WAIRERE NOTES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXX, Issue 8450, 15 May 1906, Page 2

WAIRERE NOTES.

(Special to Daily Times.)

In a recent issue of a-Wellington paper appears a letter signed Chas. Simmonds, re "Boating in the Harbour," drawing attention, as he puts it, " to the want of commonsense and reason displayed for the safety of He. says : " If india-rubber afisqfafring had been fixed inside the gunwale of the boat, the poor sailor would be alive," etc. Could any remedy be simpler or more effective ? In the name of humanity, what are our boatbuilders about, that they-have not made this a necessity, in every boat built by them ? In an experience of thirteen years at sea, and what I have read and heard of since, as to the awful loss of life through boat accidents, and chiefly through the scandalous neglect of not making the boats unsinkabJe, it sickens one to think of the apathy that has existed in this respect, and to wonder why the matter has not been legislated upon years ago. Surely there is more than a grain of truth in the saying that " All men are fools " when we calmly remain indifferent to loss of life, so frequent and continuous. All honour, then, to Mr Simmonds for bringing this matter before thepublic, and I trust he will not cease to tate till such time as every boat, in a shall be compulsorily made a life-boat, and not a death-trap, as the terrible list of fatalities has long since proved. In the name of justice* why are the small fry persecuted, when the big fish are permitted to go free ? The following memorandum has been gazetted :-—Memorandum for Under-Secretaries. and heads of Departments.—Representations have been made that Government servants sometimes engage in the teaching of music, to the disadvantage of professional and private teachers. Ministers have therefore decided that no Government servant shall engage in the teaching of music without the express permission, in writing, of the Minister in charge of his Department. By order.— Hugh Pollen, Under-Secretary, Colonial Secretary's Office, AVellington, 14th March, 1906. The persons -affected would probably be under-paid clerks, with families to keep, ancl struggling with hi_>h rents and heavy municipal rates ; but the man with' a big screw and a rent roll of a few thousands per annum from broad acres, may supplement his Government appointment with impunity. But woe betide the little fish, if he jumps to catch a passing fly. Let the scales hang evenly between man and man, be they rujL or poor, whether born in the purple, THfc sprung from low degree, " for a man is a man for a' that." The evil effects on the health of children from over-indulgence in meat food has been too often referred to, to need further comment. We see it in the pale faces and toothless gums around us, unless the porcelain substitute is there to take its place, and at best they are but apologies for healthy specimens of humanity, they are in truth degenerates, and are as numerous as mosquitos in a Manawatu swamp. We therefore offer the following remedy, taken from an Australian paper :—" One of the best and pleasantest places to enjoy luncheon is the vegetarian cafe. Descending a few steps from the street, you come into the cool ancl airy dining-rooms. Small tables, with spotless white clothes, adapted for parties, are spread about you. Every tiling here is remarkably clean and pure, and should you desire to see the kitchen, store rooms, etc., you will at once be conducted to that region by the pleasant and intellectual manager. There again everything is spotless—counters, tables, cutlery, attendants. A typist is engaged in reeling olf matters of business in the store room, girls are briskly and vigorously handling the utensils in the pantries, and everything shows an energy and understanding that speaks well for a vegetarian diet. Business men who are not vegetarians come here for a cool luncheon on hot The regular customers are their calm and thoughtful aspect. Fruits purify the mind as they do the body. Vegetables, permeated by mineral elements, clarify the perceptions as they do the blood. To those who would improve themselves physically, mentally and morally, we would say, eat when you can at a vegetarian cafe. ,v Is there no one enterprising enough to start an institution of this kind in Masterton ?■ "King Frost" was here this morning (Saturday), in all the plenitude of his power.