“COMMERCIAL MORALITY.”

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 460, 5 April 1890, Page 6

“COMMERCIAL MORALITY.”

Auckland, March 24. The Rev. E. H. Gulliver lectured on the above subject to a good audience at the Tempex-ance Hall last night. He said that although it was dangerous for a theorist to attempt to lay down rules for the guidance of men of action, yet the man of theory might sometimes make suggestions which the practical man would do well to follow. It would be readily admitted that the commercial i-ecord of Auckland for the last ten years had been a sad one. Ten years ago many business firms in Auckland occupied honourable positions fairly won by years of honest dealing, but they had disappeared one by one, or if the name remained, it was but as seme discarded shell from which the original tenant had departed. Now, why was this ? It was easy to reply that the commercial men of Auckland wei'e “ a bad lot,” but he would make no such assertion, for although they had their proportion of black sheep, there was no ground for assuming that the character of the business men of Auckland was below the level of business men elsewhere, or of other members of the community. There must be some other and truer explanation. During the last few days they had been excited over the arrival on these shores of a very unwelcome visitor, and they all sincerely hoped he had nor. “ come to stay” —he meant “la grippe.” What was the meaning of the fact that some hundreds of people in Dunedin and Wellington were suddenly suffering from a new disease ? It meant that some change had occurred in their surroundings—that the air they bi-eathed was in somo way affected, so that their health suffered. They had heard lately of the life and death of one whose name must always evoke feelings of love and reverence; for Father Damien had lived such a life as is seldom witnessed now, and his death was due to the sadly changed surroundings among which he so nobly took his stand. As with individuals, so also with nations ; for centuries some people, as the Athenians, might stand out preeminent in all the walks of life, —but after reigning queen of the world for centuries, a change comes, and little by little Athens falls from her high estate, and like modern Spain, sinks out of the race of civilisation. The reason was that the suri'oundings had changed. And so with our own lives. If we see a low state of morality, and a prevalence of vice and crime, we may safely infer that the surroundings aie evil. The old saying. Vox populi vox Dei, is certainly not always true, but it often indicates a truth. For example : We know that the old laws of England inflicted savage punishments for what are now regarded as comparatively slight offences, until the sentiment of the people revolted, and jux-ies refused to convict even on indisputable evidence. So now with regard to the bankruptcies so sadly common in Auckland of late years,— what is the popular verdict ? Do we not feel that the popular voice constantly acquits the bankrupt, fiom the feeling that our modern competition is killing, and that the coui-se of events has been too strong for him ? There is also a certain immoral element in the air, induced to a great extent by Government action. If the Govex-nmenb had deliberately intended to demoralise the people, it could hardly have devised more effectual measures for that purpose than its public works policy and its most iniquitous tariff and property tax. These are some of the things which have had an evil effect on our surroundings, and which affect our national character and lower the tone of our commercial morality. What can be done ? Each one has some little influence ; let each one use that influence to alleviate the sti-esa of the devilish competition that prevails, to enable all to realise that the truest interest of each is bound up with the truest interest of all, and so hasten the coming of the time when Each shall to another Be as Christ would have him, brother unto brother. And all the bars of race and creed which sever Be merged in one humanity for ever.