OUR YOUNG MEN.

West Coast Times, Issue 10427, 4 December 1896, Page 4

OUR YOUNG MEN.

{To the Editor) , Sir, —It seems to be a favorite fad of some people to be always having a ' shot ' at our young men, and it is no unusual thing to hear old horny handed miners declaiming on the same subject. Mr Seddon seems to have fallen into the ->atne error, for the reason, possibly,' that he bhinks it is popular to do so. Now, I venture to assert that our young men of uO <3:'y are just as proud of their manhood, itnl as fine a stamp of young fellows as yo i will find under the British flag. Look •it them on our football and cricket fields, vi the ranks of our volunteers, as young niu^ra, and generally in the active pursuits of life, and I think .for physique, for character, and for the ideal man of intelligence, they will hold their own as against any competitors in the race of life. Yhe " stock whip " incident is a painful incident, for the reason that it was unfilled for and unmerited, but it ha« aroused a sympathy of a wide spread oh iracter throughout our orderly and law i ') il'ng communities. There are ample v.V">fs, if proofs aie needed, of what oar »omg men are capable of undertaking, tj cases of emergency. At the tirue of •ihe disastrous strikes our young men pf Ross, Rirau, Kanieri and other places, we're eagerly engaged by the large coal companies of the Coast, and soon distinguished themselves as active and inluotrious miners, gaining the respect and idmiration of their employers. [lad Mr Seddon done his duty to Rimu i»y stimulating that laa-ge and valuable many of our young men would not have had to leave Westland to seek employment elsewhere, and then might have been spared the indignity and op- •• l)jr ; urn so wantonly jCast upon them. '„'i bump of self esteem is so pronounced in 'Mr Seddon, that bethinks his clip trap and cant phrases will go unchallenged. It is, however, a healthy sign to find the young men of Westland resenting such gratuitous .and unprovoked denunciation, and it is to be hoped that the ballot box may furnish the means by which the jstiyma may be wiped out for evei. I am, &c, Frkkdom.