To the Goddess of Justice their prayers are read.To that Goddess Zelanians bow low the head;For she gave the Zelanians, nor seer nor priest,She gave them the custom of Galilee’s feast.For rich though her gifts to the present and past,She saved for these Britons the “best for the last.”Here built they a temple—’twas built on the planThat he is most noble that’s most of a man;They laid as foundations the “love of their kind”;For strength of the structure, firm held they in mindThat no fortune or creed, but justice alone,Should ever remain as the chief corner stone.They builded the temple—’twas builded by menWho were called from the shop, from the mountain and glen.’Twas builded for men—not for some, as of yore—’Twas builded of men, from the spires to the floor.’Twas builded too strong for the strong to transgress,But ’twas builded too weak, the most weak to oppress.
To the Goddess of Justice their prayers are read.To that Goddess Zelanians bow low the head;For she gave the Zelanians, nor seer nor priest,She gave them the custom of Galilee’s feast.For rich though her gifts to the present and past,She saved for these Britons the “best for the last.”
Here built they a temple—’twas built on the planThat he is most noble that’s most of a man;They laid as foundations the “love of their kind”;For strength of the structure, firm held they in mindThat no fortune or creed, but justice alone,Should ever remain as the chief corner stone.They builded the temple—’twas builded by menWho were called from the shop, from the mountain and glen.’Twas builded for men—not for some, as of yore—’Twas builded of men, from the spires to the floor.’Twas builded too strong for the strong to transgress,But ’twas builded too weak, the most weak to oppress.
Pardon; let’s back to Leo’s notes, for Mr. Oseba’s modest candour better suits this prosy age.
“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not well that man should be alone; I will make him a help-meet for him.’”
“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not well that man should be alone; I will make him a help-meet for him.’”
Without irreverence, I would regard this as an excellent idea.
Mr. Oseba, say the notes, gave a most pleasing review of the domestic relations of the Outeroos, with special reference to the position of women.
The notes on this pleasing phase of the oration were full and spirited, but in boiling down some dozen pages I will array the orator’s impressions in my own garb, as though I myself had learned something on this interesting theme.
The stronger and more haughty among the Outeroos are called men, while the more frail, gentle and loquacious are called wo-man, which means that in some way these latter are to be “wooed and won” before reaching the final end of existence.
In old times, man won these fair creatures in a race for life. They “wooed them” with a bludgeon, captured, and dragged them to a hut, and chained them to the door-post until they were “persuaded” to stew the oysters.But this woman, with a shrewdness she is said to have retained even to this day, cunningly devised a trap into which she knew her “lord and master”—an epithet that has survived the wreck of empires—would place his brogan.
From the waste of the “kitchen” she fertilised the soil at the roots of a heavy grass, and it grew into a grain. She moistened a plant, and it opened into a fruit. She tamed the young animal—brought for the stew—and it became the faithful dog. By a cushion of moss she softened the log used by her lord as a pillow, and, on his return with terrapin and salmon berries, she looked into his swarthy face and smiled.
He was impressed. He took her gently by the hand, pressed her to his palpitating bosom, and, looking into her deep liquid eyes, he said, “I love you.” He broke the chains that bound her, and, the wrist fetters being stubborn, he polished them into bracelets—and these are still worn as a rudiment of the earlier times. What “Papa” might say came later. The twain became one flesh—which one, has always been debatable.
Then it was arranged, with very considerable limitation, that they should be partners. She, the wooed-man, or woman, was to love, to serve, to obey, while he—furnished the superintendence.
The old system dropped out of use many centuries ago, and the new was a change, largely in form, hardly in fact.
The old fetters have rusted in the museums of the past. The club, that potent persuader ofold, has been presented to the champion of the base-ball team, and the woman is at large. But as the priest now signs and sanctifies the bond, the change, in most countries, is still chiefly in the character of the fetters.
All people have traditions that help to justify the stronger in acts of oppression, and to conciliate the weaker in their vassalage.
But civilisation has grown—only with the emancipation of women. Just as the fetters have been removed from the brain, and soul, and conscience of woman, has the social ideal risen, has arbitrary force weakened, and have feeling and reason prevailed. The woman is the mother; from hereditary and prenatal influences come form and character.
How can a mother, with the feeling of inferiority, a feeling of subdued dependence, with no courage nor conscious individuality, bring forth brave, independent, high-minded offspring? Only by emancipated mothers can full-statured men be reared, and thus has the race crawled slowly forward.
For the snail-like pace of human progress, the world is more indebted to the past and political inequalities of the sexes than to all other retarding influences combined.
With the progress of science, with the physical forces of Nature harnessed by mental exploits, the relative positions of human muscle and human sentiment are changing, and, with a cultured reason, deeper affections and higher ideals invariably appear.
Champagne CaldronChampagne Caldron at Wairakei, near Taupo.
Champagne Caldron at Wairakei, near Taupo.
Here I quote:—
“In Zelania, women are ‘people,’” said Mr. Oseba, “and liberty and social rights are not limited to any particular cut of the garments. In Zelania, the mother, the wife, and the daughter stand proudly erect with the father, the husband, and the brother—and still the seasons come and go, the showers are as usual damp, the fruits ripen in due course of time, the fair ‘fellow-elector’ is as greatly surprised at the suddenness of the long-hoped-for question, papa is invoked as of yore, and the gay old world swings merrily on her uneventful voyage.
“In Zelania, my children, the women vote, and claim equal political rights with those who buy the opera tickets and set up the ice cream. Of course, they don’t go to Parliament, save at the sittings, to which they bring their loving smiles and their sewing but they are on their way, and they will get there all the same.
“But with the coming of women few changes have been noted—so few of the hopes or fears of the ages have been realised. Woman does not wear spurs—she has not got out of her place—and she does not do the sights, as does her hubby, and swear she was detained at the ‘ledger.’ She has not become masculine, for she is still the gentle mother of the children, and she is still the same dear old mother, or wife, sister, or lover as of yore, when Zeus said, ‘Behold! when the fair smile, victory is nigh.’
“But neither have all the hopes, so confidently cherished, been fully realised. It hasnot been discovered—so ’tis said—that the ‘political atmosphere’ has materially changed; that legislators are greatly altered in personal character; that social ethics have been revolutionised; or, to the surprise of many, that the distance between drinks has been materially lengthened. But, whatever the means, great changes come slowly.
“As a fact, the experience of Zelania, at three parliamentary elections, rather indicates that on social, political, economic, and moral questions, the men and women of the country are ‘tarred’ with about the same brush.
“But in this reform there is a sense of justice and a conscious largeness of soul that is mentally exhilarating, and must result favorably to society everywhere. In the air of Zelania all fetters rust away, and the flag of a new victory, won over traditional custom and selfishness, having been unfurled in this noble land, people afar will first dream, then hesitate, then inquire, and then conclude to have a reshuffling of the cards in this doubtful game of life.”
“If Zelania is proud of her system of education, she may be forgiven,” was Oseba’s first reference to the intellectual ambition of her people. He was eloquent on this subject. As any thinker could “guess,” the Zelanians were certainly not slow in efforts to elevate the mental tastes or in making provisions for the education of the future citizens.
The foundation of the present excellent school system was laid by the old provincial authorities, and the best hopes of the pioneers, those who believed in “teaching the young ideas how to shoot,” are being beautifully realised.
The orator says:—
“At present 82 per cent. of the people of Zelania have the rudiments of education, which, considering the pioneer character of the country, ‘speaks volumes’ for the community.
“There are over 2,000 schools in the colony, with an attendance of about 150,000 pupils. Of these schools some 1,600 are free, and all children from seven to fourteen years of age are required to attend them. The natives, also, are supplied with 96 of these free primary schools, at which 4,500 pupils attend. Rather new; but the railways carry the children free to and from the nearest school.
“In the primary schools, besides the usual branches, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, grammar, and history, the elementary sciences, and drawing, the girls are taught sewing and domestic economy, and the boys are drilled as ‘military heroes.’
“Besides these free primary schools there are many higher secondary schools, supported partly by the Government and partly by ‘fees,’ and many more private and denominational schools of a very good order. As a rule, one religious denomination—the Roman Catholics—decline to very generally patronise the public schools, and this church supports independently a large number of excellent educational institutions.There are eight technical or art schools, at which some 3,000 young persons attend, a majority of them finishing their school life at this stage. The branches taught at these schools, and the subjects of examination, cover a broad field, and the young person who becomes proficient in them may be regarded as fairly well equipped for most of the battles of this active age. At these schools a young person is armed with the ‘practical,’ with little danger of being over ‘stuffed.’
“As a fact, my children,” said Mr. Oseba, “many countries on the upper crust are filled with educated dunces, who are mentally deformed by over-cramming, and who are inspired by the hopes of living on ‘sheepskin’; but as Zelania has practically no rich or leisured class, the basic idea of school-day training is to fit the rising generation, not for ornamental, but for practical service.
“Zelania, as a capstone of her educational edifice, has a university, which was instituted by Act of Parliament in 1874, not for the purpose of teaching, but for encouraging a liberal education. This university is an examining, scholarship-awarding, and degree-granting institution, and the responsibility for the success of university work rest mainly with the four affiliated teaching colleges, which have a curricula in science, arts, medicine, law, mining, engineering and agriculture.
“Then there are industrial schools, schools for the blind, deaf, and dumb, which, taken all in all, constitute a splendid system, all being carried on at heavy expense to the State. Butthe general high character of the people, their usual bearing and manners, the average moral tone, and absence, in the main, of coarseness and vulgarity, tell strongly for the merits of the educational system of the country, as well as for the natural and social influences that mould society.”
With the next phase of Zelanian life, according to the notes of Leo Bergin, Oseba was deeply impressed and pleased, for he said:—
“As might be expected, my children, in a land so blessed by Nature, occupied by so noble a race, and ruled by such incomparably wise and generous laws, the word ‘pauper’ is not found in Zelanian statistics, and the ‘criminals,’ considering the newness of the country, are few indeed.”
Speaking of the character of crime, Oseba said:—
“Vice and virtue, my children, are largely questions of sensation. The actions of men that produce disagreeable sensations—immediate or remote—we call vices, while the opposite we call virtues. We are the product of experience. Vice is the guide board to virtue—the danger signal. Without vice there would be no definition for virtue.
“But taste has much to do in guiding a people. The Zelanians have a taste for knowledge, but they have other tastes. The Christian Outeroos are thirsty, and the Zelanians are Outeroos. Strange, but in a single year there were over 7,000 of these noble Zelaniansarrested for their earnest efforts to satisfy this peculiar infatuation. This seems incredible, for while there are several persons in Zelania who are never known to be thirsty, there are about 7,000,000 gallons of beer used annually in filling the ‘alimentary canal’ of the Zelanians. Just why, with so goodly a supply, with so short a distance, both in time and space, between drinks, this peculiar sensation should turn the heads of men, is not very clear.
“Many very well-meaning people believe there would be less ‘arrests’ for these peculiar freaks should the distance between drinks be extended, but others, having considerable interest in the matter, hold that most of these confused persons are ‘taken in’ during their long search for somebody to do the ‘shouting.’
“However,” Oseba said, “there is a pleasing side, for while 51 per cent. of the population over fifteen years of age were born in Zelania, this portion is said to have furnished but 17 per cent. of the Court’s takings for this confusing recreation.
“For other crimes, the 51 per cent. of native-born furnish but 28 per cent. of the law breakers.
“It may be, my children, that the 49 per cent. of the foreign born, who are said to furnish the other per cent. of the ‘takings,’ are only celebrating their arrival in so glorious a country—a country in which a day’s earnings, it is said, will pay for many beers. At any rate, the native-born Zelanian seems the better man, for he either ‘calls’ less frequently or ‘carries his load’ better than the ‘new chum.’”
But all are thirsty, Mr. Oseba, and the “practice at the bar,” if not profitable, is exhilarating.
They think they want a drink.When it’s wet they want a drink.When it’s dry they want a drink.When it’s warm, and when it’s cold;When they’re young and when they’re old—They think, and when they think,They want a drink.When they’re sick, and when they’re well,Bound for heaven or for ——,Then they think—they want a drink.But do they think when e’er they drink?Or does the drink confuse the think?
They think they want a drink.When it’s wet they want a drink.When it’s dry they want a drink.When it’s warm, and when it’s cold;When they’re young and when they’re old—They think, and when they think,They want a drink.When they’re sick, and when they’re well,Bound for heaven or for ——,Then they think—they want a drink.But do they think when e’er they drink?Or does the drink confuse the think?
“But the fact,” said Mr. Oseba, “that in one year there were twelve homicides is most surprising to the inquiring stranger. Surely no man well ‘quartered’ in Zelania should care to be killed, and the reckless head that would plan, or the ruthless hand that would execute a design to close a life in Zelania, should in some manner be restrained from so fell a purpose. Deducting the homicides of foreign birth, however, it leaves for the Zelanians the cleanest record in the ‘Christian’ world—as one would expect.
“The Zelanians, my children, are usually glad they are alive, and, too, they are usually willing to allow others to remain and enjoy the entertainment.”
The notes relating to Zelanian art and literature were very full, and they were complimentary.’Tis said that art develops only with age, and that while the aspect of Nature may appeal to the poetic or artistic imagination, art arises from dominant ideas, from deeply-seated sentiments, and as in new, active, progressive, and commercial countries the dominant ideas do not lend themselves to reverie, and could not be feelingly expressed on canvas, art in Zelania must be “imported” for a season. But literature has come, and literature is civilisation.
The notes continue:—
“Literature, or, to broaden the theme and say the taste for knowledge and for general reading in Zelania, deserves many compliments. While there is not, as yet, a literature bearing a distinctive stamp of Zelanian genius, many volumes with real merit, both in prose and verse, have been written, and the topics show a versatile taste, knowledge, and imagination.
“While from the very nature of things Zelania must be a land of romance, poesy, and song, of the stage, of the race, and the hall, yet from the sturdiness of the stock there must first come a sufficiency of works of a graver character as the present exuberance of society tones down toward restful meditation. To-day Zelania is ‘waltzing,’ to-morrow she will walk, and next week she will think.
“Zelania has many well-managed libraries, and, considering the population, the Zelanians buy, pay for, and read, more books than any other people on earth. The kind of books?Well, just the kind that any student would expect—trash, the most of it, as trashy trash is the taste of the times, everywhere.
Silica terracesSilica Terraces, Orakei Korako, between Rotorua and Taupo.
Silica Terraces, Orakei Korako, between Rotorua and Taupo.
“But it shows the desire for reading, and, as these children grow older, a more sober class of books will find its way from the shelves to the desk of the reader. Even now in Zelania the taste for blood and thunder literature is waning, while gay and chaste humour, with glimpses of the philosophy of life, is in growing favor. The heart of a nation may be seen through its laws, but the heart, and the soul, and the laws are the product of national literature. Literature is civilisation.
“The Zelanians are a new community—the people have but recently come together—society is in a ‘stew,’ as the members have but little mutual ‘acquaintance,’ and as the new environment, the air, and the aspect of Nature suggest hilarity, all the sermonising in the world would not convert this Zelanian ‘holiday’ into a prayer-meeting. In the Zelanian character there appears the sparkling diamond, and in the Zelanian fibre there are also the oak and the steel that will tell in the morrows.
“As an evidence of the mental appetite, or the reading habit, the 800,000 Zelanians have and support 200 newspapers, several of which rank with the great journals of the globe, and the average tone of no press in the world is higher than that of Zelania.
“True to the racial defects,” Oseba said, “the Zelanians, like the Australians and the Americans, are not linguists. These wonderfulpeople seem neither desirous nor capable of speaking ‘strange tongues.’ With brief experience, I thought this unfortunate, but I gradually changed my mind, for not only is the world coming to the use of the English speech,[C]but as ‘silence is golden,’ and it is manifestly easier to keep quiet in one than in several languages, this weakness has a virtuous side.
“I have often noticed while abroad how prone are the masters of many tongues, when striving to keep silent in one, to break out in some less euphoneous speech, and thus give themselves away, or at least arouse a contagious smile of good-natured disapproval.
“But mental gymnastics in Zelania have produced a high order of visible results.
“Though the country is very new in all phases of modern being, political, social, judicial, educational and religious, it possesses a wonderfully symmetrical form. For its present splendid condition the country is indebted to the efforts of men who were themselves the products of hard but happy and interesting colonial life.
“New and distant as this country is, narrow as has been the political, industrial and social horizon, by the vigor of inherited pluck and the resistless persuasiveness of the romantic environment, in physical courage, in moral stamina and in intellectual force, Zelania’s leading men will compare well with those trained in the great world’s historic centres.
“The present Premier, who has guided the ship of State during more than ten years of its most wonderful progress, graduated in the rugged school of industrial activity, and, casting off the implements of custom and delusion, he not only made Zelania a more conspicuously red patch on the world’s map, but himself became a recognised force in the Councils of Empire.
“But with others than her progressive statesmen, Zelania is rich in sturdy manhood and ability—grey matter. Her schools and colleges rank well with the educational institutions of older and richer countries; her instructors are profoundly learned; her judiciary, with its present head, would adorn the bench of the Motherland itself; and her professionals in law and medicine, if cast in a body in any other country, would not lower the average.
“Of course, my children, as yet not all the milestones are statues; not all who loaf in the parks are poets, nor are all who stroll in the streets philosophers, but according to the prevailing notion in Zelania, this noble aspiration will soon be realised.
“These, my children, though I drank not with the statesmen, I came not before the courts, I ‘feed’ no solicitor, and my health was perfect during my sojourn in Zelania, were my impressions on these themes.”
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.” (Usually obeyed.—Ed.)
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.” (Usually obeyed.—Ed.)
Under this head the notes were full and clear, but as life grows shorter and space less, I will condense greatly.
Amoora Oseba informs his audience that the Zelanians have considerable religion—in fact, there seems to be nearly enough to go round, for all save a very few are reported to have it in some of its various forms.
“Of the 800,000 people, nearly all,” he says, “belong to some religious society, and about all who claim God as a father, seem to think it necessary to regard the church as a mother—so few do business direct.
“Of the various creeds, the Church of England claims about 40 per cent. of the whole; the Presbyterian 22; and the Roman Catholic, 14 per cent. There are nearly 1,000 clergymen in Zelania, said to be gentlemen of excellent attainments.
“As would be expected from so free and civilised a people, there is among all classes and creeds in Zelania a commendable spirit of common brotherhood and toleration. As a fact, members of the various creeds drink at the same bar and attend the same football match, though, being so reared, they desire to go to heaven by different trains. All seem to strive together for the general good, dividing, by common consent, as to methods for the accomplishment of the one desired aim. The Roman Catholics, however, that their followers may be so instructed that they will be sure to ‘select the proper train,’ usually provide their own schools, while contributing, through general taxation, to the support of most of the others. Probably in no country so universally religious is there so little creed prejudice or intolerance.
“But political and social emancipation everywhere gives a man a conscious dignity and worth that places him in closer harmony with the infinite, and tells for sympathy, love, and charity. The people are religious, but not bigoted. The are religious, but they do not superstitiously cringe, and, as they have been specially guided, they express no disfavor with the methods of the Deity.
“As a fact, like all well regulated people, the Zelanians pray, but, instead of prostrating themselves, they stand bravely erect, and, considering themselves the crowning act of the creative power, they congratulate the Almighty on the excellence of His handiwork.”
Here the poetess Vauline inquired if all the people among the superior Outeroos worshipped the same deity.
“Yes, my children,” said the sage Oseba, with candor, “on Sundays. On Sundays the Christian Outeroos meet in comfortable places and worship the one true God. On the other days, many people give a lot of attention to another deity. This every-day deity—by persons who praise lavish generosity in other people—is spoken of very slightingly.
“This deity is worshipped by many people under many names, but the Americans, among whom it is said—abroad—he hath great influence, spell it this way—$. It may be doubtful, however, if the Americans really care more for the smiles of this deity than others, but they get up earlier. From tradition the Christian Outeroos call him Mammon, andthough he is denounced very much by pious lips, he is considerably in evidence in very holy places.
“Of course, my children, these observations do not apply to the Zelanians. But the Outeroos are growing wiser, stronger, nobler, and better, and the people are inclining to the notion that he who serves man most, pleases God best.”
Right, Mr. Oseba! The world grows better, and more truly religious as it grows wiser.
When our skies are filled with demons—In famine or in feast—We cower before the lightning,And we kneel before the priest;When we grovel in the caverns,The laying on of hands,Our service and our substance,Our faith and fear, commands.But we peer into the heavens—Recking not the frown nor rod—Till we gain a glimpse of Euclid,Then we’re face to face with God.
When our skies are filled with demons—In famine or in feast—We cower before the lightning,And we kneel before the priest;When we grovel in the caverns,The laying on of hands,Our service and our substance,Our faith and fear, commands.But we peer into the heavens—Recking not the frown nor rod—Till we gain a glimpse of Euclid,Then we’re face to face with God.
And it was decreed that the lives of those who wrought should be spared.
And it was decreed that the lives of those who wrought should be spared.
AsLeo Bergin, before he retired, himself took a deep interest in all industrial affairs, he reported Oseba in profusive detail as the labor situation of Zelania was discussed.
There had been an intermission and lunch, and the audience, feeling refreshed, showed deep interest in a problem, the solution of which had taxed the best energies of the ablest statesmen in many countries for many generations. As a text for his pleasing sermon, Oseba said:—
“To you, my children, to the Shadowas of Cavitorus, it will seem strange, but among the Christian Outeroos there is industrial confusion about everywhere, with little prospect of early harmony—for Zelania alone is a land without strikes, without class hatred, and, of those having parliaments, without a labor party in the legislature.”
I conclude from the notes:—
Zelania was settled by an excellent class of people, and though too much of the better lands, as before remarked, were at first allowed to fall into few hands, influenced by the isolation and distance from the scenes that created the old precedent, by the novelty of the environment, from the necessities of discovering new expedients to satisfy the new demands or conditions,and from the quickening influence of new competition in a new, free, and exhilarating climate, there was a rush of brains to the head in Zelania, and a new shuffle of the cards was called.
Where none were rich, and all had to hustle, the “grafter” was respected. A community of interests arose, and he who wrote and he who wrought marched shoulder to shoulder, choosing from among themselves the instruments or servants through which the public conscience should find expression in law.
In questions of colonial policy, none invoked the “shades of honored sires,” none appealed to the “experience of the ages,” none asked or cared what Britain or America was doing, but “how can we construct the most comfortable edifice from the material at hand?” was the problem they sought to solve.
If all those who have prayed, struggled, fought, and died for liberty, from Otanes, the Persian, down to the swarthy sons of Cuba or the Philippines, could behold this scene, they might well say—not in the words of Mr. Oseba—“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
In Zelania there were no class contests. There was no social revolution in the story, but the people “rose to the occasion,” they looked around inquiringly, yielded to the logic of the situation, and—were.
Boiling fountainsBoiling Fountains, Lake Rotomahana.
Boiling Fountains, Lake Rotomahana.
Here the people saw clearly the fundamental theory, or basic essentials of production. Herethey saw Nature’s treasure-house filled with tempting rewards, and they soon realised that toil was the open sesame to which Nature responded promptly, and with a lavish hand.
They saw that “labor and land,” after a long divorce, must re-wed—for the children’s sake—and that “wealth,” instead of being a partial god that sprang from magic caves to aid the cunning in squeezing humanity, was really but the savings or net products of “yesterday’s” toil, and capital but that part of wealth devoted to improving the implements with which toil may more easily coin more wealth from the stores of material, offered by Nature free to her inquiring children. Who “corners” the raw material, insults dame Nature, and assassinates liberty.
There being some considerable unanimity of feeling on these questions in Zelania, it was deemed wise to arrange some equitable rules for the working of the various factors, cogs, wheels and pulleys of this complex machine. Of course, a few persons who felt strongly that they were entitled to complimentary passes to all the public entertainments objected; but these gentlemen were asked to stand by and “hold the ’phone” while the inquiry was being made.
Mr. Oseba said: “So near is the Government of Zelania to the doors of the people that the laws are really but the recorded conclusions of the community.”
The people had learned—I conclude from the notes—that in all countries and in all ages, amonopolisation of the land with legal privileges had resulted in insolent class distinctions, poverty, misery, and oppression, and they proposed to take up a collection, and erect a new lighting-plant. For—
Not for booty came the Briton, but for a home;And he built a State, from foundation to dome.In honor of his sire he “grew.” To the “old chimes”He listened, but he hewed and carved, to fit the “times.”As oracles, he inquired of “Justice.” “Glory”To him was naught, “but works,” said he, “live in story.”
Not for booty came the Briton, but for a home;And he built a State, from foundation to dome.In honor of his sire he “grew.” To the “old chimes”He listened, but he hewed and carved, to fit the “times.”As oracles, he inquired of “Justice.” “Glory”To him was naught, “but works,” said he, “live in story.”
Mr. Oseba reminded his audience of the rules regulating land tenure and “settlement,” which held in view the broadening of the base of the social pyramid, and he said the labor laws were but extending the same principles to other members of the productive or industrial machines.
“The labor laws of Zelania,” says he, “are unique; but they are only ‘unique’ in ignoring the ‘experience of darker ages,’ in their purpose to equitably distribute the burdens and profits of industry, and in the desire of the framers to secure permanent industrial peace and intelligent social co-operation.
“The labor laws of Zelania may be said to be but rules provided for the better understanding between, and the better security of the employer and employee, as joint promoters of industrial enterprise, and nowhere is the holder of wealth given an undue advantage over the creator of wealth.
“The labor legislation of Zelania comprises about thirty-five distinct Acts, and in tone theyare usually almost more advisory than mandatory. There are no general laws regulating the hours of labor, or providing a minimum wage, but in the interest of open-handed justice, certain courts may exercise considerable power when called upon to settle questions of this character.[D]The labor legislation began in Zelania as early as 1865, in ‘The Master and Apprentice Act,’ and has at least kept pace with the rational demands of the community ever since.
“The labor laws of Zelania, like her industries, have grown gradually with the country’s requirements, as suggested by the industrial unfoldment of the country. As it is an industrial and commercial community, the laws are designed to cover every phase of business activity, to be specific in their directions, simple in their application, and speedy and inexpensive in their execution.”
Uttering a truth, but possibly misquoting, Mr. Oseba remarked:—
“As a despairing statesman once said, ‘Rome realises no danger, nay, she heeds no warning, until the enemy is thundering at her gates, when she must act without deliberation,’ so, in like manner, the industrial Acts of other countries are usually formulated and passed to meet pressing emergencies, while the sagacity of Zelania prepares, not for emergencies, but that emergencies may not arise.
“While labor is the chief factor in the production of all wealth, from a time to which the‘memory’ of man runneth not to the contrary, the select few, who cunningly possessed themselves of the wealth, have treated with scant courtesy those who created it.
“In Zelania, this ‘time-honored custom’ has been changed, for it has been ordained that he who coins his sweat into the things that administer to human wants, shall not be forgotten by those who coin their cunning into magnets for drawing the price of those things to their commodious pockets.
“In Zelania, my children, people who toil, who build houses, make corkscrews, and grow asparagus, are regarded as considerably human, even outside of Sunday-school and prayer meeting.
“Here the power of one to toil and to produce is considered his capital. His family, in whom the community has an interest, is to be considered and supported from this source, and, if in the employ of another, such a person meets with—or is overtaken by—an accident—his capital impaired—he must be ‘compensated.’[E]This, for a time, seemed a hardship on employers—all changes being hardships—but experience has proven otherwise, for the practice not only produced a nobler ‘fellow-feeling,’ but mutual interest between the employer and the employed.
“Every change necessitates other changes, and every new light exposes some defects that call for improvement.
“In this measure there was a glimpse of justice, but to obviate apparent hardships, the State undertook to insure the laborer, and then it was seen that private companies could find a lot of—financially—healthy exercise in the same line, and thus the industrial machine became more symmetrical.[F]
“To the casual observer, or to him who regards the torch-bearer as an innovator luring away his fetish, and to the wise-looking owl that sits on the cemetery gate hooting at the passing train of progress, these novel experiments seem mischievous and revolutionary; but in the early future, the long-eared politicians of many lands will have to face the inquiry, ‘What has made Zelania the industrial paradise of the world? Give us a smile from her canteen.’
“She is changing the ideal, she is blessing the brick and the mortar of which the Temple of State is built.
“If the State is made for woman and for man,You should make the man and woman—best you can.
“If the State is made for woman and for man,You should make the man and woman—best you can.
“The fact that for a dozen years, the industrial machine of Zelania has worked smoothly, and that, while in other lands there has been much confusion, she has enjoyed an era of unparalleled progress and prosperity, should be some answer to the fears of those who, because ‘of old’ they made much gains in furnishing Diana with her stage outfit, are now feeling weary.
“However, should these laws fail to satisfy the aspirations of an educated people,” Mr. Oseba argued, “the agents of the ultimate authority would be instructed to adjust them to the popular needs of society, and the new patents would be issued.
“As a fact, of all people the Zelanians alone receive as much from, as they contribute to, their Government.
“I am not sure my children, not very sure, that in all cases these liberal laws have quickened the employee’s stroke. I am not sure that all employees are endowed with sufficient grey matter to appreciate the fact that every security or privilege conferred by law imposes reciprocal obligations. To emancipate a man, should ennoble him.
“A free man should scorn to soil his palm with an unearned penny. The law that raised the eyes of labor did not intend to direct them to the face of the town clock, and the law that forbade an employer demanding twenty shillings worth of work for fourteen shillings in truck goods, never meant that labor should take from its employer a gold sovereign for fourteen shillings’ worth of work.
“Justice and security should elevate the soul, sharpen the sense of right, awaken the energies and quicken the pace of all who fall under these benign influences.
“I am not sure, not very sure, that all the people of Zelania are worthy participators in these noble benefactions; I am only explaining the facts of the situation, the generoussentiment that so largely prevails among the people, and the purposes and intentions of the makers of the law.
“Of course Zelanian statesmen may need to remind the people, that increased effort will be demanded for every opportunity given, and that for personal success, energy, self reliance and hustle must be wholly relied upon, or there may be some misunderstanding.”
Whoever leans heavily upon the Government—not the language of the chaste Oseba—usually gets tired easy, so while it is well to furnish every passenger with a life preserver, the fellow who is too lazy to kick deserves to die at sea, to save funeral expenses.
“But, my children,” says Mr. Oseba, with rather a human smile, “as it is much less wearisome to put on avoirdupois than to put on grey matter, the social millennium has not yet become firmly seated, even in Zelania.”
But, Mr. Oseba, they are steaming up and they will get there all the same, for now that the light has been turned on, the audience will encourage the players to grander performances.
In all changes in life there are sorrows. We come into, and go out of life with pain. In every advance some are left behind, by every improvement some hand is left idle, until it is trained to a new duty. Every economic advance violates some custom under which hoary wrongs found an honored refuge.
But I conclude, from many pages, that Zelania’s labor laws are still imperfect, as the leaders themselves recognise, by furtherimproving them. But she is safe in her situation, and these eternal principles of justice are destined to exercise a wide influence throughout the world, for improved light always gives the whole plant a more symmetrical growth.
To the undeviating progress of the industrial situation of Zelania, the world is indebted, first, of course, to her unparalleled natural conditions, second to the intelligence of her people, then to her progressive statesmen, and especially to R. J. Seddon and the able men who have constituted his political family. These, without tradition, history or precedent, have raised the industrial plane of the country to a condition approaching the social ideal—as per mandate.
Like Bolivar and Lincoln and many other of humanity’s torch bearers, Mr. Seddon, by the force of his own genius, arose from the industrial walks of life. His was not a meteor flight bursting resplendently upon a startled world; but faithfully biding his time, he came prepared, and evidently he came to stay—for the time of his leave-taking has not yet been announced.
Kiwi / Milford SoundKiwi./Milford Sound.
Kiwi./Milford Sound.
“Mr. Seddon was born a true Briton. He was toughened by colonial experience, his hands were calloused with honest toil, his muscles were hardened with heroic struggles, his intellect was developed by a broad and intelligent observation of interesting events; and he belonged to, arose from, and came forward to serve the people.
“He knew but one rank, that of the free citizen; but one guide, the people’s voice; but one master, that of duty—as he understood the command.
“Well, an upper seat became vacant, and, having a ripe experience in parliamentary affairs, appreciative authority, with inviting tones, remarked, ‘Richard, come up higher,’ and he joined a strong Cabinet. He did his duty as he felt it, and was a part of Zelania’s most progressive laws. He ripened with the ever-changing seasons.
“Events hastened; the public appetite was whetted, and said, ‘More!’ Mr. Ballance, a beloved Premier, foolishly died, a still higher seat was vacant, and again appreciative authority said, ‘Richard, come up higher.’ He became Premier—the most responsible position in any country ruled under the British parliamentary system—in 1893, and for ten years, with the strength of a Hercules, the courage of an Ajax, and the industry of an Ixion, he has courageously worked in extending, amending, pruning and consolidating the industrial rules of Zelania, until the world that first looked on with amusement, and then with inquiring interest, now beholds with admiration the successful workings of an industrial theory that gives hope to humanity.
“He was a product of the times. The opportunities came, and he harmonised the conditions with the interests and the aspirations of his countrymen, and, without the use of an elevator, he has reached the dome of the temple.
“The labor laws, like the land laws, are based upon the enlightened selfishness of the people in their organised capacity, the idea being, not that everyone may, but that everyone must, earn his or her own living—must be a producer and not a pauper, a tax-payer and not a vagrant. This is democracy.
“The people are not kept, but they are allowed opportunities to keep themselves; they are not aided as a charity, but they are enabled, as a right, to earn and to have, and to contribute to the general well-being of the country.
“In Zelania the soil is a basis of wealth; capital and labor are the active factors, and society, for the good of each and all, proposes that these factors shall peacefully pursue the joint enterprise of production, according to the dictates of justice and humanity.
“It is selfish, of course. Capital must be secure, and industry must necessarily move her tireless wheels. Then society, as a whole, having an interest in each of its members, and a stake in the proceeds, must be the arbiter in all industrial disputes, and the interested parties, being loyal members of the social compact, must yield obedience to the public will.”
Well, that is worth embalming!