SCOTCH! HOTCH! POTCH!

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 19, 23 July 1920, Page 10

SCOTCH! HOTCH! POTCH!

(Contributed by ''The Groper.")

My courtoc*-" fuxr.Z fxvrbsr*. v. this issue, takes exceplion to the McCabe paragraph of a fortnight ago. We always h\il letters of the "A." type fair and without spleen. Our regret is that the paragraphs don't bting forth more adverse comment. You are quite right "A.," the name is "Tabrum." The "Groper" is not concerned with the abilities in general of* this scribe, but says, in effect, that "Ohrislianity and Slavery, by Tabrum, m ;.kes McCabe look silly — which it does. I' id the hook. Even Achilles was fatally woak in the heel tendon and Goliath not proof against the brook pebble in the siinu of the stripling David. McCabe cannot expect to win all his bouts any niore than Napoleon could. McCabe's ehief fault is a too sweeping dog-. niatism. This fault is noticeablc in more than one churchman who has gone to the other cxtreme. To "A." the "Groper" will frankty conf iss the daily weakness of "Holy Wullie" ; but if "A." is prepared to accept the "Groper" as an authority on the pedigrce c.i" "Ta.m o' Shanter's Maro," the "Groper" will not accept McCabe' s (and incidentally "A.'s") opinion on the origin of man. When the "Groper" sits down over the fire and attempfs to solve the eternal question from the books of the clever chaps he is convinced that the inquisitive and tireless tongue of the wife had its origin not in dumb, inarticulate protoplasmic lhud but in the clarion blast of Gabriel's liorn ! "Well, Mac. and what are you going to gie the wife for her birthday " Mac: "I canna really say, but the last eleveri birthday's she's had she's been wantin' a piano."

"Noo. Mistress Cameron, I'm shure ye 11 >1 ui a drappicG-ye're no strict teetotal ?" Mrs Cameron: "0' yes, Mistress Brown, I'm a person o' principle and strictly tee;ntal, but my conscience wiima hurt rne if I tak'it frae a tea-cup." An Invercargill schoolboy's description of the C'ounty Couneil : "The County Council consists of a number of men, mostly Scotchmen, who run the affairs of the town heacled by the Mayor." Tonald : "I'm rale sorry she pit the sovereign in the plate on Sabbath in placo o" the sliillin'. I'd get her back and gie' thern the shillin' she intendit." Tougal : "No, no, she's gien her tae the Lord, so tae Hell wi' her." The Rev. A. A. Murray, of Auckland, is not allowed all the freedom we could dosire by his irate bretliren of the eloth. We'd expect the treatment Murray is receiving from the church whose priests are automatons chanting a cast iron creed - not from the enlightened kirk cf Scotland. Professor Reinke (Lincoln University, U.S.A.), in a letter published in a contemporary N.Z. journal, says: "I note with interest the discussions on baptism that are going on in N.Z. That the N.Z. Presbyterian Church now far down on the toboggan, is showing itself intolerant, is not at all surprising to rne. The truth is there is nothing under the heavens more intolerant than our modern boney-sweet liberalism. It is a smiler with a knife hidden under its cloaU if one may quote the phrase of Smiler Russell Lowell. Surely it is a.pparent to all intelligent beings that the essence of true Christianity is charity. The injunctions of holy writ are "Above all these things put on charity," and yet again "And to brotherly kindncss charity." A beautifully docile and meek follower of the greatest one who ever trod the earth is Mannix — Archbishop Mannix. We wonder whether Chri-t or St. Peter gave hirn authority to preacb the Gospel of hate. We hardly think that the Church of ■- ivonorola and Damien can be proud of Mannix. Archbishop Mannix, addressing the Cli.ffhaven Catholic Summer school at Plattsburg, declared himself a Sinn Feiner. He said that Australian Catholics were soiid for De Valera and affirmed that England was the greatest hyprocrite in the world. He expressed the hope that Ireland would £ght England, the same as the Americans did. Ireland has the same grievances against England which the American revolutionaries had, only tliey are ten times greater. England was your enemy, is your enemy, and shall be your enemy for all time. Poor fellow. For the time being he has left the spiritual order for the militant, and is shaping badlv as a politician, much less a statesman. He has not even Ihe

i horse sense necessary to see that liistoric, j political, and geographical consideiations make an independent Ireland i for her own sake) impossible. j S'-sq man in this town "The CVr-Tper" frankly admires. He is David Scott— the j sword-arm, ro as to spcak, of ihe Labour party. He may have his faults, but with j a heart in the right plsce be is bus.y | writing and fighting for the causc of Ihe bottom, or labour. dog. Most Ncw Zcaianders are workers. Rere there is ne-i-their a "submerged tcnth" nor an "upper ten." There is nevcrtheless roorn for improvement. Dave Scott d.oesn't propose to bring about tlie change by cutling the throat of avery chap possessed cf fivo bob more than he. Consequently "The Groper" proposes to help on the good work. The Editor has kindly .vanted ' space for a "Labour ("arn'iva! SubscripItion." "The Groper" kicks off with £2 2s. Sond along your donations- Have takes from a bob upwards. Ilolland, M.P., is detracting from his other good qualitic-s hy sncering ::t tlie Prince of Wales. New Zeahind savs to Hdiiand, "Hands off." We like the Prince for his own .sake. if we didn't we would still show hiin respcct. Pe ple f the Hoiland type fail to see that in honouring the Crown and all " that pcrtains to it we honour ourselvea, our inStitutions, our laws, our froedoni, our Nation. Councillor Baird has forfeited his seat by negldct. Bill did good work for the town. We thank him for it, but nevcrtheless agree that he .■ houid go. Could not one of our medical men be persuaded to devoto a few hor.rs a week to tho town's service. Ewart, Pottinger, and Ritchio Crawford have bocn a while in our midst. It's up to one of thern to eland or find a substitute f-rom the medical ranks — with a proviso that he be a Scot.