Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Wednesday 29 May 1918, page 4


THE CINDERELLA STATE.

Mr. Lee's bright and breezy speech at the A. and P. Society's meeting contained a rather double-edged allusion to an acquaintance of our childhood.

"Tasmania,"' he said,' had too long been regarded as the Cinderella State The Premier meant, of course, that the Ugly Sisters wi intend them no dis-respect, but must speak by the bookmonopolise too many of the good things that are going in the family, leaving Cinderella to come short. Still, we see no great objection to Tasmania being called the Cinderella State, providing the story is followed to the end. What we remember about Cinderella is entirely to that young lady's credit. She did not "swank" so much as her Sisters; she worked hard while they were spending money on dress and face powder ; she put in a good deal of time at home instead of on the Circular Quay, Manly Beach, or St. Kilda shore; she knew a good deal about practical housekeeping, milking cows, lighting the fire on cold mornings, feeding the gentleman who pays interest on the mortgage, and managing the gas-stove or the chip heater; she was quite willing to scrub the hostel floor or make the hospital beds while the others tried to look arch and pretty selling buttons; and she had head enough on her shoulders to be able to present the family fowling-piece at any

wolf that came to the door when it was left on the latch. Nevertheless,- She was at least as good as her Sisters at picnicking or surfing; she danced as well as either of them when she did go to a ball and as she had the prettiest face and the smallest tour, and was altogether a healthier sort of girl than any of the others, the Prince had no difficulty at all in making his choice among the beauteous levies of the ballroom, and they lived happily for over afterwards. We may have got Forno of our recollections -J the story a little mixed with these of the Tasmanian girls' letters that appeared some time back in The Mercury"; but these seem to be the general outlines of Cin-derelicts character and career. In theft career, however, a very important part was played by a Fairy Godmother who did things thought wonderful in that day, such as turning a pumpkin into a stage-coach and a brace of mice into a pair of milk-white ponies. Such feats are nothing to what can be seen nowadays. We have seen Tasmanian shops

turned into oranges and pairs and fine Thou s and Tasmanian app! into , motor cars Ah ah potatoes, Cinderella s

-mine h m s con do wonder And the n ng c is equally possible with man "not! 01 tiling the truth is our Cam den ella was not merely one Tam God mother but seven' whose names are

1 gen, Letter Marina, Britain and co on Sonic di>, toe, She will be enough for her relation to Minerva the goddess of wisdom, and, later to c taste and reason, we cal, is the choir "s hurl the thunders of Jupiter or prolong the late of man At lth out doubt, then CmdeiclK Ins a future Tasmania ought to be at least the Scotland of Australia. The Pro man looks for said to the time when To mania will be the nerve centre of the Commonwealth, and will throw a

Jue wire across His Sti nt to gash arise those on the u dashed into new life ' the Governor, on the other hand, i he has also been on the mainland, has found folks there quite alive to 1 Hannan's possibilities and prospects What we should personally like to see the s Bass Sti it is not a The who but a good nig! tly ferry service, bank to bank in twelve hon. s, and con greeted with a train scarce that would not penalise passengers by ranking them get up in a morning too early for breakfast or good temper, and carrying them all day without anything to fill the aching void left by the absence of the former to the prejudice of the latter That little detail arranged, Cinderella might get a better chance not only of seeing her Sisters and being seen by them more frequently, to mutual advantage- but of meeting any stray Princes (of a strictly Democratic type) on the lookout for life partners or the investment of capital in very eligible building plots and profitable in dustries The great need of Cinderella just now is to look after her own house and garden in which there is much to be gi own-yet she might do this all the better for everybody concerned with a little more sisterly and brotherly assistance But how can you expect either Sisters or Brothers to visit you if their unvarying report afterwards is that "it was a delightful experience sandwiched between two extremely unpleasant ones the latter being the sea and land journey down and the enemy back' We agree with correspondents who are protesting loudly against Cinderella, and especially Cinderella's Hobart, being handicapped

in all relations with the rest of the family by such outrageous arrangements, or, rather, disarrangements, and when Mr Lee goes to the Main land again we hope it will be to concert with the Ug -we mean that less charming Sisters, some radical change for the better that will link up Tasmania with the Commonwealth instead of pushing her farther and farther out into the cold as a forlorn and forgotten back number, before she has ever had a fair chance to shine, whether in the character of Cinderella or any other