The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 8, 1889. DECORATED BY A FLUKE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2275, 8 November 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 8, 1889. DECORATED BY A FLUKE.

"Its a queer world my masters?" Quaer indeed, full of topsy-turvinesses and curious accidents, not the least curious of which is the promotion of the member for Oamaru to the dignity of an

Officer of ho French Legion of Honor. | Prima facie, titles and decorations shoald signify the performance of distinguished services to the State, or the possession of qualities marking out the possessors or wearers as greater than their fellows, but m these days of beerbarrel peerages, almighty dollar baronetcies, and lavishly bestowed knighthoods, strawberry leaves may, perhaps, only eignify so many million gallons of good ales and so many hundred thousands of better sovereigns, and a handle to his name, the fact that some local fiolomon Gubbins has happened to be Mayor of some big or little borough on the occasion of a royal visit. This ot course applies to British brevets of nobility, and wo had a sort of notion that "they managed these things hotter m Franco." Vet if the helter-skelter way m which the ribbons of the Legion of Honor have been scattered broadcast m connection with tbe Paris Exhibition is a fair indication of the value of that decoration, then all we can say is that it is manifest there will speedily be plenty of the Legion, but mighty little of the honor. For if anybody and everybody can win a decoration then nobody is distinguished by it — nay non-decoration and plain "Mr " will indicate a higher status that is occupied by the be-ribboned and be titled. Fancy all the nnder-

otruppers of tbe various courts or departments of the French Exhibition, boing placed on the Bame roll with great leaders of men — with the foremost soldiers and tho foromoßt statesmen of the day — and fancy our own quondam Colonial Secretary boing included by a fluke I It is altogether rich this. And it was a fluke, too, of the flukiest sort, for a Wellington correspondent (he of the " Lyttelton Times"; says: — "The explanation, I believe, is that when Mr Hislop was Colonial Secretary m the days before the serpent Christie entered the Ministerial Eden, and seduced tbe ytung New Zoalandor into that illtimed figbt with tbo Judge, some educational exhibits were forwarded to Paris m tbe name of the Colonial Secretary These had been collected after great labour and research, amongst tho rest by attendance at the Melbourne Cup and other centres of tbe higher educational interests by Mr George Fisher." These exhibits have won a decoration for Mr Hislop, who has succeeded Mr Fisher as Minister for Education, though it cannot be contended that he has earned it, and the circumstance is only another of the many illustrating the iaot that fame, if not fortune, is often the result of the merest accident.