TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11084, 1 October 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Apropos of the new | " The Evolution Commonwealth flag, ».'! of tho Flag writer in tbte "Sydney | Morning Hera-Id" oon- ' tributes an interesting account of the evolution of the flag as the national symbol of authority. T3ia earliest devices of the kind were not'flags, biit metal. standards, carried aloft on staffs. One of the earliest known is an Assyrian standard, unearthed at Kinevoib during t&e last century, on which is depicted the figure of an archer standing on the hack of a. galloping bull. Tho Koman standard*, with their eagles and tire familiar device, S:P.Q.R. (Senatus Populusque Romanus), were similar in construction to the Assyrian. With the growth of mediaeval chivalry in Europe, came the introduction of the sicken banker, and the pennon borne beneath the lanceJiead ; but the designs for a long while were of individual, not national, import, each knight 'bearing on his shield And pennon his own particular device. England's first distinguishing flag was th* red cross on a white field (the Cross of St. George), while the St. Andrew's Cross (white on a blue field) was the {Scottish flag. The latter is supposed to represent the initial letter in Greek (X) of the Saviour, In the first union flag of Great Britain, introduced in 1696, three years after- tiha union of the Crowns of England and Scotland, the two national banners were blended by placing the Cross of St. George over the saltire of St. Andrew, while thia blue ground of the Scottish flag was retained. At first this union flag was flown as a principal ensign offly by merchant vessels, but after the union of the - English and Scottish Parliaments in 1707 its use was sanctioned on" land as well as on sea, and it was also; incorporated into the man-o'-war ensign, occupying the up•par corner next the staff. With the incorporation of Ireland in 1801 an alteration ihad to be made in the ilnion flag, and the red saltire op cross was added as the emblem of St. Patrick. The red saltire was placed side by side with the white saltire of St. Andrew, with the white and red alternately uppermost to obviate any possible national jealousy over the arrangement of tihe crosses. What is known as the Royal Standard of England is not a standard in'the true sense, but a banner. The proper form of standard is a long tapering flag, with a cleft at the end' furthermost from the staff, whereas tbe banner is a rectangular flag, bearing over, ite whole surface thte arms of the owner. . . .

Paris has been suffering A Plague from a mosquito invasion, of and the pest assumed a phase Mosquitos. that was quite" alarming. The mosquito first came to Paris, it is supposed, with the Exhibition of 1889, arriving in th.3 rotits of sub-tropical plants sent froia Africa for the hot-houses of the Colonial section. The roots and the earth round them wfcre kept moist transportation, and afforded; a nursery to female mosquitoes, whos» marvellous reproductive powers quickly became apparent. At the present time the winged plague threatens to become a positive scourge to the Parisians. Cases of a virulent type of paludian or swamp fever, -baTe been traced to inoculation by mosquitoes, and M: Hallo* pe'an, of tha Academy of Medicine, almost caused a panic.recently when' be stated that he could only explain the spread of that form of leprosy known as elephffintiasia> by a similar inoculation. The paludian fever is supposed to have been by zttosquitos. from a soldier who brought the disease from Africa-. Persons living in the same house with him, who had not been out of Paris for a'whole year, are now infected with the same 'disease-" To check the mosquito invasion the Academy of Medicine recommend as urgent the drying up of the stagnant pools and watercourses in the parka and gardens, for it is & well-known fact that tbe mosquitoes will spread .wherever there is stagnant water. A natural yet efficacious remedy, which did not seem to occur to the Medical Conference,, says a correspondent of London "Truth,," is the introduction' of carp and frogs into the ponds and watercourses. . Fontainebleau is never tormented with mosquitoes because its. ponds team with carp, and frogs abound in all the'xnair&hy places.

In spite of, authoritative Life in a ■ contradictions,. a good Refugee heard from ,■' •' , -time to tim« about "harsh treatment" of tb*« Boers in the refugee camps. Yet thera is reason to believe that the inmates of these camps fare batter than many a loyalist family, in -South Africa. The* corroborating other acoomxts which have been previously published, go to prove that the life is far from being unpleasant. At Kkrksdcrp camp,. according to Eeutar'sr correspondent, there, ore approximately 600 -tents, and a total population of about 5000, tb.fr maximum number of inmates in a. tent being five. The large majority of inmates are children } only 335 of the male refugees are over twelve years of age. Comfort and .cleanliness prevail tiiroughout the camp. Every morning, by nine o'clock, every scrap of rubbieh, ia clean-' edrup, and removed from the camp, arid this work, and that of cutting and'earrying ftsel, is all that tire refugees are required to do. Moet of the tents arfc comfortably- furnisbed, and each tent has its own cooking arrangement, while ovens have besn built for breadbaking. Rations, says the correspondent, are on a liberal scale, and the quality , of the food, he assures us»is excellent- • "The flour is tha best American, the sugar now being supplied is white crystallised, of superior quality. The coffee* id pure, and the meat as good as can be procured." . Three bandied sheep are killed every week and the heads, feet, and - liver, are distributed ' aY extras; tie skins, also, are given to the people in the camp. So far from there being any stinting of thp rations, it is asserted that some o£ the- , families cannot consume their supply. Medical comforts are added when ordered by the doctor, and those who hare money—as many have—caa augment their , rations with luxuries from the store. These facts give the lie direct to the bitter and mendacious reports circulated by England's enemies concerning the treatment of Beer refugees. Yet the lies will continue to circulate, though disproved again end again, so long as the hatred that inspired them, and renders them acceptable, remains. Among the refugees, well fed and kindly treated as they are, may bs found some of Britain's bitterest foes. "Stories Df murder, outrage, and suffering," writes' Edgar Wallace, the "Daily Mail" correepondent r "have originated in the -minds of women enjoying British protection, and have been glibly repeated by others, who have received at our hands all kindness and chivalrous attention"