Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information

Call Number
FRM F3809
Created/Published
Sydney : Printed and published by James Reading and Francis Sandoe, at the General Printing Office, 1844-1845
Issue
Vol. 2 No. 36 (27 February 1845)
Images
16
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Text

COLONIAL LITERARY JOURNAL  

AND  

Weekly Miscellany of Useful Information.  

“ NON TV TE MOVEANT, 3Bi> PUBLICA. YOTA."  

Vol. 11. No. 36.;  

SYDNEY, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1845.  

[Price 4d.  

DECISION OF CHARACTER.  

VIII  

Tag second distinguishing characteristic which we  

have noted of decisive character, is punctuality.  

This virtue —for so it may be justly designated—is  

most important to the efficient working of society,  

.and, by commercial community, more especially, it  

must always be deemed virtue of increasing neces-  

sity and importance. “ Method is the very hinge of  

business* and there is no method without punctuality.”  

To the man of business, therefore time is *the same  

as money and if any one deprive him of part of  

it, or cause him to misuse it, the same offence is com-  

mitted towards him —as far as loss of property is  

concerned—as if his goods were abstracted, or false  

cheque passed at his bankers. To him, the result is  

the same, whether certain actual sum be taken from  

him, or the minutes in which he could earn that sum  

for, to many, their time is equal to capital of no  

ordinary amount, and the loss of it may prove irre-  

parable. Appointments, indeed, become debts.  

owe you punctuality, if have made an appointment  

with voii, and have no right to throw away your time,  

if do my own.'  

Punctuality is also highly important, because it  

subserves the peace and temper of family; and the  

want of it not only infringes on necessary duty, but  

sometimes excludes that duty. The calmness of mind  

which it produces is another advantage of punctuality  

disorderly man is always in hurry he has no  

time to speak with you, because he is going else-  

where and when he gets there, he is too late for his  

business, or he must hurry away to another before he  

can finish it. Punctuality, again, gives weight to  

character. ‘ Such man has made an appointment—  

then know he will keep it.* And this generates  

punctuality in others for, like similar virtues, it pro-  

pagates itself. whole establishment must become  

punctual where the head of it is noted for that quality.  

Though the want of punctuality may chiefly arise  

from mere thoughtlessness, we may assert that man  

of sound moral principle will never be otherwise than  

punctual man, It is, in reality, as easy to be punc-  

tual as the reverse, if we only desire to be so. There  

can be no absolute difficulty in reaching place of  

appointment at the exact hour if we only truly desire  

to be present at the exact hour. Habits of reflection  

and attention to the progress of time are the only  

requisites for punctuality in appointments. We see  

the man who is not punctual tb his business engage-  

ments invariably lose caste. His affairs fall into  

disorder, and speedy ruin is the result; and when we  

consider the inconveniences attending want of  

punctuality as regards appointments, the practice does  

not deserve to be less reprobated, for the one is  

generally the forerunner of the other.  

Every man of correct mind and steady regular  

habits will take care that he performs the lesser but  

imperative duties of punctuality. He will act upon  

principle in this as in every other thing. On the  

contrary, when we see man habitually neglect them,  

we may be certain that he is person of little actual  

principle. The tradesman or mechanic who unhe-  

sitatingly promises the punctual performance of what  

he neither expects nor intends punctually to perform,  

(a practice, alas, but too universal, and, therefore,  

indulged) proves this, and proves also that he cares  

little for the feelings or interests of hi fellow- creatures.  

The injustice and cruelty of this habit is apparent.  

No advantage accrues therefrom to the one, while the  

other is probably suffering under much inconvenience  

and real discomfort. This failing is of universal  

extent, and is practised among all classes of society.  

Employers and employees —masters and servants, are  

but too frequently mutually guilty. We have all  

occasionally to attend to duties in which the interests  

of others, perhaps poorer than ourselves, ore concerned,  

and for the performance of which, at or within cer-  

tain time, we have passed our word. How often are  

such duties neglected, too often to the extreme mor-  

tification and injury of others, when in truth we  

might as easily have accomplished them as left them  

unaccomplished, if we had hut exercised slight  

degree of energy and attention. As long, however,  

as there are thoughtless and irrational men in the  

world, there will probably be want of punctuality  

and the wise and well-principled must remain content  

to place it among the many temporal losses which  

they sustain in connexion with their weaker brethren.  

It is vain, perhaps, to hope by any means to advance  

mankind greatly in any single virtue. Every one,  

however, must be able to discern that which is right  

or wrong, convenient or inconvenient, advantageous  

or disadvantageous. To. attend to such duties as the  

above, will surely appear very obviously as right and  

convenient and advantageous, while the neglect of  

them will appear in every respect as the opposite and  

the reason of man will not allow him, if he fully con-  

sider the subject, to take any other than the former  

course. It is right (pursues writer on this subject)  

to attend to such duties, because we have pledged  

ourselves to attend to them, and the happiness  

of fellow-creature depends on our redeeming our  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2029394104

APA citation

Reading, James & Sandoe, Francis. (1844). Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information Retrieved July 25, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2029394104

MLA citation

Reading, James and Sandoe, Francis. Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information Sydney: Printed and published by James Reading and Francis Sandoe, at the General Printing Office, 1844. Web. 25 July 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2029394104>

Harvard/Australian citation

Reading, James & Sandoe, Francis. 1844, Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information Printed and published by James Reading and Francis Sandoe, at the General Printing Office, Sydney viewed 25 July 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2029394104

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=Reading, James.
  | author2=Sandoe, Francis.
  | title=Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information.
  | year=1844
  | section=2 volumes ; 29 cm.
  | issn=1327-6638
  | issue=Vol. 2 No. 36 (27 February 1845)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=Printed and published by James Reading and Francis Sandoe, at the General Printing Office
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2029394104
  | id=nla.obj-2029394104
  | access-date=25 July 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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