the province into being. The moral of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations is plain to read — namely, that if the- province is to enjoy that n\eed of prosperity which is certainly

its due, the secret of success in the futur* as in the past is to ''plod on, and still keep the- passion fresh". " Few forces are more potent in stirring the sluggish minds of men The PATrer and nerving them to action of Contrasts, and heroic resolve than the power of contrast. Life is full of them, for, to quote the wise words of a wise man:— "lf there be light, there is darkness; if cold, then heat; if height, then depth also; if solid, then fluid; hardness and softness; roughness and smoothness ; calm and tempest ; prosperity and adversity ; life and death." And thi* very power of contrast is all pervading in the illustrations to be found in OTrf Diamond Jubilee number. Take, fo* instance, the picture of Dunedin in 1848, the view of the corner of Manee and Princes streets, or of Caversham in 1852, or even the picture of Dunedin in 1851, and contrast these early-day views with the panorama of the city as it appears to-day, and what a multitude of lessons does not the striking contrast inculcate. The comfort, and even luxury, which so widely prevails, the reflex of that prosperity which has caused New Zealand to go forth to the world as the working man's paradise, ie the direct fruit of th« seed sown by the early settlers. _ Tba pioneer days were days of self-denial, oi hardships patiently endured and silently borne with, of perseverance in entei prise with often, but little return. Those wer« the days when men were Ppborne by th« thought that they were laying the foundations of a new country, of helping in th« creation of a new nation. There was * spirit of altruism abroad, a leaven of U*« right kind of Socialism, which aimed at everyone helping his neighbour ; and amid l this kindly co-operation the foundations of the province of Otago were upreared.Today, when the horizon is black with* the promise of an industrial war, when sparks are smouldering underneath the surface which ill-considered words and! ill-advised aotion may speedily fan into % blaze, it would be well if ail concerned could calmly ponder the lesson which lies in the contrast this week's Witness presents. Well may we ponder the what-has-been, which has brought into being tho what is, in order to rightly understand 1 that in our hands lies the what-is-to-be.-The pioneer 6 wrought strenuously to give us the heritage we now enjoy ; let every t man then beware lest by greed or grasp* ing, by unselfishness or narrow-minded-ness, by prejudice or perversenees, he strikes a blow at that prosperity and happiness which our fathers, the pioneers, wrought so hardly to bring into being. There is an association in our midst! which deserves a word of Freserrlng tie pTaise for its quiet and un< Pioneer Spirit, obtrusive but efficient worK in the preservation, of th< pioneer spirit. We allude, of course, td the Otago Early Settlers' Association. Th« motto adopted by the association terselj and trenchantly expresses the aim evel kept before them, "Reanimate Otago'* Pioneer*, to face undying through th« dying years." We heartily oongratu'at* the association upon being able to signal/ ise the Diamond Jubilee celebrations bt opening their new hall. Thus suitably housed and accommodated, we doubt noi that the early settlers will enter upon a fresh term of usefulness. The objects of the association are laudable in the ex« treme; in their constitution we read thatf among other things the association aim* at " promoting a spirit of brotherhood and friendship among the early settler* and their descendants by means of social intercourse," and, again, "to inspiro ?1 feeling of veneration for our forefather*— « the pioneers of Otago — who laid tha foundations of our first institution." No less important than the social side of the work of the association is the resolve ta " collect and preserve books, papers, and articles of historic interest, illustrative of the manners, customs, and events of the early days," and "to collect and plac* on record such anecdotes and reminiscences of those early years as can be got from early settlers and their descendants." Thus it can be seen at a glance that the association, in addition to taking practical measures for the preservation of the pioneer spirit amongst the present generation, are also safeguarding the perpetuating of that spirit in making provision for handing down to their children and their children's children such records of tho stirring scones and deeds rf those earlydays as shall keep green the memory of the foundation of the Otago settlement and province. In the celebrations on Monday, the members of the Early Settlers' Association will naturally take n> foremost place, and while the number of priginal pioneers grows fewer every year, yet there is comfort in the thought that* thanks to the labours of the association, there is growing; up in our midst tha nucleus of a society which will ever strive to preserve and perpetuate throughout Otago the essence of the same brave, proud spirit which animated the breast* oi the old pioneers.