AN INTERESTING CHAT.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 473, 21 May 1890, Page 3

AN INTERESTING CHAT.

OUR REPORTER INTERVIEWS MR VARLEY. Auckland, May 14. Mb Varley has been in our city nearly six weeks. He is a man who has looked upon nearly every city of the world, and he has the faculty ol observation strongly developed. He has talked to Aucklanders, he has iound opponents, supporters and friends. Now he is going to leave it all behind. On Thursday afternoon he will have left this city for good. Now that it is over, what are his impressions ? A Stab reporter thought they would be interesting, so he called at Sir William Fox’s house, whore theevangelisb iestopping, and askod to see him. Ho was shown into the preacher’s pleasant room at the back of tho house. It overlooks the slope of the domain with its fir trees and lovoly shading of light and dark greens. “ So you want a chat?” said Mr Varley, when our man entered. “ Where shall we start ?” “ Well, what are your general impressions of Auckland now that you have been here six weeks?” “ I think that it is a most beautiful city. The natural position is unassailable—almost unequalled. Nature is lavish in her beauty to you. Ido nob know a finer view in the world than that I and some friends eaw yesterday from the top of Mount Eden. Auckland as a city has, I feel convinced, all the elements of success. It is, too, a very compact town. The knots of little homesteads look very pretty as one sees them from the various eminences.” “ You have Btaled several times, Mr Varley, that you cannot see that we are suffering from a depression, yet the complaint is a very general one. ” “I must confess ib seems most ridiculous to me to hear people talking of depression, as you say they do. When I look round in every direction and see happy homes, wellfed children, and comfort the rule and nob the exception, as it is in our large towns, ib really doos seem supremely absurd to talk so mournfully about depression. Bub there is here a most unhealthy basbo and desire for the making of money quickly. Ib cannot be right that sums should be made at fever pace, and yet unless people do it they think they are suffering from what thoy term depression. '

“ You know I take the Bible and Nature as my standpoint from which I argue and point out the right way. Well, look at Nature in regard to the forced production of wealth. Everything ought to be slow and steady. The farmer does nob throw in his seed and get the harvest next day. He has to wait the appointed time. All attempts on his part to hurry nature are in the end deleterious and often disastrous. Apply this to the desire for obtaining wealth quickly. The forcing is unhealthy. There is another thing, too, that may be a sorb of cause for the seeming depression. “ There is here as at Home an unhappy tendency to centralise. A man gets married. Instead of buying a piece of land for say £IOO, settling down and making a homestead outside, he must come and live in the town, where he may perhaps turn over more money, bub where his work doesn’t increase the wealth of the community at large as ib would if he actually worked that land. Then young people come in from the country and take up city work instead of founding new townships and improving the position of the country outside. It is a great pity. It is the excitement of the town life, of course, combined with what I before mentioned, the desire to get rich quickly, that draws them. The land speculation where people buy land to sell on the rise, produces no national wealth. Ib is most mischievous. By-tbe-by, do you remember that the first excuse of the man who could nob come to the marriuge feast was, • I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it.’ Ib shows how Christ noticed things in his time.”

“ You have been very severe against the moral state of Auckland, Mr Varley. Do you really think it worse than other places —than Melbourne and San Francisco, for instance ?”

“ Well, that is a rather hard question. You see it doesn’t make you any better because other places are just as bad. It is no excuse if a man picks your pocket for him to say that there are many other pickpockets about just as bad and worse than he. San Francisco is, I suppose, the vilest city, morally speaking, on God’s earth; byt that doesn’t make any difference to the moral standing of your city. Melbourne is .riiuch larger. According to Mr Monro’s are nearly - 500 poor wdme'ti ori the tpwy here.’’ “Have ,you investigated any cases yourViff “No, I have not, My time has been utterly taken up * n ol her ways ; bub from inquiries I have made! am convinced that the statements of Mr Monro are riot in the slightest degree exaggerated. Besides, I should like to state here that I don’t regard the social question as anything more than apart of the fortress I have to storm. Ib is not my desire that I should appear to give it more prominence than other evils which I regard as equally heinous.’’ “So you have not really made investiga tions?

“ No, I have nob, but I am told on very re’-iable information that several of these disorderly houses are owned by well-known and wealthy citizens. I thjnk they Bhould wake up to their position and take steps to remove these pests from their property.” “ The pictures in our tobacconists’ windows, Mr Varley ? You have dropped on them very heavily, and said some hard things about their Being allowed to be oxposed in the way they are.”

The evangelist’s face glowed. “They are a disgrace,” he said. “I think the tobacconists themselves ought to feel that they are such, arid refuse to hang them in their places of business. lam told that some pipes are so constructed thaton pulling them to pieces disgustingly licentious pictures are disclosed. I have not seen them myself here, bat I have at Home soen watches made for export, in the cases of which were depicted obscene pictures of the most gross description. lam not aware who is responsible for the output of the tobacconist window pictures, but I say again, any decent man should refuse to expose them.” “The evil of the pictures you name, Mr Varley, is mainly in the suggestive draws irig. Do you object to beautiful pictureof the nude exhibited by such men as Guldderon, Leighton, Solomon, Hood and others which are hung on the walla of the Royal Academy ? Do you see harm in them ?”

■ • “ I do not like them. I don’t think them seemly,' So long ns human nature is what ib is, I should think It is better hot to have suph pictures,” ■ .• • ’,i f’in speaking at blie Y.M.C.A. the other night you. said you did not believe in isupplying : tabljes and such like amusements. Do you not think, that. a billiard,table there would do.good, service .in keeping;; men from .' playiug in public houses, where the company,is undesirable' ?” “I do not object to billiards in the slightest. In tho home amohget friends I :• .V-; . k

dare say ifc may be a most excellent game, bat in public, no matter how careful you may be, it is almost'impossible to eliminate the gambling element. I speak from experience. I have tried it in London, but it was no good. Directly our backs were turned gambling broke out. There is such a terriblo fascination in this sin of gambling. Besides, it is not for us to fight in competition with the spirit cf the world. We do nob want to supply purely worldly amusement. There is plenty of that all around, and we can’t enter into competition with it. We do nob wish to. Our object is to lead on to spiritual things, nob to encourage worldly. ’ “What are in your opinion the best games, Mr Varley ? What, for instance, are your oh n favourites ?” “ The last part of your question is hard to answer, but I may say at once that for young men I think cricket is the finest game possible. Football is almost too rough and exciting. I attribute a good deal of ill health to the over straining and over excitement sometimes connected with tho game of football. Boating is a fine amusement. I am very fond of it, and think it a very good thing for young people. Swimming, too, of course, is excellent.” “ And boxing, Mr Varley ?” The evangelist smiled. “ Well, I don’t know. I think there are better ways of strengthening the muscles than boxing. A clever boxer is apt to want to uso his fisticuffs too often. While on this subject of amusements I should like you to say how much I detest this horse-racing, with its attendant gambling. I wonder that tho papers devote so much space to it. It seems quite sad to see columns every day dovoted to gambling, or what really moans gambling.’ “You have spoken about novels sometimes, Mr Varley. What novels do you think good ?” “lam very fond of ‘John Halifax.’ I think Kingsley’s novels are excellent‘Westward Ho,’ ‘Hypatia and Yeast,’ for instance. lam also fond of George Eliot’s works ‘Adam Bede,’ ‘Roraola’ and those.”

DEPARTURE FOR WELLINGTON. Mr Henry Varley met a number of gentlemen to-day ablunch at Robson’s Rooms by special appointment. Sir W. Fox presided, and amongst those present were Revs. W. Wills, Robertson, A. Uarrick, H. W. J. Miller, G. D. Cox and G. Aldridge, also Messrs J. Newman, J. T. Garlick, Donald Coubts, Ellingham, and others. Twenty - two sat down, and after lunch, Mr Henry Varley in a few parting words said he thought it would be good for every pastor to go in for a : periodical harvesting, and -"as the evangelist was set before the pastor, he suggested the propriety of embracing the adventof an evangelist. Ho believed muchof the fruit he had been privileged to gather was the result of others sowing, bub as the blessing of Joseph included the branches going over the wall, so he did nob mind who now garnered the fruit, whether Baptists, VVesloyans or Presbyterians, so long as God had it to His glory. Mr Varley also said that he had been ready to visit tho Ministers’ Association any Monday at their meeting, had he received an invitation, when he would have been happy to give them an explanation desired, but no invitation came. After a few choice parting words, Mr Varley left for the brain toOnehunga, where he takes the Wauaka for Wellington. SCENE AT THE STATION.

The station was crowded by those who have formed the staple of Mr Varley’s audiences during the last few weeks. Everyone wanted to shake hands with the eminent evangelist, and for once in his life ho must have felt that nature had not dealt liberally enough with him in the matter of hands and arms. His right arm must have been nearly shaken off. He was very good-natured though, and smiled and beamed through his spectacles to everyone in a way that was quite delightful. Tho young girls crowded round him, and seemed so afflicted and so anxious to hold his hand that he appeared quite affected; arid then they shook hands again and again. It wa3 quite pretty to watch them. Most of his Committee went on with the train as far as Onehunga. As the train moved off, there was a great waving of hats,but no cheering. Amongst those on the platform the best known were Sir W. Fox, the Rev. Carrick, Messra Wills, Robertson, Hemory, Cox, and Garlick.