TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13101, 28 April 1908, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

What shall bo done for Cricket tho man who discovers Long Ago. tho origin of cricket 'i Mr Andrew Lang thinks he has traced it back as far as 200 A.D. at least, and probably further, and to Ireland, of all places in the world. A prose poem in Irish, which is at least 1700 years old, describes tho boyish feats of a hero named Cuchulainn, who is reported to have played 150 boys at a game resembling cricket and .beaten thorn all. Thero were no stumps in tho cricket of those early times. Tho idea of tho bowler was to put tho ball in a hole defended by the batsman with a curved bat, much tho samo as the bats used in tho early part of the eighteenth century. When tho boys wore in, according to this ancient poem, Cuchulainn got the ball into tho hole with ease ropeatedly, but when he was in they ''never got a ball into the hole." There was, apparently, no such thing as being caught out. Whether this fine young atldeto subsequently played for his coutnty wo cannot say. Mr Lang points out that tho cricket of the early eighteenth century was only a stage or two removed from this. There were but two stumps, with a cross piece of wood, and if tho ball went between the stumps tho batsman was not out. Between tho stumps was a hole, and in this hole tho batsman had to ground his bat at the end of a run. If the wicket-keeper put the ball into the hole before tho batsman grounded his bat, the batsman was out. Naturally tho wicket-keeper's hands sometimes suffered when it was a close thing, and it was to save his hands that tho hole -was abolished, and a third wicket put in its place. There is mention in a Scottish dictionary of a double-wicket game, in which tho bat was grounded in the same way,

and instead of a ball a flat piece of wood was used. Tho Ambassador at Washington has a theory that cricket was brought over from. Franco during the 100 Years' War. Perhaps tho French got tho game from the Irish, and passed it on to the English. Some day cricket may be traced to China, whence came football. Ireland to-day is not strong in crickot. It suffers from the competition of golf, and tho opposition of tho .Nationalists to any game played by the hated English.

A writer in "BlackThe wood's," who is a Irreclaimable thorough iboliever m Afridi. a forward policy on tho Indian frontier, makes some interesting observations on thio Afridi-PaJnhan. character. Tradition has it that all tho tribes who have given tho Indian Government so much trouble from time to time are descendants of ono Khalid-ben Walid, a Jew who embraced Islamism, and whose descendants in the tenth century had vast possessions in western Afghanistan. Apparently these people were of much the same character as their descendants to-day, for two chiefs, Afrid and Wazir, after terrorising tho whole of western Afghandsta<n, iiad to fly for their lives. They and their followers made their abode in tho mountains ot north-west Hindustan, where their descendants livo to-day. Rulers have come and gone, but tho Afridi and tho Pathan have been indifferent to all. Reared in raid and blackmail, "ruthlea cowardly robbery and cold-hlooded treacherous murder," have become tho salt of their lives. Fifty years ago the secretary of a Punjaub administrator, described them as absolute barbarians, but "not without some tincture of virtue and generosity." They had nothing approaching a Government or civic institutions, and had for tho most part no education. They professed Islamism, but their religion was as wild, if not wilder, than that of other savages. They were very avaricious of gold-, to get which they would do almost anything, except betray a guest; they were incorrigible thieves, and too fickle and excitable to tako to agriculture. This picture is said to "bo as true to lifo now as when it was written. Contact with civilisation has not changed tho Afridi in the least. A good proportion of the young men take sorvice in the Indian Army, where they at least learn discipline, but with exceptions which are proportionately infinitesimal, so soon as tho Afridi soldier returns to his tribe, who lapses into the savagery ol hi* people, ready to rob and murder whenever ho gets the chance. Yet thore is something in tho nature ot this ruthless people that compels the admiration of tho Englishman. They are "beloved vagabonds," and observing their ways the Englishman perhaps sees behind their savagery, some of the qualities that have helped to plant his flag all over the world.

Tho Lisbon tragedy has Flourishing inspired "Calchas" with Kingship, some reflections on the future of Kingship, which ho contributes to the "Fortnightly." His argument is. briefly, that the monarchical form of government is very far indeed from being moribund. On the contrary, it is in a pretty healthy condition. Parliamentary government in Portugal was a failure, and the late King had the interests of his country at heart when ho tried to stop tho plundering of the oountry by tho two great parties

by appointing a dictator. It would do Portugal a great deal of good, thinks ''Cakhas," to bo ruled by a dictator for a fairly lengthy period. Whjle in England the genius of the nation for progress makes itself felt through changes of government, parliamentary government in Portugal has been marked by "ovorlasting lethargy and hopeless inertia," and there is nothing to show that it will be any bettor under the new King. Spain and Italy, would, ho tibki.ks, also be better | for the rule of an absolute monarch, h republics were established in these countries, they could"*not host, but must soon givo way to the rule of ono man. In France a republic has been established with great difficulty, there is no certainty that it would outlast a crisis, and some thoughtful Frenchmen feel that thoro is something wanting in their form of government which only a monarchy could supply. Great Britain took her proper place in tbe world only when a monarch came to tho throne who was prepared to take tho initiative. "Calchas" has a high opinion of the monarchs of Europe as a class, and thinks that heredity and education con. ■ ■■.ao to produce very capable heads ct ■ King Edward is tho first statesman of Europe. The Kaiser's activities aro well known. To take one instance, tho German Navy could not have been developed as it has been save by a monarch capable of taking the initiativo intelligently. Alfonso of Spain and Victor Emanuel of Italy aro both clever men working hard in tho interests of their countries. Tho late King Carlos was an ablor man than his Ministers. Crossing the xVtlantic, we find President j.«oosevelt acting liko a Franco, within constitutional limits. The timo is not yet in sight when thero will be no monarchies, lor the ma jority of mainland are so constituted by temperament or situated in politics, that they aro unable to approve, or even to conceive, of settled order in a State except under a hereditary monarchy.