NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 46, 23 February 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

Kaiser William of Germany Is an

exceeding I*' common sense, level hcada and astute young- man, when his * , ue does not run away with him. ThJ 'following story, of course, may be true, bill, from what we know "{the Emperor, it at least has the vcrishuili Illdc of (ruth:-Onc evening a lady belonging to the Gorman Court, ; d a jvarm pro-Boer, was chatting1 lithsfSno friends when the Emperor lined them. Mi- Kruger's name hav*>hpen uttered His Majesty annoiiu--1 his decision not to receive him, cc, ac iclecl, "When a horse has bolted "nd is dashing1 down a street at headL* speed there are three sets of O ple who adopt different attitudes, gome rush to the horse's head and are inevitably trampled upon. Others ontent themselves with climbing on Worthing and with waving- their "ocket handkerchiefs, under the imthey will stop the horse, lastly, others, feeling that they are powerless, avert their gaze and go- on their way. Well, I do not see what ieht'l have to luuil Geimiany at tlie Lad of England, because it is not I, tot the German Empire, that would to tratopled under foot. I should, on pother hand, deem myself ridicul■M#l were to climb on a bench for « simple purpose of waving my oeket handkerchief, so I proceed on X way." A few days afterwards, Stean extract from a foreign. news■Sntf in which it was said that if he J f'spoke the word England would lp the war and leave the Boers inpendent, the Kaiser exclaimed with "Thnirof the shoulders and a laugh, «Tt is not William II- who would only have a word to utter. It.is God . . If He would only send the whole of the British fleet to the bottom of the sea in one night."

A hitherto unpublished story, an echo of the hard fighting at Pieter s Hill may be told on the authority of a lately returned officer of the InniskiUings. The British and the Boers were crouching behind boulders scattered over a wide surface. The moment a man on either side emerged from his cover he was at once the target of the enemy's bullets, A Boer, partly, if seemed^ in bravado, made a sudden sally to 30m a neighbour. An Englishman who had long watched the rock and was becoming sick with hope deferred took aim and brought the daring one down, bo delighted was he with his luck that be tlrtew himself on his back behind the shallow shelter of his boulder and kicked his heels into air. In his transport his heel rose above the rock, as he was instantly made aware by a bullet transfixing his fluttering ankle.

Royalty is usually cursed with various and sometimes absurd hobbies. It is said that the Queen of Italy has 'jjigroaU-f^cy for collecting- old. boots ud shoes of bygone celebrities and MS some very beautiful as well as Y»ry interesting treasures, which are in an admirable state of preservation. S& has a shoe said to have been worn by .Joan of Arc, one shoe which belonged' to Mary, Queen of Scots, and anflthei; which encased, the foot of MtoV Antoinette. Our new Queen to ■& remarkable collection of hats' and bonnets, consisting of all those she has worn during the thirty Odd years she has led London fashion. Each hat or bonnet, carefully put afcay, bears the date of the season of its use, and a history of the whims, changes and vagaries of feminine fashion, >hieh are never so capricious ss& tlie matter of head, dress, might welt be written upon this collection. Ihe*e are a number of royal photograph collectors, but it is to be doubted whether there is anyone who has pursued the hobby with such energy 98 Princess Beatrice. She has been as assiduous collector of photographs ever since she was a child, and has many thousands neatly labelled, inteJed and packed away. There are abOtit eight hundred photographs plafedv about her various rooms, and tte; walls of her boudoir are simply covered with views and portraits.

Here is a good and, we believe, new story about 'the perennially interesting De Wet. It is told in a private letter: received lately by a Glasgow resident from an officer serving with foe army in South Africa. The officer to question writes as follows: —"Three YfiOWahry scouts were taken prisoneW by the now redoubtable General DlJVet near Lindley. De Wet, who tenot care to be burdened with prisonerg.told these three Yeomen on Mug brought before him that he had '0. important despatch for General Bundle, and if they would personally JWertake to deliver it to the general h would give them back their liberty. Wtirally, they were elated at the Proposal, and all three gave De Wet their word of honour to deliver the fisalve into General Eundle's own lanfli On reaching Bundle's headWrters they insisted on handing- the Hter to*iie general personally, and ?»hts opening it—the three braves $tt standing as his audience—he read <>lttM the contents as follows:—'Dear chain up these thr^e "eyils, a^ I can catch them every day. "rtours, De Wet.'"

V 6rfeat amusement has been caused in *!$» York by a crusade against kissMi' Started by the local branch of the P&en's Christian Temperance Union. lady physician, the «tfq«r of the new movement, says that «SSing is a barbarous, insanitary cusWVworse than drinking, and should £j*!gidly abolished. No person should without first using an "^septic wash on the mouth to de- ■ "As for the moral Mteria," she said, "that is even more | Girls are not taught to : *«* a kiss with awe, as they once ! Wej. Engaged persons should ba i 'S%d only one kiss at the time of Mr°thal. Mothers of to-day are to »|ot imbuing their children with S^Mssing vice. Many children are £f*ally kissed to death. Kissing beWomen is quite as unwholema' It i s time to make war on kiss--7%sts.l am willing to go on record ! .■"■■■s*% the first gun." i •■.: ■'.• '■!

Somewhere in the Highlands twins

were born at Hie meeting of: the centuries, with tiie odd result that one opened its eyes in the nineteenth century and tlie other in the twentieth century. There are two men in England who will read of the birth of these century twins with special interest (says "St. -lames' Gazette*'), one a peer and the other a member of the House of Commons. The peer is Lord Durham, the M.P. is the Hon, F. W. Lambton, member for Southeast Durham- Both were born on June 19, 1355, the earl coming into the world fifteen minutes before his brother. Those fifteen minutes were worth an earldom and 30,000 acres to the lucky baby.

An American paper propounds (he question: Why should not railway passengers be shipper! by the pound as well as other freight? What is the justice in charging two fares for carrying a young couple weighing in the aggregate, say, 250 pounds, while collecting only a single fare from a i 550 pounder, who not only fills a double seat with his breadth, but probably overflows with his legs and bundles into the opposite seat? We have no doubt that passengers of .spare build would hail the suggestion with delight, but what about those of large proportions? If we know human nature they will have to be carried to the scales, and imagination blanches at the thought of portly old ladies and gentlemen being wheeled on hand trucks by perspiring porters in order to ascertain their proper fares.

A well-organised crusade against drink has lately been started in Switzerland, and the good results havo greatly surpassed the most sanguine expectations. The scheme is under distinguished patronage and financed by rich supporters. As many as 455 temperance restaurants have been erected in the principal towns, and as all beverages and eatables are sold at a little above cost price, the poorer classes find the restaurants a great boon, and are commencing to desert the cafes in their favour. Zurich also boasts a splendid temperance hotel, entirely managed by Swiss ladies determined to fight the hotelkeepers on their own ground. There is rarety a room vacant in it all the year round. Most of the cantonal Governments are encouraging the scheme by granting free licenses to the temperance establishments, and not. taxing the beverages sold on the premises.

The French Government were at pains to ascertain the value of real estate owned in France by monastic orders, in view of the debate on the Bill on religious associations. The Jesuits' real estate in France is assessed by the Inland Revenue at two million sterling, but not more than a paltry £4000 is held in their own name. The rest nominally belongs to wealthy Catholic trustees. The Assumptlonists, who have played so infamous a part in French politics the last three years, are far less wealthy than the Jesuits- They own real estate worth £120,000 sterling. Not a. penny of this is returned in their own name. Altogether (says a "Daily News" correspondent) the value of real estate of monastic orders in France amounts to forty-four millions sterling, a figure which is all the more startling- when one bears in mind that one-half of it has been accumulated in the last ten or twenty years, and that their wealth is steadily increasing.

Mr John Jacob Astor, the multimillionaire, is about to erect a remarkable hotel at the corner of Fifty-fifth-street and Fifth x\venue, New York. It is intended to be an exclusive residential hotel for wealthy people. It will be sixteen storeys high and beautifully designed and decorated, and will take two years to build. There are to be special attractions. The rooms are to be Cheated by a new system by which warm air will be diffused from the walls and ceilings, the temperature regulated in, each room by an ingenious mechanical device. Cool air will be similarly supplied in the summer, and meals will be conveyed to the upstairs rooms by swift electrical elevators, travelling from the kitchen to the top storey in a minute and a half. These elevators will be fitted up as moveable pantries and will be equipped with electrical heating tables, enabling the food to reach even the top floors piping; .hot. Water will be supplied from a private artesian well, and the hotel is to be leased for twenty years to Rudolph llaan, a well-known restaurant keeper.

The King of Italy has his head* screwed on the right way. He, it appears, is determined to reduce the number of employees in the Royal Household and to abolish many sinecures. Being an early riser, he turned up at the office of 'the household at 8 a.m. the other day, and found two attendants lazily dusting the writing desks. The King- remained there smoking cigarettes till 9.30, when one of the clerks—the most diligentsauntered in and stood aghast at the unexpected apparition of the King. His Majesty asked him at what hour he and his still absent colleagues were expected to begin their day's work. "At eight, sire," stammered the pendriver. The King looked at his watch, nodded, and -walked out. The clerks' in that office have been uncomfortable ever since.

It is no small task to get correctly all the initials that now follow the name of Earl Roberts. And thereby hangs a tale. After one of the addresses to be presented to the FieldMarshal at East , Cowes had been printed on the rich, elaborate, and costly fashion of vellum apostrophe, it was discovered that the initials of the most cherished of all a soldier's honours were missing. These were the symbolical letters of his valour, viz., "V.G." The discovery was made almost at the last moment, and it was obviously impossible to present the address with this omission, so a. new edition had to be struck off, and a horseman rode in breathlessly with the revise almost as its recipient was approaching the dais where the reception was held.

The Kaiser has just dismissed his barber. It is a trago-comedy involving matters of high State policy.., It appears that while shavirfg <his Imperial master the other day the barber became momentarily confidential, *aad put a question. "What does your Majesty think of affairs in China?" he asked. Without a word the Emperor rose from his seat, took the offender by the arm, and conducted him to the door. Some even say that poor Pry -was led out by the ear.

The "Lady's Pictorial" is responsible for the following story about the Duke of York. Upon one occasion His Royal Highness was indulging in a strictly incognito ride on an omnibus when the driver, having considerable difficulty with one of his horses, apostrophised it sharply with "Come up, yer Royal Ugliness? Come up, will yer!" "Why do you call him '.Royal Highness'?""' asked the Duke. "Well, sir," said the driver, "that 'orse is so "orly and la/.y and good-for-nothing I calls Mm 'is Royal Tghness. See?'1 The. Duke concludes the story with, "I thanked him, and asked no more quest-ions."'

In an interesting1 article nn "Municipal Government in Germany.'' the

'■.Municipal Journal" contrasts Herman local government with the system generally obtaining in Britain. As a typical example DnsseldorJ: is chosen, hi 'this model city there is only one authority, the town council, to discharge all the functions carried out by town councils, school boards, and poor law authorities in England. The council is elected every ■ four years, and consists of thirty-six members. The head of the municipality is the chief burgomaster, who is paid, and must be an expert in municipal government. He is appointed for a term of twelve years. Under him are six deputy burgomaosters, each taking a special department. Their appointment is lor six years. The council has seventy committees, which are needed, since all the gas, electric, tramway, waterworks, docks, slaughterhouses, harbours, pawnshops, and- cemetery, and even the undertakings, are municipal. The council does not have to go to any higher authority with bills before a scheme can be commenced, but whatever it thinks good for the city is carried out. The advantages of the German system are that there are no delays in acquiring property, greater freedom in borroAving, no irksome and delaying supervision by State departments.

American millionaires are not invariably pleasant people to deal with. Anders Zorn, the well-known Swedish artist, now visiting ±he> States, has been figuring in a sensational controversy with Henry Clay Pierce, a St. Louis millionaire. Pierce employed Zorn to paint portraits of himself, wife and daughter, agreeing to pay £800 each. When the portraits were finished he refused to accept them, claiming that they were unsatisfactory. Zorn thereupon commenced a suit in the St. Louis Courts, but the matter was settled out of court by Pierce paying £2400 for the paintings and £250 lawyers' fees. Pierce says he would have won the suit, but in that event the portraits would have belonged to Zorn, who, he believed, intended making an improper use of them. Therefore he decided to pay for the paintings, and means to burn them. Zorn says: "The Pierce paintings have been pronounced masterpieces by connoisseurs. The trouble was not the fault of my art, but simply my refusal to bow down to Pierce'a millions."

It is a well-known fact that an object movingl swiftly will often pass through another body more solid than itself without suffering- any damage in its passage, as witness the old experiment of tiring- a soft candle through an oak door. The principle was curiously illustrated in London recently in a street accident that only fell short of being a very serious one. About half-past five o'clock in Greekstreet, Charing Cross Koad, a runaway horse attached to a hansom cab dashed through the shop window of Mr Alfreds, <\ dealer in antique and old china. The impact was terrific. The hansom was overturned, and driver and fare thrown from their seats, but luckily not injured. Smashed china and glass flew in all directions, and the horse, wild with terror, reared and struggled violently. Witnesses of the accident, seeing the frightened state of the animal, wondered that it did not dash away again. Then it was discovered that a most curious thing had happened. One shaft of the hansom had been driven clean through the six-inch post supporting the window-frame, making a hole as clean as if cut to fit the shaft, the brass knobbed end of which was quite uninjured. The cab was thus held as if in a vice, and the horse could not get any further with it. But for this fact the accident might have been very serious indeed. As it is the damage to the antiques is estimated at a big figure, but no person was injured, thanks to the penetrating shaft and the holding power of the window frame.

The death of Mrs Connell at Shanghai, on November 10, is announced. Her death, says the "North China Daily News," brings down the curtain on a very pathetic story. Her husband was a carpenter in the Eoyal Navy, and they had one son, their object in life being to make him a gentleman. They succeeded in getting him into Dublin University and educating him as a doctor. He did exceedingly well, and received an appointment in the navy, serving with much honour in Egypt in 1884-5. Thence he came on to Shanghai as a doctor on one of the C class cruisers, and almost immediately after his arrival was attacked by smallpox and died. His heart-broken parents, who had been interesting themselves in preparing a home for him at Southsea, at once sold everything they had and came out to Shanghai to live and die near their son's grave, and every day for two years the two old people went iip to Pahsienjao cemetery and sat by his tomb. Mr Connell died more than seven years ago, and his widow, a very nice-looking old lady, who must have been very handsome in her-youth, was taken in as a boarder by Mr and Mrs Burtenshaw, and they cared for her with the greatest kindness until the last. Mrs Connell, who had a small pension from the British Government, had a large number of good friends at Shanghai, and till within the last two or three months she was often to be seen driving in one or other of her friends' carriages; but lately she had been bed-ridden, and death came to her as a welcome release. Her husband was buried beside the son whom they both loved so dearly, and the mother is also to be laid beside her husband and her son.