GONE BEFORE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12089, 18 August 1917, Page 7

GONE BEFORE.

LIFE L\~ -161.1

SOME MODERN" PARALLELS. (Writ-ten for the "'Star.'") This is a. wonderfully interesting period of the world's history, and the present generation is tempted to be- j lievo that never was there a time like) ! nowadays, nor will there ever be again. But is there anything new under the SUH? g j There was recently brought to this office a. copy ui the '•'Northampton! Mcic.iry," dated Saturday. March 30. lisll—an heirloom or' a Ciiristchureii j family- and a glance through its pages j went to prove that life_ono hundred years aip, among our English ances- ) tors, was much as it is to-day with their descendant;?. It there are startling changes, there are also striking similarities. Then, as now. Britain was struggling for its liberty against Continental militarism, hut 'business as usual '' appears to hare been the motto. Whether shortage of paper was responsible or not. the readers of the '•Mercury'' got verv little for their money, a four-page sheet, equalling about one page only of this issue of tha j " Star." being sold for .sixpence half- I penny, more than half of which was for j stamp duty. Those modern readers who grumble at the number of advertisements in their favourite newspaper may lean that the sweet uses of advertising were, even more prevalent a century ago. .15 of the twenty columns in the "'' Mercury." no less than fifteen j were advertisements:! Naively enough, on the front page, at the top of the first column, one reads. "R<">ady moimy j is expected with advertisements." Comi trent would he superfluous. ! TDIE'S REPETITIONS. i Let us make a rough perusal of the j news columns of the " Mercury." a j paper, by the wjvy. which is still deservedly flourishingy. The only column of news on the front page is made up of paragraph- headed " Sunday and j 'luesday's Post>," London. Tuesday, < March 20. ('No 'elegram- ami tele- . I pe.ones to bother sub-editors in those; j days). The first paragraph tells or General Graham's victory at Bnrofsa. near Cadiz, the Portuguese, then. a-. . i now, as-dsung the British. We. next, j learn that '' a considerable emigration , had taken place! from Hamburg m emi- ', sequence ot the rigoious law of con- ; scnption." Doubtless, a similar morr- j ment would have bwn very popular during the last three years, had it befii i possible. Other paragraphs state that, i the price of bullion continues to- rue, ; gold being Co per ounce. Several j im-pdiantrnen are reported ' wreeked. j Again :s history repeating itself. Ihe birth or .Napoleon's son, the King of I Rome. 1- ;:l. : .!drd to with patronage;; I rather than pka.uve. In these modern ; davs of shortage of stock to might.-.vol ; j wish that the next paragraph could | Ihe common nowadays. "About, 1-kJ . 1 eves at Welshpool, in an encosure 01 1 i si,\ acres, with the exception o ; t"ur j have vea'ned two lambs o;ieh."' 'I hey = I even-quoted the same sqrt. of war pro- . j phots as are now not uncommon., a rp- j j print from a work published tn Pans m ; 1 1521. deelaring that •'from \<A\. » I peace of the whole <-enuiry will be on. J joved hv Christendom." Pans, useh ■ 'in 1870-2. had cause to know lv>w to-..i- j i ish some of these prophecies can .ie. ; j FARMERS DISSATISFIED. j > ! ;-.-om"London two days old. The King ( I (GeoiKe ILL) ™ S better, but the m>*» ! . interesting news, is detans or It! '. ,_ j ham's Miccess. " Advtces from India were (A a satisfactory nature. I>"t | I a real modern touch is the nuh , 1 stating that "many farmers, dissansI Bed with the prices given lor tat cattle j in the'market, comnarecl with tnn : taken from the public, have commenced j butchering on their own account. j Pa.'e 3 of the '•.Mercury reprints) i from the "Gazette" Genera,: Graham s 1 i despatches: the British, heroism ot J ! tho?»> davs is repeated daily now m , Flanders," France and elsewhere In | that particular there, is nothing new j . under the sun. The news on the Una , ' page of the "Mercury'' is of a. general ! description. The more interesting (to us) items declare that, guineas were I being <sold for 21s each, Napoleons I agents being the purchasers. A elergyj man was acquitted by the jury on a charge of burning his house, and exeru- | j tiotis were fixed for the following week j ] ol three men, two convicted ot maim- j ) ing and one of forgery' 'j The "local" news started with the ' births, marriages and deaths aunounee- ; J ments. One of the matrimonial no- . j tires is a real gem. Here it is: "Oa I Monday, at, Bugbrook. near this place, I'll. Collins, a pauper, aged 76, ro P. Kington a blooming young damsel of , 23.' r What do our present spinsters . think of that! Our ancestors, had races in war time. We read that "for the autumn races there are eighteen subscribers already." We like that " already." Here is another modern 1 prototype:— •" Collections for th c British prisoners in France at Coventry . amounted to £'7o 16s. and at Birmingham to ilo-t 4s Oid." There were labour riots, forgeries and thefts, but " at the Huntingdon Assizes there was only ; ! one. charge on the calendar, Joseph • Green lxdn.g found rruilfy ot bigamy ■ and sentenced to be imprisoned for three months and fined Is." We are next told of a suicide, "the body of a, young man being found hanging from a tro by a small boy. who procured the assistance of a stranger, whose first care was to rille the pockets of thc deceased, but m't satisfied with this boot.T, he. took the deceased 's small clothes a.nd thon made off.'' SAME OLD ADYTS. Space does not permit us to deal with the man;* advertisements as we -ihould like to. but here again there, hi little difference between the announcements oflSll and those oi If) 17. The; " Mercury " being a farmers' nows- ! paper, auctioneering announcements I are numerou?, similar superlatives de- ' scribing the stock, apd implements to I be offered as those with; which presentday auctioneers are not unfamiliar. Houses were to "lett " in those days. !as were also turnpike tolls. The'patent 1 meelieines advertised (and there are many of them) are guaranteed to cun» - all ills, including King's Evil. Mr ,- Bonar Law should be especially in- ' terested in the advertisements giving details of a State lottery. Incidentally . "the printers of this taper" setm to s havfi been agents for most of their advertisers, whether it was hair-wash, books, or patent re-medics offered for '- sale. That cvervhodv was not making f war- profits in 1811 is evident from the long list; of bankrupts ordered In sur- ~ render themselves, The " wontr-rl " : ' fidvts. are vtv similar to those in the ] issue of the "' Star." apprentices " with good morals and liberal education " .being in demand. Two gr.inens, reward is offered for the apprehension of nun 1 John Turner, .who escaped from the i count'v gaol, but: as. the aforesaid John - i:- described "as six feet high. . swarthv and straight-made,"' the re- .; ward dors not appear to hf suffieiontly generous for the risks attached to the ~ t-ask. In leaving the "Mercury" of 1811. we. must reflect that the world does not change verv much after all. What will the reader of the " Star " in 2017 think of this nre>ent. issue? Will he agree that hLs'tory repeats itselfr