TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11545, 30 March 1903, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

There is some talk in the President United States about. raising Roosevelt's the President's salary. At Salary. present the head of the big republic receives only fifty thousand dollars—£lo,ooo—and a Bill has lately been introduced into Congress increasing this modeet honorarium to £20,000----"It is very generally admitted," remarks a Cleveland paper, in commenting on this measure, "that the 'head of what we are fond of calling the greatest and richest nation of the earth, does not receive the compensation which the dignity of the office demands. The modest increase proposed is not likely to provoke the comment that republican simplicity is threatened." This, however, is just what has happened, ilost of the opposition that has been offered to the proposal is based' on its alleged infringement of American ideals. "We have in the past," remarks one critic, "prided ourselves upon the Democratic simplicity of tho occupants of the White Housa, and we should continue to.encourage sample social observancee there. The hundred thousand dollars salary is a step away from our traditions, and it is not desirablo that the measure should 'become law." American society, in fact, having quite lost eight of the reputed "Democratio simplicity" of America, is anxious that tlie President should etill exemplify it—not that they may profit thereby, bub that he may stand, to the outeide world, as a type of what his fellonv-countrynieia may onco have been, but what they certainly are not now. Plutocratic Americans may spend as much on a single entertainment as their President receives in a 'twelvemonth, and nobody will reproach them for lack of "Democratic simplicity," but they take care that, co far as lies in their power, the occupanta of the White Houee thall be compelled to confine themselves to "simple so-, cial observances." To the outside world Americans seem unduly proud of this vicarious simplicity.

A cable message last « r »ek inCentral formed us that aii experiment African is to die made in the direction Labour, of supplying the demand for labour by permitting recruitins to toe carried on in British Central Africa, under stringent regulations, and , at firet only in a tentative way. The Rand. magnates have been casting their eyes on t{h£s {forbidden recruiting ground for a. long time, but if all is correct that a_ Blantyra correspondent writes to a Natal paper, they have been utterly m>Med as to the number of natives available. From Sir Harry Johnston's article in the "Nineteenth Century," he saye,« "one -would gather that Central Africa, from the Nile to the Zambesi, is teeming with millions upon millions of natives, sitting idle in their villages, and longing for the opportunity of finding scope for their superfluous energies, -which at present have no otther outlet than the cultivation of their little patches of mealies or potaWs, and the building of their grass and! mud huts. One -would also imagine this dense population all aching to bo engaged to work ia the mines at £1 a month, and two suits of clothes." The correspondent assures us that this is all a dream. The millions of Central Africa do not ache for such employment. As a matter of fact, the millions are mot there at all. "Ask the planter of British Central Africa*, and he will point you to many hundreds of acres of coffee plantation, which h>o had to close down two or three years ago, because he could not get labour to till them for love or money. And yet this is the happy hunting-ground for the labour agent of Sir Harry's dream. Three years ago the export of coffee was over 1100 tons. This year it Iwe fallen to about 250. 'The first cause of this fall was the want of (sufficient labour in the years 1900 and 1901. North-Eastern Rhodesia is another of the fields where the "millions' live w(ho are to redeem tho 'blighted fortunes of the South African mine-owner. The people of that district tell us that they cannot get sufficient labour for even their local needa." This state of things is sufficient reason for the alarm which the settlers of British. Central Africa are expressing at the prospect of the country being uhrown op?n to tih* recruiting agent. Any diminution in the present ecanty .supply of labour would mean serious detriment to the industries of the country, and heavy loss to those engaged in. their development.

To be chased by a tiger in Chased by the Australian bush i« an a Tiger, adventure which does not befal many, and when Mr A. J. Buttswort-h, a public school teacher near llarulan, in New South Wake, recently reported that thie had been his experience, his story was at first listened to with eonw incredulity. In the Sydney "Daily Telegraph" of a recent date, however, oocuns a full account of the adventure as told by himself, with corroborative evidence which seems to leave no doubt of the veracity of the story. The tiger was first eeen about four miles from Marulan by a man who was out rabbit shooting. It was lying in the trunk of a fallen tree, watching the rabbits intently, and as the latter was armed only with a «hot gun, he withdrew ac cautiously ac he could t eyeing

tho animal all the time, cvd r hcds Uμ moment he thought he cicntetaii. Tbe a«a day hours beat the bush in all directing ||| tiger, but wcro unsuccessful in firidito & <|ffipf traces of him. Thai evening worth happened to t» in Marulan Z^C^"'~ Jt4 ■way home from a visit to some iricacb cm tllßl he wa told of the mbbiUVe edvertroT 4jP and strongly advised to trait until monfa HF before taking his departure. lamgbjjj- J'- r lp' the whole story as absurd, BuUeworth «*'»:- off on the journey of twelve milea ,»}£*; ; i,»t separated him from home. "It »»j »ji4e thick bush," hia etary continues, v att A * fM' had got half iray when my wtoflf" had been jogging along easily, tft 0 £ *udden gavo a. tremendous snort, >aa4,->' bounded across tho road. At th» meat tho tiger, which must have bfc&'-V "- crouching behind a bush, came bounding o "' mo with gaping mouth, and eyes whic&~'" ■ glared like bull's-eye lanterns. Ha mfe**'- ' about four bounds, growling fiercely ail Q»~ tinw, nnd before I could , scarcely realise m< '. poeition, let alono giithcr up nry rcixe, ih» ' horse was at a mad gallop dorm thorojui,*' How far tho tiger followed Butts»orti';. never knew, but for some minutes, m ha l hoiiso crashed at a wUd epead alony tl» * narrow, branch-litterod which ta|" through tho biwh, ho had only to look bade" * to see the creature's flanung eyes behind >' him. Tho headlong flight was conUoig^-"' ' in spito of various mishapa from impedi. , > mente acress tlw road, for a distance at - -i three niilts, when Butts can» a neighbour's house, at which lie decided U. , ' stay the night. When the eceno of .' adventure wee visited next morning, ti*", , tracks where tho tiger had crouched, th»'- " footprints on tho road where he had njuJa" > ' his spring, a bunch of liair where the hoo^ '. » had scraped against a gate, and ti*c|g' across a sandbank where tlie terrified sto^' V and rider ihad for a brief space con» tn~£* grief, satisfied all who were present of Uμ ' i reality of Butteworth's adventure. Ed parties which scoured the bueh oa the v I succeeding days wero luvfuccessful in ing tho tiger, bub a couple of sheep ww»'- I found which had been ripped open and tU' choice parte devoured, this being a, charsc terietic habit of the marauding It was eupposed that tho tiger took Mfn«'/ * in some impenetrable gullies not fat the scone. For some weeks after the oo*" 1 currenoe the schools about Marulan iret4\ - " dtserted, and Sir ButteworLh was of opin. 5 I ion that tho 6care would be elovr to inb." I sido > r ,'' I