Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1892. MANNERS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4188, 10 August 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1892. MANNERS.

Beino the extended hub of ihe Wairakata Daiiy, with which it 18 Identioal

Human Nature is much the same all the world over, and perhaps in no place is it subjected to a severer te«t of itH virtues of temper than behind a post office counter. There, clothed Mth the power of one in authority, it can either exercise itself in considerate regard for all with whom it conies into contact, and so make business a pleasure; or, taking advantage of every adverse influence, it can selfishly assert itself in a manner which is destructive of all good feeling and is utterly lacking the thoughtful consideration which should be felt for one's fellows, even though they be tiresome or exacting in the extreme, or what is quite as irritating, merely intensely stupid, In the Colony wo have in our knowledge of officials of the Postal Service had varied experiences, At times we have met with officers as capable, courteous, and attentive to everyone under all circumstances as could be might cite the Wellington post office with its excellent staff as an example—; while, on the other band we have on occasions in our rambr lings through New Zealand been the victims of the most fiendish ill-temper and ingenious provocation which an ill-mannered and ignorant official can use against what are apparently bis natural eneniies—tjio public. A postal officer has oftentimes, it is admitted, much to put up with tint is trying to his temper, and in the course of years ho either becomes insusceptible to all the trials it is subjected to and is a model of urbanity, or else he gives way to anger's inroads and becomes a prey to irritability, and a curse to himself and everyone who baa to do with him. This loss of control is a grievous failure; and it is utterly destructive pf ,tlie One traits of a mail's character to niJopt' the retaliative policy when he imagines he is aggrieved. In the long run'it is b,Q.iiud to recoil on the individual who weakly yieldji to its appeasing claims, Be sure civility pays, we are told by ono regarding it from the practical .aspect of the man .of business; but eyen fern that point of view, admitting the rcojivo not to be of the highest order, its application, to fhp ordinary affairs of life adds mjich' that is pleanafit jn ni*oeiatjou and one's fellows get the benefit pf tl)e studious politeness which policy has enjoined, Then, perhaps iu the long run enforced habit develops into inclination; and the churl is reformed and it is cheer-

ing and agreeable to have doings with him. We have in writing thus far only had in our thoughts the rudeness of pi'an to. man, as. we have sometimes witnessed it, ftf 'tfie discourtesy Rnd disrespect ip women "rip? solence it becomes then—and. of uncouth behaviour to children, for wo have, we regret to say, more than onco with indignant feelings seen exhibitions of both on the part of public officials, there should be no need to remonstrate, did manliness exist to prompt rightfeeling, Perbapsitdoesexjst, but the better nature lies dormant, and if peeds a thoughtful attention on ijijß part ojf'fts o.wpep tp arouse it to a pup' pf jvhab is ejcpepled of \t . jjo gi.ye jii the appreciative cppjteinpla- ( Ifou ill Sfl welj deserves, js ijur earnest . wish, j

It in interesting in (Mpneptfoii with this question of principle and social morals, to notice the extreme step which has had to be taken at Home in the very Department »vo have alluded Postal Service—and in printing tho extract at the foot of this article,, we hope that aregard for duty and light will always have an uppermost influence in our own Colony, and thai, any notion that the exercise of good manners and civility Will "spoil the public "—the phrasj'

is not our own—will not in this fair country boso po«wful in its restrictive influence on individual politeness as it seems to have been in England, It •has far more shance of spoiling, the man tliun it has of spoiling (ho public. Firmness, wlu-n it is required, is a valuable quality, but it is not necessarily allied to incivility, although unfortunately some people will think that it is-and their fellows have to suffer.

Thus reads the extract, and it is from the Birmingham Evening Post:— "A new and grateful departure is apparent in that eminently-progressive Government department, the Post Office. Having apparently exlmuated for the present its administrative possibilities, pace Mr Honniker Heaton, the Post-master-General is now evidently bent on mending the manners of its personnel. Thero is little room dow for improvement in tho services rendered by the department to tho intercourse of the writing world from Polo to Pole, from China to _ Peru; but it cmi do a good deal still to improve the intercourse between the public and ifo officials. The excellence of its service does not yet extend to all its servants, and it is high time that they were rominded by Sir Jame3 Fergusßon that next to dishonesty, rudeness or in. civility to tho public on the part of a Post Office employe 1 is ono of the worst offences he can commit. " Man dressed in a little brief authority" is often offensive enough across a post office counter, buthis superciliousness and impertinence as a rulo are less keenly felt by male customers than the scornful treatment to which thoy aro too often subjected by the young ladies of the department. Often, unless Sic James Fergusson has been greatly misinformed, they will keep a member of the public waiting while they, perhapi, finish some idle conversation, or complete a row of knitting; and even when they attend to the business in hand, they do so not without airs and graces, and as if on their part it weroan sot of condescension. '' This apart from its impropriety," observes Sir James, "is calculated to injure the class to which they belong. A man will complain of a man, but he does not like to complain of a woman. So far, therefore, aB women aro wanting in attention and civility, they supply a powerful argument against their own employment." Something (if the same kind used to be said in tho old days ot Mugby Junotion, when the young ladies engaged in the refreshment business emerged from the Bando-lining-room to the encounter of " the Beast "as it came to be fed; but the sharply-satirical pen of the lata Charles Dbkens effectually pricked that foolish b.ubble, and taught refreshment Contcactors and their assistants that they were not tho misters but the servants of the public, and ought tu conduct themselves as such.

It would be untrue and unjust to suggest that the bad manners alluded to are characteristic of all or even of must of tho young men and women omployed in ministering to our wants over post office counters. As a rule they are very obliging and attentive, at all ovents in the provinces; hut the exceptions are numerous, and when they do occur thoy aro generally flagrant. The dißpusitiun to finish an idle conversation or complete a row ot knitting, however, is not more prevalent among the softer Bex than the reluctance to suspend an entry or postpone a calculation on the part of their male asseciatos when accosted by a hurried customer. Both Bexes are prone to think that a little deliberation contributes to their personal dignity, and that the public who aro always " wanting to know you know" require a little snubbing now and then to keep them in their propor place and teaoh them the difference between official and unofficial nature.

Sir James Fergusson's admonition, we are glad to see, is not confined to therank-and-file of the Post Offico staff. He is equally emphatic in his counsel to. tho superior officers. As in private life, experience shows that servants are much what their masters and mistresses make them, he observes, so, in the public service, if the subordinates are wanting in courtesy and alacrity, their dificiencioa reflect on the superiors. Sir James Fergusson regrets to be forced to the conclusion that tho falling off in these respectß is fast bringing the department over which he presides into discredit, and ho therefore appeals to the entire staff to assist in removing this reproach, and gaining for their respective offices a reputation for oivihty and attention. The admonition is a timely and much-needed one, and though it necessarily confounds tho innocent with the guilty; and soems unjustly to reproach those who are always the pink of courtesy, as well as their rudo and illmannered colleagues, we feel euro that, on reflection, every official who has the true interests of the department at heart will approve of the circular, and do his best to give effect to it."