"I will give you," said he, "a glimpse of the policy now in vogue, and

how it seems to satisfy the hopes of its sponsors, for this will deeply

interest you."

The orator here began a review of the land system of Zelania, and,

with a view to brevity, the notes will be "boiled down" to the lowest

possible comprehensive space.

As the country was originally divided into some nine provinces with

as many governing bodies, each vested with authority to deal with and

dispose of the public domain, there naturally arose a system that

resulted in great inequality, as well as in great confusion. Then as

all the provinces were in need of roads, bridges, schools, and other

public improvements, they vied with each other in offering inducements

for immigration or new population, and with a hand exceedingly lavish,

the lands were alienated--often in large tracts.

When the Colonial Parliament took over the public property--by an

abolition of provincial authority--the land question at once assumed

a new importance. This came about at the most intense stage of the

modern transitionary period. "Industrial progress" had ushered in the

most resistless spirit of commercial expansion in all countries. Then

population became a "necessity" and railway construction became almost

a mania everywhere.

The contagion struck Zelania. Public improvements were an absolute

necessity, and the lands were the chief assets and "capital." For

a time the lands were recklessly sold, but the mania for internal

improvements became so unconquerable that foreign capital was called,

and by a resort to the seemingly most reckless borrowing policy ever

indulged in by a sane people, the lands were partially saved for a

better future.

I quote:--

"Of the 66,000,000 acres there are said to be 35,500,000 'occupied,'

and of this, 16,000,000 acres are 'freehold,' 11,000,000 are held under

various crown leases, while the rest is leased from private owners,

or from the natives--who own, as a people, several million acres. As

the Maoris are usually tired, these lands are mostly leased to the

'superior race,' who do the work.

"The number of holdings is 115,713, with an improved value of

£120,981,599. This is good. It shows an unparalleled proportion of

land-holders, but it is not enough, and the 'Government' is making

strenuous efforts to increase proportionately the population of rural

districts, and of 'land holders,' if not of land 'owners.'

"Under an old system, the lands were so recklessly disposed of

that even yet fully one-fourth of those 'occupied' are 'owned' by

comparatively few people; but the Government has applied a strong

'persuader'--graduated land tax--and the great inequality will

gradually disappear. The issue now is, 'custom _versus_ justice,' and

with the face turned to the new, the old loses its potency. The burden

should be more on the land and less on the laundry.

"The laws and rules applied to the land of Zelania of late years, not

only take into consideration the desires and requirements of would-be

occupiers, but also the class of the land--the holdings for the better

to be smaller in area than those for the poorer tracts. Of good or

first-class land, under certain tenures, 640 acres only may be taken or

held, and of second-class, 2,000 acres.

"There are several tenures under which 'crown lands' in Zelania may

be acquired--one by purchase for cash; one with lease and right to

purchase, rent to be 5 per cent. on unimproved value; and one, an

eternal lease (999 years) with a rent of 4 per cent. during this

period on original capital value--unimproved. Compulsory residence of

the holder is enjoined during the currency of the lease in leasehold

tenures.

"Under the _ægis_ of the law, if wise and just, people are encouraged

and assisted by the Government in forming small agricultural

communities of not less than twelve heads of families--for the

Outeroos have families--and this group may have set apart for them a

suitable block of land upon which to settle. This secures educational

advantages, for in every community the Government not only establishes

schools, but compels parents to send their children for instruction.

"But when conscience was thoroughly aroused, it became evident to the

most casual observer, that the great estates not only stood in the way

of social progress, but that holding vast areas out of cultivation

was a menace to the future liberties of the people. And further, that

though there were considerable Crown lands suitable for occupation, the

conditions for 'closer settlement' on them were not over favorable;

and, further still, that every successful effort to settle these lands

not only vastly increased the value of the great estates, but increased

the temptation of the large owner to further extend his domain.

"Under the earlier _régime_ the follies of the old rapidly spread over

the new world, and by 1890 most of the better lands in Zelania were

parcelled out in lordly estates and owned by a few persons.

"Almost before the people were aware of the tendencies of the times, a

gigantic land monopoly threatened to overshadow the country. But being

14,000 miles from central authority, the affections of the people for

hoary customs had weakened, and vested rights in ancient wrongs soon

began to find earnest protestation.

"The rights of imminent domain were understood, the people had no

notion of erecting a landed aristocracy, and a few bold souls, who,

by the force of inherent genius had arisen from the industrial ranks,

conceived the idea of writing another chapter in the history of human

progress.

[Illustration: _A Maori Beauty._]

"No people," Mr. Oseba argued, "ever yet revolted against a despot who

ruled with smiling diplomacy, but having learned in the old home the

power of the world owners, and knowing that the liberties of none are

secure where a few are vested with the instruments of oppression,

people in this new and strange country felt the weight of the lordly

hand possibly before it was ungloved for action.

"The land barons, with their sheep, inhabited the fertile valleys,

while the people with their children, roamed over the sterile hills.

But with the squeezing of the people into the bush there was a rush of

brains to the head, and the chosen guardians of the public weal said:

'Zaccheus, come down.'

"Though New Zealand mutton was of good quality and wool bore a good

price, some healthy gentlemen concluded that men and women and children

were about as good as sheep, especially when the sheep belonged to the

other fellow, and as the barons had no blunderbusses and the people had

votes, the world-owners were called down to pay a little more of the

taxes, and the people were called up to earn a square meal.

"Then the show was opened--without a prayer or a corkscrew--and some

very sensible men who stood on firm ground suggested that any man who

had muscle and a mouth should have an opportunity to exercise the one

for the satisfaction of the other, and when the world-owners declined

to 'set a price,' the agents of this brave democracy came with a

persuader, and the revolution was begun.[B]

"The land barons were treated honorably. The values created by the

coming of a progressive population, by the settlement on Crown lands,

and by the construction of the highways, were generously allowed

them; but when asked to move off the grass and make room for closer

settlement, they learned to accept the situation, and the laws had a

soothing influence.

"The graduated land tax is a powerful persuader, and already there have

been about seventy of the great estates resumed and divided into small

allotments among an intelligent, industrious and progressive people.

And still the work goes on with success, and even profit in nearly

every case.

"In Zelania has been demonstrated, not only the possibility but the

wisdom of State landlordism. To-day the State is a landlord to the

extent of over 15,000,000 acres, it has 16,000 tenants, and in all

these resumptions, divisions, settlements, rent collections and

management, there has been no loss, few grievances and fewer scandals.

"Then, too, when the estates are cut up and divided among settlers,

schools are established, post offices are opened, roads are made,

and--when needed by the settlers--money is loaned to them by the State

at a reasonably low interest; and, so far, these laws have been to

the infinite advantage of the people, and a profit to the State--the

'profits' used to further the general scheme.

"With this policy of graduated land tax and discretionary resumptions,

exorbitant rents and land speculations are inconvenient, and with the

'loan to the settler policy' the money sharks can't squeeze the people,

'they can't.'

"In Zelania, the State, or the people in their organised capacity, aids

from the general store the people in their individual capacity--to help

themselves.

"The State gives nothing. There is humiliating charity nowhere, but

elevating justice everywhere. The State puts a man on a farm, loans him

money, helps him up hill, and then demands that he play the Hercules.

It will loan him a spade--not to lean upon or to pawn, but to dig

with--and he must keep it bright and pay for its use.

"The idea in Zelania, my children, is to have no lords and no

paupers--that all men shall be producers, and not vagrants; tax-payers,

and not tax-eaters--and that every citizen shall become a sturdy

democrat, who will honorably strive as a stock-holder in a paying

concern.

"Joint encouragement is given," said he, "and that may be called

socialistic; but individual action is demanded, and that is democratic.

"Many persons in Zelania think that the government train is rushing

ahead too rapidly, but these should observe the tendencies of the

times, and realise the advantages of the general prosperity. Many

others think the train moves too slowly, but these should realise

the conservatism of wealth, the dangers of exploring uncharted seas,

and they should remember that to-day, in all the essentials of human

progress, they are by far the most advanced of all peoples.

"Of course, there are occasional failures in Zelania, enough to furnish

healthy examples; for while any man who will hustle may thrive, the

Almighty does not line up the jerseys for every lout that likes cream

in his chocolate. Even in Zelania, the man who claims that this world

owes him a living must make some effort to collect that little bill.

"As a fact, in Zelania they furnish a fellow with about everything but

brains. This, doubtless, they would willingly do, but as there are a

few things in which Nature seems to practice economy, so far there has

appeared no surplus of brains--no, not even in Zelania."

Here I cluster some of Mr. Oseba's graphic conclusions into my own

"chaste" language:--

Having become familiar with the serene security of the man of acres

in other lands, it is curiously interesting to observe that people in

Zelania--common and no account as they are in most countries--are held

in considerable respect, regardless of their bank accounts, or the

social position of their father-in-law.

In most countries, on Oliffa, the people are "moved on" to make room

for animals, and, in most countries on Oliffa, the larger the "estate,"

the more easily can it be made larger; but in Zelania, when too many

people are "out in the cold," some fellow with a big paddock is

requested to "set a price," and the stray "sheep" are soon comfortably

quartered and employed.

Under the old system such "estates" were always held "sacred," but

in Zelania, among the most "sacred" of all recognised rights is the

"sacred right" of "man to live"; and it has been discovered that to

talk of the "sacred right" of a man to live, without an opportunity

to earn something upon which to live, is an insult to God's noblest

creatures; and the graduated land tax has so conciliated the lordly

inheritors, that the "blessed" who "hunger and thirst" are not asked

to wait for the platter of "charity," but they are "filled" from the

products of their own strong hands.

Here I quote:--

"The Christian Outeroos, my children, all think they are in the world

by the special desire and fiat of God, and yet of all the civilised

Outeroos, the Zelanians alone have had courage enough to demand

standing room on a world where God had placed them.

"They assume to think their deity made the world and then made them

to people it, yet most of them have been persuaded that 'He made the

world' for just a few of them, who are privileged to put up the notice

'Keep off the grass.' The Zelanians alone have removed the 'notice.'

"While to us, my children, so far away, with so long a history behind

us, even these measures seem but the cautious experiments of amateurs,

they are the most advanced known to the Outeroos; and the Zelanians,

in their numerical 'fewness,' their national youth, and their splendid

isolation, are more courageously grappling with the difficulties that

have baffled the noblest statesmanship of all the ages, than any other

social group in the world's progressive history.

"Zelania, my children, is the most unmitigated democracy ever known

to the outer world of this planet, yet her people have just gained a

glimpse, not a realisation, of human liberty. But the divine flame from

the sacred torch is spreading, the public conscience is aroused, the

public intellect is alert, and the social train is moving rapidly.

"What the dreamers, the poets, and the academicians of other lands laud

as social ideals, the tradesmen, the farmers, and the mechanics of

Zelania discuss as every-day matters of practical politics.

"'Touch not the Lord's anointed' hath saved the head of many a despot,

and touching appeals for the observance of the 'sacred rights'--in

hoary wrongs--hath larded the ribs of idleness for a very protracted

season, but the Zelanians, in the exuberance of a novel situation,

are indulging in mental gymnastics, and putting on grey matter--with

results.

"A shipwrecked mariner, tossed on a lone island, rich with food, and

shelter, and material for raiment, may 'own' that little world--for

a time. His rights are supreme. He has a 'vested interest.' He

'discovered' it. As a contribution to the world's wealth he had

practically created that patch of dirt. It is his. But suppose the next

morning another fellow from the same or some other ship is tossed on

the island. Well, number one must 'divvy.' The social conditions have

changed. 'Right' has a new definition--unless the first enslaves the

other.

"Definitions change. Right and wrong as expressing the various social

theories, are fictions established by society for its own use, and

if a rule established by society for the benefit of itself cannot be

modified by society for the benefit of a larger social self, one man

might own all the people who might be cast on the island--even if the

island became a continent.

"The Zelanians have discovered that despotism consists chiefly in

a loyal observance of ancient customs, and they are giving new

definitions to old terms--and then adjusting society upon the new

definitions. In no country are human rights more respected, or vested

interests more sacredly guarded, than in Zelania, but the outposts are

extended, and no longer is the power of the few to legally wrong the

many, sanctified as a sacred right.

"In Zelania it has been decreed," said the sage Oseba, "that one

man's rights must stop where another's begins--especially if there

are several of the 'others.' In Zelania it has been decreed that the

interests of 'all of us' are paramount to the interests of 'a few of

us,' and, though the rights of no man must be infringed, the equal

rights of the many must not be withheld.

"Man is a social being, and how much of his rights--as defined by

himself--he may be called upon to yield for the happiness of many--as

defined by themselves--has nowhere been determined.

"In Zelania, my children, the people have ideas, and the people rule.

In Zelania the people may ask the lucky fellow who first struck the

lonely island to 'set up a price.' They may ask that he who toils shall

enjoy, that the size of a paddock be decreased, that the distance

between drinks be increased, and, in Zelania, the statesmen with

fidelity carry out the will of the people as expressed under the rules

prescribed.

"Now, my children, I have dwelt with some detail on the land system of

Zelania, for of all nations on the surface of Oliffa, the Zelanians are

gradually adjusting themselves most wisely to the permanent happiness

of the people--and we may desire to send thither a 'colony.'

"Zelania is a lovely land, my children, and, were there no principle

involved, I would like to own it myself; but, alas! no 'principle'

should be violated for so transient a pleasure."

[Illustration: _Maori Woman and Child. Fashionably tattooed lip._]

_SCENE VIII--Act III._

UTILITARIAN.

Here the notes record that there had been a half-hour's recess, during

which Leo Bergin mentions that he enjoyed a pleasant chat with the

poetess Vauline, that she was very charmingly inquisitive, and that

while he confessed his lack of eloquence as compared with that of

Oseba, he thought Zelania had lost nothing through his modesty.

Leo remarks that he showed the poetess many photos of the outer world,

especially some fine ones of Zelania--among others, some of the leading

statesmen and jurists--"all at the same sitting."

But I will ring off Leo Bergin, and have Amoora Oseba continue his

observations, as per Leo's notes boiled down--by the fire of genius.

Mr. Oseba, on rising, is noted to have observed that men were human, to

which I partially agree.

Taking from the immortal Robert as a text,

"Man's inhumanity to man

Makes countless thousands mourn,"

he delivered a long and eloquent oration on man's relations to this

world; how the earth is the storehouse of Nature; how all that we call

wealth, and the things that contribute to our health, comfort, and

well-being are the products of the toil of men; and he then observed

how few of us get much exercise out of this useful occupation.

As a fact, he conveyed the rather startling information that, as

relating to actual production, fully nine-tenths of us were on

vacation, or, to put a point on it, that every toiler was carrying

about nine more easy-going souls on his back. These remarks applied to

general productive industry.

Mr. Oseba explains "how in sparsely settled countries, where there are

animals, primitive man lives by the chase, where there are tameable

animals he becomes partially tamed and lives by his flocks, and where

there is good soil--as population increased--the people turn to

agriculture, and with more culture and more people industry becomes

specialised, and commerce arises to put on the finishing touches.

"But," he argued, "as man clings to the muscles with which his

ancestors flapped their ears, so he clings to all the habits practised

by man in the past. He lives by the chase as long as there is room,

he reduces nomadic industry to a science, and by co-operation all

contribute to the advancement of the higher ideal.

"In Zelania, save for sport, the chase has been abandoned, and the

living and wealth come from herding on, delving into, or cultivating

the soil."

I gather from Leo's notes, that of some 66,000,000 acres of

land in Zelania, there are but 6,000,000 subdued by the plough,

1,400,000 acres in crops, 4,600,000 acres in grass, and 7,000,000

unploughed--also in exotic grasses--and that chiefly from this source

of wealth 800,000 of the best fed, best clothed, best housed, best

educated and best satisfied, most progressive, healthy, happy and free

people, that ever loafed about on the surface of this planet are quite

alive, and satisfied to remain--_sine die_.

In grain and root crops, etc, the soil yields more abundantly than that

of any other country. In pasture it carries more stock, in fruit it

is promising, and as for the dairy, Denmark must fight to retain her

laurels.

It will be seen that but a small portion of the land of Zelania is

devoted to its "best use," so there is room for many millions of

people, whose lot there should be blessed indeed, for in no country is

the fortune of the land dweller so happy a one. His soil is fertile,

his climate is genial, his seasons are reliable, his health is perfect,

he has the best implements in use, his taxes are light, and his prices

are always good. Happy Zelania's farmer!

SOME THAT ADAM NAMED.

"And God made the beasts of the earth after his kind, and cattle

after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after

his kind, and God saw that it was good."

But only a few miserable little "creeping things" got to Zelania, until

the British brought others.

Oseba, in a review of the "animal business," remarked, that as all

animals--save the long-wooled goat herded on the desert and mountain

sides--had long retired from Cavitorus to make room for people, he

would use the terms common among the Outeroos in his present statement,

leaving the more minute explanation to be studied in his published

report.

He claimed again that man had never been able to work out a

civilisation without the use of tameable animals, and many of the

Outeroos had been most fortunate in these aids of Nature.

Where man had the association, company and use of the camel, the horse,

the ox, the sheep, and the dog, he had been able to keep up the march

towards a higher goal. The animals became at once servants, beasts of

burden, motive force, food and raiment.

The people about the Mediterranean, for many thousands of years,

had all these amiable and useful animals. These animals carried

civilisation to the remotest parts of the world, and from servants they

became more a source of commerce, food and raiment, than of motive

force.

Rearing these animals became the chief industry of Zelania early in her

colonial days, for the fertility of the soil, the healthfulness of the

country, the geniality of the climate, and the ever reliability of the

seasons, made this--of all lands--the most suited for flocks and herds.

"Ah, my children," said Oseba, with animation, "had the Maoris

possessed the horse, the ox, and the sheep centuries ago, the dark

republic of the South Seas might have sent the most eloquent diplomats

to the opulent courts of the Old World--but the Maori was alone."

But let us back to the animals--and "boil them down." These 800,000

Zelanians have 20,250,000 sheep, 1,360,000 cattle, 280,000 horses, and

224,000 swine; and--well, there are a few thousand, more or less, dogs.

These 20,000,000 sheep are of a fine breed, reared with the dual idea

of good wool and good mutton; they belong to about 19,000 persons, and

they yield, from export, an annual income of about £5,000,000. There

are 11,700 flocks of less than 500 per flock, and 138 of over 20,000.

The Zelanians confess to having the best mutton in the world.

I quote:--

"Zelania is a country of big things, only when taken on the average.

She has no millionaires and no paupers. She has no sheep kings or sheep

thieves. She has big geysers, and big Premiers, big yields, big people

and big ideas, but few big fortunes. They have 'trusts' in Zelania, but

they are in God and--the people."

PROFITABLE EXERCISE.

Among the most pleasant as well as most profitable industries anywhere,

I conclude from the notes, are dairying and fruit-growing, and Mr.

Oseba thinks that in no country or climate on the upper crust of

our planet are these industries more promising or more profitable,

especially the former. The absence of cold winters, the purity of the

atmosphere, the nutritiousness of the grasses, and the frequency of

rain, all "work together for good" to those who attend to business.

I quote:--

"The relative area of land in Zelania specially suitable for this

purpose is enormous, and as the fertility of the soil is improved

instead of being impoverished by this industry, the possibilities of

its development are incalculable.

"For a person with moderate means this seems the most tempting industry

in this charming land. Mining, too, with its variety of products, the

generous laws, the healthful climate, the abundance of water, is a most

interesting and remunerative industry.

"The mining laws and regulations are as generous as the land laws, and

in every undertaking of this nature the policy of the Government is,

'arm energy with the implements of industry that wealth may come in

response to the kindly invitation.'

"As the Zelanians were among the most commercial people of the globe,

considering population, they entered into the spirit of railway

building in early times with great enthusiasm. The railway mania began

during the reign of provincialism, and each province commenced its

little system without regard to the plans of the others."

Here a map was thrown on the wall, showing different railway systems,

with their different routes and purposes. Considering the nearness

of the sea to every populous centre, and the accessibility of these

points for steamers, the construction of costly railways evidenced a

commendable spirit of enterprise.

Doubtless, provincial pride and a willingness to bid high for

population in former times, that rents on fine estates might be raised,

had much to do in stimulating this enterprise.

The railway lines were expensive, but they have proved a good

investment. I conclude that at present Zelania has 2,325 miles of

railway. The road-bed is good, the rolling-stock fair; travelling is

about as comfortable as in other countries, and the average passenger

fare is lower than in America. For the benefit of the joint owners--the

people--all "profits" go to the general lowering of rates.

The wisdom of the Australasian colonies in constructing, managing, and

owning the transportation lines cannot be too much admired, Mr. Oseba

thinks, especially as it was "contrary to the world's experience."

The orator argued logically, and in detail, the wisdom of the public

ownership of public utilities, claiming that, as transportation was of

so vital an importance to all commercial people, unless the Government

owned and operated the railways, the railways would, by some means, own

and operate the Government.

He proceeded:--

"The railways in Zelania are a valuable asset. Their construction has

doubled the value of the public lands, and, as at cheap rates they are

yielding a good per cent. on the total cost, they are worth to-day the

full amount of the investment.

"The railways are being extended and improved as rapidly as the

demands require, and the finances justify; and with the post offices,

telegraphs and telephones, they are under the watchful eye and control

of a Cabinet Minister--at present Sir Joseph Ward--the early evidence

of whose sagacity was shown in his having selected these antipodean

regions as a country in which to endure life's fitful dream.

"Sir Joseph is an ornament too, as well as a pillar in, the political

and social structure of Zelania. He is affable, polished, ambitious and

patriotic. He is brilliant in his business conceptions, and, possessing

a pleasing personality and persuasive speech, he rarely fails in the

execution of his well organised designs. While he has hardly passed the

noon of life, he has long been the skilful lieutenant of the sturdy

Seddon, and if the chief, at whose side he has so unfalteringly stood,

should weary under the burden of public cares, it would seem most

fitting that the mantle of leadership should fall upon the trained

shoulders of this able and versatile statesman.

"Then the construction of all the railways, with all their _et

ceteras_--the highways, bridges, and other public works--is also

directed by a Cabinet Minister.

[Illustration: _"Hongi," Maori Salutation._]

"Well, from all the 'millions' that have been spent under this tireless

guardian in the promotion of these stupendous improvements, in a

country, too, in which very many intelligent people would sit up 'all

hours' to find something to criticise, there is probably not one person

who could be persuaded that there was ever a sixpence coined in

His Majesty's Mint sufficiently nimble to find its way into the wrong

pocket.

"This 'Minister of Works' works twice as many hours per day as any one

of the thousands of men in his employ, and the thought of his being

influenced by any consideration save that of the public good, could not

be advanced to the debatable stage in any company in Zelania. These

people trust their 'servants,' and rarely, indeed, is their trust

betrayed. This is a Zelanian 'trust.'

"Nearly all these great works are carried on under a co-operative

policy, with a wage based on individual capacity to earn, the work

being usually given to the 'unemployed' nearest the productive

operations. It is claimed that this policy has been no more costly than

the old contract system. It is of the people, for the people, by the

people.

'Who will not sing "God Save the King"

Shall hang as high's the steeple.

But while we sing "God Save the King,"

We'll ne'er forget the people.'"

Here, the notes record, the poetess Vauline suggested that the sage

Oseba give the audience a little further information regarding Zelanian

statesmen, their relation to the Motherland, and their hold upon the

affections of the people.

In interesting detail, Mr. Oseba explained that while Zelania claimed

allegiance to the British Crown, and that in defence of Britain's honor

she would pour out her blood and treasure with Spartan valor, she was

so proudly free that should the same "loved mother" demand a penny per

pound tax on her tea, the next rising sun would kiss a thousand emblems

of a new-born republic. For the Motherland, Zelania would sacrifice

all--save honor--but it must be as a partner, and not as a vassal.

"I have no desire," said the orator, "to applaud the star performers

of this great social drama, for such leaders are but the chosen

instruments of the people, and as no other power had conspicuously

succeeded in establishing justice among men, the people have the

innings, and may--yea, must--be trusted.

"But the chosen are not sure to enjoy the 'affections of all,' for as

long as a man is alive and in business," Mr. Oseba concludes, "there

will be marked differences of opinion regarding his mental and moral

worth."

Mr. Oseba "caught on" alright, for he soon discovered that among the

Outeroos the real live man is always in somebody's way; that the fellow

who reached the persimmons, or "got there"--at the top of the poll--was

bad, and that if such a one ever did a proper thing it was through

inadvertence, or from unholy motives.

While a man "is quite alive" and wants something, we scoff at his

ability, we laugh at his language, we question his motives, and we

wound him with our poisoned shafts. But let him die once, and what a

wondrous change! As long as he is in our way, as long as his quivering

heart can feel, we cannonade him; then, when we have wrapped him in

the habiliments of eternal silence, we feel subdued, we magnify his

virtues, and--_canonise_ him.

Among a free and educated people, on questions of domestic policy,

there are always differences of opinion among men, and this is no

imputation either on the intelligence or the patriotism of the

disputants; but Mr. Oseba rather likes the man who gets there while the

other fellow is holding his caucus.

From these opposing opinions arise party prejudices and factional

strife, and earnestness should be reckoned a virtue, even should the

reasoning finally prove faulty. Democracy, then, instead of raising men

above the human, not infrequently reminds us how far men fall short of

the divine.

But on this point Mr. Oseba closes thus:--

"While Zelania is a conspicuous jewel of the British Crown and very

red on the map, and her government is of, for, and by the people,

any praise of her statesmen is a compliment to the character and

intelligence of the 'ultimate power'--the people."

LET'S TO BUSINESS.

Here, for the sake of brevity, I condense many eloquent pages, and for

the sake of clearness I make Mr. Oseba's story my own, quoting when we

pass the general argument.

Commercially, I conclude, Zelania, on a population basis, is one of the

leading countries on the upper crust, her annual exports and imports

amounting to about £24,000,000. To furnish financial convenience for

the great industrial and commercial enterprise of the country, there

are provided excellent banking facilities. As a fact, the capital

invested in banking, for so small a society, seems fabulous. The

banking laws are explicit, and while the banks have provided for their

own perfect safety, they cannot, if they should desire, oppress the

people. But the fact that advances by these banks amount to about £20

per cap. of the whole people shows to what extent they are patronised.

Referring to a review of the political side of this country, it

appears that the Zelanians, all in all, have the most rational system

of taxation of any people anywhere. With a desire to encourage "home

industry," and also influenced by custom, the laws provide that the

necessary revenue be raised by the usual methods, direct and indirect

taxation, but it is of the former I shall chiefly speak. Of the total,

say £3,113,000, about 74 per cent. is raised by indirect methods, or

from taxes on imports and excises, while 26 per cent. is raised by a

direct tax on land and income.

On land and income the taxes are graduated, the rates increasing with

the increase of the income, or the value of the estate--those on land

being on the unimproved value. This system of graduated taxation is

a new departure, a reversal of the history of the ages. It is based

upon the idea of social defence of personal rights. It is plain that

the more property a person possesses the greater are his claims upon

society for protection, and the graduated tax is simply demanding

extra rent for extra room, or extra charge for the extra expense for

the extra security given. In fact, it is extra insurance for extra

risks.

The justice of the idea has been clear to thoughtful men--who had

nothing to tax--for many years; but in Zelania--to discover a new truth

means to occupy a new position. Zelania does not allow her intellectual

jewels to rust in the brains of the academician.

Under Zelania's novel policy the books show her to be carrying a public

debt greater in proportion to population than any other country, but

for every shilling of her debt she has more than two shillings in

valuable assets, and for most of it she has a reproductive asset. So,

as a fact, the burden helps to carry the people. Like other "heavily

involved" Australasian States, if measured by the rule of other

nations, she is among the least burdened of all people.

"And these people were cunning in handicraft."

Oseba tells his audience at some length about the manufacturing

industries of Zelania, but a small space will suffice, as it is better

to remember the haste of the age. The pith is, that considering

the newness of the country, and the narrow limits of the markets,

there has been a laudable advance in manufacturing enterprise. The

chief industries, of course, have developed from the most common and

profitable material resources of the country.

"My children," said Oseba, "we are never done with Zelania's wonders.

While she offers the most tempting rewards for effort, she gives

nothing ready-made. In all Zelania there was, and is, nothing of the

'Arise, Peter, slay and eat' to be found, but everywhere there is seen:

'In my treasure-house there are many jewels, and he who cannot open my

door and unlock my chest would be an unsafe custodian of my riches,

an unworthy recipient of my favors.' Or, like the gay and mischievous

maiden who says, 'Catch me, and you have a kiss,' she keeps all her

promises. Relying on Nature without effort, any man in Zelania might

genteelly starve; but relying on effort with Nature's aid, any man in

Zelania may live like a prince.

"Zelania had no indigenous animals, and really no indigenous grasses,

and her fruits were meagre, but she had the magic force of fecundity,

and she said:--

'I am the nourisher. Like the wise virgins

I have long waited a worthy wooer.

By action, arose I from the mad seas' bosom.

By action, arose my heaven-piercing mountains.

By action, were my rivers dug, and plains fertilised.

By action, created I and concealed my mineral wealth;

And, loving "action," to him who gives an ounce of sweat,

I pledge a pound of glittering gold.'

"Yes, as Zelania's laws give pound for pound of private contribution to

worthy causes, so Zelania's goddess of fortune gives to honest toil a

reward of many fold.

"Zelania offers nothing for sloth, everything for industry. Her

treasures are all hidden, but a plough reveals them. Tickle a field

with a harrow, and it laughs with a crop of a hundred bushels to the

acre. Remove a fern, a sprig of clover comes. Bring a little rabbit to

'amuse the boys,' and, lo! Nature is so pleased that the 'boys' have to

hustle to save the crops.

"Well, as Zelania, by every feature of her nature, suggests action,

her people are exploring every field of industrial enterprise. Though

wages are high and the market for most of the manufactured goods very

limited, there has been reasonable success in many branches of the arts

productive.

"Of course, the chief of these industries," he says, "relate to what

might be called raw pastoral products: meat, wool, butter, and cheese.

The list of manufactures include some twenty general classes, covering

over one hundred sub-classes.

"As a rule, the manufacturing plants are fairly well equipped--the

machinery for the meat and dairy works being especially up to date.

The wages of the 41,000 persons employed are, high. Nearly £8,000,000

are invested in plant, and the annual output amounts to £17,000,000.

Certainly these facts speak strongly for the enterprise of so new a

people.

"But, Zelania, 'twas not thy 'riches' nor thy trade,

'Twas not thy fields, thy fruits, thy wool that made

Thee loved of gods and men, nor gold; nor stately domes.

'Twas 'justice,' inscribed on the portals of thy homes.

For thou first learned that men and women must be great,

Else folly only boasts the grandeur of a State."

_SCENE VIII.--Act IV._

THE MORAL SIDE.

Relating to the moral side of Zelania's progress, the notes were very

full, but the story will be briefly and chiefly told in the less chaste

style of Marmaduke:--

As a rule, the people of Zelania, if the great discoverer is correct,

enjoy excellent health--or should enjoy it--though we rarely "enjoy"

anything that is very common. Of course, Zelania has not yet evolved

a type, though she has begun her task, for while the Zelanians are of

excellent stock, the "born Zelanian" is said to be superior, both in

physical fibre and mental perception, to the average person of the

Motherland. Nature, Mr. Oseba thinks, will preserve the "sorrel hair,"

the white skin, the florid complexion, the fine shoulders and the firm

"understanding."

The Zelanians are loyal to the Motherland. They speak of Britain as

"Home," and, as a compliment to her, the color with which she paints

her dependencies is conspicuously present in the cheeks of Zelanian

ladies.

Unless Zelania dilutes her blood by hurried accessions to her

population, she will, in a few generations, furnish the finest type of

mental and physical man and womanhood that ever kicked a football, or

"did the block," on the surface of Oliffa.

[Illustration: _Maori Wharepuni._]

In the care of the unfortunate, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, and the

lunatics, Zelania is already on the "fortunate" side, as Mr. Oseba

abundantly testifies.

Oseba says:--

"As an evidence of the satisfaction of the people of Zelania with their

present condition, it is only necessary to remark the low death rate

among the people. This for the last eleven years has averaged less than

ten persons per thousand. For the same period, the rates in Denmark,

Norway, and Sweden, were about sixteen per thousand; in the United

Kingdom, over eighteen per thousand; in Germany and France, about

twenty-two per thousand; in Italy, about twenty-five; and in Austria,

over twenty-seven per thousand. Then it appears that of all people the

Zelanians are best satisfied with their present situation.--Mayhap,

some tarry even a little too long.

"While these people are all earnest, and want to go to

heaven--afterwhile--they seem to be in no hurry about starting, and

have little desire for risking climatic changes.

"With other matchless wonders, had Nature been attending properly to

business, she would have placed the 'Fountain of Youth' in some of

these charming spots, for the 'untimely taking off' of a person in

Zelania seems quite unjustifiable. A person willingly leaving any

other country might be justified in making the change, but when anyone

permanently retires from Zelania it means there has been coercion, an

exercise of some extraneous power.

"Strange, but the books show seventy-nine suicides to have been

committed in one year in Zelania, though it seems incredible that any

person in Zelania should voluntarily retire. Of course, they may have

desired to get to heaven ahead of some of their neighbors, for in

Zelania they like to be considered a little advanced.

"To insure or secure the public health, there are wise sanitary laws,

charitable institutions and hospitals; the practice of medicine is

wisely guarded, and carried on by able physicians. In all these public

affairs, the Government--which means the people in their organised

capacity--is most generous in its assistance.

"In local hospitals, or charitable enterprise, the Government usually

gives pound for pound for all private contributions, and the many

institutions of the kind in all Australasia furnish a pleasing surprise

to observing travellers."

"ON THE MAKE."

Mr. Oseba was greatly interested in the "enterprise" of the Outeroos. I

quote:--

"I have visited all the countries of the upper crust of Oliffa, and I

have observed that the Outeroos are taking a lot of physical exercise.

They are engaged in a mad scramble for dollars. Just why any man should

want so many 'dollars' is not very clear, but it is very clear that

they do want them. Men with very many dollars are, in most things, much

like the men with very few dollars; they are alarmed at smallpox, the

cold and the heat make them thirsty, and the shapely actress turns

alike their shallow heads. Then, too, the grim chariot that carries

waste from the 'City of Confusion' and deposits it in the 'City of the

Silent,' calls about as promptly at the mansion of Lady Bountiful as at

the hovel of the laundress.

"When the man of dollars dies, he is about as dead as his

footman--under like circumstances. He'll be dead about as long, and

whatever his facilities for the transfer of wealth while in active

business, he can take none of it with him. But, maybe, 'tis well, for

if the old story be true, it would probably melt.

"The world has been aroused by the magic force of modern genius, and

is being unified by Anglo-Saxon commercial enterprise. The nations

are growing wealthy; gold is the sole object of ambition, of toil,

of production, of trade. For gold the industrious strive, the duke

marries, the boss robs, the politician 'negotiates,' the lawyer

deceives, the judge decrees, the noble cheats, and the 'parson'--takes

up a collection. In this enormous confusion, a great many people get a

lot of exercise--a few, 'clip the coupons,' and are happy.

"But the superior Outeroos are only veneered pagans, my children, and

gold is the universal god. When Moses smashed the 'golden calf' the

fragments must have been many, and each tiny piece must have multiplied

into many full-grown bullocks.

"This deity, however, should never grow 'jealous.' His worshippers have

at least one sturdy virtue, for among all the millions of them, there

kneels not one hypocrite. While the other deities are occasionally

scoffed and often neglected, the 'golden calf' is always in evidence.

But he attends to business, and in all places he hath wonderful potency.

"Genius has quickened the hand of toil," said Oseba, "but it has not

removed the callous, and almost everywhere on the surface of Oliffa the

opulence of the mansion tells the wretchedness of the hovel. The owner

of the one schemes, the tenant of the other toils. The man who toils,

toils for another; the man who 'schemes'--well, the other fellow goes

to him for a cheque at the end of the week. Until the great democracies

of the Antipodes were established, every government of the world,

regardless of title, style or form, conspired with cunning to rob

credulity, with the schemer to rob the toiler.

"I have thus reasoned, my children, that you might realise by 'looking

upon this picture and then upon this,' that Zelania has introduced to

the world a social policy under which the people, in their organised

capacity, have secured to the people, in their individual capacity, a

fuller measure of the fruits of their mental and physical efforts than

was ever enjoyed in any other country under the sun.

"It is not even a policy of the 'greatest good to the greatest number,'

for, as the purest happiness consists in a participation of the general

joy, it is a policy of the greatest good to all.

"Zelania's motto is: 'He who earns shall have, and he who strives shall

enjoy.' In this, the people builded better than they knew, and soon

Zelania will be the most conspicuously conspicuous spot on Oliffa, and

thousands of people will visit her marvellous shores, not more to enjoy

the museums of the gods than to study the customs and the character of

the first nation of emancipated men.

"Zelania, though she is now the foremost among the world's social

pioneers, was practically wrested from Nature by the present generation

of men. The Zelanian Isles were Nature's last best gift to the noblest

race of her noblest creatures--the gods seeming to have waited for a

proper tenantry for these more than Elysian fields.

"Zelania, my children, is the John in the Wilderness--the prophesied

of old, the prophet of the new. She is the beacon of the present, the

divine torch of the future."

Oh, that is inspiring! Let's take an amateur "soar."

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 plan

That 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 mind

That no fortune or creed, but justice alone,

Should ever remain as the chief corner stone.

They builded the temple--'twas builded by men

Who 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.

SHE CAME--FINALLY.

"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 of old, 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.

[Illustration: _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 has not 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."

INTELLECTUAL TASTES.

"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. But the 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."

OTHER "TASTES."

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 Zelanians arrested 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?

"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."

INTELLECTUAL GYMNASTICS.

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.

[Illustration: _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 wonderful

people 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."

FOR OPINION'S SAKE.

"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, and

though 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.

_SCENE VIII.--Act V._

"WORTHY OF HIS HIRE."

And it was decreed that the lives of those who wrought should be

spared.

As Leo 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.

[Illustration: _Boiling Fountains, Lake Rotomahana._]

Here the people saw clearly the fundamental theory, or basic essentials

of production. Here they 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, a monopolisation 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."

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 they are 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.

"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 generous sentiment 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 further improving

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.

[Illustration: _Kiwi._]

"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.

[Illustration: _Milford Sound._]

"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!

They numbered the people. If high or low,

Was not worth asking; enough to know

That each had wants; and, that all might live,

Those receiving must willingly give.

Then strove they in love, and not in hate,

To build for aye this matchless State;

For they knew that a temple could not endure

That enriched the baron, and crushed the poor.

"Society," continued the sage, "made up of the industrial cells,

requires the security of every shilling, the service of every member,

and the peaceful co-operation of all the factors in every industrial

enterprise, and as it has not yet been determined how much of our

imagined 'natural rights' we may be called upon to yield for the

general good, the passionless decision of the public will, for the time

being at least, must be the only guide.

"Under the benign _ægis_ of a rule, bearing the lengthened legend, 'The

Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act,' there serenely reposes

the most perfect industrial security known in this discontented world.

The Labour Laws of Zelania may be 'experimental,' but they sprang from

the soul of the public conscience, they were moulded by a desire to

secure impartial justice, and for many years they have given a degree

of industrial peace, stability, and prosperity, that has won the favour

of the general citizenship, and is now exciting the surprise and

winning the admiration of the world.

"Then, to cap the climax, my children," said Mr. Oseba, "of all the

measures ever calculated to confirm the claims of the Master as to

the 'brotherhood' of man, it has been ordained in Zelania that, under

liberal provisions, all persons above the full age of sixty-five years,

shall be entitled to a life pension."

In harmony with other liberal legislation, support for these measures

was asked, Oseba informs his people, not as a matter of charity,

but of justice, for it seems to have been held that as members of an

industrial community, all worthy persons were supposed to have entitled

themselves to a living, and that those who found themselves indigent

at that age, had either met with misfortune, or had failed to receive

a just equivalent for his or her contribution to the public wealth.

There, it seems to be recognised that the world owes, to all men, a

living, and that these pensions are advances made to those who have

failed to "collect" what was properly due to them. Rather new.[G]

A public sentiment that, above the taint of charity, coins its "respect

for worthy old age" into sovereigns, that may be "demanded as a

right," by the deserving, stands as far above the pious cant of other

countries--as philosophy stands above superstition.

Indolence, poverty, sorrow and want are common to human society, and

benevolence and charity have been lauded as saving virtues for many

ages; but here, where new ideas seem to generate spontaneously, there

has arisen a novel notion--that so closely is the world akin, that the

very fact of a person having taken the pains to be born, to behave

pretty well, to float to Zelania at the proper time and to exist for

sixty-five years, justly entitles him or her to £18 worth of annual

"respect."

"This is novel indeed," says Mr. Oseba, "and this notion, in

its conceptions of human relationship, social duty and moral

responsibility, is nobler than all the sermons--save one--ever preached

on this little globe.

"R. J. Seddon is no saint; I am told, my children, he gets

angry, he storms, and he may use cuss words, but no poet, priest

or philanthropist ever uttered nobler thoughts than he, in his

championship of this progressive measure. Only the dreamer can realise

the far-reaching moral grandeur, not of the measure itself, but of the

lofty sentiment upon which it is based--and the Premier claimed to

speak 'for the people.'

"Considering the general backwardness of the Outeroos in breaking old

traditions and especially in the direction of a greater recognition

of human brotherhood, or the rights of the individual as a unit of

society, the Zelanians have another rule, even more surprising, as you

will see, for it is not only the offspring of a sentiment or idea, as

novel in its nobility of conception as that upon which grew the old age

pension, but it is so radical a departure from old British customs, as

to startle a student with its audacious demands.

"In the older lands the desire, as well as the custom, is to

erect commanding fortunes and to perpetuate wealthy and powerful

families--though many of the kindred struggle through miserable lives

in poverty; but in Zelania, should a person who contemplates permanent

'retirement,' endeavor by will or 'last testament,' to leave all his

belongings to the 'white headed boy,' or otherwise fail to provide,

according to his means, for the 'proper maintenance and support'

of any of his dependents, the Courts 'may go back of the returns,'

inquire into the matter, practically annul 'said will,' and make such

provisions as 'shall seem fit,' according to the demands of open-handed

justice.

"Zelania recognises every person as an integral part of the social

group, with reciprocal rights and duties. An individual may pray with

and prey upon the community and acquire 'much riches,' and, as the

legal custodian of this 'lucre,' he has considerable latitude; but,

as a fact, he is only a trustee, and when he leaves his money in this

world--lest it should melt--he is not allowed to deprive any of his

dependents who may remain for a time as members of the community, of

all 'consolation' for his departure.[H]

"Contrary to the general notions of outside barbarians, the advanced

legislation in Zelania is not the result of an erratic temperament, but

of advanced thought, of a nobler conception of human duty, and a higher

ideal of social progress.

"Zelania as a social entity is not a commanding empire. She points to

no glorious traditions, to no rivers of blood, to no ancient splendors

with ruined aqueducts, fallen columns or ivy-grown temples; no chained

captives and moss-grown universities, where hoots the hooded owl;

but representing a new phase of intellectual aspiration, her sturdy

statesmen have planted the banner of social progress beyond the dreams

of other lands, and they have made her the most interesting, the most

hopeful, and, socially, the most conspicuous spot on the broad surface

of Oliffa."

Eloquent in his recital, Mr. Oseba closed this topic:--

"The time is hurriedly coming, my children, when the statues of

Zelanian statesmen who have pushed to their full realisation the noble

principles, towards which humanity has been vainly struggling for

countless ages, will adorn the most popular niches, galleries, and

squares of the world's most civilised centres."

SOME PLEASANT OUTINGS.

Here Mr. Oseba runs off on a pleasing tangent, and he leads us to the

conclusion that a tour of Zelania is a jaunt of unrivalled pleasure;

so full of change, of variety and surprising incidents, that curiosity

lashes one forward, and physical vigor so rapidly improves as to banish

all thought of weariness. On these tours good health is actually

"catching," and the appetite always arrives before meal time.

He describes in interesting detail the ease, safety and comfort, as

well as the jocund hilarity, of these kaleidoscopic gyrations, and how

easily, with a word and a wire from Mr. T. E. Donne, the candid and

competent tourist manager, one may find the path to the noblest scenes.

"That time may not hang heavily on the spring bathers, millions of

fish--better than Peter ever hauled from the Sea of Galilee--are

waiting in many lakes for the tempting fly, and if one tires of glacier

climbing in the South, the woods are full of red deer, and other nimble

game, waiting to give him a wilder sport.

"As for climate, I conclude that one may choose that as he chooses his

drinks, for he may have sunshine or shower, chilling glacier or burning

valley, frozen or boiling lakes, simply by switching on or off a new

path. The weather is 'almost always' good, and as one may dodge a storm

by going fishing, instead of going mountain climbing, or a hot wave by

stalking deer instead of hunting geysers or Maori maidens, bad weather

is not worth talking about."

Then he turns the globe and shows that Zelania is in the Southern

Hemisphere, and he expects that as soon as his discoveries are made

known, many thousands of people--to avoid the severe cold winters of

Europe and America--will spend a season of eternal spring among those

romantic scenes. Here Mr. Oseba grows eloquent. I quote:--

"As bare-handed Nature, by her almost infinite allurements, spanked the

rude savage of Zelania into an eloquent politician, so she improves

upon every animal turned loose upon her palpitating bosom. Bring a

little starved rabbit to Zelania--well, it does not become a tiger the

same afternoon, but it soon begins business, and in a brief period it

has the 'lord of creation' on the defensive--for it is eating him out.

[Illustration: _A Stag's Head_]

"The offspring of every animal, every bird, every lake, brook or river

fish, brought to Zelania, in a very short time greatly improves in size

and beauty. Well, so it is with people."

ENCORE ZELANIA.

Again thy face, Sapho, though thou hast won the crown,

The moon hangs high, return, let's laugh till she goes down.

The notes of Leo Bergin record no sign of weariness, either on the

part of the audience or the orator. The sittings had been prolonged,

but a cheerful and most intelligent interest seemed to have been

preserved throughout, and the closing scenes in the review of Zelania

had almost aroused enthusiasm. The curtain had been rolled down for a

brief intermission, and as it was known that the last act was now to be

staged, all the anxiety and freshness of a new sitting were manifest in

the audience.

The lantern appliances had been removed, and it was evident that the

conclusions of these unique proceedings were very near. The notes say:--

"Oseba arose, and when he stepped to the footlights, and indicated his

readiness to proceed, he was greeted with an applause well becoming a

Boston audience on the appearance of a Webster."

Here the poetess Vauline, apologising for the interruption at so

late a stage in the proceedings, ventured to inquire by what course

of reasoning the sage Oseba had reached his conclusions that the

Anglo-Saxon was destined to a universal supremacy, and why the

Zelanians should now be regarded as the torch-bearers of the future

ages?

With a smile of approval Mr. Oseba answered:--

"The question is timely and important. Following the laws of natural

progress up to a certain point, survival depends largely on the

thickness of the skin and the length of the claws, but, above that

point, it is a question of grey matter, and the Anglo-Saxon has brains

in his head. Well, the Zelanians are a picked squad on the skirmish

line of the Anglo-Saxon legions."

Here again I "boil down," and note my own conclusions from Mr. Oseba's

argument:--

The Anglo-Saxon intellect is the product of more than 1,400 years of

unparalleled vicissitudes, and by its inherent virtue it has resistless

force. Progress is a question of intellectual development, of

susceptibility, adaptability, and adjustability of a people, and in the

constitution of this racial brain are found all these traits in full

measure. Besides, in the Anglo-Saxon character there are found a solid

sincerity and love of justice, that inspire a respect and confidence

that are irresistible. It is a matter of brain--of ideal.

The ideals of Assyria, Persia, and Babylonia were Empire--military

conquest, and we see passing over the stage but kingly splendor,

and, as a background, the gods that lashed the people--if there were

any--into loyal obedience.

The ideal of Egypt was durability--to eternise the works of

kings--based upon a religious idea, and she erected the Pyramids, still

the wonder of the world's wonders.

The ideal of Phoenicia was commerce, and the ship was the type of her

realised dream. Here the city was greater than the empire, and the

merchant was greater than the king.

The ideal of Greece was beauty--then personal beauty--in form and

character. Under the reign of this ideal came her noblest achievements.

But the Greek brain was erratic; the Greek heroes were soon deified.

The artist came, and when the marble statue became the ideal and also

the idol, the Greek philosopher became a sophist, and Greece fell a

prey to a more practical race.

The ideal of Rome was power, force and the glamour of Patrician

splendor. That the lower orders might fight more bravely for the

further aggrandisement of the holy city, they were fed on barley buns

and flattered with an imaginary freedom, but the ideal of Rome was

force.

The ideals of Venice and Genoa were wealth, luxury and art, and

their palaces and cathedrals--still the wonder and admiration of the

world--became their realised dreams; but only these, and the folly of

the Doge, remain to us.

The ideal of Spain--in her greatness--was royal splendor, propped by

the spiritual authority, with subject colonies to furnish places for

favorites and revenues for the State.

The ideals of Britain were trade, the factory, the shop, the ship, and

the "old family"--to occupy the easy seats. But these British ideals

developed individual enterprise, and soon it was discovered that in

Britain there were people. Save for a few brief periods in Attica,

from the fall of Israel to the rise of Britain the _people_ cut little

figure in recorded history.

The ideal of America, say up to the passing of Lincoln, was personal

liberty, and under this sentiment she produced some of the noblest

characters that ever stood erect and wore the image of God. But the

gates were turned in, millions came from afar, the earlier sentiments

were perverted, great wealth became the master motive, and dollars have

become the national ideal.

All these countries have succeeded, if Mr. Oseba's arguments are valid,

in some measure in developing the "master motive," or in realising the

national ideal.

"Well, my children," said Oseba, "the force of Zelania as a social

leader is also in her ideals, and as the conspicuous happiness and

prosperity of a people are the best evidence of a benign rule, the

appreciation of her ideals has proved their utilitarian virtues.

"Well, by some exploit in mental gymnastics, the Zelanians have

chosen the highest possible ideal, Justice--the enthronement of the

individual--and with the inherited instincts of the race and a most

favorable environment, it was to be expected that, with the ripening of

the yearnings of man, humanity should find its highest type in these

Romantic Isles.

"In closing, allow me briefly to recall to your minds a few of the more

important features of my argument on these most interesting themes.

"I have reminded you, my children, that liberty never gained a victory

in an old, well-established, and wealthy nation.

"I have reminded you that with great wealth and population people

become conservative, the rulers cling to inherited power, the wealthy

fear change, and the mass, by custom becoming loyal, reform is

impossible--or at best, progress is slow indeed.

"I have reminded you that commerce is the basis of modern civilisation,

but that only people inhabiting the water-front have ever become

sufficiently commercial to materially influence any considerable

portion of mankind; and I have reminded you that it was only through

the colonial enterprise of commercial nations that the great

progressive movements have been carried on.

"Further, I have reminded you that only in the colonies, in new and

isolated communities, far removed from central authority, where novel

conditions required novel methods, is self-reliance nourished, liberty

aroused, and social progress made possible.

"And, I have also further reminded you, that of all the tribes, races,

or nations that ever loafed about the earth's surface, those of

Phoenicia, Greece, and Britain were alone capable of breaking away from

inherited customs, and asserting freedom of action, or of so adjusting

themselves to the requirements of a new environment as to develop a

state of society differing materially from that of the old order of

things.

"Then, too, I have shown you the social outposts of all the nations,

and how improbable it is that they should advance any further by their

own inherent force.

"I have reminded you also, that the total or aggregate of human rights

is the same in all states, regardless of form or population, that, like

elbow-room, individual rights decrease as the numbers participating

increase, and that of all things a great population is least to be

desired, and an over-population the most to be dreaded.

"But Zelania occupies a unique position. She has no traditions, she has

no overlord, no organised trusts, no vested rights in hoary wrongs;

she has no withering precedents, no millionaire monopolies howling for

victims, and having room for many millions she may bide her time, and

if she cares for more people she may make her own selection.

"With her numberless wonders to attract the tourist, her splendid

opportunities for profitable industry, and her more wonderful social

situation to attract the inquiring thousands from many lands, she

will soon become, with sagacious management, the Mecca of the world's

leisured wealthy, and from these will come the best of all 'invaders.'

"My children, with all these splendid facts, I would not advise the

empty-handed to rush to Zelania, hoping to secure an easy livelihood;

but no person with an inquiring mind who loves Nature, who feels an

interest in the social progress of his race, and who is possessed of

moderate means, should allow himself to quit this fair and interesting

life, without visiting this most charming of all lands, this paragon of

social happiness, this paradise of Oliffa.

"Many of you, my children, after having read my report, and having

meditated more deeply upon the pleasures and profits of travel and

observation, will make this pleasing visit, and should the hospitable

people of Zelania meet any quiet, dignified, well-regulated stranger,

who says little, but sees and hears everything, who inquires without

criticising, admires without flattery, lends freely to all his friends,

and pays his own bills, they may 'guess' that he is a 'gentleman' from

'Symmes' Hole.'

"Measures, my children, the character of which would shock the tender

sensibilities of those who assume to be the saviours of society, have

vindicated the wisdom of Zelania's statesmen--by the demonstrated

applicability of these measures to the necessities of modern progress.

"Of all spots on the surface of Oliffa, this Zelania is most charming,

and of all people on the surface of Oliffa, these Zelanians have made

the greatest social advance, and occupy the most favored position for

future usefulness.

"Then, with all these masterful advantages, with an ideal country,

capable of supporting many millions of people, she holds--with a small

number of the choicest of the race--her own destinies in her own hands.

"So, my children, there is hope for the world. Genius has annihilated

time and space, commerce has brought humanity so in touch, that the

light of inspiration may come from without, and seeing the beacon from

afar, the oppressed of many nations will arouse and demand 'a little

more light.'"

Great idea, Mr. Oseba, worthy of the "Poet's Lore," for though the

watchman on the tower may be slow in gaining a glimpse, his keen eye

will finally behold its glowing effulgence.

With faith he hath struggled for reason and right,

Withdrew from the darkness in search of the light;

With face to the morning, and gazing afar,

O'er Southern horizons he spies a new star,

And cries, "Hail, Zelania! though distant thou be,

Welcome thy light shining over the sea;

Welcome thy flag, to the heavens unfurled,

The beacon, the guide, and the hope of the world."

"Zelania is like unto another prophet, teaching from the mountain top.

The blaze of her divine torch is not of a fitful glare, but the genial

rays of its steady glow are so spreading over all the earth, that the

people of all lands may soon behold and wonder, and inquire, and then

emulate.

[Illustration: _Stage Road, Buller Gorge._]

"Well, my children, the tales of my strange adventures are well-nigh

told. The curtain will soon fall, and while the lessons from these

happy sittings will remain with us as but fading memories, the

wonders of this enchanting land will thrill and fill the inquiring

souls of men for all time--for the day of Zelania is just at the dawn.

"Inspired by an inherited instinct, and guided by Anglo-Saxon genius,

civilisation has won more victories since the crowning of Victoria than

during all the generations from 'Saul of Tarsus' to Paul of Pretoria,

and Zelania is away in the vanguard of the great progressive social

force that is destined to enlighten the brain and unfetter the limbs of

humanity.

"It is manifest destiny that Anglo-Saxon aspiration, language, and

civilisation should dominate the world. With the realisation of

this hope, business interests will prevent war; despotism will be

good-naturedly hissed from the stage; Europe will be commercially

united; production and exchange will be so adjusted as to employ all

willing hands; the arsenals will become factories; the great guns will

be stood erect as pillars in historic museums; the muskets will be cast

into gas pipes, and swords into sheep-shears, and the gods will look

down and smile upon the first generation of truly civilised men!

"Then, at the consummation of these noble purposes, when a monument

shall have been erected in honor of those who led in the emancipation

of humanity, on the highest tablet on the Temple of Eternal Fame, and

in letters of imperishable splendor, shall be emblazoned,--

'ZELANIA.'"

FOOTNOTES

[A] The Remarkable Mountains, on the easterly side of Lake Wakatipu, S.

Island.

[B] Lands for Settlement Act.

[C] During the 19th century the common use of the English language

increased over 500 per cent., as against 150 per cent. for the German,

102 for the Italian, and about 66 for the French and Spanish. It is

practically the business, and is rapidly becoming the "polite" language

of the "civilised" world.

[D] The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1900, with

amendments.

[E] Employers Liability Act, 1882, practically superseded by The

Workers Compensation for Accident, 1900, Act.

[F] Government Accident Insurance Act, 1899.

[G] Old Age Pension Act, 1898.

[H] Testators' Family Maintenance Act.

End of Project Gutenberg's Mr. Oseba's Last Discovery, by George W. Bell