King Country Chronicle Saturday, January 6, 1912. BEGINNING A YEAR.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 428, 6 January 1912, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, January 6, 1912. BEGINNING A YEAR.

The dominating spirit of our people in commencing a New Year is invariably one of hopefulness for the future, and a stimulating desire to achieve something which will be a fitting result to worthy and steadfast effort. The doctrine of work is deeply ingrained in the race, as witness the countless examples of history. More particularly in latter years has the doctrine come to be regarded! as the most worthy of acceptance by all good men and true, as the guiding principle of life as applied to worldly matters. The achievement of any object, great or small, is only attained by effort, and the more organised and persistent that effort is made the easier and greater will be the achievement. Thus we have it that at certain periods man's thoughts naturally turn to a survey of his surroundings and as each New Year arrives there comes the ambition to take firm hold of grim circumstance, and carry effort a step onward and upward. A striking and cheering feature of the usage is that coincident with the stirrings of worthy ambition there comes the leavening desire fyr harmony with our fellow workers, and New Year efforts are usually conspicuous for their spirit of toleration, and are tinctured with that kindliness which plays such an important part in furthering the world's work. The work of the world which counts for the good of humanity in general is rarely the outcome of individual effort. Our Parliaments, municipalities, and boards of various kinds, established for the good governance of the people are the bodies in which the general well being and happiness of the people are centred, and the collective efforts of the members of those bodies is the most important practical work which can be achieved in the world. In our district we have pointed evidence of the necessity of collective effort, in order to accomplish the common ends which make for the general prosperity and well being. Our district is young and virile and is taking giant strides on the path of progress. Fortunately the public men who have guided the district's destiny hitherto have recognised to the full the nceeasity of both private, and harmonious collective effort, and the foundations have been laid upon which to continue the work in the interests of true and unswerving progress. The value of harmony, engendered by a spirit of toleration and the readiness of the broadminded man to sink private prejudices in the interests of the common weal cannot be too highly rated. The desira for harmony probably appeals with greater force to individual man at ths present Beason than at any other. We sincerely trust that the year 1012 will see worthy effort rewarded by worthy result, achieved by the hearty co-opera-tion of all in our local undertakings.