THE POLITICAL ECONOMIST AND THE TRAMP.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 206, 14 July 1893, Page 3

THE POLITICAL ECONOMIST AND THE TRAMP.

Walking along the country road While yet the morning air was damp, As unreflecting on I strode, I marked approach the frequent tramp. Tho haggard, ragged, careworn man Accosted me in plaintive tone : “ I must have food—” he straight began-; ‘ Vile miscreant,” I oried, " begone !”| “ ’Tis contrary to every rule That I my fellows should assist ; I'm of the scientific, school, Political" economist. JDo’st thou not know, deluded one, That Adam Smith has clearly proved That ’tis self interest alone By which the wheels of life are moved ? “ That competition is the law By which we either live or die ? I’ve no demand thy labor for, Why, then, should I thy wants supply ? And Herbert Spencer’s active brain Shows how the social struggle ends ; The weak die out—the strong remain ; ’Tis this that Nature’s plan intends. “ Now, really, tis absurd of you To think I’d interfere at all ; Just grasp the scientific view—The waakest must go to the wall.*’ My words impressed his dormant thought. “ How wise,” he said, “ is nature's plan ! Henceforth I’ll practice what you’ve taught And he a scientific man. “We are alone—no others near, Or even within hailing distance ! I’ve a good club, and now right here We’ll have a struggle for existence. “ The weak must die, the strong survive Let’s see who’ll prove the harder hittist, So, if you wish to keep alive, Prepare to prove yourself the fittest, “ If you decline the test to make, Doubting your ohances of survival, Your watch and pocketbook I’ll take, As competition strips a rival.” What could I do but yield tho point, Though conscious of no logic blunder 1 And as I quaked in every joint, The tramp departed with his plunder. Phillips Thompson,