The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-09-05
AROUND THE WORLD.
DIR. TALMAGE'S INTERESTING LET
TER ABOUT NEW ZEALAND.
He Discusses AntipOdean Experiences
and BaInI<InVa at bishops Dining
TabIe-WOman Suffrage Triumphs-
A Country Of Pleasing Surprises.

angels OF night were descending from
the evening skies and ascending from
the waves of the Pacific and riding down
in black chariot of shadow from the
mountains of New Zealand as we ap-
preached the harbor of Auckland. and
the lighthouse on the rocks held up its
great torch TO keep US off the reefs, and
to show us the way to safe wharfage,
seeming to- say: "Yonder is a path Of
waves! Ride into peace! Accept the
welcome of this island continent
1t was 7:SO o'clock when the great
screw of our steamer ceased to swirl the
waters, and the gangplank was lowered,
and we descended to the firm land, our
name called as we heard it spoken by a
multitude who were there to greet us.
Strange alton was It, 10000 miles
from home, to hear our name pronounced
by those whose faces we had never seen
before, and whose faces could be only
dimly seen now by the lanterns on the
docks and the lights of our ship, just
halted after a long voyage. What made
the night more memorable was that I
was suddenly informed at o'clock 1
was to lecture in their hall. and thirty
minutes was short time to allow a poor
sailor like myself to get physical and
mental equipoise after twenty-one days
pitching. But at s o'clock 1 was ready
and confronted a throng of people cor
dial and genial as any one ever saluted
from platform or pulpit.
1 told how for many days 1 had been
looking off on a great ocean of ipecac,
but that 1 had not wanted, as many
say under such circumstances, to be
thrown overheard, and reminded them
of the seasick vOyager who said he wish
ed TO be thrown into the sea. and the
captain had a sailor dash on him pail
full of cold ocean water, and when the
soaked and shivering men protested and
asked the captain what he meant by
such an insult the captain replied, you
wanted to be thrown overheard, and
thought 1 would let you try how you
liked a bucket of the water before you
took the whole ocean
Never so glad were we to stand on firm
land as the night of our arrival at Auck-
land. WOndrous New Zealand! Few peo-
PIE realize how it was discovered. They
tell us Of Capt Cook and Of Dutch nav
igators, but all the Islands of the South
sea well this immense New Zealand
were discovered as a result OF the effort
to watch the transit of Venus over me
suns disk from the South seas. The Royal
society sent out ships for this pulpC Sc
and Capt. Cook and the astronomers and
botanists who accompanied him on his
voyage were only the agents Of science
How the interests of this world are linked
with the behavior of other worlds, and
how the fact mentioned suggests that
most of the valuable things known in this
world have been found out while looking
for something else, and what sublimity ali
this gives 10 the work OF the explorer, me
transit Of Venus an island of light, re-
e,,I.s in h.. af islands
the unknown into the we'll known. But
the prOwess of such men can never be
fully appreciated The sea captain who
puts out in this day of charts and naVl-
eating apparatus with a snip or lO,Ooo
tons for another hemisphere, daring
tvphoons and cyc,Ones strange currents
and hidden rocks must be a brave man,
but who can measure the courage Of
Cabot or Marco Polo or Capt. Cook, sail
ing out into unknown seas, across wilder
nesses of water that have never been
mapped. in ships of 200 tons, discovering
rocks only by running upon them and
met on shore by savages ready to scalp
or roast theml
These challengers of tempest and can
nibalism and oceanic horror must have
had nerve and valOr beyond that of any
other heroes. Such men set New Yea
land as a gem into the crown Of the
worlds geography. To me and TO most
people who come here New Zealand is
a splendid surprise. We have all read
so much about the supecstiuons and
outra geous cruelty of this land in other
times that we are startled on arriving
here to find more churches in New Zea-
land than in America in proportion to
the number Of the population In one vii
lage that | visited since coming here l
6nd eight churches to a population of
5000 people. There are too many church
es in many places in New Zealand, and
they jostle each other and contend for
right of possession, hindering each other
and half starving many Of their min
listers, as is sure to be the case when
there are too many churches and conse-
Quently not enough support for every
one of them
Another surprise to me is that female
suffrage is in full blast. l found elegant
ladies telling of their experience at the
ballot box, and l hereby report to the
American ladies now moving for the
right of female suffrage that New Yea
land is clear ahead of them, and that the
experiment has been made here success
fully. Instead of the ballot box degrad-
ing woman, woman is here elevating the
ballot box, and why in New Zealand or
America or anywhere else should man
be so afraid to let woman have a vote
as though man himself had made such
a grand use of il? Look at the Hitter
ates and the incompetents who have
been elected to office and see how poorly
the masculines have exercised the right
of suffrage; look at the governments of
nine-tenths of the American. cities and
see what work the ballot box has done
in the possession of man. Man at the
ballot box is failure. Give. women a
chance. l am not clear that govern
mental affairs will be made any better
by the change, but they cannot be any
worse. New Zealand mas tried it, let
England and America try it.
It is often said in America that if
women had the right to vote they would
not exercise 1t. For the REPUTATION Of
that theory 1 put the fact that in the
women who registered 10000 have voted
while of the $4,000 men who registered
only 900 have voted. This ratio
shows that women are more anxious to
vote than men. Perhaps women VIII yet
save politics. know the charge that she
is responsible for the ruin of her rare,
since she first ate the fOrb dden fruit in
paradise, but l think there is a chapter IN
that matter of Edenic fruit not written.
[ think that Adam when he saw Eve eat
ing that apple asked for a bite, and get-
ting it into his possession ate the most Of
ii, and he Immediately shook the tree for
more apples and has been eating ever
since. If woman did first transgress, I
the world the only being who has ever
done much toward saving it. Woman
has started for suffrage. and she IS Q
determined and persevering creature, AMI
she will keep on until she gets Il. She
may vet decide the elections in ENGLAND
and elect presidents for the United
States, as already she is busy in the
political affairs of New Zealand. 1 was
surprised also in these regions TO mi