"In Autumn you All may Observe."

(Air: "There Lived a King"—G. & S.)

In autumn you all may observe
Each birdie's efforts to preserve
A nest and food enough to serve
His simple wants in winter.
This thrifty thought would indicate,
As chairman of some syndicate,
How wise to build a cash reserve
For simple wants in winter!
But as befits your station
As pillars of the nation,
'Twould be ignoble to perspire
In toil of long duration.

Chorus.
Oh, how ignoble to perspire
When wealth's so easy to acquire
In the atmosphere of bonhomie
Of a Commission of Economy!
So from now on you'll all be wise
To profit from our enterprise.

page 34

It warms the cockles of my heart
To see such ardour on my part
And know you'll soon acquire the art
Of fattening on folly.
So check your importunity,
And grasp the opportunity
Of relishing the flavour tart
Of plums and riper pickings.
So without further ruction,
By methods of induction,
A policy we'll recommend
Of stringent wage reduction.
A policy we'll recommend,
And issue our instruction
That operations all must cease
On Public Works Construction.