TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9327, 30 January 1896, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Br the time the Early Records work of publishing of the historical records New South Wales, of New South Wales is finished the documents should form a good sized library in themselves. Already three bulky volumes, each containing something like 1000 pages, have been issued, and the latest one only deals with three years, and brings the reader down to 1799. By a curious coin" cidence this volume, published at a time when the effects of drought are being severely felt in many parts of Now South Wales, contains references to a eitnilar state of affairs which existed iv 1793- The despatches of Governor Hunter show that a drought set iv in September of that year, and lasted until tho following May. Scarcely a shower of iaiu fell in ten months, so that, according to the Governor, ''the wholo country lias been a blizj of tire, our pasturage for a time destroyed, and the streams of ftesh water almost exhausted." This " tedious drought " was followed, as is often the ciso nowadays, by tremendous floods. The Hawkosbury River rose 50ft. "bove its ordinary level, " and the whole country appeared liko aa immense ocean." As tvoa at this time there were 600 farms on tho backs of tho Hawkesbury great lose waa caused by the Ibotl, tho settlers loaiag every thing, and baiug left without food, clothing, ami beddiug. As the Government store, with its couteats, had beeu swept away by tho rising waters but lit'.lo assistance could be rendered to the unfortunate suff<irere by the authorities. It sfeema odd in these days to read of JSaelish ofti-jera and their wive 3 who had beeu living iv Norfolk Island speaking oJ their removal to Sydney ao "banishment." The military officials, however, regarded Norfolk Island as "the perfect image of Paradise." The fertility of its soil wna the theme of enthusiastic praise. "There," saye tho writer of a private letter iv 1793, ! " tho annual harvest of whoat is double. Tiinre the limas are so exuberant that the Governor, from iho same tree, . picked i .lixteea p-c'.ia of rips, and left upon ib a giijatec (|U;iiit:ty of j>ieen, fruit." The Sy-iiwy ox tiioae days was, If we tire to believe a clerical critic, "deluged with every species of sin and iniquity," and if thia portrait is a true one, there is some excuse. for those who had grown accustomed to the peico of Norfolk Island feeling reluctant to return to the infant city. Now* α-daye, however, the feeling of "banishment " wpa\d probably be stronger in those compelled to leave Sydnsy aud live in Norfolk Island. A gestlbman who has Edison's had a good deal to do with Latest Work. Edison recently arrived in Syduey from Vancouver, aud in conversation with an interviewer he gave some particulars of the latest; project's and schemes of the " wizixd oi Meulo Park." Mr Holland, the gentleman in j question, has beeu for twenty years tho official reporter to the Canadian Senate, but ha 3 also found timo to b&como associated with Edison in placing some of the latter'a remarkable inventions before tho public. For the last two and a half years, he said, Edison had been completely absorbed in the erection and perfection of a piaut which he has deaigued wiicreby he hopes to be able to extract magnetic iraa from the ore by means of magu6tic attraction. " It io estimated," said , Mr Holland, "that he hag iuveated 3,000,000d015. of his. own and his friends' money in this invention, whish he calculates will, if successful, miue, crush and -concentrate 300 toua of iron oro per hour, with the assistance of 200 men. A greitf many of JSdisou'e friends, however, are looking j .forward to hie' venture proving a great failure, owing to the. low grade of the ore co be treated, coupled with > the fuels that iron ore has been placed on , the fi'ee list, and the rioh ores of Canada are consequently brought into competition." Just before leaving for Sydney Mr Holland went to call ou Kilhon, but found htm up to his eyes in a law-suit which has already lasted several years, and which is really ,re3pousible for the fact that no progrees to speak of has been made for a long time in the development; of the phonograph. The case is one, in which the owners of another patent aro endeavouring to restrain. E.liaon from making phonograph cylinders and phonographs, as they claim priority of invention. If the case is decided iv Edison's favour, we may expect speedy improvements in the phonograph, for the inventor has talked of making these machines with each sensitive ■ diaphragms that they will record whispers. With regard to the kinetoscope, by which a series of truly instantaneous photographs is shown co rapidly that tho action they represent appears to bo taking place under tho eyes of the spectator, Mr Holland mentioned that Edison's enterprise in securing photographs for the machine nearly got him into trouble. Wishing to reproduce the events of a prizs fight, be hired two bruisere to fight six roonda while he took a continuous series of photographs of their movements at the rate of dozens per minute. The fight duly came off, one of the men being "knocked out" ia the last round. Thia circumstance created ooneidorable feeling .when it leaked out, and the matter was brought under tho notice of. the Grand Jury, No further action, however, was takeu, and Edison then engaged the great Corbett to box six rounds while he " kihetoscopsd",'him. ThU vu done, and the results appeared ia a large number of inetantauflbos viewa, falthfaily poartraying the rapid 1 , incidents of a.boxing match. The news that proposals are The ou foot for submitting to Bdhring Sea arbitration the claims of Arbitration. Great Britain against the ; (Joited States for the seizare of Canadian .sealing vewels in liehring Sea will come ub a surprise to many who thought tliat tlf > whole Behriog Sea trouble between the two itationa had beeo settled by the finding' of the Court cf Arbitration in Paris in 1895. The Court uc ac the result of numerous disagreements on the

eubjoot of sealing in Ihab sea, wbioii Q fMi ' Britain and Canada claimed they ,j right to do, while tho United States' that Behriag Soa wae a " closed eoa." Xh Court was composed of coven members tJ' representing Eugtaud, two America' hji one each Frauou, Italy, and Bwudoa Jα Norway. The tiadiup of the Court were in favour of Great Britain though Senator Morgau, one of tli' American representatives, dissented f fo " four oub of the five questions submitted ,1 The tribunal, we are told, alao f oUa d j' favour of Grant Britain upon the faou JU i™ mitted relating to searches aud t>ei 2 u ras fJ * f Cauadiaa sealing schooners by the Uiihed States reveumi cutters, and those fimii Ofi , became the basis for negotiations as* damages. In September, 1894, the United Statoa Goverutnent offered, and G Britain accepted, 425,000 ,i o ij!* (£86,000) in settlement of th eiie okini| bub Congress since refused to vote th* amount. Repeated representation* J iav * been made through Sir Julian Pduncefou the British Minister at Washington, aud the matter waa recently discussed by n Foreign Affairs Committee of the America,! Senate. Senator Morgan, who aeetaa hold ,lhe Amorioan record for virulc Anglophobia, was apparently the • prim mover in the affair. In the course ot a warm speech on the subject iv the Senate in Dsccmber last, ho said that at the moat the award of the Paris arbitrator would only furniah a remote argam ens for the claim of Great Britain for dumsgn which that country conveniently sought to overstate. The Seuata uuanimbusly adopted Senator Morgan's resolution, i v . struoting the Foreigu Aif lira Committee to examiue into and report upca the liabilh« of the United State* to Great Brifcua for the seizures of British sealers. '1 ho. upshot of the investigation is, it appears, the proposal to submit the British and Canadian claims to arbitration. These olaiois may possibly have been ovor-atutoct, bat to the ordinary intellect tho American Senate's attitude looks very much like repudiation of a just debb.