TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13739, 21 May 1910, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Every now* and then, dt The tips end of the world, inModern stances of the circulation Coiner, of base, coin come to light; hut no suggestion is ever made that coining pn anything like ;.n extensive scale is being pursue.] in the colonies. In England, however, md especially in London, the hazardous calling is followed to a far greater extent than eyer before. The conditioiih under which the trade is pursued render it much less profitable than was the* case a de-cade or so ago; but at the same time, the police were never niore worried aoopt the circulation ot bad money than they are now*. Ip many cases dishonest barmen are m league with the counterfeiter, and assist materially iv working off bogus

—■——-! > i- -. "3 **--—- » coin unon unsusproting eii£tfnp.*rs. For sqmo yejirs past "smashing'" has boon in tjio hand** of malefactors who have .faded to rjsie to the heights £.*fjjifeq to by th o nsor? ambitious and darijjg forger, or }iavp failed the daring cracksmen at 6ome flifijpent w-Jien ahgepce of nerve meant inevitable di§aster. Although the industry lias degeperated, and the princes of crime

whp formerly engaged jn coining have directed their talents to more lucratjvg and less dangerous channels, the "smasher" in his hundred's copti'l'ies to ply his nefarious culling in djiigy hovejs, in poverty strjpken suburbs, §nd eveji in the fastnesses of mountainside rptreats. if coining can l«?y no clajm to-day t° distinction as a high criminal art, thjngs were on':e vary different. Towards the close i.f the -seventeenth century the spectuclo pf from seven to ten executions fpr coining was quite commonly witnessed. And many of the offenders were people of repute and high standing. For example, it is recorded in connection with the- execution of a "Mr Mopr, the rich tripeman of Westminster," thai, after being convicted he offered £_t"KX) as a bribe for his pardon! Apioug those condemned to deatlj about this tiq-e were ". rksli Lambeth chandler," "un attprnfy in the Temple,'" and **' _ merchant ip Birchin lane. On one occasion thero were no fewer than 100 coiners ip Newgate Prison awaitjiig triaj. though the modern ''tripeman" is much smaller deer than thp_ practitioner of former times, he is decidedly mere enterprising, and ]u:s brought the of keeping qqt of the oiptehes of the strong hand of the law to the pitch of a fine art.

• on<? of ihe greatest amoqg The pre-jonMuy spiritual kings is Great yaw opting a *_o|emn tffQQuru. grogs amongst his subjects. He is the>ole possessor of the honorific title "Jagad-guru,'' wfcich iteans "Dispeller of .the World's Darkness.'- Besides this exclusive title, he btiai'S the simple, unpretending name and surname of •'•Sachchidananda SivaNaraeiniha Bharati," sjud lie is India's most sacred guru, enthroned a.5 the thirty _econd in direct succession from the great teacher, Sankara. The ''Pope of the Hinelus." as a descriptive article pleasantly terms him, is a pious and learned ascetic, though his learning severely excludes all Western science, and deals oiily with Sanscrit literature and ,p'iiilosopl)y. He divides his days betweop worship, study, nieditfltion, and thp ipsi ruction, "of disciples, wljo attend his "matt," or sacred 00lIfGO, at Sringeri. He is also a iandQivpor of s very fertile tract of country, which yields more'than three thousand pounds- a year towards personal or ooliegjato expenses, while thoro is an annual grant frpni the qf My. spi-q of ,7bout seven inipdred. Tliis not suffioiPg to moot all needfi, the JagadTguru m_|l'e.s at times an extended tour for the purpose of collecting offerings from the faithful. The tour now'proceeding began three years ago, anfj is expected to last as long again, v. Hindu Popo being accustomed to irayel in dignified "stylp, disdaining mpderp frivift means of locomotion. Tho proeessjon nvoves majestically," aitpr the ftlil mapnor, an elephant and a detachment of native cavalry supplying the regal effect;, and the spiritiial element heing suggp6ted by tho large company of Briihpijns wplking barefoot before the .palanquin of his holiness. At eyery Jialting-place the inhabitants of I surroiinding towp,"i or villages collect ip crowds |o wprslpp his fept, and to offer Up their gold. <f As the Jagadguru nurpbers his followers ty millions, and as niany of thfspi offer a coin, pilver pr gold, for each of the thousand name_» 0$ their god, it is not to bo wondered at that these prolonged tours result in the ingathering of im. ntppse sums of ntopey for the repletion of tjio coffers of Stringeri." Wherevpr th« procession may gp, a special right belongs to the Jagad-guru. Tip indicate his high title to sweep cyerytihipg ip.? feripr .oi't. flf his ©l-tli, the. palanquin, with it_j wide, hearing ppleg, is .carried crosswise a Jong the road, so tjmt nothing cap pass him. Yet tho antique travelling rujss hardly correspond with the homo arrangem*-nts at. Sringeri. where ihe Ppps of the Hindus lives in an up-to-date little bungalow, such jws piay bs seen in'any suburb qf ap Indian city. An -'i]e-injun'"7T-or -pil-anginc'" --to draw up water from the river for the house, wgs a postessipp proudly iP'aipted out to recent visiter.;. "So does the West obtrude itself even upon tho essentia! East of a great religious teacher's home.''

The English League Secret for the Prevention of Cpmniissious. -Secret Commissions and Bribery held its third annual meeting recently, and its report for the yegr shows ili.it it is doing admirable work. During the past year it instituted twenty-three succsssful anel five unsuccessful prosecutions, and gave advice pP many hundreds of cases submitted to its officers. Thp League hq*> been working under the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1900. Speaking at the meeting, the secretary, Mr It. M, Leonard., deplarpd thqt the practice of bribery and secret commissions in business was "horribly common and horribly . Wrporql." He had known foreign contracts which would ha. ,c been profitable, but which had been refused because it was impossible to get them without arrangements that were immoral. Mr Stanley Machin- in seconding the adoption of the report, remarked that he" Ijad .•erved for a long time on the coniniittce that tojk evidence as to illicit commissions. Unfortunately, most of that evidence was confidential; but if some of it could have been published it would have shocked the business men of England. A select-ops from among tjie cases brought before tho Court makes interesting reading. For offering a porter 3d per name for a list of visitors at an hotel, a tailor's traveller was fined £5, with £10 10s costs. For offering money to a boy to obtain the names of customers of a rival firm, a commercial traveller was fined £10. For gifing a bribe (Is 3d) te the keeper ?f a public: weighbridgo to give an incorrect weight note, a hay and straw dealer was fined £6, with £-1 costs. For sending a present of meat to the cook ?>f one «f his customers, a butcher was fined £2, For attempting (by offering £2 to £25) to bribe a ship's dtctor to pass unhealthy emigrants an emigrati.m agent was fined £50, with costs £10 10s, and sentenced to one month's hard labour and deportation. It is obvious that a strict enforcsm_nt of the law, as in the cases quoted, .must do much te prevent

bribery and secret ?.*• appears, however, that tlVerq are "still plenty ot instances in wftiich custOßJ is enticed by unscrupulous^truaers by means of - bribfs. . West- lEpd tradespeople sny they have lost llundreds of pounds a year through ofoeying tho law and refqsing tp give. d?isi;oiint °r secret commis-iions to sorvantA la all matters like this the difficViltyj of course, is to obtain satisfactory evidence, but it is: clear-that tlio jLeagii*:s doing good work, and its leading aflicors and officials are wortlW of admir-tiop for -hep: willingness tp\ face the odium that oftpq falls OP ».PJ•"< ,, • that- interferes in such matters. 1