RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 152, 3 May 1909, Page 5

RANDOM REMARKS.

The shooting season which opened on I Saturday provided an outlet for the surplus energy and sporting instinct of quite a large proportion of the population. In oar own disrict the birds suffered fearful slaughter- much more severe in faeVJban one wooH) imagine from the bags that were displayed. Still, it b consoling to know that the lost birds are helping to fertilise the soil, though it is natural to grieve over the loss of toothsome game. Let us hope there have been a few stray birds left for those unfortunates who were unable to take advantage of the opening day. Speaking of birds the writer is led to reflect upon the manner in which the moa was hunted by the agile Native in the dim and distant past. The bird must have been a fearsome object, and only subject to capture by strategical measures. All thing* considered it seems s"range that the bird was not hunter instead of hunted. A hunter in the good old days did not require many kills to complete a bag. We have no authentic rcord of the percentage of lost birds, but stories connected with misses most have been thrilling. Present day bird stories affect one differently.

Much baa been said and written about the eternal feminine, whoever she may be, and the term is used in explanation when mere man reaches* the limit of his comprehension with regard to an action on the part of wife (if he be wisr) or sifter or any other member of the sex. A friend of the writer's in his callow days, used to loftily assert that the eternal feminine was merely a weaker and less worldly wi tc edition of man. and should be treated as such. That man in due course received his reward, fie is married now. and obediently wheels the perambulator and performs sundry other feminine actions which in his youthful days his lofty spirit would have scorned. The seal was set on his bondage when he meekly assented to a command not to smoke indoors. I often wonder if Smith longs for a return to the primitive days in which man asserted bis rights with the heavy end of a club.

We have progressed since the good old days, and. women's rights have been hotly advocated for more years than one would care to remember. To do man justice he is perfectly sincere and anxious in his desire to grant woman her rights. The trouble appears to lie in arriving at a definite idea as to what those elusive rights consist of. Also the eternal feminine appears unable to assist him in his dilemma. The feminine who chains herself by the legs to a statue is deserving of a stronger epithet than eternal. Also she probably gets what she deserves. She. however, wants a vote, and to us it seems strange that such a natural request should be dented her. Obviously, also, she intends to get that vote. The struggle is a bitter one. but my money goes on the eternal feminine when she is in earnest.

"Always a sport, always a gentleman." is a somewhat hackneyed term, but it has evidently been taken to heart by Te Haitians, judging by the variety of pastimes which have been indulged in by the town residents. Cricket, tennis, croquet, football, and golf have all their ardent votaries, while but for unlocked for difficulties arising bowls would have been in full swing by now. These are but a few of the more noteworthy recreations, the foil list of which would be tiresome to contemplate. The light-saving Bill wilt have to bv brought into force to enable the people to get through their games satisfactorily. At present a day's rain throws the sporting programme out of gear, and frets the sporting instinct dreadfully.

Some people are bard to please, and the workings of the ordinary mind are frequently difficult to fathom. Derpitc the antiquity of the subject I am led to pen a few lines about the weather, such action being inspired by an experience during last week. A week of perfect weather but inadequately describes the week referred to. but in this instance such description must suffice On the station platform one peerless morning I bad the pleasure of meeting an old school mate who recently returned from South Africa. In voicing a cotnparision between Africa and "God's Own Country," my friend remarked that New Zealand would be infinitely preferable as a place to live in only for the weather. I gasped, and turned a wondering glance upon the speaker who seemed qoite oblivious of having given utter ance to a heresy. I have never been to Africa but somehow have gathered the opinion that in the best climate there one was roasted in the daytime and frozen at night, while in the rainy season one had to hibernate or get drowned. General impressions are always of doubtful value, and I am open to correetioo. At the same time New Zealand weather at its best is good eonpngb for in*.