Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-11
astiseel1anepus geading.
ODD NEW ZEALAND.
Customs at the Antipodes Different
From Ours.

Customs at the Antipodes Different
From Ours.
New Zealand can boast of other
things as remarkable as its labor laws
that compel shopkeepers to close on
every legal holiday and either Wednes-
day or Saturday afternoon, and fix the
lowest wages that can be paid to any
one at s1.25 per week. For example.
everybody is polite, extremely, almost
painfully polite.
A train steams into the station at
Wellington, the islands capital.
"Wellington, please" the conductor
gently announces to his passengers.
After thanking the conductor for get
ting them safely to their destination.
the travellers disembark.
This way to dinner, please" the
station attendants politely sing.
The train makes ready to start.
Seats, please; but don't hurry" is
the trainmen's admonition.
And the conductor waits five minutes
after the gates are closed for every
body to get comfortably seated before
whistling to the driver to start.
Even law-breakers are treated with
unctuous consideration. The police
man carries neither club nor firearms
with which to hurt any ones feelings.
Whenever he finds himself compelled
to make an arrest he almost begs the
prisoners pardon and invariably takes
him to Jail in cab. There is no rough
handling, even the prisoner Is cour-
teous.
The time lost in being ceremonious
is made up by the New Zealander by
word trimming. No one says "Tll
make a memorandum Of it," it's al
ways "Ill memo" Zone pound ster-
ling is universally boiled down to
"uuid," and even Premier Seddon calls
shilling bob"
This cutting of words Is carried to
such an extreme that stranger really
needs the service of an interpreter the
first week or two he Is on the island.
The right man for the traveller In trou-
BILE over the language or anything else
to seek out is the postmaster.
New Zealand's postmasters come
pretty near being the whole thing.
They are registrars Of births and
deaths. They collect all taxes, munich
pal and governmental, and all customs
and internal revenues.
They insure their fellow citizens In
the governments life insurance COM
pany, and receive the deposits in the
Postoffice Savings Bank Of New Zea-
land, also a governmsht institution.
This bank has 212.42 depositors. and
the money deposited by them aggregates
s32, ,OO0, 900. Over ione-fourth OF the is
lands population keeps Its money In
this institution.
| But 1t is as a performer of wedding
ceremonies that the New Zealand post
master is most fondly regarded and
most famous. There Is neither fuss nor
furry in the ceremony that the post
master performs; neither does 1t cost a
penny.
| A month beforehand the swain fills
out declaration Of intention In the
presence of a postmaster. At the eX-
piration Of 80 days he and his blushing
bride seek out the official, and In the
presence of two witnesses. sign their
names in court register and to their
own marriage certificate.
And that's all there is to 1t. Custom
doesn't even demand that the bride
shall let the postmaster kiss her.
The postmaster who holds the record
for marriages Is maiden lady In I'm
/ interior town. The lads and lasses OF
her district will have none Of preachers,
because 1t Is a tradition that every
marriage at which she oh1ciates Is
happy one.
New Zealand postmasters hold their
Jobs long enough for tradition and
countryside saws to grow rp around
and about them. Once New Zealand
postmaster. always a postmaster. for
only misconduct on his part can separ-
ate him from his life's job.
New Zealand's leading utility man is
easily the postmaster; his closest COM
petitor Is the railroad station agent.
AS the government owns the railroads.
II demands of it's agents that they at
| tend to all the wants Of the people that
the postmaster can't conveniently look
after.
Hence, when a farmer decides to sell
poultry, he carts a few hundred fowls
to town and turns them over to the
station agent. The agents kills them
and dresses them. freezes them. packs
them in refrigerator cars, and sees
them started on their way to AucK-
land, Wellington, Australia or London
The government acts as the farmer
commission man, free. all the way
through.
The government tries in every way
to encourage the farmer. 1t Will lend
him money at low interest, and sell
him rich land for few dollars an acre.
It even forbids the railroads to whistle
at country road crossings, so that John
Dobbin's easy-going mare won't get
frightened and try to run away.
One governmental undertaking Is the
sanitarium and hospital at Rotorua, the
islands chief health resort. 1t Is for
the benefit of all INDECENT persons
throughout New Zealand.
If a man has broken down under the
strain of too much work, or has con-
tracted a bad case Of gout or rheuma-
tism, and has not money to pay for
treatment, the government gives him
three months Of free treatment in the
sanitarium, with free access to all the