"SPINDRIFT."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12969, 23 November 1907, Page 10

"SPINDRIFT."

(SPECIALLT WBITTEN- TOK "THE PRESS.") Distinctly Abdul Aziz. demi-Sultan of Morocco", is not playing the gam© towards Mulai Hatid. the other partner in the reigning firm. A compact was concluded between the sunburnt twain w time aao prescribing th© spner© of gaudilv-punoplied uselrssncM each was°to strut upon and round about; and now Abdul, of that ilk. having raised money for the Moor men fund by tho ancient expedient of popping the family plate with a wide-spreading avuncular relative, has demonstrated the distressing arrogance of riches by soundly trouncing Mulai. who either had no costly gauds to pledge, or else was endeavouring to shape tho destinies of his share of the alle 3 ed people upon economical, self-reliant lines. Th«> now Russian Duma realised early that it has a soul to be saved and'a body to be kicked. Consequently, it lias, started out m political lit© b'v paving unctuous respect to the Czar. ' It is stated in evidence of ns wildly patriotic trmzy that a majority of Duma members sang th© National Anthem to tho bitter end four times, and cheered the Kmperor with much enthusiasm. If the Russian National Anthem i< -stranded together upon chords similar to our own, tho fact that a body of men chanted it four times wirhout intervals for rep©,© suffices to prove that th© present Duma is building up a particularly snug joint and several guarantee "ot it's remaining outside of the business end of Siberia for some time to come. One of the advantages of living beneath the vivid shad© of th© Union Jack is that a legislator may be unable or unwilling even to whi.stlo "Rulo Britannia." and still retain his head and his priceless liberty. Mr Keir Hardin, whose voyage usward has commenced, continued up to the schedule hour ot sailing to labour u:icea*=in:dy under the delusion that IndiaV. coral strand demanded his pre-.-eiie© in order to deliver it from th© \ isionary yoke of sonio unseen and unfelt bondage. As a consequence, ho purposes curtailing his visit to Australasia—itri needs being fewer, and its containing (presumably) tho ninety and nino just persons who require no Socialistic redemption. Ther© are those who would be prepared readily to forego the honoured pleasure of the canty .Scot's coming to New Zealand, nnd who would, at a pinch, tako th© pangs of parting as panged. The tact that Mr Keir Hardi© was shown th© door with much precision and despatch when calling upon Governor Sir Henry McCallum at Colombo discloses tho extent of what we should lc*© wer© the threatened descent upon th© Dominion to fail to materialise. Wo have just loosed Ben Tillet from our midst, and having thus expiated our economic sins, what more is necessary? Now that tho question has been so widely opened, claimants to th© Portland estates in all part 6of th© world aro commencing to raise the shrill small voic© of insistent demand for their gilded rights. One of the latest unsuspected scions of nobility to discover himself has com© forward in tho person of a Mr Calkin, presently carrying on business as merchant aiid American citizen at Millville, New Jersey, Seeing it has become the wont of modern enterpriso to syndicate all who have a sporting chanco of establishing claims to participation in tho cool blue-blooded accretions of warm red millions, tho possibility is not remote that a corner in dark knights may eventually be contrived. Th© appearance of a local Richmond in th© Portland field, however, may complicate matters somewhat, but, after all, thero being so much at stake a little of mutual forobearance, with a dash of give-and-take among relatives, should avail to overcome the moro serious of th© difficulties standing in the way of th© present Duke's being relieved from the daily ■ crucifixion of overpowerinc wealth. . * * While the theory that German blood is thicker to us than water is being expounded for all it is .redly worth in connection with th© Kaiser's visit, and th© Emperor himself has been at tho greatest pains to esservate tliat never —well, hardly evor—has he contemplated harming a hair of th© European head—while all this has been going forward with much pomp and circumstance, Dr. Paasche, Vice-Presi-dent of the Reichstag, has placed a whole boiling of bellicose Teuton fat upon the fire. Tin's by affirming that the Germans ar© twice as good as tho English in th© matter of striking decisive naval blows below th© armoured belt. It may be as Dr. Paasche states —most probably it is not. Th© present is clearly not the timo to boast about it. Matters of this kind ar© as w©ll retained as military secrets—to b© sold over the French counter, if 3*oll will—but not to be bandied 'about at a period when the two felicitating nations are convincing each other over the walnuts that everything in the Anglo-German garden is lovely.