VERSATILITY.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1201, 11 August 1874, Page 2

VERSATILITY.

[oi'AQO DAILY TIMES. It was the delight of our childish ears to frequent the gardens of tho 'oological Society, or to stare opennouthed at the perapatetic marvels of klv Wombwell's menagerie. Among he singular and unaccustomed wonders yhich we wentto see, nothing in tho show ;o fixed itself in our imagination as the )erforming elephant. To see the beast low lifting a knitting needle, and now if ting a heavy iron weight with its 3roboscis, was a sight never to be forgotten. The Nasmyth hammer, which ;rackod a walnut, and with the same [steam) breath welded tons of metal, transfixed our soul in the same way. Versatility of genius is always to be idmired, and adaptability of resource is the governor of men. Ihe elephant and hammer have sunk into insignificance— Dur New Zealand youngsters would not give these things a second thought. Another and far more marvellous wonder is at work before us now, and we cannot retain one single expression of surprise. To incur ten millions or so of debt, and import tens of thousands of human beings, to arrange for the sovereignty of the South Seas, and in his mind's eye to act demigod to the dusky millions of the islands of the Pacific, while at the same time he shows the civil servants of the state resident in Wellington how to save cent per cent upon their tea and sugar, their cigars and cognac ! Vogel alone can do it. The walnut is being cracked, the knitting needle is being lifted. We have before us the prospectus of a Civil Service Club, suited for the requirements of the teeming myriads of officials who dwell in the Empire City, which, we are given to undertand, is the product of the great man's leisure hours. We have not a word to say against it, on the contrary we are full of warm admiration. That tho same brain should devise good for the uncounted niggers of the Pacific islands, aud the almost as numerous officials of tho State in the capital of New Zealand, is to us more wonderful than the performance of the great heasfc of our childhood, or the steam hammer that entranced us in our more mature years. One quality of sameness there is in " little C'vil Service Club scheme" —viz , the infinitely small proportion which present payment bears to future liability. One weakness we detect hesitatingly, aud doubtfully we say it—viz., that the members of the cooperative store are to pay cash. We may suggest that as it has been proved proper aud right to pay interest out of loans while works are in progress, so some arrangement might have been come to wherebv Augustus Crowquill should be allowed to defer payment of his grocery bill until he has used his soap and digested his sardines; at any rate, he should not be asked to pay up until his assimilative organs—we think we use the right phrase—have had time to perform their functions. One other note we make, which is that the following rule is capable of wider application: —"IftheCiub is wound up at auy time, the assets, after paying all liabilities, shall be divided rateably among the debentureholders."