Sayings of the Week.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 17, 26 April 1911, Page 3

Sayings of the Week.

yhe Modern Novel. 'y-jj E knew that he would meet with l/A a good deal of dissent when he || I said -that the was prepared to ] defend the modern novel as a means of mental recreation, so long as it yvas wholesome and clean. He was also of opinion that fiction was better dispensed by responsible public librarians than left exclusively to a control in which profit is the dominant factor.— Mr. T. W. Leys, president Libraries Association of New Zealand. * » « « Works of Darkness. At least half the works of fiction now published should never see the light, and destructor.—Mr. H. Shaw, Auckland. . . destructor.- — Mr. H. Show, Auckland. Ideal Civilisation. The limitation of armaments by international arbitration should be discussed at the Imperial Conference. The limitation of armaments is the first practical step towards an ideal civilisation, which is slowly and-irresistibly coming.— M.r. Hughes, Acting-Federal Prime Minister. Stupidity and Morals. There was no need to burrow in the milk-heaps, and he did not want to see dirty books on the shelves. Some books were not only indecent, but were stupid, badly i written and banal, which annoyed him more by- their stupidity and literary rottenness than by their want of morality. , But it was absurd to declare all problem and sex books indecent, and to ask a librarian to tell a full grown man that he conlduT have such and such a novel -because the literature was questionable, despite the fact that the. .work may be making history or hitting at a prevalent vice.— Mr. C. Wilson, Wellington. . . * * . * t . Church Union. ’ One thing is perfectly certain, and that is the necessity that exists for Church union, especially as between such bodies as the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Methodists. I see no insuperable difficulty, theoretical or practical,’ in the way of its eventual accomplishment.—The Rev, Dr. Morley. . . - . : Tine Flour. - The wheat, grown in New Zealand, if properly milled, will produce the finest flour in the world, differingfrom Australia in the essential detail that the .wheat lauds are well farmed whereas in the Commonwealth the areas are never renewed mror. even nhuigned, the land being simply scarified, the wheat sown and stripped year after year. The inevitable result is i starchy whe.at, lacking in gluten.—l//. P. T'irtwe, Auckland.' - N.Z. and Japan. New Zealand haying spent half a century and more' in sheep farming, land legislation, suppresing its drink traffic, lowering its birth rate, and, in short, the achievement of an ideal preventive materialism, is chiefly consumed by hate and feat of Japan, which in the. same interval has made a stride from the 13th to the 20tli century, and which teems with art and life and enterprise and offspring.--Mr. H. G. Wells. ♦ * « • Vicars of Bray. The Government have no special policy of their own. They wobble here and there. They go down to Otago, where a large part of the people are of Scotch ’decent, and preach economy; they go to the West Coast and preach extravagance. 'ln a no-license district they preach temjperance, and when they go to a. district in iwhicli the hotels are open they preach the .opposite.—lf?' l . .4. L. Tlcdintii, M.l\

The Harem Skirt. The harem skirt would be awkward .®or brothers and sisters, as one would «ever know which was which. It was healthy. It might be graceful—it defended how you looked at it. It would be very handy for running to the car.— IMiW May Hain, Dunediw

A Laodicean Church. The New Zealanders had given way terribly to indifference in religious affairs, and there was a lack of vitality, reality, and life in the Church. In fact, the Church was nerveless, asleep, anaemic, and self-satisfied.— Rev. A. B. G. Lillington. «... A Safe Platform. The Government reminds me of Jay Gould, a famous American railway magnate He was asked: “Mr. Gould, when you go to a Republican State, what are your politics?” .Mr. Gould replied, ' Republican.” And when you go to a Democratic State?” was the next question. “Democratic,” said Mr. Gould. “But when you go to a State where there are both Democrats and Republicans, Mr. Gould, what are your politics, then?” “Both Democrat anad Republican,” replied the. magnate.— Mr A. L. Herdman, M.P.

The Popular Magazine. Perhaps nothing had done more in recent years to popularise reading rooms than the multiplication: of illustrated magazines. The magazine and newspaper rooms were invariably the most frequented departments of a library.— Mr. T. W. Leys, president N.Z. Libraries’ Association. . . * . Grocers and Literature. As a citizen, I object to have my literature selected by half-illiterate grocers and drapers. Let us clear our minds of cant on questions like this. Exclude immoral, dirty books, but don’t say because a book conveys a lesson in a sex problem or sex passion it should be ruled out of literature.— Mr. C. Wilson, Wellington. < » * » As Good Fish in the Sea. Do .you knonw of a finer dish than a plate of fried sprats? I don’t—fried or smoked, they are fit for a king. Well, sprats, anchovies, and sardines are all the same. We have them in New Zealand. Enormous shoals of them; tons upon tons at a time. We don't catch them because we haven’t the ge,ar; but we have them here when the time comes.. — Captain Eastick, oi the trawler Nora Niven.

Pure Cnssednsas. The ( restrictions placed on unions in recent awards, such as those in the farm labourers, the shearers, and woolshed hands, had been imposed out of pure and cold-blooded cussedness.— Mr. W. T. Young, Wellington. • • • • Superstition in Clothes. The harem skirt would save the ladies the trouble of holding up their skirts, as it was fastened round the ankles above the boots. I don't think it will ever become popular—especially with the men. Do you think any young man would like to sec his young lady in a harem skirt ? Every liian likes to see his womenfolk gracefully and tastefully dressed.— Miss Oona E: Burton, Dunedin. • • • • The Real Socialism. People were accustomed to associate Socialism with all that was wild and rampant and-irreverent in life, and yet when they looked into Socialism and under its meaning they find it Only sought to embody what science and religion had taught, that it was co-opera-tion and not competition that tended *o the building up of the highest form of human existence. — Mr. Keir Hardie.

Militant Prohibition. If you meet a man in the street, who asks you to have a drink, knock him down, hit his head, and don’t let him up till -he signs the pledge.— Professor Anderson- Stuart. Taihoa. Legislative rest was an impossibilty. Legislative, rest meant: Why send members to Parliament? Why have a constitution?—Hon. J. Carroll.

Scout Ideals. The ideals of the scouts were tie. highest ideals ctf Christianity amt patriotism. They must never forget that once a scout always a scout. A nation with a million men anad boys imbued with the scout spirit had reason to be proud of itself. — Lord Kitchener. • • • • Another Popular Conception • Smashed. The proportion of novels sent out io members of Parliament was very small, probably not more than 4 or 5 per cent.So it was apparent that these gentlemen read a better class of literature than many people gave them credit for looking at.— Mr. C. Wilson, Parliamentary Librarian. Gratitude; Mr. Justice Sim has certainly never at any time shown any favouritism one way or the other, but has won the respect of the employers as an honest, straightforward and impartial judge — Mr. /> Goldie. Auckland. A Double Objection. Power should not only be given to object to the high valuation placed on one’s own property, but also the power of objecting to the low valuation placed on the property of one's neighbour.— Mr. J. C. Gleeson, Auckland. True Consolidation. The effort and arrangement needed to make books, facilities for research, and all forms of art accessible throughout the Empire, would be altogether trivial in proportion to the consolidation it would effect. — Mr. H. G. ll’ci/s. The Public School. The five or six years which a boy spent, at a public school had an influence on his character which must last a life-time, and the older he became the more convinced he was that a parent who, having the power, failed to give his child the advantage of a public school training, was inflicting on him an irreparable injury. Among many other benefits, there were two which seemed to hint to stand out. One was the spurring of individual ambition, and the other was the encouragement of corporate ambition. Striving after the corporate ambition, the welfare and honour of the school led a man in after years to strive for the wider corporate welfare of the nation.—Lord Islin' ton, at Wanganui College. Capital and Labour. An important matter to he considered was that of capita) and labour. These two forces were striving for supremacy, and he was looking for a solution. There must be a solution, but he did not think this was to be found along the lines of legislation. Both parties must get to understand each others rights, and respect them. Along these lines more ha'r many would be attained. It had been said that education was a barrier to the closer binding of the parties, but he did not believe this.— Mr. B. Buttle, Auckland.

The Crux of Labour Laws. There have been a great many Labour conferences lately, but, to my mind, there will never be nhy satisfactory outc’omd until natural ability is recognised. Whether in the Arbitration Court, at private conferences, or anywhere else, while the man who is industrious is placed in the same category as the waster, no satisfactory conclusion will be arrived at. To my mind that is the crux of the dissatisfaction in reference to our labour laws.— Mr J. Godber, Wellington.