THE WEEK, THE WORLD, AND WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9138, 14 July 1908, Page 6

THE WEEK, THE WORLD, AND WELLINGTON.

(By Frank Morton.)

The New Parliament House.--A "Word on Abchitectukk. —The EaemjisT KuroKTEKS.—Dkbuciions and I»EAS.

The Premier has explained his attitude and action in the matter of Parliament House. His intention, if Parliament', approves, is to build the new Parliament House on the site of th,e present Government House, to remove Government Buildings lo the .old Parliament House site, a:al to let part of the site now j occuiued by Government Buildings for thd erectbn of shops and so forth. That scheme is all very well so far as it goes, but there are delects in it. To start with, the Government offices should certainly be no farther from town than they are now, and the present site is ideal. In the second place, since a Government House is needed, I can see no reason Why it should not remain where it is. Thei-e are trees there, and otherwise the site is suitable. Competitive designs should be got from the architects of the world, the prize offered for the accepted design being sufficiently valuable to induce architects of high standing to compete. And so it shtu'd be with the new General Po3t Olfke. I believe that tine public buiidinjrs have u high educative value, and that ignoble pub.u; uuildings are a me rdca and an allront. We have far too many ignoble public buildings. We want something approaching the grave dignity of Parliament House in Melbourne. An attempt at a little Westminster will simply make our stupidity conspicuous. lam glad to note that in the makeshift house now occupied by Parliament, things are settling down fairly well. The Speaker has got more decent accommodation than wa3 at first offered him. The Hansard men are reasonably comfortable, though one of them (a guaranteed descendant of John Knox) stands sturdily on his immemorial rights, demanding a smoking room and electric radiators. The newspaper reporters are about as comfortable under difficulties as newspaper reporters could ever be brought to admit themselves to be. Light refreshments are obtainable, after all; so that my anguished vision of a starving legislator zigzagging down Lambton Quay in the small hours in quest of a chop will probably never be expressed in actuality. The Premier, as amiable a man as ever scattered unremembered promises, seems to bo well content. Mr McLachlan (one of the few humourous Scots in this far country) is gradually becoming happy. ******

If precedent counts for anything in this topsyturvy century, newspaper reporters must not expect to be too comfortable. The earliest reporters had an uncomfortable sort of time,

not being accustomed to the sea. You may find the facta in O'Haloran's History of Ireland," published at Limerick in 1778. In the year of the world 2650, Bille, a Milesian king of a part of Spain had a son named Gollamh. This young man, athirst for adventure and renown, "solicited his,father's permission to assist their Phoenician ancestors, then greatly distressed by continual wars." Bille consented. Gollamh pet forth. "With a well-appointed fleet of thirty ships and a select number of intrepid warriorj, he weighed anchor from the harbour of Corunna for Syria. It appears that war was not the sole business of this equipment; for in this fleet wsre embarked twelve youths of uncommon learning and abilities, who were directed to make remarks on whatever they found new, either in astronomy, navigation, arts, sciences, or manufacture. They were to communicate their remarks and discoveries to each other, and keep an exact account of whatever was worthy of notice." There, then, you have the first reporters that I can find any record of. And I have no doubt that, amid.all their discomfort?, they had a very interesting trip. So that the profession of reporting is at least 3,200 years old. All good journa)ista come through this gate, and hence the profession of journalism is one of the oldest of them all. Sometimes I have thought that there must have been a reporter in Noalrs ark; but that, of course, is pure conjecture. Ycur true, inveterate reporter, is born, not made. As to the education of reporters, much might be said. Sir Robert Stout incurred some criticism awhile ago by asserting or advising that all journalists should have a university

education. I'm not sure about the • university; but in intention, every journalist worth his salt knows that Sir Robert was entirely right. As a class, reporters to-day are far too badly educated. It is true thai I have known some university men who have been shocking duffers on reporting staffs; but they would have beer, shocking duffers anywhere—for that education must improve any man with stuff in him. and a journalist nuetla it especially. I would have no ill-tducuted man in a newspaper office. A sound knowledge of Eng- ; lish literature is essential; and if a sound knowledge of French is added, ao much the better. The ablest man in Wellington dnilj journalism today (among the New Zealanders) is a university graduate; and there

can be no sort of doubt that in his cuae the university training was productive of great good. 111-educated reporters will sooner or later bring any newspaper into contempt. Spelling is a different matter. I have known one or two excellent English ocholurs who simply would not spell. England was full of such cases two or three centuries JJgo, when men and women.spelt as they chose. Pepys Wuh a (,'ase in point, though he spelt belter than most. There is extant, a letter written by Lady Raleigh, one of the sweetest and saddest letters ever written. The spelling does not mutter at all.

"Tj my best brother, Sir Nicholas Carew, at Beddington,—"l desiar, good brother, that you wil he pleased to L-l rne berri the / worth i boddi of my nobell husband Sur Walter ftuleigh in your church nt beddington, whir l desiar to be berred. "The lords have given me his ded boddi, th.jugh tliey denied mi his life. This »it hee shnll be brought you with two or thive of my men. "Let me her presently. E R."—"God hold n.e injny wiles."