THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. THURSDAY, DEC. 30, 1909 THE COMING YEAR.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 220, 30 December 1909, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. THURSDAY, DEC. 30, 1909 THE COMING YEAR.

A HAPPY New Year to all! It is always courageous to make known your sentiments in your opening remarks. Subsequently, there can be no misunderstanding However, the brand of courage necessary to express openly the time-honoured yale-tide wish is not of the most pronounced typo, though the spirit which prompts the wish is perhaps to be commended. The dawn of a New Year has ever been a time of general rejoicing and merry-making, from before -the time our Viking forebears burnt the yule log and sang the ancient sagas in honour of the brave deeds of their mighty ancestors. The world has got bigger since then, and our national vision has extended until the lands upon which the Southern Cross looks down arc concerned just 33 intimate! y witb New Year associations 3s are the North European countrie.-, in which the time-honoured custom was given birth. In looking back upr,:i the pa?t ycr>r ; .v<- in New A--land can rucori a ff\> in l'i\ !,;.r. r'h] r> :rin;r.-n'-y ha:; visits! the

Dominion, but on all side.-?, such is the I •••i.timism and buoyancy of young and < ra! j-.ror/r<:■ = --. Tk' co'Jr.-.ry hj: . ;? pered; population has e-_r.t::.uci to ilow to our shores, and our staple industries have show? - : a truly -.vo:-.'.:--r:u. revival in all respects. Loca..y. "..:e year has been one of steady progress without any of the feverish activity which usually denotes a boom in a now district, and which is inevitably followed by a reaction. Our lands arcbeing opened up, and settlement is proceeding steadily. In the town centres the growth of industry and popu- . lation is evident by a marked increase j in buildings, and the opening of new j businesses. Such progress is of the j beneficial order from which there is no looking back, and judging from present indications the same development can proceed for many years to come. In a district such as ours, where settlement exists only in patches, and where all the conditions are favourable to the establishment and steady pursuit of the most profitable forms of industry there is little fear of reaction, and a policy of enterprise, both in private and public matters, is not only justifiable but absolutely necessary. It is gratifying to note that among our sett- | lera this sentiment is general. The j keynote of progress is enterprise, and with such a district it would be passing strange were our settlers to fail in realising that a bright destiny is in store for the King Country. Steady and persistent effort and co-operation on the part of every individual is essential to the best interests of all, and in making our New Year resolutions this fact should be steadily kept in view. Our private New Year vows are naturally sacred, and each may be trusted to make thera according to the exigencies of private circumstances. In a public sense we should be alive to the virtue of working hand in hand for the common good, and of meeting each other in the knowledge that for public ends our neighbour's efforts are as essential and worthy of respect as our own. Mutual help and forbearance should be the watchword for the coming year, and in looking forward to 1910 we extend the wish of a happy and prosperous year to all.