The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-04

- LII dAtJ Soa1ibkJ 1lhV olN
customs die hard. Conservatism seem.
to be inbred in the bone and flesh Of thu
people. The American visitor to the ole
country finds scores Of quaint and inter
esting customs and observances still
shaking their aged heads in the fresh
breezes of the nineteenth century
There is not tho ~faintest pretence that
they serve any useful purpose. That
may have formed their excuse for being
centuries ago, but time has swept away
in the case OF many Of them even the
legendary story of their origin. Still
they continue to spend a green old age
among the English people, who look
upon many Of these legacies from their
forefathers dead and gone, as they might
regard some aged relative who had out
lived his period Of usefulness and even
interest, but was still entitled to a bite
and a sup and kindly entertainment at
the family board. For this love OF the
ancient and even the effete, this dislike
Of change among our English cousins, it
is not very hard to account. The ma
ture of a people, as of an individual, de-
ponds to a large extent upon its
physical environment. Where there
are mountains there is freedom,
said Emerson, and in this cpl
grammatic form he condensed a world
of wise philosophy. The nations of trop-
ical countries are languid and easy go
ing. Nature spreads her bounties Law
ishly at their feet, and the climate
makes few demands on the resources of
the dry goods store. Between the island
of Madagascar and the nearest coast of
Hindostan, there are thousands of
islands where the labor Of twenty-five
days will furnish all the n~ecessaries of a
year. Such surroundings are bound to
women, and that they will be neither
persistently industrious nor energetic
goes without saying. So his country
makes the Britisher the immutable be-
ing he is. His whole extent of island
territory is a very small fraction of the
earth's terrestrial surface. A fast rail
road train will whirl him from one end of
it to another in the short space Of some
thing like twelve hours. Every where it
is thickly populated, and the opportuni-
ties for seeing change within it's
boundaries are naturally small. On the
contrary, the citizen of this country
lives under a flag that covers an imperial
variety OF climate, Of productions, of OPP
%portunities and even Of peoples. The
American is alert, ingenious, ready to
make a change, whenever circumstances
demand; the Britisher is slower Of mo-
ton, and when he does move he moves
in a spirit of protest every time.
But times and habits are changing
even in Britain. The exodus of emf
grants, the improvements in steamship
travel and the exploits Of the telegraph
have given them new ties and interests
both in this country and Australia. The
British people has been moved to sincere
admiration by the inventive genius and
the ready change of base of Americans
and Australians. They have not only
admired; they have begun to initiate
and imitation is the sincerest fattery.
The liberal party has been holding a
grand council in the smoky city of New
castle, and the platform which it has
laid down is a revelation of the influence
of American and Australian innovations
upon the staid Britisher. John Morley,
one of the most trusty henchmen of the
grand old man himself, in an elaboration
OF the party's programme, boldly spoke
for the payment of members of parlia-
ment in the interests of w%orkingmen
candidates. Better still, his advocacy
OF the change was received with a storm
OF cheers from the thousands of dele
gates in attendance. lie advocated a
root and branch reform in the system of
land purchase and land transfer. Again,
the utmost enthusiasm prevailed. These
are but two OF many radical changes
suggested and adopted by the liberal
gathering. To those who were familiar
with the sentiments of the majority of
the English electorate ten or twenty
years ago, no further proof is needed of
the quiet but potent influence that
American and Australian methods of
legislation have wrought in the senti-
ments of the English nation.
"
PUBLIC school EDUCATION.