CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2280, 11 November 1897, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS.

Anniversaries of something are constantly cropping up, and some enthusiastic

A Londoner has jusfc discovered bicentenary, that the bicantenary of the opening of St. Paul's Cathedral f<Sb public worship will arrive on December 2 of this year. Having made this discovery, he followed the uru*l course by '"writing to The Times' about it, and no doubt tha subject has interest for all English people, even though they did nob first »cc the light within the sound of Big Bon. St. Paul's Cathedral wae coromencod by „Sit Christopher Wren in 1675. Twanty-fcwo years later or thereabouts — that iff, on November 16 >— William 111 made a triumphal ei^try into London on his return from Holland after the conclusion ot the Peace of Ry&wick, which put an .end for a time to* the struggle between Euglaud and France. In one of his most splendid passages Macaulay has described 'the King's progress from Greenwich through Soufchvr*rk and the City to Whitehall. It was shortly afterwards determined to set apart December 2 as a day of thanksgiving, and the Dsau aud. Chapter of St. Paul's decided to me the occasion for opening their new cathedral. The King proposed to be presenb, bub ib was pointed oub to him that if he did so the people would crowd the streets instead of at' ending tke churches, so be abandoned tho idea, though his absence did not lei sen the solemnity of the opening. Bishop Complou preached. from the texu, " I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." The sermon has been los*-, but Macaulay gives a summary of it, so thab probably the loss is immaterial. It is suggested that in a year which has witnessed the Queen's Jubilee and the celebration of the 1300 th anniversary of the landing of St. Augustine, ib would be decorous to celebrate the bicentenary of Sb. Paul's Cathedral. No doubt it would be so, bufc we question whether any interest but that which is ecclesiastical would be evoked.

A meeting was held at- Wellington last week

for the purpose of initiating a

the subscription list on behalf of the engineers' employees now on strike in society, Britain in the engineering and

allied trades. The Amalgamated of Engineers has hitherto been distinguished for Us moderation, and never organised a strike without enlisting > on its side the weight of public opinion. Its j discretion aeem3 to bave deaerted it now, for several things have come out which show that it would beinadvisable for this or any other colony to raise £30,000 or £40,000 as ifc is proposed in New Zealand. It transpires first of all that the list of firms allege J to have conceded the eight hours was flagrantly cooked. Ib also transpires that I despite the magnitude of the Bums said to be < available for strike purposes, tho money can only be used by withdrawing ib from the super- , annuation fund, which hxs already been trenched j upon to such an extent at to make the society j practically unable to meet its obligations to its ; members. Skilled accountauto have shown ' that even before the struggle was entered upon in June' last ib would have required a call of nearly £20 upon e»ch of tho 80,000 odd members to place tho society upon a solvent footing. . Its scales of contribulions are i ample, but the money seems to have bean ! frittered away in " donations," which are gifts to members out of employment from specified causes. The £350,000 alleged to be on hand , for fighting purposes can only be so devoted by < casting to the winds all obligations for the pay- ! meut of pensions, sick pay, aud superannuation allowances. The insolvency arose in a period of industrial peace, and it is shrewdly surmised that the contest was precipitated iv order to \ conceal, or at least obscure, the Fact. Such a j society is hardly a deserving objact for * world- j wide agitation and appeal for help.

An interesting case in connection with adul-

terated mustard has occurred adulteration, in Tasmania. The Hobarfc

inspector under the local board of health purchased some mustard, and, on being told there were two kinds, said, " I want the cheapest," and for this he paid 3d. On being analysed the mustard was found to contain only 1815 per- cent, of oil, whereas genuine mustard should eontaia not less than 33 per cent. An information having been laid against the grocer, the jaiticei dismissed the case on the ground that the inspector having asked for the cheapest and having got it was not prejudiced, and further that the adulterant, which was proved to be flour or starch, was not deleterious. The local board appealed, and the Chief Justice decided as to the first ground

for dismissal that the article demanded i was mustard, and, whether ■ of the cheapest ! or dearest description, he was entitled to an fe, article of the nature, substance, and quality The demand was for mustard of , tHe cheapest quality, and be received an article 'which cousistedof 55 per cenb. of mustard, and : 45 per cent, of noun- As to 45 per cent., or ..nearly one-half, the article supplied was not; mustard U nature, Gubstance, or quality. If a man buys the very cheapest sugar he ia entitled to have sugar supplied to him, and nob onehalf sugar and the rest sand. The lowness 6f price docs nob justify or excuse thn sale of adulterated articles. As to the second ground that the adu'tarnnb was nob deloterioui, the Chief Justice said it was immaterial whether that was so or nob. A very common case of adulteration is that of pure water added to milk, or chicory or baked peas added to coffee. The law against adulteration applies M such | cases as well as to those in which deleterious ! substances are introduced. He therefore i ordered the case back to the justices for rehewr- | ing, aud thus illustrated the maxim thab the I law is the perfection of common sense.

The first match between Stoddart's presenb

team and an Australian eleven stoddart's " terminated at Adelaide in a cricket draw very much in favour of team. the visitors, whose opponents started the second innings with 69 rur>3 to the bad, and had only made 187 for five wickets, with Hill and Lyons oub. A fair idea of the interest taken in tho progress oE the r English team may be gathered from the recommendation of the newspapers that Stoddarb should cable to Capetown for Brown, the Yorkshire professional, bo as to strengthea the batting, and tha regret expressed by the Standard that Giffsn is not playing in any of the important matches. Tha accounts which h»ve reached here cencern- -' ing Giffen's retirement s«em to show that he acted with a mixture of mercen*rincsß and dignity difficult to distinguish. • The others consented to allow the sum offered by M»jor Wardill to be supplemented by the association, not caring where the money came from. Giffen sulked, and has been, sharply reminded by the Register- that South Australia lies under no obl'gation to him. Bub such disputes are inevitable when the money element come 3 into a game. The "star" of tho Eogliah team is " Ranji," the Indian Prince, who writes as well as ho plays cricket, which i« something to say. His worst play is eaid to be a, treat to witness, and though he suffered extraordinarily from seasickness during the entire voyage, pub up the respectable score of 189— with, however, several chances. He is said to be x good fellow personally, and certainly his devotion to cricket is remarkable, and his talent for it no less so, seeing that it is only a few years since he took to the game. The team, declare that Australian light aud fast wickets will suit him admirably, and if this prophecy is verified Sboddart'a batting strength will hardly require much strengthening.

Perhaps in the whole list of local organisations there is hardly one of which otago membership is calculated, to central bave o, more depressing effect eailwav. than the Otago Central Rail-

way League. Month after month there are laid ou the table the same melancholy reports of hindrances and delays, and theae , come with such persistence as to have becomo systematic. The delay in the construction o£ the Taieri bridge has now brought matters practically to a standstill, the ballasting being complete to that point; and, as if it were never intended to go any further, the men now employed in ballasting are to be paid off. Mr- Logan, of Kokonga, wrote to the last meeting of. the league on Monday evening to the foregoing effect, and recommended that steps be taken to cause the msn now employed, and about to be discharged, to be set to work on the formation beyond Ew^burn. The executive fell ia with the course recommended, and members for the city have been requested to urge the matter upon the Government. We hare not the necessary information to enable us to judge whether Mr Logan's charge of incapacity against the engineering staff of the Public Works department is well founded or nob. The staff may nob be in any way to blame, bub it seem? to us that if any great anxiety existed to push the work forward a delay like this would not have occurred. -A contractor, for eximple, tied down to time would h»ve foreseen such a difficulty, and would have'- provided for it. The diUtoriuess with which the work has proceeded froaT'tbiia very outset, many years ago, has no doubt created the impression that its completion is a matter of no moment. Not even the remonstrances of the league have been able to infuse energy into the work. Meanwhile golden moments are being lost, and the gold mining industry ia the interior is being prosecuted with as much difficulty and expense as if railways had never been ia* vented.

20,000 Bedding Plants, including Asters, Phlox, Cosmos, Stocks, Lobelia, Coreopsis, . Marigolds, Dianthus, G&illardia — Is dozen. , Qrders for 5s post free to country . — N.XMMQ ANO i BiAiß, Dunedioa ■ ' C