TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8930, 22 October 1894, Page 4

TOPICS O F THE DAY.

Among the recent visiThe Story tors to London was one of an who played a rather African Trader, -prominent part in the late Matabele war. This was Mr James Dawson, who for eighteen years has lived the adventurous life of an African hunter and trader. Tea of those years Mr Dawson has spent at Buluwayo, in the days when it was simply Lobengula's kr-al; he was the late King's Secretary and confidant; he it was, in the words of the interviewer to whom he gave some particulars of his career, "who came down with the two Induuas that fell into the hauds of the Bechuanaland police ; who volunteered to go and recover the bodies of Wilson's gallant and hapless band; to whom was entrusted the difficult mission of reconciling the beaten Matabele to the new conditions, and who succeeded in pacifying and bringiug them in." When he was visited by the interviewer, Mr Dawson had been in London, for the first time for eighteen years, a week and confessed to already feeling homesick for Africa. When he first went up into the Dark Continent he was trading in Khama's country, but later on went up to Buluwayo, a place then all but unknown to Europeans, except those in his own line of business. Those were apparently the golden days of African trading, ivory and ostrich feathers were abundant, and as Mr Dawson said, «' You made profits up in the hundreds per cent." Now, however, the conditions are different. The elephants have gone over the Zambesi, or, at all events, out of range, aud feathers fetched such good prices that the people in Cape Colony got jealous and started ostrich farming, which brought the prices down. " A curious thing about the colonial farming," added Mr Dawson," was that while I was buyiug the finest ostrich feathers in Buluwayo, I was at the same time importing thousands of the inferior short feathers and selling them to the natives. These feathers are part of the warrior's full dress which he wears at the yearly Great Dance of the First Fruits. Consequently they think more of them thau of the larger and finer feathers." During his residence at Lobengula Buluwayo Mr Dawson and saw a (fcreat deal oi the Matabele. Lobengula and learned to like him more the better he knew him, so the old King must have had some good points about him. " I was very sorry for him, very sorry," he said, "so we all are in fact; but, of course, we recognise that it was inevitable. It was certain that he would have lo go from the first moment that our people went into the country." When the trouble began Mr Dawson and his two companion traders, being all alone with tbe Matabele, felt a trifle uneasy, but could not get away. "After'we bad made one ineffectual attempt to get Lo Ben to let us leave, we had to make up our minds to stay." Lo Ben, it seems, represented that if he let the Englishmen go he wonld have no one to write his letters for him, if the High Commissioner wrote to him, no the traders had to stay where they were. They were not troubled as to the King's intentions, as he had given orders that they were not to be annoyed in any way, but they remembered instances when the young men had forgotten the King's orders, and were not sure that such a thing might not happen in their case. However, as it happened, the young men were too busy with their own affairs, and even. after the killing of the Indunas, who were accompanied by Mr Dawson, at Tati, no one harmed them. It is gratifying to hear from one who, as was mentioned above, waa on terms of friendly intimacy with Lobengula, that the natives so far from resenting British rule have welcomed it. "Why." he said, "when I,went and told th#ra tbey might come in,

and tbat there need be no more fighting, they thought the news too good to be true ; and before they dared accept terms they insisted on sending down some Indunas to hear it confirmed from the Doctor's (Dr. Jameson) own Up-. Indeed, nothing is more gratifying than the quick way iv which the fighting men have accepted the situation." Speaking of an incident that occurred when he weut up to the Shangani river to search for the remains of Wikon's band, and to get the people to come in, Mr Dawson said :— "As soon as it was all settled that they were to come in, I took old Umjaii, who had been Lobengula's closest counsellor, to the tent to give him some tea, of which the old chap was very fond. As we were sitting there he said, 'lam so glad, for now at last I shall be able to possess a bullockwaggon of my own, and work, aud eern money, and brew beer to make the white man's heart glad.' You see, they had never been allowed to own anything at ail. They could not call auythiug they had their own. Even when they used to go down to Kimberley to work and earn enough money to buy themselves wives, the King used to send to meet them coming back, aud strip them of everything they had brought. Now they are able to work and keep v. hat they earn. They are all more contented than they have ever been."

The Matabele are being introduced to civilisation with a vengeance, for we learn that Buluwayo, from being a collection of native huts, with one house (the tiaders'), has become a city. A concession has been given for tramway rights, there is talk of waterworks and market buildings, and several churohei and a hospital are being erected. The recent death of Dean MaoLcng artuey, of Melbourne, at the ripe Life, age ot ninety-five, and in full poa.essiou oi his mental powers, was made the subject of some interesting remarks on longevity by a Melbourne contemporary. After mentioning that tbe late Dean was the oldest clergyman in the Church ol England, the writer went on to apeak of the well-kuowd fact that the Church takes the lead of all the professions in healthfulness and long life. '•The death rate of the clergy is only about half that of the medical profession. From an examination of -the obituaries during a period of 20 years ending 1888 it was fouud that of 42 bishops au.l deans who died during that period the average lifetime was 72 years and 8 mouths. The bishops had lather the advantage of the deans in oue respect, for the 19 bishops had lived on an average 76 years 2 months and 15 days; whereas 23 deaus only attained an average of 69 years 8 months and 26 days. But the deaus had the advantage in another re3pect, siuce the oldest dean—Deau Gamier, of Winchester, who died at 98 years of age —beat the oldest bishop—Bishop Phillpott,' of Exeter, who died at 91 years of age—by t-.eveu yeaiß, and was close on the heels of Cauou Beauon, who lived to be 100."

The theory that a oalm mental temperament is one of the chief fa.tors towards prolonging life is illustrated by the ages to which mauy of the speculative philosophers lived, while some remarkable statistics are given of the longevity of the msmbers of the British Peerage. The year 1868 seems to have been a bad one for this class of society, for no less than thirty-two peers died during that period. Twenty-two of these had however, paasad the allotted three soore years and ten, seven of them being above eighty. Much of this tenacity of life is no doubt due to personal e.seaiitl lite absence of that perpetual worry to which people who have to struggle for existence, ate exposed. But the writer pertinently asks bow we are to account for ao many actors living to a good old age. In spite of their necessarily irregular life they are a long-lived race, judging from the many actors and aotresses of the last 200 year's who have reached the rank of veterans. Long life is generally understood to be the result of a careful attention to tbe laws of health, but this is not always the oase.

" For example, we read of one old man of 97 who all his life drank quantities of raw gin and smoked the strongest and rankest tobacco ; whilst the Rev. W. Davis, who died in 1790 at the age of 105, for the last 25 years of hia lite never took any exeicise, began the day on hot buttered roils, aud ended it with a supper of hot roast meat with plenty of wine."

These are, however, hardly cases for imitation. Coming to the local view of the matter, it is pointed out that the obituary notices show a rather higher average duration of life iv Victoria than in England, and it will no doubt become higher when the colonists are more careful to conform in their diet, mode of dress aud other habits, to the conditions of the climate. This would be au easier matter, as far as New Zealand is concerned, if the conditions of the climate were just a trifle less variable.