Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1892. OUR BOYS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4187, 9 August 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878]

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1892. OUR BOYS.

Being tub mended him of the Wairarapa Daily, with which it is ioentioal

Some time ago we unbosomed our- - selves to that reoipient of many confidences," the general reader," on the subjeot of Wives in the abstract; and then, again, we discoursed on thn alluring topic of Maids, It would seem that the expression of our sentiments went far to meet a longfelt want, since we found ourselves rising into fame through the columns of various contemporaries—most of whom were good enough to acknowledge their indebtedness to the Wairarapa Daily Times. . Emboldened by tbo smiling reception accorded lo our first flights into the region of social criticism, we have decided to take a further plunge, VVe feel, be it understood, as modest as ever; praise cannot puff us up. On the other hand, hard words will not break our bones, since we are already alive to the possibility that we may occasionally orr in our pronouncements upon men and things. We propose, then, to pass in brief review some young men and some young—things thit are to be met with from time to time in New Zealand. It will, be necessary, for the purposes of our disquisition, to distinguish very sharply at the outset between a Young Colonist and a Young Colonial, It is essential that the Young Colonist shall have been" raised" in the Mother Country. The Young Colonial is, of course, "our own make," a purely local production. This being premised, let ub address ourselves to-day to the former class, We can only pretend to sketch; and, to the sketcher, detail is a thing impos.sible. Moreoyrr, Wfl must be content that o.ur sketch should pesernbl.e those recent efforts in photographic combination which present one face as the aggregation of the characteristics of many, We feel that we cannot make adequate allowance for individual variations from the type; and we offer these preliminary remarks in order that our readers may not believe us ignorant of the numerous exceptions with which any generalisation can be confronted, is regards its best specimens, the breed of Yojing Colonists isnecessarily diminishing, Jpngiime has passed since every variety' of 'the species was very much in evidence among us; and it may be said that there were three principal types. First tjioro was the young man of gentle nurture, w}io caruo out, with a tidy slico of paternal or capital to begiu with, to make for Jn'mself' a lodge in our vast wilderness and rer lieve the congestion at Home, His • eldest brother was in the army; the second was at the bar; nothing offered in his own case but the reversion of a family living. Disclaiming, however, j any special vocation for the living aforesaid, the young gentleman decided—wisely for himself, and happily for ths Colony—to "squat" here U upon oroafacjfes hpld from the Crown, i, Hearty good "wishes' and help and i hope he took with Mm from the old } squire,"his father'; apjd'we need not linger over tbe simple and wholesome J story of his colonjal life, whi,oh has begn lived always jn the ljgj)t ; In ninety-nine casesoutof every hundred the Colony to which he came wa3 the I gainer by his coming. With his capital he opened up ihe country and turned eyen poor land to good U6e; with hiß courage be fn«:d no end of

troubles incident to the career of a aheepfaruier—from a full in wool to tbe purchase, of bis " pre-emptive" by a speculative cockatoo; with his breeding and knowledge of the world he contributed to build up worthy traditions for the land where he had made his home, If, as time went on, his neighbours Bent him to the colonial parliament, ho was generally conspicuous therein for moderation and common sense. His gravest fault was that he was apt to regard himself and his fellows as the salt of the earth, He torn the best oitizen of those days; but be was too ready to signify to the commonalty that he knew it. He was inclined to look upon the non-squat-ting population rfe Aauf However, this Young Colonist has practically passed away; ■ that is to say, he himself is now more than middle-aged, and the younger generation of his social compeers in England can hardly come among us in the same way. The pastoral lands ot this country are for the most part taken up; a wholly new condition of things has arisen with the growth of population and the development of industries. And as for the sons of this typical colonist, they are different in kind, They are "Young Colonials "—of whom more anon.