Mr. Oseba's Last DiscoveryBell, George W. (George William)
Science
Mr. Oseba's Last Discovery
Bell, George W. (George William)
New Zealand -- Description and travel; Voyages and travels
Oseba tells his audience at some length about the manufacturing
industries of Zelania, but a small space will suffice, as it is better
to remember the haste of the age. The pith is, that considering
the newness of the country, and the narrow limits of the markets,
there has been a laudable advance in manufacturing enterprise. The
chief industries, of course, have developed from the most common and
profitable material resources of the country.
"My children," said Oseba, "we are never done with Zelania's wonders.
While she offers the most tempting rewards for effort, she gives
nothing ready-made. In all Zelania there was, and is, nothing of the
'Arise, Peter, slay and eat' to be found, but everywhere there is seen:
'In my treasure-house there are many jewels, and he who cannot open my
door and unlock my chest would be an unsafe custodian of my riches,
an unworthy recipient of my favors.' Or, like the gay and mischievous
maiden who says, 'Catch me, and you have a kiss,' she keeps all her
promises. Relying on Nature without effort, any man in Zelania might
genteelly starve; but relying on effort with Nature's aid, any man in
Zelania may live like a prince.
"Zelania had no indigenous animals, and really no indigenous grasses,
and her fruits were meagre, but she had the magic force of fecundity,
and she said:--
'I am the nourisher. Like the wise virgins
I have long waited a worthy wooer.
By action, arose I from the mad seas' bosom.
By action, arose my heaven-piercing mountains.
By action, were my rivers dug, and plains fertilised.
By action, created I and concealed my mineral wealth;
And, loving "action," to him who gives an ounce of sweat,
I pledge a pound of glittering gold.'
"Yes, as Zelania's laws give pound for pound of private contribution to
worthy causes, so Zelania's goddess of fortune gives to honest toil a
reward of many fold.
"Zelania offers nothing for sloth, everything for industry. Her
treasures are all hidden, but a plough reveals them. Tickle a field
with a harrow, and it laughs with a crop of a hundred bushels to the
acre. Remove a fern, a sprig of clover comes. Bring a little rabbit to
'amuse the boys,' and, lo! Nature is so pleased that the 'boys' have to
hustle to save the crops.
"Well, as Zelania, by every feature of her nature, suggests action,
her people are exploring every field of industrial enterprise. Though
wages are high and the market for most of the manufactured goods very
limited, there has been reasonable success in many branches of the arts
productive.
"Of course, the chief of these industries," he says, "relate to what
might be called raw pastoral products: meat, wool, butter, and cheese.
The list of manufactures include some twenty general classes, covering
over one hundred sub-classes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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