under current

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17802, 29 August 1929, Page 6

under current

IN THE DRIFT OF LIFE (By “Seeker.”)' DAWN. (By 0.A.) A hush is felt o’er all the town, The grey dull clouds are drifting* The river flows serenely dowm And see! the fog is lifting. Then soon the trees begin to sigh And bow T to greet the morning, A gentle breeze goes whispering by The day is slowly dawning. The ranges doff their woolly cap In sleepy, solemn splendour, Whilst birds awaken from their nap Their songs so gay to render. The sun lifts up his golden head, The horizon all adorning, With every shade of rosy red To make a glorious morning. Then with his strongest powerful might All round about and o’er us, He floods the world with radiant light And dawn is right before us. * * * • PEACE THAT PASSETH UNDERSTANDING. A Quaker lady from' the Homeland told this story of Friend Pease, of the noted London commercial house: Ahvays late for trains and .steamers, he lived with his head in the air, w’hile other people collected his luggage, put a handkerchief in his pocket and a hat on his head and generally hustled around to get him off in time. And he stuttered. This time he was leaving for America. After tremendous efforts the family bundled him and his luggage on to the train bound for the docks-just as it was leaving. The old man leaned out of the window to give a final message to his son, who was pacing alongside the train: “T-t-t-tell thy dear m-m-m-mother,” he said, and he struggled so long that, the youth had to break into a run —“that I .de-p-p-p-parted' in; p-p-p-pcrfect p-p-p-peace." • * * • ANOTHER STUTTERER. That reminds me of another stutterer, who was driving a car that was new to him. He came in .sight of the railway ’ crossing just as a train was approaching. He had not many yards in which to pull up. “H-h-h-how do you s-s-s-stop ” be agonised, while the passengers felt their hair rise at the prospect of a murderous crash. Fortunately the man who knew the car didn’t wait for the completion of the sentence but turned off the juice and jammed on the brakes. * * * *

AUNT SELINA ON STUPID CHILDREN

“I suppose it’s natural to like the naughty ones better than the stupid ones,” said Aunt Selina. “Mrs Gibbs positively boasts about how Algie torments his teacher and punches the boys and takes their marbles and throws sticks at the cats, but that poor Wooiford boy that’s just a bit silly—• his people try to keep him out of sight as much as they can. I suppose it’s the same w r ay with folk in general. These ladies that are trying to get a school for the poor kiddies that aren’t 'just all there, are finding it a hard row to hoe." i “They ought to get up a concert or a carnival or a bazaar or something and get a nice fashionable committee behind it,” said Dad. “That’s the only way of getting anything done these days." “I suppose it wasn’t much different in the old days,” said 'Aunt Selina. "Florence Nightingale had a terrible struggle to make people see that it was respectable to be interested in the sick. The upper classes (don’t you know’) thought it very unladylike to have anything to do with nursing and left it all to the Sairey Gamps and Mrs Harrises. Ladies might soil their hands if they nursed, you know’. I suppose some day people will see that it’s just as noble to try to heal sick minds as sick bodies —or to give a little comfort to those that can’t be put to rights. But nowadays most' of us just turn aw’ay and say ‘Ugh.’ " “I believe W’e’re aw’fully behind England and Germany and lots of other countries in that sort of thing, said Gwen. “And they say it’s wonderful what they can teach the poor little things to do. It really must be rather interesting, but I don’t know that I d like to try that sort of thing—not till I’m as old as you, Auntie." “That's the trouble. Some of us too young, and some too old, and a lot of us just shuddering at the thought. I suppose Dad’s right. We need some titled lady and some doctor with an enormous reputation to take a lead and then get up committees to raise funds. But what am I talking so much for? Have you finished your breakfast, William? I've got to go and help Mrs Branigan with her washing. She's gol the backache again, pretty had. And 1 must fix I hat- lace on your ball dress, Gwen. But I do hope someone will do something.”

BEHIND THE TIMES. The “Seeker” was interested to find how far New Zealand was behind the times in the matter of looking after the mentally ailing children. The Government is at last beginning to move to help those that arc just backward at schooling, and* there s hope for special classes at Hamilton.. But that is another matter. These children are not at all abnormal, and may quilc possibly turn out to be more capable for life" than the precocious ones after they have had the special tuition in place of the rough-and-ready mass treatment of the primary schools. The problem ttiat is not being tackled is that of the children who are really deficient. These, too, can often be helped to live a happy, useful life in a simple way instead of dragging out a miserable existence —a. burden to themselves and to ail around them. For such, however, we have not a single home or training centre in the North Island. There is a small home for girls at Richmond (Nelson) and one for boys near Oamaru. By contrast look at little Austria, a country with about five times our population. She has been struggling with tlie most terrible poverty since the war. Yet she had in 1925, in addition to special classes for backward children, 20 institutions for the care and instruction of 1498 mentally defective and epileptic children. In Britain and throughout Europe, according to tho 1926 Encyclopedia, great progress has been made. We seem to be well in Ihe rear. We have to pay for our neglect. Failing to educate our feebleminded, wo have many of them committing crimes or else living in prison at the public expense. Doubtless a part of Llic cause for our large prison population is lack of care for mental defectives,.