GOOD ADVICE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 806, 1 February 1910, Page 2

GOOD ADVICE.

Sir George Reid, the newly appointed High Commissioner for the Commonwealth, was farewelled in the Sydney Town Hall on January 20th. He gave some excellent advice to Young Australians on the occasion which could with advantage be assimilated by Young New Zealanders. Here are a few quotations from his speech : “How wonderful it was that so little was ever thought of the godlike attribute of humanity ! The one thing that made the rank ot humanity was the possession cf that spark of Divine nature, the human mind. Yet how often did they think of it ? How often did they try to feed it ? How often did they try to give it a show ? If you would only think half as much of the appearance of your mind,’’ he advised, “as you do of the suit ot clothes yon wear on your body, it would be a grand thing for the world. That whicli equipped you for this battle ot life is not in your bodies. It is this Divine power, this mysterious sovereign, which sits on the throne of reason. No Darwin can explain its desiyn ; no man of science can throw n under the microscope. Some peo r le said they did not believe in anything they could not see, and they made that an argument for not believing in a God. Now, the mind shared one of the great attributes of the Supreme Being, because it was never visible except in that which it did. My object is to ask young Australia to turn for a moment or two from the glories of a cricket field, of football, of rowing, of racing—of pri/.e fighting. I ask you to think a little more than you have done as to the best means of developing this marvellous possession, which is your greatest glory. . . . Right through

school Hfe and adult life they could not too clearly remember that their reading was time thrown away unless they took out of every word they read the soul that was in it. If they did not do this, they did just as much harm as if they had swallowed walnuts without taking the trouble to remove the skin. It was not the quantity they read, or committed to memory, that determined the nourishment they gave to the mind. The body could cry out ; it could give one an ache. If the starvation of the mind could send a thrill of pain through the bodily mechanism, then the Divine power within them would have a better chance. But the mind could be starved and never complained, I appeal to the newspaper press to set a bctlpr fashion. Cannot our great newspapers spare some of these corners from the turf or sport—^cheers)—to encourage intellectual tastes and ambitions of a higher sort ? A fashion has been set in Australia which is a public calamity. The newspapers keep the fashion going, I do not ask them to forget the considerations of enterprise, but I say, ‘ Spare a corner or two sometimes to tell us ot the nobler ambitions and efforts of the better part of Australians.’ Why should there not, he asked, be State prizes for distinguished excellence in the way of original research, original composition, original powers of debate, and intellectual culture. My last word to the young men and women of Australia is, ‘Do not forget your physical culture ; do not forget your rightful claims to enjoyment and recreation ; but jrememiref a}so the intellectual treasures pf Do not forget if you excel in the lower forms of activity you are missing the change of excelling in those powers which know po old age, Your capacity for sport will soon disappear, but if you have endeavoured to develop these immortal powers you will have a

a happy life and a grand old age. ‘ And I siy at la-4 to young Australia, with all these in igni fice.nt advantages around them, with all these bright avcuurs for excellence, I say to young Australia Awake ! Awake !”