TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 13411, 1 May 1909, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

In these days of trade cenExits tralisation, existing circumfrom stances have proved most Shops, conducive to the evolution of vast emporiums of the universal provider type. Although at Home the tendency in this direction has been more pronounced, on account of tho largo populations, still throughout Australasia of late years private enterprise has found adequate expression in the establishment of immense businesses under single roofs, combining numerous undertakings which, snugly, hitherto have engaged the attention of so many individual traders. In various parts of Victoria these huge buildings have been regarded with considerable misgiving by those who are able to appreciate tho i untoward possibilities attendant upon a panic caused, say, by an alarm of fire. Representations were made to successive State Governments as to the danger of an awful calamity in the event of a stampede occurring when some of the largo shops of Melbourne and the populous suburbs are crowded with customers. Many of the present means of egress are so inadequate that, in the case of a rush being made for the streets, it is possible that hundreds would be trampled to death. . Further than this, the custom prevails in Victoria, as in New Zealand, during the hurly-burly of sale times, of locking the shop doors to prevent overcrowdingThis, it is pointed out, further enhances the danger. The present State Government evidently was induced to take a serious view of the situation, for in the Factories and Shops Act passed last session power was given to the Governor in Council to pass regulations prescribing the number and nature of the exits to be provided. These regulations have now been drafted, and it is proposed to pass them shortly. Most complete provision is made for the safety of the public, and Victoria is to be complimented upon having turned the

tables for once, and given a legislative lead which New Zealand may soon have to follow. Tlie invention of an autoA matic water-finder goes New some distance towards unWater dcrmining the idea that Finder, the success attending the use of the divining rod is due to a very large extent to some unexplained and inexplicable faculty exercised by the operator.A trial of an automatic ivyparatu> designed for the purpose named was made at Brighton (Victoria) little over a month ago, tut was not attended by any striking results. The "imder'' is r-. small instrument enclosed in a wooden case and mounted in a low collapsible stand. Wherever it is desired to test whether water exists somewheVe underground, the apparatus i.s set up on the surface due north and south by the compass, a magnetic needle indicating tho state of the case. If the needle settles into a perfectly stable condition, that is the accepted sign oi" no water below: but if it continues to oscillate violently, the existence of a supply immediately beneath is declare"! indubitable. The principle on which the instrument works is said to be the sensitiveness of tho magnetic needle to electric currents contained in subterranean water which make themselves felt in isomagnetic emanations on the surface. The machine is made in two different ''strengths" us it were. One, costing £50, is claimed to detect water at a depth of 500 feet, while another of higher potentiality is said to scent out the illusive fluid at a depth ol 1000 feet. This costs £100. The Australian representatives of the English inventor, before placing the appliance on the market, carried out a number of tests in the Brighton district, under the supervision of Mr Stanley Hunter, of the Victorian Mines Department, who is familiar with the underground deposits of the area prospected, and knows exactly the places whero there is water ar.d where it is dry within a much, less distance from the surface than. 500 or 1000 feet. In a sealed envelope (the '•Age" reports), ho presented the operators with an statement of the subterranean conditions at a dozen sites, keeping a copy, also sealed, for tho Minister of Mines. Tests having been taken accordingly, tho magnetic needle in each instance failed to oscilate in the slightest. Mr Hunter said he would not call ur)on them to o|>3ii his letter for public information, because the test was not a fair one, to tho extent that the patentee expressly stipulated that the instrument would not act when the atmosphere was moist and tho surface of the ground was damp, or near trees or.in tho immediate vicinity of iron structures. Practically all these adverse conditions prevailed. It was then agreed that a further trial should be made in dry weather, and in an arid part of the country to the north. Tlie result of these experiments is now being awaited with interest.

Paradoxical though it Cannibals would 1 appear in tho and light of modern Agriculture, thought, as touching the necessity for technical education in order to produce successful results in the arts and sciences of civilisation, a report issued by the Colonial Office at Home supplies a vivid description of a cannibal race, the members of which go about absolutely naked; who are among the most skilled agriculturists on the face of the earth. These interesting people inhabit portions of tho Eastern Province of Uganda, their country being known as Bukedi —the land of the naked. Mr Hesketh Bell, who supplies particulars, states that ho was amazed at the density of the population, and the pitch to which the cultivation of the soil had' been carried. He relates that instead of the tangleel luxuriance of wild tropical vegetation, which would usually characterise such a scene in mid-Africa, "the eye was charmed by the sight of almost unparalleled cultivation. Rrgfit through the smiling valleys and up to the very summits of the hills nothing but continuous fields of bananas, millet, and wimbi could bo seen." The report declares that over 80 per cent, of the land is under cultivation, and the few green patches to be seen hero ondi there were spared as pastures for the herds of cattle and- goats. Apparently no such things as farm labourers' disputes ruffle the surface of affairs in the naked community, as no fewer than 400,000 dusky husbandmen live in perfect amity in an area about the size of Yorkshire. There is Scarcely a suspicion cf organisation of any kind. It shoukl go some elistanee towards solving the wounded pride of the white farmer who has gained his expert knowledge only after a prolonged 1 course of semi-scientific stuely, to learn that these black industrial paragons have their social failings. They are addicted to cannibalism of a particularly revolting character. They do not hunt and kill people for the sake of their flesh, but they consider that burial is a wanton waste of food.

The Wellington proposal to At keep school for the benefit School of crippled children at the in Bed. Hospital, has a precedent example, already in successful working order. Tho Rev. Edwin Bedford, Vicar of St. George the Martyr, Queen square, London, was the pioneer who recognised that the time spent by such young patients might be turned to good account, and even made to form a valuable part of their education. His scheme was tested at a very suitable centre, the Alexandra Hospital for children suffering from hip-joint disease—a trouble requiring bodily inaction for months together, while it in no way affects the patient's mental capacities. Sixty-seven children, of ages from three to fourteen years, were material enough for the London County Council's interest, and upon the need for instruction being brought before this body, three duly qualified teachers were charged to enrol the occupants of the sixty-seven beds. And the teachers enter into the spirit of the thing, we hear, with a zest that communicates itself to the children. Interesting lessons arc given, pleasant occupations aro taught, the pupils are encouraged to do a reasonable amount of thinking without undue strain, and their stay in the hospital is not only robbed of dreariness, but made actually agreeable and usefir*, All subjects of the ordi-

nary routine are taught, such as history, geography, arithmetic, natural history, and music; even physical drill is gone through by "poor little long lean arms," while the performers still lie strapped to their beds. Then there is technical training, including basketmaking, and other light and convenient handicrafts. The fact that .the pupil is always in a recumbent position makes a few difficulties, in teaching writing, for instance; but by the aid of certain special devices, these are easily overcome.. School hours arc from ten to twelve in the morning, and from halfpast one till three in the afternoon. Wednesday is a half-holiday, and Saturday a whole holiday. In compensation for shorter hours of study, the teachers say that the intelligence of these children is above the average, that they are more responsive and more activeminded than the ordinary child in health; and a medical expert considers that the enforced physical inactivity allows a correspondingly greater energy for brain-work. "In other words, the force which the body does not use, the intellect does; hence lessons become easier, and all mental exercise rather acts as a relief thsin as a tax upon the powers." All this, is a strong argument for Wellington's scheme for hospital education. If a child recovers health, he may be saved the disability of finding himself thrown behind his fellows in all school subjects; and if the future life is to be that of a cripple or invalid, it is still nlore a matter of humanity that the' physical inertia should be set off by all possible healthy employment for the busy brain.