Timaru Talk.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4869, 7 December 1883, Page 4

Timaru Talk.

IHE EVENI? OF THB I AY. THE D L AMONG THE BAKEBS. A BABB GIBL. [-BOH OUB OWN OOBBBSPOHDBNT.J The inclement weather prevailing of late haß very much hindered shearing operations, but the agriculturist has experienced an accession of hopefulness. Gentle rain and genial sunshine have worked wonders with the orops, and the harvest prospects are re* assuring. It is- something to see a farmer smile in these parti. I sinoerely trust the hopes of the future will be realised ; for a bountiful harvest would set the community on its legs again. We have lost, last week, one who was in no sense a publio man or a prominent citizen, but always a quiet unassuming gentleman. I refer to Mr Wethey, the respected aooountant of the Bank of New Zealand, who has been transferred to Akaroa. Mr Wethey was a most diffident unobtrusive person, but full of sterling qualities. Men of that sort are " the salt of the earth "—-to borrow a forcible metaphor j and it is satisfactory to know that he was not allowed to leave Timaru without a presentation. The same remarks apply to Mr Turner, the railway booking clerk, who was also testimonialiaed by hia brother officers of the department. 1 am not an advocate of the testimonial business : that craze is becoming wearisome to those not smitten with it. But in these cases they were well bestowed; and, indeed, I should have regretted it very much if the two gentlemen had been allowed to go without at least somo souvenir ol Timaru. The event of the day is the opening for traffic of the railway from Albury to Fairlie Crock. This great work is something to be proud of, and to rejoioe at; and I must put in a word in oonneotion with it, on behalf of the M.H.B. for Gladstone, the ohild of whose travail it is. His constituency may hammer away as they like, but the active, energetio old gentleman didn't waste his time wrangling about abstractions, like liberalism and conservatism, but " joined himself " with the majority, and voted with a Government that had the money he wanted. He button-holed and lobbied and shepherded and ohiveyed the members, and he oarried his point. The result is a very substantial benefit to the district, in the shape of a new railway tapping the rioh Maokeniie oountry. If the mem* ber had been a theoretical politician, and joined the ranks of the Opposition, he might have got himself embalmed in Mansard, but there would have been nO railway ' to Fairlie Greek. This may be queer politioal morality, but it is bis. It was a proud moment for him when he oonduoted tho new Publio Works Minister up the line to inspeot the extension, whioh he (Mr -latter) h»d got constructed. The great point in theoaseis that the line is open in titno to receive the wool from the baok oountry. The High Bohool Board have obosen wisely —Arohdeaoon Harper to be their Chairman. He has the requisite calmness and foroe j and he will, I am sure, command the confidence of the people. The reports of Profeaaow Brown and Bhand have definitely settled any questionem veaatam, iee>\ or imaginary, that there may have been as to the effloienoy of the sohool. Curiously enough, as it seems to me, judging from the very analytic and ex-

haustive report of Professor Brown (whioh, by the way, ia a most weighty and valuable deliverance), the old defeot that characterised the publio sohools at Homo is perpetuated in the Oolony in this advanoed age, namely, absolute barrenness in the domain of English composition. This most important subjeot, the Professor finds to be the weak point of our secondary eduoation system here. It ia strange that, with all our improvements, we go on in our Bnglish-teaohing, bidding onr pupils make "brioks without straw." Wo burden the mind and fetter the faculties with grammatical rules and a ponderous syntax; we never invite the natural faoulties to have play. Thia grammar-teaohing ie to the mind exaotly what tight-laoing is to the body. It stunts, oramps and distorts it. We begin at the wrong end of the chapter ; we load the mental fabrio with a mass of heavy rules, and then we are surprised that it is overladen, ungraceful and faulty. What we want is to let the mind have play, to attraot it towards the formation of an easy and elegant style; to oall into play, taste, imagination, skill; not to over-burden th. memory and the reasoning faoulty. Disoipulus learna a " mass of things " — but, in the end, there is " nothing wherefore." I have a theory for teaohing composition, but I don't intend to part with it, exoept for a consideration. This is the one prominent defeot of our eduoation system, and I am glad that bo reliable an authority as Professor Brown has branded it. Begarding the general state of the sohool and the efficiency of the teaohers,- the Professor haß only praise to utter, and his report, to my mind, furnishes a most satisfactory answer to all calumny ; and it should be loyally so reoeived. I, for one, do so reoeive it, as an evidence of good work, and I am in hopes that it will inaugurate a new era in the history of a muoh maligned institution. A oarbine matoh, Civilians versus Artillerymen, came off on Wednesday. There were two constables among the civilians. Is this striotly en rigle? I fanoy a constable is a BOrt of hermaphrodite— half soldier, half civilian. But auoh considerations of aoouraoy never seem to have entered into the calculation in this obbo. The publio sohool entertainment, in aid of the prize fund, whioh took plaoe on Tuesday evening, drove the young people wellnigh distraught. The exoitement of . preparation was succeeded by the ecstatic joy of realisation. The affair was a grand success, and the finanoial results gratifying beyond the most sanguine anticipations. One doesn't like to utter anything that bears any semblance of oroaking, but I may be pardoned if I here question tbe advisableness of over*' doing .the publio entertainment business, in the oase of ohildren. The preparation takes up a couple of months, during whioh the young heads are full of dreas, aoting and muaio ; and the young imaginations are inflamed by visions of the footlights, tbe applauding crowd aad showers of bouquets ; aud lam inolined to think a losb artificial kind of eu joyment is preferable for the little once. Natural enjoyment refreshes, artifloial enjoyment stimulates the mind into a temporary fever, whioh is followed by prostration and limpness. However, I am quite aware that thi. ia " orying in the wilderness," and I will not pursue it further, but merely remark that I speak in no oynioal spirit. Our publio sohool drum and fife band is now a prominent institution. Mr Ligertwood, one of the masters, happens to have worn the dear old " true blue of the Boyal Navy, and he formed this band on a naval " basis." The young blue jaokets are always in request, and they play admirably. I think every Borough sohool at least should have a band. It is something to be proud of, and an auxiliary to discipline. A gentleman conneoted with the Melbourne water snpply visited our waterworks the other day, expressed pleased surprise at the olearnesß of the water, and approved of all the arrangements in oonneotion with the works. Suoh disinterested testimony is very gratifying; for, certainly, the works reflect great credit on the munioipal authorities and their employees. The water question is a very serious one here, I assure you, for we are becoming alarmingly sober and pioua. The devil haa been, not amOngst the tailors, but amongst the bakers of Timaru latterly. Whether he has yet been quite exoroised or not I, cannot say, but certain it ia, while he was in possession of the kneading fraternity, he made things lively. As a contribution to the "Bakers' Budget," the "Dough-makers' Delight,". Or "Bread,* or any periodical that may hereafter be started in the interests of the bakers, I offer the following oondensed history of the affair. A week or two ago the bakers of Timaru met in solemn conclave, and issued a manifesto to their aubjecta, or ouatoinera, to tbe effeot that on and after a oertain date the prioe of bread would be 7d the 4lb loaf. The air was full next day of the groans of householders, when, quite suddenly, it transpired that ono baker had seceded from the combination, and determined to adhere to the original price of 6d. This evoked a torrent of abuse from hia confreres, who were compelled also to recede. Thiß was highly satisfactory to the pnblio, who were rather inolined to regard that baker aB the only genuine artiole among bakers. Then began a oross-fire of advertisements, of a bouulibellous oharaoter. The solitary denounced the others as anything but truth-tellers, and proclaimed him.olf the only righteous one ; tho others in turn branded the solitary as the vileßt of bakers, and the blaokeat of villains. This went merrily on, to the gratification of newspaper proprietors and the intense amusement of the publio. This paper war, with other demonstrations, amu.ed the people for a few days, and then the quarrel ceased. In the meantime, we have our bread for 6d a loaf, and so I think we have reason to bless the bakers for falling out. The ooming into foroe of the new Adulteration Prevention Aot juat happens opportunely ; and I think the prospectß for the future of the householder are very rosy, for combination now among the bakers is a thing impossible, "fi ever oan true reconcilement grow, where wound, of deadly hate have pieroed so deep." I had the pleasure the other evening to see two letters from gentlemen, reoommending a oertain young lady in searoh of employment. Eaoh appeared to have been struok with the good qualities of the lady, but in a different way. One described her as " tall and commanding ; " the other said she waa " sweet and lady-like." I, who had never aeen the fair subject of theae rapturea, inatantly conceived a violent admiration for her, bb a versatile and many-sided, but always pleasing, lady. A lady who oan appear at once "sweet" and "commanding" must be no ordinary specimen; though sweetness and lady-like demeanour are not incompatible. This must be a rare girl. The question of admitting ministers to give religious instruction in the publio School was warmly discussed by the Sohool Committee on Wedneaday night ; and in the course of debate one member (I need not Bay an unregenerate one) mockingly enquired what the Committee, if they admitted the parsons, would say to the application of a Salvationist Oaptain, if he made one, to be allowed to instruct any " little soldiera " attending the school. Nobody waa prepared to reply. 'Iho \ Mayor, who ocoupied the ohair, and who is looked upon as a denominational piliar, re- ' marked, at a subsequent stage, that there j were not three of the parsons who even taught in his SuE-day school ! lam afraid our' worthy Ma. or ie drifting into Freethought, Communism, and other horrible snares ! '