Reflections at Matawhero.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 165, 5 July 1888, Page 3

Reflections at Matawhero.

Matiwhbho ia like a kaleidoscope; you may look inside of it, outside of it, and all round about it without knowing it exactly as it if, At least so I found it, and I have been through

it in sunshine and rain, in the coal-black darkness and in the garish light of day. But I believe the other night I got a better knowledge of Matawhero than I had in all my previous experience. A Service of Song was to be held there, and I stepped in to have a look round. There were about nineteen people present (excluding the choristers), and threefourths of the auliene were children. This to my mind seemed a very fair audience, and I did not think there was any chance of getting a much greater number of listeners than there was of performers. I took up a seat at one block of desks, and I felt quite lonely in my solitude, as in the two blocks of seats there were only, besides myself, a young man, au old lady, and two other ladies as to whose ages I would not care to make an affirmation. All things come to those who wait, they say, and while we waited the nineteen began to increase with amazing quickness. I soon found that instead of being a conspicuous object among the bare desks, I was but an insignificant unit in an apparently signi. Ileant audience. Suddenly there was a lull, and a gentleman in authority announced that there would be five minutes’ delay so as to avoid interruption. I certainly did not think there was going to be any interruption except it was from those already inside, but I was again mistaken, for in trooped quite a host of small fry. The more I looked the more I was led to philosophise, for it was a puzzle to me to think where all the children could have come from. Taking the average I reckoned there were about eight children for every, couple of adults present. Rees and his colonisation schemes will be a superfluity if Matawhero continues to advance in this respect as I am led to believe it has, and if any of the other country districts attempt to keep pace with it. Of course, I may be founding all my remarks on false premises, but “ seeing is believing,” and the facts I witnessed seemed to bear mejout. One paterfamilias, indeed, came in with six twigs under his protection, and I do not know how many more there were from the same trunk that had to look after themselves. All the children—as well as the six—looked in the pink of health, with fine laughing, rosy cheeks, and a contented country look about them, and they were re-, markably good, too. All through the performance.— which was one that would suffer much in effect from interruption—there, wore but two gentle squalls, and I am prepared to guarantee that one-flfth the number of town children would not fail, in similar eireumstances, to. make just about fifteen times more noise. Still it strikes me that the same modest sprigs will make plenty of noise when they reach the age at which they will have to begin to fight their own battleq—all things eome in season, and no doubt this will alsoHowever, I must say I never sat with as quiet and orderly a public audience as that which I formed part of at Matawhero. I heard a good many anecdotes when out there, but aome of them may hold good for a future occasion. Tc.yxfin