TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12932, 11 October 1907, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Nothing has been heard "C.-B.V <f Into of the sußgcsPofwlnrity. tion that the Prime Minister of Great Hrjtaiu slioukl be elevated to a sphere

where his ditties would bo less onerous. It is said that when Sir Henry Camp-bell-Bannerman took office. Hiero was an understanding that his faithful sorv!te -fir uio party should be rewarded by the Premiership for a year, and he should then retire to tho dignified reposo of tho House of Lords, leaving the direction of affairs in younger hands. .Air H. W. Lucy, in his letter to tho "Sydney Morning Herald," says that if there over was any foundation for such an understanding, it has crumbled away. "The apparently pliable, always genial-mannered septuagenarian has turned out to be in fact, as well as in mime, the head of the Cabinet, tho first Minister of tho Crown. He is master of the varying situation, and his predominant is based upon esteem and affection rather than noon principles of discipline/ Mr' Lucy mentions a. little incident which illustrates the esteem in which tho Premier is held. At an informal dinner at the JMorm Club, given by a new Peer, a member of the Cabinet made a wholly unexpected speech when his thief's health was proposed, bearing testimony to tho absolute unanimity of the Cabinet, the confidence of Ministers in their head, and their affection for him. He who delivered this unpremeditated tribute is an unemotional lawyer, who, before Iho Ministry took office, w.ij a confident of Lord Rosebory. nncl h.-s been reckoned as belonging to the Rosebery wins of the Cabinet. Mr Lucy, who, of course., is a strong Liberal, thinks that tho Government emerges from tho second session stronger than ever, and that there is no apparent reason why the present Parliament should not run tho full length of its ordinary course. Whatever may bo thought of -Sir Henry Campbell-Banner man ns a statesman, there decs not seem any doubt "that Mr Lucy is right in saying that ho has won tho affections of his party. One Opposition paper, in reviewing tho session, remarks that he has "certainly retained i:i a remarkable degree ttio personal regard of his supporters." and another—ollo cf tho bitterest of Ins opponents—says ho has the confidence and loyalty of his huge following.

Vegetarianism is npVegetarianism, parently increasing

at Homo. According to "M.A.P.," it has got its grip on Society, and instead of dining stealthily on beans and nuts at food reform restaurants, leading women in tho social world aro folloAving tho cult in their own homes and those of their friends. The Duchess of Portland is said to have been the first to sail in the open under tho "cabbage and crossleeks." She succeeded in getting together, to eat mock salmon and imita r

tion beefsteaks, some of tho '"best folk" iv Society, and the guests are said to have been converted on tho spot. It is comforting to know that sho gives her guests meat if they want it. Unfortunately, she cannot convert tho Duke to her views. In a poor household such a difference might lead to deplorable results. Tho Thichess of Bedford, Lady Henry Somerset, Lady Paget, end Lady Plymouth are also vegetarians. Quite a number of wellknown people have given up meat. Lord Charles Beresford, if tho need arises, will take tho Channel Fleet into action on beans and cheese (for a guesgf, and his physical and mental fitness arc proved. Tho hoaclinustcr cf Eton , , « famous cricketer, goes fo far as to believe that meat is one of tho primary causes of vice. He has not, however, deprived Etonians of their joints. Mr and Mrs Sidney Webb, tho well-known social reformers, General Booth, tho Rev. 11. J. Campboll, and Mr G. B. Shaw arc vegetarians, and among thos© who hover on tho brink aro Mr A. J. Balfour, Mr E. F. Benson, and Mr Keir Hardie. In Mr Shaw's case abstinence has had quito a distressing success. Ho does not touch tobacco, spirits, tea, coffee, cocoa, fish, or flesh, and ho feels so well that ho wants about an hour and a half of navvying every day to work off his superfluous energy. Thinning a jungle would be even more, to his taste. Society, however, is organised to suit tho people, who live -what ho calls the "boozy sort of lifo" (meat, ton, and alcohol), and ho cannot get nawying or jungle-thinning to do. Tho consequence is that energy accumulates, gets stale and poisonous, and explodes about once a month in a devastating headache.

Some little time, ago a The, burglar mede use of olreScientific 1 ricity in an at to rapt on Hurglar. tho strong-room of a Sydiiey banit. Now it is reportotl that a burglar in Dresden opened n fiafo with the aid of n blowpipe, a cylinder of compressed oxygen, and nn aeetyleno generator. Tlio operation was really a masterpiece. The burglar secured a room in an hotel al>ovo tlio office of n money-changer. At «i,<rlit lie cut a hole in tho floor. Tinder the boarding was a layer of cement. Ho made « email hole in tlio layer, and ]>usli<hl an umbrella through, which when opened received noiselessly tho fragments of cement dislodged as the hole was made, largo enough to allow the- operator to pass throusli. Then he lowered his apparatus, and bet'oro the. intense- heat cf the blowpipe flamo the dorvr of the *«fo fusrd like lead in an ordinary gas jet. Tho burslar took the contents of t.'ie cafe and disappcue<l without leaving a trace. The American Consul at (.'homnitz, ivlio reports the burglary, foresees a duel between the safe-maker and the. sa.ie-breaker. in which tho former may be- compelled to use most drastic measures. Devices may be introduced wlr.cli. after a certain hour, will in a k r> it fatal or physically to rfir.ain i\var a .<wfe when tho door ir- tampered with. Th« vo!ati!i«atinu or a il'\v drops of a certain chemical would can>r> profuse weeping, and ultimately blindim-3, the breaking of a tube of liquid ammonia would compel the burglar to withdraw under peril of tmffocntion. an apparatus for the generation of prussk: acid would kill him instantly. However, it appears that English safe-niokors wnw time as;o the iim of the oxygen blowpipe, and constnicted saf<>s to withstand it and thermite. According to n famous English maker, eafes guarantcsed against such ettacks havo been on tho market for some years. One was tested by a clever burglar in the South of Frarsre. who after working; at it from »Satuiday till Monday. ;ravo up tho tai'k in disgust. This firm reteutly received for a safu that

would withstand anything for a fortnight, and the contract tree accepted with tho utmost confidence. ur course, safe-breaking is P"«w « lotion of time. You can break any sate if you havo plenty of machinery, but it might tako c month. Safes can certainly bo constructed' to withstand anything during a reasonable period ot time."