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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-02-05, Page 6Page 6—Lucknow Sentinel, We esday, February 5, 1986 • "The Sepoy Town" BLUE. RIBBON AWARD 1985 VERIFIED CIRCULATION Thomas Thompson James Friel Pat Livingston Joan Helm Merle Elliott -Advertising Manager -Editor -General Manager -Compositor -Typesetter Subscription rates in advance: 17.00 Outsiae Canada $60.00 14.00 Outside Canada $58.00 Senior Citizen Second class mailing reg. no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of.a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. Ethics are the issue One can only imagine the battles waged between two forceful personalities behind closed doors this past week. It's a positive development when the prime minister of the country forces his proud second in command to defuse a situation through the siniple admission that he was wrong to eavesdrop on another party's caucus meeting. Erik Nielsen's admission that he eavesdropped on al Liberal caucus meeting in 1966 was confession enough for Brian Mulrony to demand his resignation. There isn't a statute of limitations on moral conduct and Liberal Opposition Leader John Turner can't be blamed for his reluctant acceptance of Nielsen's apology. Nielsen's insistance he heard only one meeting doesn't mute the fact that he knew of and participated in listening to a private meeting of a rival political party. It may have occurred almost 20 years ago before electronic eavesdropping was made illegal, it may have been mixed up wiring in newly -installed translation booths, it may have been "a big joke" as Saskatchewan MP Alvin Hamilton says, but the fact that it was allowed to continue is the key. And admitting he listened to a meeting with the benefit of translation and which may have been recorded,, places the eavesdropping beyond the realm of "a big joke". Canadians expect more from their members of parlia- ment. The, opposition parties' concerns are legitimate, even when the self-righteous tone of their accusations is removed. It's a question of ethics. Human Nature may indeed stop us for a moment to hear what others say about us. And, again considering human nature, it may be unreasonable to expect an individual to stop listening to what is being portrayed as extremely vitriolic. But it just shouldn't have continued. Anyone with honor would have perhaps listened, perhaps enjoyed the "joke", then definitely informed whoever was responsible for correcting such situations. Hamilton said he imagined it had been fixed. It may be naive, but Canadians like to think our representatives in Ottawa, no matter what political stripe, are honorable citizens. J.F. anuary thaw Chippy Chisholm was very happy -to emerge from his semi -retirement and help out at the general store. As soon as the Jamiesons had left he busied himself in attending to the needs of farmers, and his cheerful disposition seemed to fit right into the store atmosphere. In spite of his age, he was quick to execute every order. At the opposite end of the store, Flora MacCrimmon soon discovered that ladies take a very long time to make a purchase. A typical example was Mrs. Murdoch. Katie had not been blessed with a trim body but she still insisted on pretending that her hips and posterior were not as large as they might appear. She kept flitting between the dress racks and the curtain which provided privacy for ladies trying on clothes. Eventually, her desire to portray a youthful body caused her a great deal of embarrassment. She had managed (after much wriggling and pulling),to squeeze her obeseframe into a pretty party dress, and she emerged from behind the curtain to seek the approval . of the other ladies in the store. Most of them turned away discretely but a few could not suppress their giggles. Undaunted, Katie Murdoch paraded herself across the fall Length of the store to where Flora MacCrimmon was serving a more decisive customer. "My God," Chippy Chisholm whispered to one of the farmers. "Did ye no see the blubber on that woman move when she walked - 'twas like a bunch, of little pigs tryin' tae escape frae a burlap sack!" "Well," Kadie said loudly for everybody to hear. "What does that look like?" Flora MacCrimmon shook her head. "Tis not frae you Katie - it might hae fit ye when ye were twenty, but ye'll never be able tae wear somethin' like that again!" Katie was mortified and her face turned the colour of beetroot. She stamped back towards the curtain and all the men watched her go. They agreed with Chippy's description aboutthe pigs in the sack! But Katie's dilemma did not end there. She had managed to get into the dress, but try as she may, she could not get out of it, "Flora!" she called out in a helpless tone of voice. "Do ye think ye could help me frae a few minutes?" An experienced dressmaker might have found some way of releasing poor Katie from captivity, but Florasaw no alternative to snipping the stitches in the seam. "Whether ye like it or no, ye've bought ihe dress the noo," Flora told her. ''If ye bring ye daughter tae the cabin one night, I'll see if I can make it fit her. An' frae goodness sake Katie - try an' be ye're ages• The humorous atmosphere which Mrs. Murdoch had inadvertently provided, dis- appeared at the arrival of the Reverend Duncan MacLeod. Apparently he had come to purchase some pieces of harness, but in reality he wanted to see how the store would fare in. the absence of the Jamiesons. But even more sobering than the minister, was the appearance of a little weasel of a man with a brown face and black greasy hair. He,wandered about the place, picking up and setting down any item which attracted him. In the space of a few minutes, his wicked little mind had taken inventory of most of the stock in the store. Chippy had seen gypsies before and rightly or wrongly was prejudiced against them. "By the way ye've been handling the goods, ye're goin' tae buy half the store," Chippy said sarcastically: "What are ye - after mister? .Spit it oat - I've no got all day. "Gimme a ball o' string, the little man said. When he had made his purchase, he tried to draw Chippy into conversation. "Are you the owner of this store?" "No I'm not - what difference does it make?" "I want pertnission to stay at your well overnight with my caravan, that's all." Chippy leaned across the counter and shook a menacing finger. "Get on ye way mister - we dinna need the likes o' ye in Redtrees." The Reverend Duncan MacLeod heard every word of the conversation and was surprised that Chippy (usually a very kind and obliging man) should suddenly become so hostile. "I can see no harm in allowing .this gentleman to stay here overnight," he told Chippy. "It is only. Christian to, help our fellow man! Chippy swore under his breath, the minister smiled benevolently and the little brown man said: "Amen to that minister. Amen. Amen."