NATURE-AND MAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 306, 28 December 1936, Page 11

NATURE-AND MAN

A Chat on Resolutions SOME THOUGHT-STARTERS (By Leo Fanning.) Perhaps the making of New Year resolutions is out o£ date or out of fashion. However, it will do no harm |to offer a few notions for national welfare. In a friendly spirit I am I putting words ino the mouths of varijous bodies and individuals. Listen to Ithem: — The Public. “I am the public. Of course, there are as many publics as there are individuals in that puzzling aggregate known as ’the public.' ‘So many men, so many publics’ is just as true as the older saying: ‘So many men, so many opinions.’ No two politicians anywhere in the world see exactly the same public; each man's view is affected by his own whims, prejudices, limitations, experiences hopes, fears, and other factors. So also no two journalists ever see exactly the same public, and the same remark applies to any two persons. How could things be otherwise, with such a complexity as human individuality and such a perplexity as the public (the compound of complexities) 7” “Anyhow I am the public. I don't own New Zealand. I am only a tenant. I have no natural or other right to spoil things for my children and their children, on and on, through the' centuries. I’ll play the game. I’ll be fair to posterity. I’ll support strongly the lead of nature-lovers whose thoughts and deeds are truly national.’’ The Government. "I am the Government. I’ll stand by and work by, the declarations of the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Lands and Forestry, and Public Works tat every possible effort will be made to conserve native forests, to promote further planting of trees and to check vandalism. The principle of national welfare will be paramount. Individual selfishness or stupidity will not be allowed to punish this generation or posterity.’’ Acclimatisation Societies. “I am an average Acclimatisation Society. I wish to be something better than a rod and gun club. Never again shall I turn a deaf ear or blind eye to unshakeable evidence about the disastrous damage done by deer, chamois and thar in and about native forests or alpine vegetation. I shall not let my zest for sport lead me into deeds against the welfare of New Zealand. I shall gladly follow the example of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society which has planted many trees whose beautiful flowers offer feasts of nectar for tuis and bellbirds.’’ Members of Public-Spirited Societies. “I am a member of a Beautifying Society or the Native Bird Protection Society. I shall pay my subscription promptly and help to bring in more members. I shall not be a grumbler, not a discouraging critic of the committee. I shall be an enthusiastic worker. I shall be on the watch for opportunities to assist in the achievement of the society’s ideas. I shall be pleased to speak or write helpful words at the right time and place, but mainly I shall be a sturdy worker.” On that matter of enthusiasm let me quote a passage from an article which I wrote in 1928:—“One of New Zealand’s enthusiasts lives for native birds—works for them day and night. It is his firm belief that unless the present Government and its successors through the centuries have a strong, sound native-bird policy the country

will drift to rack and ruin. He contends that continuing production of butter, meat, and wool must depend on the native birds. Here is the argument. Native forests must be conserved in some cases and regenerated in others to regulate the flow of rainwater into rills and streams, and so prevent land-slides and other havoc of the surface. Forests are the safeguard of pastures, and native-birds; feeding on seeds and berries, are necessary for the propagation of native trees. 'Save the birds, and you save the surface and save New Zealand, is practically the gospel of this fervent friend of the birds. He is doing some good, too.” Well, that enthusiast is Captain E. V. Sanderson (president of the Forest and Bird Protection Society). He had to battle against ignorance, indifference and selfishness—an arduous task, year after year—but he now has the comforting knowledge that public opinion is with him throughout the Dominion . . . .real public opinion. Boys. “I am a boy. Never again shall I use a pea-rifle in the bush; never again shall I rob a native bird’s nest nor mar the beauty of a ferny dell. I shall be always careful with matches. I shall be a whole-hearted New Zealander, keen to conserve the natural assets of my beautiful country.” Motorists. “I am a motorist (of a certain type). Never again will I sneak into the bush and kill native pigeons. Never again shall I be the ass I was, when I tore down the starry clematis from its home on the trees and swathed the bloom on my car, where it wilted miserably on the run home.” Wonders. Here are a thousand wonders; ships of steel That speed beyond the seas; and marvellous craft That challenge airy oceans; here are words From half the world away, heard clear and loud; Here are bright lights that flash as dusk, to make Night’s terror fade, and here great buildings tall. Here is fair art, proud science, here the plan Of nature turned to profit; nere Is Man! And yet— The smallest star that shivers out at even, And trembles in the* vast half-hesitant, A tiny silver gleam against the blue Infinity of space where echoes die And no winds ever blow; a scintillant spark Shot from the dreaming of a Deity— Is this not lovelier and stranger far Than all the miracles of science are? E.F. in New Zealand Railways Magazine.