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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 6
[miscellaneous paragraph]
The Government printing office (says the Wairarapa Daily Times) is out of all proportion to the real requirements of the Colony. It employs a hundred and thirty regular hands, and if to this be added the occasional workers, the strength of the establishment means an industrial army of two hundred persons, engaged more or less constantly in performing the printing considered necessary for carrying on the government of the country. A committee of the House during the late session presented a report on the office, which calls attention to some of the weak points of the institution, but passes lightly over others of greater consequence because the establishment is a labor centre, and from this point of view must be handled tenderly by the party in power. The office is fairly well stuffed with men who have been placed there by the influence of ministers and members of the « right color, » and under these circumstances Mr Didsbury, the able head of it, produces admirable results. All that can be done, under conditions for which he is not responsible, is accomplished—the only wonder is that he has been able to produce the results which he has obtained. No private establishment worked on the same lines could be made profitable. Enormous and preposterous batches of printing are turned out there, which never would be ordered if they had to be paid for in an ordinary way; but in the public printing office a couple of hundred workmen demand employment, and it is given them with a unsparing hand. The committee, commenting upon the financial aspect of the office, said:— « The expenditure of the printing office is very large. The sum on the estimates for the year 1892-1893 is £36,245, and this amount arises not from any excessive payments made to the employees of the establishment, but from the mass of papers and documents of no practical use which are printed and then thrown aside. The members of the Government, and the members of the Legislature, are alike to blame in moving that returns be printed in large numbers which nobody ever reads. As a proof of the waste this way, it may be mentioned that last year the Printer sold fifty-three tons of waste paper—that is, paper which had been printed upon and had never left the office — for which he obtained £161 9s 6d. On a moderate calculation, it must have taken £250 a ton to convert that paper into the condition of waste. » This is a fairly outspoken review of the condition under which the establishment is worked, and it is creditable to the committee that it reported so plainly upon what is after all a robbery of the taxpayers.
page 87
Recently, at the Normal College for the Blind, Sir Lyon Playfair and Dr. Phillips Brooks both referred to a child named Ellen Keller, who was a source of wonderment to all, and Sir Lyon Playfair read a letter which she had written to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Although blind, deaf, and dumb, and only eleven years of age, she was desirous of learning the meaning of « springtime, » so she took to Oliver Wendell Holmes's poems, and this is the effect they had upon her as communicated to the press: « Your poems of spring have taught me to enjoy and love the beautiful springtime, even though I cannot see the fair frail blossoms which proclaim its approach, or hear the 'joyous warbling of home-coming birds.' I am not blind any longer—I see with your eyes, and I am not deaf, for I hear with your ears. »
Part 7 of the American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking extends from p. 289 to 336, and from Inf to Let. Among the more important articles are Invention of Printing, Italian, Job Printing, Lay of the Case, and Leads. Illustrative of the article « Language, » 34 specimens of early characters are shown. The peculiar variation of rabbinical Hebrew shown by Brendler under the name of « Weiberdeutsch » is here called « German Hebrew. » The specimen labelled « Inscription Greek » is what is known in England as « Alexandrian, » from the celebrated codex of that name. Inscription Greek, properly so-called, does not appear in the Dictionary. The article on Lay of the Case is abundantly illustrated. At the risk of repetition, we can only add that the book is a valuable one, and ought to be in every printer's hands.
We are in receipt of the twenty-sixth report of the institution known as Dr. Barnardo's Homes. The noble work of charity to which the doctor has devoted his life needs little recommendation; it receives no state aid, and seeks none: but is maintained by freewill offerings from all parts of the world. The manager of the institution has suffered not only from slander but organized persecution; yet his work prospers the more abundantly, and its success is greater year by year. Even in New Zealand there are periodicals of the baser sort that habitually libel the doctor. They have done no real injury; for long experience has shown that the more bitter the attack, the more prompt and substantial is the sympathy evoked. Since the establishment of the charity it has been the means of rescuing eighteen thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine poor children from privation, suffering, and moral peril. Such a work must possess the hearty sympathy and c aim the practical support of every philanthropist and every Christia.
The vacant laureateship is a subject of dlscussion in literary circles. Swinburne is a favorite in many quarters, but after the laurel has been worn in succession by two men who « uttered nothing base; » it would scarce be seemly to pass it over to the erotic and vituperative bard, great though his gifts may he. William Morris is said to have been offered, and to have declined the honor: on what ground is not stated. Probably the socialist poet feared that he might be muzzled. The offer is not without precedent—the radical writer of Wat Tyler became laureate, and in due time produced the fulsome and profane Vision of Judgment. Lewis Morris is perhaps the most Tennysonian of living poets—a consideration that may go against him. Some of his critics and less popular colleagues put on a curious affectation of contempt when referring to him; but he stands far above such a minor poet as the Marquis of Lorne, who is regarded by some as Tennyson's probable successor. Edwin Arnold's name has been mentioned, and he would no doubt worthily fill the post. No other names seem to have occurred to those who speculate on the subject.
Some time ago we read in a contemporary newspaper that « the fame of our enterprising fellow townsman Mr ____ 's invention has reached France, for he lately, to his surprise, received an official notification that he had been unanimously elected an honorary member of the « Parisian Inventors' Academy. » From a short article in the Wairarapa Daily Times we find that this honor is a doubtful one. It seems that a Masterton resident, who is not an inventor at all, has been accorded a similar distinction. The curious circular received by him throws some light on the methods of the institution. He is notified that the honor will be « no expence » to him; but that if he sends the treasurer of the Academy a « post money order » for £2, payable in Paris, he will receive a gold (?) medal, packed « in a fine leather and velved boxe, » or framed if he sends an extra ten shillings, while for ten shillings more he may have a pair of « Printer Bloks » for advertising purposes, illustrating the medal in question. It seems therefore, that anyone with a taste for medals and diplomas may have it gratified at a moderate rate by sending his money— appropriately enough—to « the rue Serpente, » Paris.
Prof. F. Nicholls Crouch, who composed the music for many famous songs, but for none more famous than « Kathleen Mavourneen, » is a veteran of 83 years. He has been four times married, and has been the father of thirty-three children. One child, the first of his second marriage, was the notorious Cora Pearl, of Paris.
The world has had many centuries' experience of governments, but the duties of a government still remain undefined. In Tasmania, the Chief Secretary lately told a deputation of workmen that it must be distinctly understood that it was not the duty of the government to find work for the unemployed. In New Zealand, the Premier has publicly stated: « I recognize that it is one of the first duties of a government to find work for the people. » The natural result is such a rush of « unemployed » from the Australian colonies to New Zealand as will make the « first duty » of our government a task from which Hercules himself would recoil in dismay.
A lady having completed a book for children, Dr Holmes kindly consented to read the manuscript. When it was returned to her she naturally looked it over with eagerness to see what criticisms her distinguished friend had made. She turned page after page, but found no erasure mark nor marginal note, until at length, nearly at the end of the story, she came to a single neatly pencilled line in Dr. Holmes's fine handwriting. It was placed against a passage upon which she had prided herself—a vivid description of the picnic feast of a group of children in a grove. First reading the paragraph to see if she herself could find anything amiss, she next read what he had written. It was this: « Don't let those children eat pickles. » Much relieved to find that it was the doctor, not the author, who had found fault with her work, the lady at once drew a line through the offending viands, and when the story of the picnic appeared in print, pickles were omitted from the bill of fare.
Mr Sandford's object, in moving for a return of railway advertising, was to show political favoritism; but he only succeeded in demonstrating the entire impartiality of the officers of the department. The Oamaru Mail, which is strongly opposed to the commissioners, says: « We have every reason to believe that we get our fair share of the department's advertisements…. We are convinced that there is not now a paper in the colony which on public grounds is entitled to expect advertisements from the railway department, and which can complain that it does not get its fair share. » On the other hand, the Wellington Times is profoundly exercised because the Christchurch Press received, in two-and-a-half years, £7 more than its local rival. It might with more pertinence be asked how the Times itself drew £124 more than the Post, which has about twice its circulation. It is some of the smaller items that are most open to objection, and that indicate want of judgment on the part of local officers. We find such sums as £1 10s and £9 thrown away on almost unknown and entirely disreputable ephemerides in the larger centres. Apart from being bad in principle, this practice seems to contravene the rules laid down by the commissioners.
One of the most deplorable literary schemes ever attempted—the translation of the scriptures into the lingo of the newspaper penny-a-liner—is due to the fertile brain of Mr Stead. Eighteen mutilators are at work on the perversion, and the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles are announced as nearly ready. Mr Stead's genius as an advertiser may sell a good many copies of the work; but its ultimate fate can only be deserved oblivion. It is not the first attempt of the kind. Twelve or fourteen years ago, the Rev. W. B. Crickmer, B.A., tried a similar experiment, and issued the « Greek Testament Englished. » We have never seen the book itself, but some of the reviewers took notice of it, and a few of its tit-bits went the rounds. To the reverend reviser, the simplicity and dignity of the received version appeared vulgar and offensive, and he accordingly brought the sacred volume down to the literary level of the Book of Mormon, with a dash of modern scientific jargon introduced. « Woman, ؟why weepest thou? » became « Madam, ؟why ever art thou weeping? » Woman, behold thy son, » « Madam, now mark me, there is thy son; » and « one having authority, » « a gentleman of position. » Besides this, we had such expressions as « religious phenomenon, » « organic sacramental system, » and « exoteric organic oneness. » The English-speaking world has been unkind enough to treat Mr Crickmer's work with absolute indifference, and still makes daily use of the book which the ignorant call « King James's version. » There are few who realize the splendid service rendered both to literature and religion by William Tyndale. For more than three-and-a-half centuries his noble version has held its ground, and will probably keep the field for centuries to come; for notwithstanding all revisions, the English text of the New Testament remains substantially as he left it.