"When I think of the men to-day who want the nation to do everything for them, it gives me the cold shivers." said the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, in opening the Whirokino trestle bridge, near Foxton. Mr. Semple bad just asked the assembly to bow heads in memory of the pioneers who had blazed the trail from Wellington to Wanganui 100 years ago. "Our trials in life are infinitesimal compared with their battle against the forces of nature," he said. "May God in His wisdom grant them a generous corner in His Great Haven of Rest. Those today who want the nation to do everything for them will get short shrift from me," the Minister continued. "I often wonder where they come from... I don't think they were born at all, but just happened under a wet blanket on a cold winter's morning."