The Dominion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1913, THE VALUE OF LONG VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1866, 27 September 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1913, THE VALUE OF LONG VIEWS.

The annual reunion of the Early Settlers' Association which took place in Wellington on Monday last naturally directs ono's thoughts to _ the past. It also suggests comparisons with the' present ancl visions of the future. The old question arises as to whether the world is getting better or worse, and it is an extremely difficult one to answer. When we think of the pioneers who brought British civilisation to Now Zealand and the hardships they endured in laying the foundations of the Dominion we cannot help feeling that they were made of sterner stuff than wo are. There were traits' in their character, such as self-reliance and moral seriousness, which _ are certainly not so pronounced in the men and women of the present. The severer virtues of our grandfathers and grandmothers no doubt had a touch of narrowness and intolerance, and there was at times an absence of that "sweet reasonableness" which does so much to make life worth while; but even this harder side of their character was a nobler' thing than the moral flabbiness of our own generation. Still it would be a great mistake to conclude that the early settlers possessed all the virtues while we have nothing but vices. Present-day moralists are too often inclined to idealise the past. It is true that the politician and the demagogue tell us what line fellows we are'as compared with the benighted people of former days, but few of us seriously believe anything iif the sort. Most critics of modern morals tell us that wc arc pampered and spoilt, lovers of ease and pleas-

uro; that wc aro materialistic moneygrabbers; that wo aro losing the sense of duty: and that wc are growing more selfish every day. There is a

widespread opinion also that wc are physically on the down grade. Wc are further tokl that there is more talk and less brains about. One scientist did say recently that we are getting moro moral, but only at tho expense of our intellect. However, there is no need to despair. These critics are not infallible. We have still many good points, and wo certainly know the worst about ourselves. As a_ matter of fact we are getting better in some directions and worse in others. Both the optimist and tho pessimist may be right, for everything depends upon the point of view. The present may not be as fruitful in great men as the age which produced Shakespeare aund Bacon, Drake and Raleigh, and the authorised version of the Bible; and perhaps it does not shino when compared with the mid-Victorian period when Darwin, Huxley, and Spenser; Gladstone and Beaconsfield; Browning and Tennyson, and other "stars" occu : pied tho stage. .The world may just now be marking time preparatory to another great forward move. Those who think the British Empire is tottering to its fall would do well to remember that in the Eighteenth Century very similar predictions of disaster were uttered, _ and perhaps with more justification. It was openly declared by some of the critics in those days that it was too lato to save cither Church or State, and the causes given for the coming disaster sound quite familiar. A philosopher named Hartley in his Obser■vntions on Man draws attention to the following six evils which he thought would lead to the dissolution of the States of Christendom: — (1) Growth of infidelity, especially among tho governing classes. (2) Unblushing lewdness of both, sexes, especially in the high ranks of life. (3) Sordid self-interest as _ almost tho sole motivo of action, especially, among politicians. . (4) Contempt of all authority, divine or human, especially in the lower classes. (5) Gross neglect of duty by worldlyminded clergy, ; (6) General carelessness about education, and consequent corruption of the young,

Things certainly did look gloomy in those times from the ethical point of view, but instead of a collapse there camc the Methodist movement and a general upward trend which culminated in the splendid achievements of the Victorian period. May not the transition time in which wc are now living develop into an age surpassing all others in greatness 1 There are undoubtedly many indications of a great time coming. The best euro for pessimism is to take long views. People who see only the worst side of our. national life, and the best features of the previous generation, arc naturally convinced that we are dying of civilisation;' but the man who takes long views feels that we are only beginning to be civilised. The human race is, according to modern estimates, hundreds of thousands of years old, and all that wc know of civilisation has been crowdcd into some ten thousand years. Why should not the period of progress last as long as the vast ages of stagnation which preceded it '2