MR. HALLIGAN’S HOLIDAY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 302, 22 December 1933, Page 6

MR. HALLIGAN’S HOLIDAY

lAVING been in Melbourne, where he has been spending a holiday, Mr. A. E. Halligan, the mainstay of the poor of Wanganui, could not rid himself of his sense of obligation even when twelve hundred miles away. He found that his chief delight in Melbourne was to try and discover where he could improve things for his own city, by taking a note of how things were done in Victoria. Being a retired gentleman, he is not acting according to the cast; he should be indulging, or rather over-indulging, in voluptuous living, he should be returning in ostentation, and he should contrive to walk with the mighty ones of the earth. But there is that troublesome conscience of his playing tricks with him, and he finds himself investigating tramway systems, enquiring into such mundane matters ns the price of bread and milk, searching out how the poor live in Melbourne, trying to discover better methods of dealing with the problems which engage him while he is at home, so 1o enable a. shilling to fill more mouths than he now contrives—and lie is already a wizard at it. And yet, despite the work of this man, a. true leader of his people, there are those who persist in seeing only selfishness in the world, and who claim that the pursuit of gain is the only motive which moves men to action. Lucky is Ihe eity which has men among the ranks of its citizens who devote the evening of their days to such unselfish service. Would that there were more to follow in his steps! Seme New Year resolutions would be helpful.