Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1894. WHY NOT?

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4627, 20 January 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1894. WHY NOT?

SECOND EDITION

Here iu Now Zealand we are under the direct supervision of the State from the cradlo to the grave, and yet this monstrous Leviathan, into whose hands we have given all power, makes no provision for amusing us in our leisure hours, and the great majority of our people find their only relaxation in vicious exoiti-ment at race meetings. It is time that a portfolio for a Minister of Fublio Amusement were added to the Cabinet. We are a young community and have hitherto been so absorbed iu commercial and material interests that we have not given sufficient time tothe cultivation of the fine arts. But the time haß come for a change. We are justly proud of our educational system and publio efforts are constantly being made to establish and build up sohools,

libraries, and institutions of learning, but we have no endowed theatres or opera houses such as are common on the continent of Europe, where the Governments seem to legard music and the drama as well woriliy of aid as the University, primary schools, and the publio library. Even from a purely educational point of view, how to live wisely is a far mote necessary study for a man than anything taught in primary schools or universities and no book, no other art, no. system of education can so well impress the memory with the realities of life, leaving them stamped and pictured in the chambers of imagery, as can tbe acted piny, That New Zealandetfl are anxious to listen to good music, when well rendered, cannot be doubted, and the crowded state of the churches when good singing can be heard testifies to the appreciation of the general | publio, for wo believe that "—Many to chinch repair, not for the doctrine, 1 but the musio there." Some have 1 urged that democratic institutions, 1 with all their virtues, seem unable to j promote the fine ahe, but this can ( scarcely be maintained when we oan * point to Greece iu olden days where 1 the stage was b national institution, c and to France in these days where ' musio and the theatre have ministered ' to the rooreation of tho .citizens, and c promoted their welfare. With us in n the olden days the idea of rational ut public recreation was far more pre- li valent than to-day, Wo did not '' attend'' concerts but all ' sang and j 1 played as the nature of muoh of [ the Elizabethan literature shows, J What we oall " Merrie England " j t was really a society of people who o knew .hi*, to .puss jwMneirns?^

it will soon be fuund that fifty people who could never be effective solo performers may by combination under capable direction, produce an effect beyond the reach of any solo performers in the world. The-, raw material is with us, it only wants development and encouragement. At present the condition of many theaticnl and musical performances is bo unsatisfactory in the colonies, from an artistic and sanitary point of view, that many are prevented from attending, who might otherwise do so.- The manager of any company necessarily considers matters from a business point ofviow and his interests are purely financial. Tho public unable to estimate properly the performance of a company, only attend when sortie " stars" are performing, and thereby prevent the production of any fresh talent, while tho want of capable dramatic and tpubical critics results in nauseous (lattery or stupid indifference. We are afraid there are no members 0 f tlie present administration who would be capable of taking • the, ■ propottd portfolio, though Mr. Seddon, -wo bpliove, oan obligewitli a sougonf^iyeocQCTQW

Perhaps it would be necessary t appoint a Board, - similar to tilt managing the Railways, to diteol the I musical and theatrical efforts of Now Zealand.

!_The Ganteibury lln's has pub- , lished, and the Labour Journal has I re published the statietioa of working I wom ® n , ' new Zealand, and it is giatifying to find from the great variety of occupations which thoy oover that women, if .they desire it, can choo3e a career in this Colony and follow it up wjth a considerable amount of success. There are over forty-five thousand working women, that is, wage earners; in New Zealand, and it is almost a question a? to whether suoh a large hutr.ber is not a reproach to the unmarried men in the community. "The Slavey "of course, heads the list, and gives a total of 15,780. Some fifteon thousand future wives and mothers—at least we hope so—are now their twelve hours a day, and probably averaging about three halfpence an bout for their valuable labour. They never go on strike, they do not even organise, and the only unions they, indulge in are those prospective ones 'whioh terminate their career as wage earners. Next comes a depressing item. 6602 pretty milliners, which means some three hundred thousand new dresses to be paid for hy paterfamilian every year, in addition to those which are made at home, or bought ready made. We do not m ! nd the 8000 uliiit makers and seamstresses who follow, men must hare shirta and possibly trousers,but the lion's share of the money for raiment evidently goes with the milliners. There are 2866 saleswomen, who, no doubt, give a good account of themselves, and 2617 tuaobers who are deservedly popular throughout the Colony, and a thousand housekeepers who' have a distinct sphere of usefulness. There are also a thousand nurses, and this is something to bo thankful.for. Next on the list are 742 fair agriculturalist engaged in farming pursuits, who probably have better times of it than 622 of their sisters who are classed as musio teachers, In woollen mills 457 are employed as factory bands, and in boot and shoe shops 416 find their occupation. Hospitals and asylums absotb.2Bß, and fair lady helps. muster to the number of 256. Then descending the scale we come to barmaids,2oo, and we are not sorry that their total is so small, as this employment is a trying one, • both morally and physically, {Stocking hands, who number 143 and are said to make good wages, m more 'to be envied. Photography absorbs 95 of our giils, and no less than 57 courageous women put out to sea as stewardesses, while 28 heroic women travel about «b book canvassers, and spoil the Philistines. Almost every occupation in the colony is represented on the muster roll. We have merely ci'ed the leading lines in it to show what a great industrial army of feminine wage earners exists in New Zealand.