OBSERVER’S OBSERVATIONS OF MEN AND THINGS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 357, 26 February 1881, Page 2

OBSERVER’S OBSERVATIONS OF MEN AND THINGS.

If one may judge from the number of petty bankruptcies that are taking place in our midst, things are indeed very bad, and that matters will be even worse is more than probable. This leads one to inquire as to the cause, which undoubtedly in the majority of cases —more especially with the working classes—;s drink. This to some may seem very harsh, but. nevertheless ’tis a fact that a many do bring themselves to this pass through nothing else One working man “ who filed ” a few weeks back is a fair sample of what I mean. This man. wlib has been in full work for a great length of - time, and has only one child, accompanied b/ his wife-—who, bye the bye, goes out nursing—proceeded to Tiniarn, and without the slightest provocation “filed his schedule.” Previous, however, to his going thither, he got his wages. ' Afbr leaving his solicitor’s office, they calmly visited the varous drapery establishments of that town, returning to Temuka by the train literally loaded with parcels. Another instance is that of a mechanic, who, I may say, has been in constant work tor years, and Las really bad no possible excuse for getting into debt (not being in business for himself), except for the reasons stated. The only way to get over these clear ca sof swindling is by tradesmen refusing to give cred't to the laboring classes. Possibly honest people may suffer from such a mode of procedure, but then how can they draw the line. It is most amusing the way some people attempt to penetrate my nom de plume. “ They say ” it is this party, and “ some say ” it is that individual ; but to all enquirers “ I say ” your surmises are incorrect, and only too palpably mislead! g. One of my acquaiut nces was “ stuck up ” some weeks ago by a person whom I will call “ Cement,” and was peremptorily charged with maligning some member of his family through the medium of your columns, and under the beading “Observer.” Well, no wonder that “ hard ” man got Ins change, for if people will dabble in other man their own private affairs, they certainly cannot expect civility. Sometime'ago a lady resident of Temuka had occasion to visit Tirnaru, accompanied by lu r pretty little daughter. Hardly, however, were they seated, before the lady was astonished to bear a conversation between two m m in Gaslic, and herself and daughter the subject. They first criticised the lady’s mouth, then her figure and teeth, and, to wind up with. the color of her hair and probable age ol the lady ; the sum total being considered—and undeservedly so—tin favorable. .The little girl was then commented upon, and, this time, favorably. As the train arrived in Tirnaru the good lady referred to, looking them straight in the face, wished them “Good morning” in true Highland fashion. No doubt tlvy will remember in future that, to indulge in adverse criticism, they must first of all ascertain if any of their own confreres are present. ' “ Sian Right.” Looking at your report of the meeting of householders on Saturday last, one is struck by the apparent inconsistency of most of the speakers, many of whom are reported to have said that School Committees had no status, and that they were no earthly good—everything they did was vetoed by the Board, and it was simply a farce meeting together. But I imagine it must have been disgusting to an unprejudiced onlooker to witness with vhnt avidity these gentlemen accepted a sent on the Committee. 0, Burns ! Well mighlest thou write those, cutting lines— Oh wad some power the giftie gie ns, To see oursels as ithers see ns ; It wad frae mony a blunder free us And foolish notion. Just now, when epitaph hunters aie having their fling in the Old Countries, and also in the Colonies, it might not be out of place to put on record some that the writer can really vouch for, and which may not be generally known. I give them from memory. The following is from Stirling Churchyard— Our life is like a winter’s day, Some only breakfast and away ; Others to dinner stay, and are full fed, The oldest man but sups and goes to bed ; Large is his debt thatlingers outthe day, He ihat goes soonest has the least to pay The next is from Bakewell (Derbyshire) Churchyard— The vocal powers here let us mark, Of Philip, our late parish clerK. 1 1 church none ever heard a layman With clearer voice say Arnon ! The qnoir lament his chor d tones, The town so soon here lies his bones. Sleep undisturbed within thy peaceful shrine, Till angels wake thee with such tones as thine. Another, from s Yorkshire Churchyard, to the memory of a nailmaker, reads as follows— My stithy and hammer here lie reclined, My bellows, too, have lost their wind ; My fire’s extinct, my forge decayed, And in (he dust my vyce is laid ; My coal is spent, my iron gone', My last nail’s driven, my work is done. Two stones, lying side by side in the same Churchyard, read as follows, the last, no doubt, being a satire on the former— Here lies a man by farmer’s loved, Who always to them constant proved ; Dealt with freedom, just and fair, An honest miller all declare. Praises on tombstones are vainly spent, A man’s good name is his best monument.