English and Arabian Manners.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 24, 27 April 1870, Page 3

English and Arabian Manners.

The (Ecumenical Council would do us a service if they would propound and answer the question, “ Why is it that Christianity and civilization have failed to give us the manners of gentlemen 1 ?” On reading the account of the inauguration of tiie Suez Canal written by the Times correspondent, it is impossible not to be struck with the superiority of the Arab over the Englishman in this respect. "We read that the Arabs make way for a stranger with promptness and courtesy, never stare, or affect the ill-bred ease, or indulge in the vulgar chaffing, of far bettor dressed mobs in lands nearer home. On the other hand, we read of the ridiculous and unreasonable grumbling of the Christian guests of the Viceroy, and of a gentleman demanding an audience of his Highness for the purpose of complaining that he had been put to sleep in a double-bedded room. This is not as it should be. Good as the manners of the children of the desert are, ours should be as superior to theirs as our relative position in the great society of nations. Our very vestrymen should by rights bo more graceful, more courteous, more composed, than the most highly cultivated among these worshippers of the Prophet: then why is it that England has so often to blush for the conduct of her children, who behave, not only at home, but abroad, as though tact and good taste form no part of a Christian’s outfit 1 They are always standing upon what they conceive to bo their rights, utterly forgetting that oven if they have any rights, self-denial is one of the first duties of a civilized being, and that by occasionally waiving their rights they will acquire far more influence and inspire more respect than by attempting to obtain them by a bluster which makes them either odious or contemptible. Perhaps the secret lies in our eating and drinking so much : if we exercised a little self-denial in our appetites, we might bring that virtue to bear upon our general behaviour. If in return for the missions the faithful send in such numbers to the infidel, the latter were to send us a few missionaries to teach us good manners, we should be under nn obligation to them ; and then perhaps might be tried the experiment of feeding a vestryman on milled maize and vegetables for a month, with water for his drink, —Pall Mall Gazette.

Settlers in Chili

(From the Southland Times.)

It will bo in the recollection of a number of our readers that Mr John Christie, who occupied some land at Long Bush for a number of years, and Mr Edward Margin, the well-known tinsmith, with their wives and families, loft this province for South America over twelve months since. Mr Christie has sent a letter to some of his friends here, and we have obtained permission to make several extracts therefrom. It is dated from “ Deraque, Llanquehue, Chili," and was despatched in November last. The writer says that the passage from Port Chalmers to Valparaiso was accomplished in 33 days, nothing remarkable occurring. Mr Margin got work at his trade immediately on landing. Mr Christie and family had to remain about a month before a reply was received from the Government. All that was promised, however, had been performed, and even more, for their passages were paid to Puerto Mentt, a house found while there, and then the Government paid for taking the luggage to Deraque, which is twenty miles from Puerto Mentt. “ Our house,” says Mr Christie, “ is fronting a beautiful lake, called Lake Honquihiu. The lake is our front boundary, and the river, which forms the outlet of the lake, is another. It is, without any romance, as pretty a place as ever I saw. lam not at all sorry for the change we have made. Of course we had to purchase this place, but we are still entitled to 900 acres from the Government, as soon as we can get time to look about us a little. As we are the first family speaking English that lias come here, it is rather awkward. There are a great many Germans, but they cannot speak English, and of course we cannot speak their language, so that we make rather a poor job of it ) but a good many of them can talk a little Spanish, so I get on with them a little. When xve first came here I had to do all the message s, but the boys are picking up the Spanish very fast. There was a great deal of talk about the natives before we came here, but I must say they are very quiet. There is no doubt they are thieves—that is, petty thieves. They have no idea of house-breaking or highway robbery. There are a great many hardships to put up with in all new countries, and this is no exception. This part of South America is densely timbered, but there is not so much uuderscrub as there is in New Zealand, and labour is much cheaper. Here you can get a good workman for .£l2 per annum; but most of the work is let by contract. You can get a quadron of bush. (4£ acres) felled for £2. Horses, cattle, and pigs are very cheap. For instance, I bought four brood sows, one boar, five half-grown and four good-sized pigs, for £6 : that will give you an idea. Earns ami bacon sell at as high prices here as they do in Southland, so that pig-feeding ought, to pay. Grain sells about the same as it does with yon, and as labour is low we ought to make a living out of the land. This is one of the healthiest countries in the world. You can see any number of old people, and young ones are as plentiful as in Southland. The weather is as fine as we could wish for, and I believe it will bo as good a country for grass as any part of the world ; but there is a great deal of clearing to be done first. The place that we have got has more clear land than any farm hereabouts. We have fenced 50 acres in, and if all goes well we will have it pretty well broken up this year, ready for crop next season. They have rather a primitive method of ploughing here. The implement used is a wooden one, with a long pole for a yoke, which ruts the ground like a pig ; it leaves the land all in drills, about 15 inches wide, and the centre of the drill is never touched at all, so that when it is harrowed one-half of the land has never been disturbed. The bullocks here are all yoked by the horns. The plough that we have got (a Yankee one) is the first of the kind that has been here. Any one landing here with £SOO in his pocket could do very well after he had learnt the language. It is no use a man coining here to labour, as native labour is so cheap. Tradesmen can do very well in Puerto Mentt. Land (bush) is to be purchased at Is per acre, and there is likely to be a considerable trade done in timber yet; but saw-mills would be of little tise, as you can get timber sawn by hand very cheaply.”