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LARRIKINISM.

(Frwn the ' Evensng Star,' Sept. 1.) DußiXGsthe Im .•s few y«uVs every journal published in Australia and New Zealand' has had to condemn the tendency a to larrikinism manifested by youth born, * or educated in the Colonies. -We do I-.-* notknow that it is- more rampant here than at Home; Possibly it may be more unblushing, because many restrain- 1 ing 1 influences, which ' dpefate powerfully there, are absent in the Colonies. The mischief may, however, be criefiy traced to the absence of that family training •by which • habits of correct thought and conduct are induced. This ' subject, in its general application, was most ably brought before his congregation, at All Saints' Church, by the Rev. Mr Stanford, yesterday. Although not expressly daaling with this specific phase of oui\,Colonial life, his remarks , had .so intimate a bearing upon individualand social educational-development, 1 ' that we think it would prove a valuable boon were his sermon printed and diftri-. buted broadcast over tne laud. We need net analyse the sermon, nor canvass the tiierits of the theological 1 doctrine it was intended to establish. We have no doubt there are polemics who would" undertake to prove that,,,the spiritual theory propounded was not that of Saint, this or Saint that,' or of the founders or propagators ot the thousand and one cliques who put forth their various articles of faith as each the only true one. To disputants of that; class, we have nothing to say. Our j „ daty as a journalist is not to deal with j the vUsionarytand unknown, but with that which in practical, and onthatgroundwe desire to second the effort of the. reveiend gentleman, by drawing attention to the effect of habit on human charac- . $cr — habit of thought, habit of actiou, -i-which formed the subject of his ad- ' dress. Having referred to his sermon as suggesting our observations, it is but right we should state his text. It was taken from Mark 4, v. 26, 27- : •" So is the kingdom of God, as if a'mau should cast seed into the ground; and should

sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up he knoweth not how," • From this simple and' beautiful illustration of the process of ' character formation, a practical lesson was dra^a that, if known and fully comprehended, would go far to tne correction of most of the vices and follies of society, " What will he become V is the subject of a paper on the influence of niovality, or immorality on the human countenance ■in ' Cassell's Popular Educator.' The normal type is that of a pretty babe, and in a series of diverging gradations are shown the , physical transformations of countenance at different; stages of' life induced by habit. In the ascending scale, step by step .the child grows into the, well-edu-cated' boy, the handsome intelligent youth, the thoughtful member of a profession, and the venerable head of a family. In the descending series we have first the "Faubourg," which, translated, may fairly be rendered' "larrikin," next the beer-shop, thirdly ' « vice and misery," and, lastly, " beg-, gary." What is here stated of what is physical assumes it to be an index to the mental : habit leads either to the pure or the sensual. Mr Stanfobd gaid truly the power of habit, which in its influence upon the formation of human character is but another term to signify growth or development, is not sufficiently ' appreciated. Men and women permit themselves io do or neglect to do some apparently trifling duty, without feeling or knowing that in that single act of commission or omission they may have laid the foundation of a future , either for good or evil. So it is with our boys and girls. ■What they will become depends very tnueh' upon the habits in which they are trained. , To this fact much of the laryikinisnKof which tcomplaint is made is attributable. It cannot be expected that children should understand how much depends upon their habitual obedience. . to home", discipline. It, is for their .-.parents" to. see to that, and to remember that every childish defiance of their • authority and every wilful indulgence , in that which their traby.. intellect "condemns is a step towards larrikinistti, which becomes the more difficult of cure each time it is repeated We are not now alluding to. those exceptional natures that seem to * isetfat defiance all moral and social in- ' fluences.' .These v are - fdrfcunately rare,' -'an# '.perhaps society ought tp .deal with them as they .do with ' the insane, • '• Their "veiyt excesses, disgtißt and horrify. ' 'The danger to'sociefcy is not from them. . It .lies, in the' ,unpbj»etyed. and unaus- ' peeted ' growth .."of- -habits of loose thought, and consequently > loose conduct : 'of the- non-recognition of the • rights of others, and of the duties of man to man. Perhaps in the first in- .. stance a'Jad, through, ,the mere spirit of fun, inflicts a mischief he would not have done had lie been trained 'to think of the right' ot wrong of his own actions. , ",.Once e,rij6ye,d,'tl^e act is 'repeated until 1 " 'he is prepared to, go, any length without remorse ; and thus that :spirit of ' lairikinism grows" up which has .■'reached so .dangerous a pitch in Victoria, '"and of which ,. symptoms' have displayed theraselves>here. ' One | important point ought not to be overlooked; ' As acorrective of this giow^ '• ing evil the lash' is recommended. "We far : ,prefer a reformatory, ". The . rev. clergyman truly said, .perhaps in a lifetime it was only possible to correct habitsformed, once or twice. , The lash cannot be_termed. corrective, but puni-> jive. It forms no new habits, corrects ' no old ones' ', and in ill-informed minds, ' W^"Jien4enc^ to induce the desire jot

revenge on society for the indignity \ sjuffeivH by its decree. We spend tens of thousands on the importation of imuugrant* : surely it is wprth the effoi\t •to render those born. amongst us worthy members of society through changing their habits. ' Our Industrial School is one of the chief ornaments of Otago: it is to be regretted that a reformatory is nearly equally needed, but if fathers 1 and mothers could but realise the influence of good habits on their childrens' future, they would leave but little for either the one or the other to do.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TT18740916.2.26

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 391, 16 September 1874, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,044

LARRIKINISM. Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 391, 16 September 1874, Page 6

LARRIKINISM. Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 391, 16 September 1874, Page 6

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