THE CHANGING SCENE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 894, 13 August 1910, Page 6

THE CHANGING SCENE.

f (Bi M.C.K.)

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW.

' !At;tlie-Magistrate's .Court next week' : v John'. Smiiji. was. charged '.'with using abusive language.- . • Constablo O'Raftorty gave evidence. "Oi wuz wid Constable MacTavish whin 'I heard accused ■ usin' fareful : language. Oi-listened two minutes bo ' 7 rae watcii ail' told Constable MacTavish • I. wud. arristthe. mahri,but Constable > MacTavish said he thought he was only practisin' a-sermon, but I arristed him. •. He was. quite sober, . but excited, an' ,'kcp' "oh talkin' about some clergy whose-, ■ names I don't raymimber'.' He was riot v voilent. His', language was tlio.; worst , I ever, heard. ..-Yo lcud' cut'it with nknife;. In : mo 1 note-book, projooced, J :.''have 'some. pf.;the.Worst-'exthracts : from •his talk." ' // - , : . ; Constable MacTstvisli;' sworn, deposed: V. "Accused - did use the 'language coin--...plained;of- Witness bad not'considered - .it;improper. 'Witness attended church . regularly. Could not swear that' : . ho; ■ -.had heard. exactly tho same language in the. pulpit, , but it seemed like'some sermons lie had hoard." Constable O'Ealierty, recalled by tho police, deposed that while accused was !. - speaking' a .cab passed, awl the horno /bolted. ;r;Accused .admitted having; used ■ the r language, as quoted .by V.Constable V -.O'Bafferty,; but "produced; a newspaper '-.; clipping to -show that*, ho had merely been' reading .a .newspaper; report pf a sermon. , , ,V:-' ; . v . The ' case. : was ; dismissed with a ; ~ Mr.' .'Conundrum,- S.M.', observaing that. circumstancesvaltered ; ; cases, and.that wbat.Vas suited to the pulpit was not.necessarily suited to tho publio i..; -'stroet.':'J- !■ V "The 'Total Swells" was a heading in The Dojiinjon one day this week. "Drat.'ein," said a dear old lady when it caught .her,'eye/ "I' don't wantto ~ 'know' ~'oq/-they*aro.. ,They!re. overdoing this fashionable lioos, in my opinion'.''. THE RENASCENCE OF CHIVALRY. Tlio;Rugby Union advertises concern-. V.-'ing,-to-day's ■ matches:—"Ladies to' bo :. treated as gentlemen on this occasion." iWe trnst that tliey will-behavc as sicli. : ■ Sii' ,T.G. Ward has. stated that- "had' Mr.' Tregear done nothing better on the '.iiterarjvside; than those beautiful verses - which '-were, recently the . iicwspapersji'e had- done well." 'It may ! not be generally known that Sir Joseph, has long, been a cai'eful and enthusiastic :-. .student,-; of ; a certain class of poetry.'• ■ One of his favourite; liiH:s is "I lisped in .numbers, for .'tho,-numbers ; came." ; His , quotation'-from; Longfellow at i the ; Art Club' meeting tlie other;day',is the • ■outcdme.of 'study, of; that poet-, , , whom he , holds', in'high esteem for his

advice to the public, .hofc; to' tell . him. .Ihings , in mournful! numbers'. 'He does, .not greatly care"for-'Keats,or. -Blake, whomhe 'finds deficient in actuality and; almost ;entirbly barren; o£ trustworthy statistics.; iWith. a ;,littie : ; experience; of figures and .finance, he .thinli's,!Milton would, have become.worthy of , a: place; in!his travelling;library.! As.it is; that : poet's''fine' knowledge■• •..of -' geography,. which'.'make some' passages of "Pafadiso Lost" almost as instructive' as a ;teer,\is;not;in*-itself sunicient I ' to out:!

-.;!■ weigh .the .looseness' of 'his: estimates,. ; : - suchj' for example, "as. his must unsatis-""Nfactory'-.reference '';--io:-, the vautumnal ;;■ leaves:,:;that. ; !strOW" the J in-.Yal-, !!. lombrosa.' ■ Mr.-Tregear's- poem,!on the '■•; :other- hand,,is ;a model of -what'a ; p6eiri !;ivßhould,be.. !ltSr'tex\,;it will;boreiriein-' : v ,,bered;. 'isjithe;.followjiig: 'passage', fro'm' ■v ; the;'Labour Department's Report: .'-.-; !;; : -?;The:birth-rato fell from ,41 per th'bu;\(and. in::187b'"to; 37 per.thousand; in V.-;.;190p.'... The. average! daily., attendance atT Dune'din v 'schqols." fell ;'from : 4148 pupils-:;;in;]^!t6V^2ijn-l!)Ur ,v : : ;,i:!):'; ■':'': ■;.\-.lt; is uhderstobi that Sir.Joseph ilr; ;! :: tends:'to';fpllow..:up.bis. patronage of art V;by r ;offpririg.'.prizeß, fo'r.>tho;best, poems- ;'';,. on-ythe .following! extract'■ from' • one of !-his. recent.speeches addition, the ■''landj!dealt; with■; by the Maori Land 1 ;:,'■ Courts',!had'.'b'een';2s4 ) B7r/aores; and the: ;j,larids ; adniimstored.rurider the Thermal .'Springs -Act ihad-been 2182 acres, or a ■■; total, of/alllands of, 2,476,291." ' V" !, ;: iV,"rrn'afraid, , .'/said.Mr..-Dpoley,' "thai; .; : ould. days iv : Phrlymint ■' is r 'v : ;: - '■■:- ! ■'• : .w- '};;■)■ '■;: •;■;■■ \ ;•'<■■' ):':'"y?fyt •;is:; ! Tammany ; a 'now/ thing?'- , ; : ,-aeked'Mr., Hennessy. : .^':.,,;. ', \ . y.'f'.--"."Ye: ■;■' i.don't ■':. -.iWhin'r-I! good • ould days. I mean : .! th'-, daystwhin .th'; mimber ! iy .Parlymint. H';wuz-; a'iuffeen . ; witti ■ an■>.:ossified , ■; con-; ::'; science, hide, a knpek- '.' jii ea.ch- an ! ; an. acqu'aiirtanco. .'.-.With th- 'sbady'sidoiy life, ■compared; ' ■" with .which'-! Jack . Cassells's '. knowledge' ! :wiid. seem; equal, to,.th' L average barra,;.;couta'skn'.3w]edge.'!;:iv; frescoes. 'The .; mimber-Mv ;!Parlyminti'!to-da!y-.is' such - a ' soul ■ that'he : wud-not "see '.any-. ;;;thin!:,!wrong'.' tli' ; .. v : ;Eect'ry.' ..-In. th'.i'ould; days ,th': qniy ■• y wurrds, that puzzled'Hli'..ould/ban! wuz righteousness, /:j ; always ruM'.outjiv.'ordher 'as'onknpwn'- .■•. '-To-day. :jt's-jio more uso !■ tntyin'■ ,t',; talk'*iy -sin-.'.t , th'... mimber . !;-than t' tti'.'-cnick'eii' * : iust';.out ' iv th' [\ brooder.' ; -■Whin.' Bill.Massey talked ; about. Tammany.', th' ' other -day; : th' ■; :Gov.'niint-.-n)inibe"rs' - thougiit '.'.lie wuz : :;, : referrin'.;t' some.-.new -kind , iv-.weed ■■ ,eradicator,',till' sbmewan. told somewan ;.: else;; t J / ; t«il rao frindi.J'owl's thatiii;' . .meant'- .buiTglary';, ' Ah'..- , whin they -'.-! - looked.;Up;;th' ; meanjn , ' -iv •'.burrglary! ~..t hey burrned- with '-.indignation an', rose'' "upl.t , - , inforrm 'fh'..;Hahsard reporthqrß -.-jthat they..i;nizz 'hot' c'riminals.^in. anhy' -■.'.sin so. iv,th' -:Wnrrd. , v'. i '-.Me;.frmd''Hogari . 'laffed at' th': idee. , 'Tammany, , -! hi : says,' 'ye make '.me lift-,', he;,says, 'an'■ y /yet 'tis; no'laffin' matther , t' .accuse ; .this. House iv;noble fellersv.iv./arinythin' but sm excess,iv ~ yirrtue.-.Befu'ro .1 kern, here,'vhe-..says, "-'I; don't', mind, . sayin'. I! was weak: an , ' errin', prone at anny / moment;t , !'tell a fib, liable t , , say. .. "bother"'if ■me sledge hammer fell on me;toe. . -Bnt th'- company iv th' deacons an' deans in. this House has 'elevated .mo "t , .! such : , a point,' ho says; 'that I. cannot believe annythin' wrong iv annyono,' he says, 'excep' Bill Mas- .; sey.V says he.. 'Tammany? , says that : tendher bud Tom Mackenzie, 'Tam- ;■ , many? ..-What lY.iit? I nivor hearrd ; th' w,urrd.; 'In.all mo rcadin' I niver .!: hearrd,it, an' I speak as a voracious .', student iv fiction,, havin , read "Sand- 1 - .ford an' :Merrton" an' - "Little Women": an , , other reelistic 'romances I 1 all, me. life. Oh,' ho says, 'my breth- ■ : fen,' he, says, <'tis a wicked wurrkl, ' i fear.; I fear things happen' that '.oughtn't to, but,' he says, 'th , Minis-. ■-. thry'is"agin all:that sbrrt iv thing.'. ! An' poor Bill Massey is snowed ondher, in' feel;. as .mean .-as me frind ' Field..,'"'• No, ' Jawn',"' _ th', .average mimber.is .no longer a pirate. Ho is a wliite'-violet, !a lily ii'.. th'. valloy, a , eiirinkin' bud iv innocence. It's no • use.sayin , Tammany t' ; thim—they won't ondherstan'." ..', ', '/.'.. "V th' pure, infac'," Mr. Hen■'.'■.'flossy commented, "all 'things' aro inire."•■' '-•■•" ■ - ■'! - . . .-.,•' !'.■".■■;' "An' .this crowd, Jawn, they. , are, as ■"■■;«o-frihd Kafferty says,, they're protty pure." ' :