NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 249, 17 October 1908, Page 11

NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

sjhe horrible accusation of drinkin <o excess may now fairly be laid again: rnanv strictly virtuous and tempera* ■nersons. In an i nftructiv(, notf> on th subject of thirst the "Lancet" shows th £ When-more of a palatable beverage drnnk than is actually required to relie-s thir=t, considerable harm may be dor to the system. In fact, to put th statement more brightly, the drinkt «is probably exceeding the liquid requir. jnents of the physiological machine, an the normal course of metabolism ma tie interfered with by the superfiuot fluid absorbed." This is a serious ma ter. The heated cyclist who sttipidl forgets the normal course of his met; ;bolism -while ordering a pint, of shan.l; gaff, and only remembers it when h da=s is empty, can have little furtht enjoyment on his ride. He has preaun a bl7 set the normal course of bis met; tolism completely awash: and this rauf ie a singularly distressing thought fr any but the most reckless individua yet there is little doubt that the mos temperate of us—even the teetotalershabitually drink more than nature d> jjaßds, and hence more than can be goo for us. Our beverage has a pleasar flavour, whether it be tea, alcohol, c ringer-beer, and we drink it, not bi %jse ire need it, but because we like i If-stater were —as it should be—our onl drink, we should drink it not becau= we liked it, but because we needed i jjhJ -ire should be the healthier. Ha] pjjy it is not our only drink; and ha] iily there are moments when we at fining to enjoy our particular beverag fni to let the metabolism go rip. Lii is short; drinks may just as well be lonj If swarms of butterflies were to dc «end upon the parks, we should all t jstensdy delighted with the pretty sho , for about half an hour. Then reflectio would come, and we should have goo reason to understand why we ought t pay to be spared such a visitatioi Bohemia has been suffering from oni Cabhagefields looked as white as sne until the invaders passed on. and the it was found that they had left ir numerable millions of eggs behind then as many as 20,000 on one leaf. Even i the birds and the local young entomole gists do their best, this means a de vastatiag crop of caterpillars, whic! threatens ruin to entire districts, minor detail was the clogging of ai embroidery factory's machines, so tha work had to be stopped for the day \rh3e the "Daily Mail," which record these troubles, reminds us that squashei butterflies, the result of such a swarm caused a tramway accident in Florence last month. The locusts often does mis thief of all these kinds in more southeri lands, but between the locust and c .h> bntterfly there does not seem s> Tery much choice on the economic side whatever there may be on the aesthetic The offer at auction a rew days ag( of Buckland Hall, with a surroundin; estate of 3000 acres, recalls memories o as interesting incident that occurrec there in the year IS7I. The then owner one of the ancestors of the presen _ i j>roprietor,._£irOv' s Xh&ckmocton, under toot ibr 1 substantial sum to dine a eight o'clock in the evening in a coa made'of wool that was on the back of i sheep at fire o'clock that morning. Th rager was accepted, and in the presenc of a crowd of 5000, gathered from th eoontryadfi, the trial took place, Si •Nicholas- winning with an hour and Jialf to spare. Two sheep were chose: for the purpose, and, as a fitting cor elusion of the day, were roasted an rat up for the benefit of the poor, 12 gallons of strong beer being provide by way of liquid refreshment. The coa then made is still in existence at Xew tery, and the picture of the scene, a: ««iy lithograph, is highly prized by cor Boissenrs, and in a good state command a high price. The picture illustrates th fulfilment of the wager from first to lasi ad gives a remarkably good idea, no only of the actual occurrence, but of th tfDage customs and dress of the period Bat shyness which is one of the dis anguishing characteristics of the Iris) J "6 apparently follows them into th wnrch when_ they get married. Iris! «Mes and bridegrooms, according to th «l»rt of the Registrar-General "for Ire ran, have the irritating habit—from ; sstistical point of view—of concealin: ™ar ages when they marry. To the Sas Kaai this may seem remarkable, bu ™ fact is that the Irish do not marr JWnig. and the bridegrooms are just a Msons as tEe brides to conceal thei "SB irom their spouses and friends. Th. «¥Ktrar-General, in his Blue-book, re wds this reticence "with regret." -Th< "Prements of the law." he says sorrow «%. "are complied with by the entry ji ™age column of -minor' or -of full age, .« Mc case may be."' There were 23.50! ™Ptes married in Ireland last year, bu 2» 2 881 cases were the ages of botl Ftties grren. In England and Wales ii only .91 per ceiu of the husbands ■™ ■»» per cent of the wives, declined t< Pc then ages. The returns show tha Tsf race is the only one. with th. of the Jews, where the birth "* Knot declining rapidly. A remark of the statistics relating t( ffif age to which peopl, Seven hundred of the per ZL*° died ™ Ireland I"t year wer, "*«»■» be 95 years of age or"upwards W W€r tSan 145 were reported t< ""Sttenanans or upwards. nL&jri 3 Sidis, on "Falling asleep," it theories; what we neec world js a good; SQund S°speL For instance, it is f. " J he es P° unds tt * n th( Outfit v Abn °raial Psvchology"iicsJ?? £ Ides > left-handed mci «a mTv /i° doubt slugsard turns ftCL he is neither om *9f iSL.S? other -' Tids ' "" true, ii «l 4» T^ But for most * f us "■e&'Tririfc -!f' the interest is not sr Biekickl 4i l * u PP ern ™st as whicr. V. "mutt- cp ' ne remarks prof ound«»MdT—t tbe condit ions of Monot of Voluntary Movemov»T %ls a P° or ma -n to dc *•*. «2mw? tflat are te iavolun monotony Uke a M. • , condit ions named ap ian Precisely those in which we Ureh - Where ifc » P r °- I S v ; and thermrpon the onh •* beafc? -0 in this learn" ?* sitaSim *% keepiD? awake ir fiaitatJo- 'f' aTold m <>i»tony anc on ftp m 7! ment . never fix attenlv I }' but a brighi for righteous *** mOTe &airaiie to ?o tc

King Alfonso did a tour of the FrancoBritish Exposition last month which should either turn the Kaiser green with envy or appeal to his cordial admiration. Before captaining a polo team of the 16th Lancers in thp rain at Rugby, hi.? Majesty arrived at the Wood-lane turnstile at 10J50, reached the lagoon in the Court of Honour at 10.52 and saw a i swan-boat, entered the Stadium at 10.57, * I left it for a sight of the Flip-Flap at 11, : was round by the Canadian and New Zealand Pavilions, the Machinery Hall, the I Court of Progress and the EHte Gardens :by 11.S, popped into the Court of Arts, * i asked the way out. and was in his raotorj ear again by 11.15. If that is not prei eisely the pace at which to do exhibitions it is the pare for polo., and the King's I team won. It is also a sort of pace that ought to put a little emulative enersjv ■J into loyal subjects. Spain should presentI . ly be waking up. _ j Sir William Ramsay does not hesitate to pay. in an interview with a represen- " : tntive of •'!*■ Matin." that he has "'rea--ons for believing that it will not be impossible to obtain sold from silver."' r : 1!U present experiments, he adds, are in 1 that direction. There is still a smack ~ t 'of romance in the dream of the old al- ; chemists —albeit Sir William Ramsay'^ putting of the simple facts of chemistry " : that warrant his hopefulness is quiet. , The secret lies in radium, of course.* The "i emanation of radium has degraded cop- ' ; per. successively reducing that metal to ■lithium, potassium, and sodium. Why may it not construct as well as tier I grade? lie a=ks. Between silver and gold there is an undiscovered element— ■ or every reason, at all events, to assume * ' nne—and lie proposes to set about pro- ' ; ducing it. The problem is. of course, ' J somehow to induce radium to act the ] other way about: and. as. in any case. I the manufacture of gold by this means ' \ would not be lucrative, a sordid world ' i will reconcile itself, no doubt, to the 3 seeming unlikelihood of the prospect. " But dreams of the past, at which we smile superior, do have a humbling way - of coming true. r While European nations generally are i looking for a formula for the solution IJ of the motor problem, the Swiss claim to ) J have found one. They have a law for- . bidding the presence of motors on . I "mountain roads'": and the point of - that lies in the application of it. A i mountain road in Switzerland is some- ■ I what like a disturbed district in Tre- , I land. Any road, that is to say. whatI 1 ever its gradients, may bp made a moun- ■ tain road by proclamation: and it is ■ the growing practice of the Cantonal i authorities so to proclaim roads wher- . I ever the inhabitants, or a working maj jority of them, regard motorists as a i nuisance.. All the roads without exception in Grisons have been brought . "within the meaning of the Act" this summer: and the Canton of Berne will almost certainly yield to the pressure that is being applied, and close the road j from Thun to Interlaken. This is how i they manage things in the one country lon the Continent of Europe which is really governed "by the people for the people." To all but the most bigoted anti-motorist, however, their method of I coping with the "road-hog"' will appear j just a little too drastic. It reminds one j lof the gentleman mentioned by ?;vm : j Weller. who cut off his son's head to j : cure him of squinting. Evidence is accumulating at an alarming rate in France that the suspension of i i-.ipital punishment* there amounts to a I direct incentive to crime ol the worst deI seription. There were six brutal murders in Paris within the nrst : tend days of August. while 1 assaults, robberies, and lesser offences 1 are so frequent that the public are. get- j ting afraid to be away from their homes ; ■fat night. A remarkable fact disclosed 1 by the police statistics is that the propor- ' J tion of murders and attempted murders ' lon the part of young people, whose a.ges 1: range between 16 and 21, is 4.20 per cent, I of the general volume of crime, as com- j - i pared with 2 per cent, for all ages above ! I 21. Most of the Paris "Apaches" (orj 1 hooligans) are youths of ages under 20. i ' Among those who have been discussing; ■ the subject is M. Rostand, the well 1 I known author, who attributes the in- > I crease of crime to absinthe drinking, the ■ i tolerance accorded to vice, the spread of | ! degraded materialism, the idleness and i ■ misery arising from the disorganisation I of labour, and the common practice, especially among people of the lower class, of carrying revolvers. Other causes | I named are the excessive clemency of the j j criminal laws, which, as a rule, impose ! only nominal sentences for first offences, and the relaxation of penal servitude conditions. Prisons are being made " tar too ' !icomfortable." The restoration of the. J guillotine continues to be strongly urged :by a section of the French public, but the " humanitarians " of the present G-ov-j ernment, supported by President i'alliI eres, who holds similar views, hesitate to j respond to this demand. It seems clear that unless Paris is soon made a safer place to live in, it will lose a large proportion of the Tegular tourist traffic, which has long been one of the chief sources of income to its business people. Anglican bishops are being severely handled in a mass of Press correspondI ence for their resistance to any further i relaxation of the anomalous English mar- | riage laws, and their refusal, in particuI lar, to recognise the re-marriage of an innocent party to a divorce action. They are told that they are acting on a "venerable tradition, admittedly founded on a single text expressed in the most general terms," and to be regarded only as a counsel of perfection; that they ignore the endless succession of domestic tragedies which are taking place before their eyes; and that their attitude does violence to every principle of common sense, besides damaging the prestige of the church. The statistics of the 14.000 persons who are every year consigned either to celibacy or to immorality by the '"'wicked arrangement called judicial : separation" are described as a national ; shame and scandal. It is noteworthy that Mr. Plowden, the well-kmrnn London magistrate; Sir George Lewis, one of the most experienced solicitors in England; Judge Beaman. and other men who possess full knowledge of the facts are I dead against the prelates, as are also I the associations formed within recent i years with the object of bringing about j some change in the marriage laws. "The English law," says Sir George Lewis, "empowers a man, however monstrous i his conduct may have been, to turn ' his wife out into the street, separate j her from every intercourse with her I children, and leave her to starve in the j workhouse, if, in a moment of weakness, i she forgets her marriage vow. act jof the husband entitles the woman to ! plead in her defence any number of years jof forbearance. Under the present law ' a woman who has been cruelly treated i and deserted by her husband, or who has i been subjected to the spectacle of open and continued adultery, even under the ; conjugal roof, is unable to obtain a di- ; vorce unless her husband has been guilty iof cruelty or desertion as well as aduFI tery." Another effort is to be made to 1 bring the matter before Parliament.