The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1928. THE SPIRIT OF THE PIONEER.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18009, 14 July 1928, Page 8

The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1928. THE SPIRIT OF THE PIONEER.

In the course of Ins proposung the toast 01. J. he Pioneers and Early bettleis/ oi the official luncheon ye.-feiday, the lion. I' 1 . J. Holiest on suggested that if the people sought a, monument to the work oi luv early settler, they had hit to look around them,, hitting- tribute was paid, of course, to the publicspirited effort of the men who bad served the torn jn an administrative capacity, aim mention was make ,-f Ihe painstalcing' and enthusiastic work of the various! officers of tl o Council, but, a,s the Member for Timaru very rightly insisted,! “all the work of the succeeding generations would have been of little avail, if the foundations! t-f the city in the making had not been so well and truly laid.” It was fitting therefore, when the citizens were celebrating tno sixtieth, year of the construction of tbe borough, that the present generations, as well as potential citizens, should be reminded of the wonderful work of the pioneers, and on their day of days, the founders of Timaru should be permitted to have'an occasion set apart. _ for their honour and for tlreir pleasure. Mr ItolleMou agreed that the 27resent-day administrators should pause in their activities and give the city an opportunity to review the past. It is generally, agreed that the early settlers, in Canterbury particularly, have an immense claim on the esteem and affection of the present generation. They were men of resolution, determination and resource, and women of largo hearts and implicit, faith fin tire future' of the town and district. More than that, they were men of vision and women of serene faith in.the destiny of the new generation, which they hoped would reap a generous harvest in the less strenuous and progressive days abend. It was quite inspiring to note the. .serenity of mind possessed by the large family of pioneers and early settlers assembled at the luncheon yesterday. It is true that Fortune had not dealt kindly with everyone, but in the main, the founders of the borough and many of their descendants who could boast fifty to sixty years’ residence in Timaru, were aide to throw off for the time being the cares of .everyday life and forget the inconveniences. which the weaknesses of the flesh impose upon those who are speeding into the eventide of life. As the Minister mentioned, the work of progress speaks for itself, and the records of those early days serve to demonstrate the re source-fulness and enthusiasm pi" the men and women who boro the lieat and burden of the day, when there was little to indicate that in sixty years an inhospitable spot would be graced with an important and attractive provincial centre well on the way towards status as a city. But in con tempdating the past, it is well, as one or two speakers insisted, that the attention should he 1 concentrated for a moment on the quality of presentday citizenship. In this connection, it is well to. note that criticism is frequently directed at what is termed the lack of selfreliance displayed by the present generation. One of the speakers at the official luncheon yesterday suggested that the old pi oneering' spirit was languishing”, and that the great majority of citizens had developed the had liahit of turning to the Government, otherwise to the State, to assist them through their 1 trials and tribulations. It was claimed that the Government was regarded as a sort of national grandmother which was expected to play the role of fairy Lady Bountiful with illimitable gifts to bestow. We often wonder if the new trend, and there is a trend in that direction, is not encouraged by the politician of the present day, who delights to dispense gifts and concessions extracted from the public purse by persistent rreissure and pathetic a,p.pears-. But, after all, a. country is said to he governed by the Parliament it deserves, and if the carpetbagger, whose boasts .of the

number of “roads and bridges” grants be is able to secure, can win tho support of the people, then no one- can blame that type of parliamentarian if be gets into office. In the main, however, rt must be said that the present generation rung true when tested in the fiery crucible of war, and if there are apparent shortcomings, we may rest assured that the inspiration of the pioneers will always remain to actuate succeeding generations to render the best service within their power to the country and the community in which they dwell.