THE CHANGING SCENE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1008, 24 December 1910, Page 6

THE CHANGING SCENE.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. (By H.C.K.) . Joseph .Ward," said a telegram , . appearing in all tho papers on WednesKr.:- day; last,"in order: to give old ago pen- !'- • Bioners; the advantage of. their pensions [y.'; at;. Christmas time, has ,arranged for the ; ! payment of the pensions on' December ( 3J-" This must be splendid news for :• . i'lo old folk, who are preparing for the j. ';f. which is; to take place [. . yesterday. - t " 'is ; simply enough explained. A higher hand-has nothing to do with it. •....;. Sir Joseph, merely .took advantage 'of ;V.;? the.-fact that he was'in Rotorua, and p : Rotorua- time, as' every schoolboy ! : knows, is five pounds . nineteen acres { an <J' eleven quarts ahead of the calendar ' (Troy-measure). • iv—! ! ... [' ...It was reported , during - the week : . that Wo of the local detectives effected i ' '.',a\smart 'arrest." - They came upon tho . in- the street, sneaked iif behind an d grabbed. At,first you,said to t' yourself, -when you came 'upon the rei port'in the paper, that it.'was time the t;vrepprters : discriminated -a little.t "A r:. ; smhrt arrestl''' you snorted, -and-' you' ' decided to: spend Christmas ! ; writing t-o tho editor to tho effect that I,;.- thj& arrest would really have been smart j ; if . the detective had carelessly walked tV hands -up to tho unsuspecting :-.. . . quarry, and, with a ,sudden movement, . hcxiked his legs round.the man's neck and brought him down ..that, way; or if .3 v the, detective had disguised himself as . a, and handcuffed his man - while ;he -was emptying the bottle; or F_->-~hidden.'. r nnder.'the; seat of a palace car ;' for/days; in, the expectation of one day j- seeing', tho- . suspected : boots. . within. reach';'or waited' until tho man- was ■ 4;, opposite.,tho;'police/-station,; and then •suddenly, jumped from the trolley wire .and Ipu'shed.,him into-;the arms,'of the .v station sergeant. As for coming up behind a man and grabbing him, you ; think,-there is, nothing smarter in that than -in 'missing a' tramcar,- "and so, sir, it was absurd to call it a 'smart' >• arrest.—l am, etc.. 'Pro Bono VPub- ,,... lico.V" But , you ■ overlooked : one '; point. - The detective , did not. remove- - his boots. Ho • camo up behind the, ' , man'-. Tyith' his boots. oh,; and' made -no .nibre ;rioiso than ail ordinary citizen.-That-is why it - thoroughly, deserved •? - description as'a smart , arrest.. V. ;; '

: . "And now, my: dear boys," said tlio in winding■; up ' his J.. -; speech at the prize-giving,.. "what do you' fee!' about our glorious country? As j;.'. you/contemplate, not merely its'climatc [ : and ' its scenery—which, after, all, are '■ to some extent the wort of Nature, and r-.-not: entirely tho:irort of tho democracy §;V. and - the;'-' liberal Administration—but I'V, itstlaw.s,: its customs,,the •'refinement, of. itsipeople,' the • high ideals of' its states-: f',;' . men—as' : you' *contemplate' . all '.these } " . things I am sure that! you. will say, j:. —with : all .your heart,.- that/the country I is—. .....' • >'•' '"Bosker;" said Smith major- • \

;/■/-. "Rippin'," said Jones m. snorter,", squeaked Williams vi.'/ ; i./;/ '"You .are, I' know,'- his 1 tV; ; Reverence,! "keen observers of our j. ./politics; and you know'that'the char- [;//. actor of tho people colours;tho ;debates !• in your Legislature. 1 Unhappily, there ! are men in :the : ,House who are bent {;. •■ upon lowering thy '"time of our public [v. lifo. by inquiring into the methods of j, , our administration. But lam sure that f•: , you have as;little:doubt as : I .have .that jr :j-the high' standard of our , Parliament i is. safe in the custody of the Prime : Minister. .You fully share] I know; the f. :.;-.opinion of, that great man. upon these ; enemies of ithe* higher life, and; since !/;■ .you: cannot but have taken him as /' • your model, you will not hesitate to say ['• .'. .'that his opponents- are " •*■/. 1 "Skunks,''/ said Smith major. ". : f:-f • "Crawlers," said Jones iii: ■ cV,,.'. /'Swine," squeaked /Williams vi. !'' • ' "You have been, told;' of .course, that, j,;. clean and precise; thought .makes for. ' *■'. V cleaii'; and precise speech; and the converse , also holds good. Your interjec- >';/ tioris iconyince me that you • are deter-.; k ' mined to-keep the' well-of English unfc'.' ; defiled,-; and the glorious ■ currency qf '. . our tongue frco from base '/;o(Loud ,ppplauso,, during which- his Eminence; resumed. his seat.).' • ; : "Rotten,", whispered . Smith .majorl.. i: 'i*v- "Bunkum," .whispered Jones, in. whispered Williams', vi. ? In a statement to a-reporter the i; 1 :-:.-.; other day, Sir William Steward, who ( /'• has sat. Parliament since short-.| iv. ly / before .tlio : ■ arrival ■ of . ■ Captain I !•'•: that it ', was , only I advancing age that would make' r':)Xifiim:!retira''fi«m-'poKtica.. Ho" went ou j /... , to say,that a.t the end of Inst session }r. ../"members, of Parliament! were doing i, more work each ,day : than the averago I i brain worker did in a week" We sup-;, pos'e we must concludo that this means t that'fho end has come at last —but per-1 j': 1 . haps his .statement may have been due N to -some other cause than age. jv ■ 1 Incidentally, we think that Sir Will'f: liain's distinction between members of (. Parliament and brain-workers is. a ■ little too sweeping. Tho two classes overlap in a few instances. But as a , ■ rough - classification, it will do.

The Christcliurch City Council has passed a by-law "preventing. ally per- , ; son from speaking, singing, or praying, cithor alone or in company, or' playing tmtf gramophone or other musical in- . strument, in Cathedral Square without the written consent of tho council." It' sounds a little extreme, and it is certainly very defective, unless .there are wide powers of Some actions speak louder tlian words, and some'clothes are louder than either words or actions. How are these to - be, got at? And will tho by-law meet • the .case of those people who conduct their . conversation, while passing through- the Square, in tho' deaf alphabet—or is it the Braille system? Is it - the mere sound that the council objects to—or is it the exchange of words and ideas, apart '• from ; tho' sound ?' Some • people will feel very severely tho' con-' ■ • version of tho Squaro into a place in which nobody may speak, cither to himself or to anybody else. The necessity ■ for ", sudden silence as you. enter tho Squaro may spoil for good ,the chance : : ; of v an Edwin who lias just screwed up his courage to settle the matter with - 'Angelina. Oh tho other hand, people will be dashing into the Square all day in. order to. end painful interviews. It unnecessary to sympathise. with the , gramophones; oh the contrary, the Jaw ( of their nature seems to require that thi?y-shall •liye" in an atmosphere of. hostility and coldness. But the regulation 'of ; prayer.;is surely wicked. You can't' go about with your pockflts full of. papers informing the police' thai; "John Smith is hereby permitted'to pray in. Cathedral Squaro at 3 p.m. to-day, the " 19th inst."; and when you dSsh lip .Worcester Street to the City Council office to tako out a licenso to pray in a hurry your experience of municipal Ted tapo will result in your leaving the premises with no inclination to use the ■ permit,'.but with a very strong desiro! .v.spasnn.\ticket for: something