TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13905, 2 December 1910, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The late Mr J. L. j A 1 Mirvts, leader of tbe 'V it- j Well-known torian Bar, was not only j Barrister, the most prominent bar- j rister in Victoria, but a J man known throughout Australia. Mr j Purves was a ••character''; a man ot . strong individuality, great ability, and , unusual versatility. H is related ot j him that when electioneering in Morn- , j ington, he found that a portion of his , electorate contained a large German j colony. He therefore delivered a ; stirring address in German to theso j people, and secured all their votes. Mr j Purves was famous for his powers of searching cross-examination, and his ability to look at a case from the jury's point of view. His cross-examination was of the relentless order; ho belonged to tho school of lawyers who believe in turning a hostile witness inside out, and gibbeting the remains. For many years he was in most cases of importance in Victoria, including the famous action Speight v. Syme (of the "Age"), which ho and Mr Deakin won for tho defence. This case, which had to do with a claim for £25,000 damages against the "Age," extended over more than 180 days. Mr Purves was endowed with a keen sense of humour, and must be the subject of many good stories. Two aro told in the "Argus." In his early days his income was not, of course, as large as in subsequent years, and he used to tell how on one occasion he was horrified at observing soon after tho trial started that one of the jurymen was his landlord, whose account for rent was overdue to a greater extent than that gentleman liked. Throughout the trial he felt this juryman's disdainful and unsympathetic eye upon him, but the climax was reached when, alter opening his address to the jury with the usual formula, "Your Honour and gentlemen of the jury," the juryman pertly interrupted him with, "It's no good, Mr Purves; we're not listening to you." To this Mr Purves promptly responded, "None of my observations, sir, are addressed to you. Had you been paying proper attention, you would have noticed that I said, •gentlemen of the jury.' " On another occasion he was appearing for the oxecutors in a will case. The plaintiffs, who had been left notliing, wero the daughter and niece of the testator. Thoy described the love and kindness they had shown the old lady, but Mr Purves made no attempt to break down their story. He had a subtler weapon. By a process of teasing, he made them Ipse their tempers, and answer . him in ruder and ruder fashion. At first the judge was at a loss to appreciate the line of cross-examination taken, but wo are told he was much impressed by Mr Purves saying later: "You see the way these women have treated mc here in open court. How do you think they behaved to their old mother at homo?" The "Argus" says this is an example of Mr Purves's skill in cross-examina-tion. It was certainly skilful, but wo hope a majority of barristers would condemn such tactics. Vancouver and other Quick cities on the Pacific coast Growth present fino examples of extraordinary growth. A travelling correspondent of the "Sydney Morning Herald" points out that twenty-four years ago Vancouver boasted of nothing but somo few million cedar trees. Then camo the railway, and it grew hard for two months till the "burn," that every Western city must have at some period in its existence, came, and left ono house standing. Such progress was made that in 1901 there were 26,133 people in Vancouver- Within five years those figures were doubled, and to-day thero aro 130,000 inhabitants. One doubts whether Vancouver is particularly proud of all the elements of her j/npnlation. She is said to have a "Chinese quarter"' of the worst type, and a good share of the 17,000 Chinese, 16,000 Japanese, nnd 5000 Hindoos, who are estimated to be in British Columbia at the present time. At all events, 10,000 Asiatics is considered a very moderate estimate of the coloured portion of Vancouver's citizens. With the growth of population has come the inevitable "boom" in land values. Land in the main streets is already passing at Sydney and Melbourne prices, and it is still rising. The usual quarter-acre section within easy distance of the city cannot be had for less than £800. It is a fairlysafe prediction that someone will suffer before many years are gone. Coming down to American territory, Seattle has grown from a "one-horso town thirteen years ago to a cUy with a population "of 300,000 to-day. Zeal in the matter of census returns is said to have outrun discretion, but the figures aro certainly creditable, even with a substantial discount. Next to its population —American cities look to their census returns for indications of progress—Seattle is noted for the manner in which it has battled against Nature. Its harbour was once surrounded with steep hills, far too precipitous for building. Fortunately, the soil was fairly loose, so they washed it away—"hosed it away," says the correspondent— leaving levelled platforms, with here and there a huge knoll of earth where a man has "hung on" to his land. Lately increased taxes and rates have caused Seattle to sober down to some extent.

I Among the proposals for ! Tropical a London memorial to j Medicine. King Edward is sup- ! port of the King Edward i VII. Tropical Research Fund, a pro- ! posal which has received the hearty i approval of some of England's greatest i men, and has drawn attention to the I work accomplished by the London and j Liverpool Schools of Tropical Medicine. i At the recent inauguration of the new i session of the former school. Dr. Miers referred to the work as "a comparatively now and difficult science." •These," says a writer in the *'Standard," "are the plain words in which men talk of their own profession'one with another; they tell nothing of the devotion, of the personal risk, of the broken health associated with the activities ot the school since it was established.'" For nine months in the year, in the laboratory of the school, some fifty students, coming from all parts of the world—including a Chinese lady, a native of Bengal, and a negro from D( n.erara —labour to discover the habits of microscopical parasites and the infinitesimal organisms that, in turn, prey on these. Such labours have long ere this been rewarded a thousandfold. Dr. Low and Dr. Sambon did not connect malaria with mosquitoes till many fine experiments had been performed and great personal danger undergone. One can hardly appreciate the delicate operation by which a mosquito's proboscis—finer than a fine hair —was disi seeted. and the malarious parasite run ■to earth. Hut one can appreciate tho j devotion to -science of the students who ! caught the disease that this grand re- | suit might be achieved, just as one can : sympathise with the medical officer of : Nigeria, now lying in the hospital of j the London School of Tropical Mcdi- : cine, terribly emaciated by the ravages iof blackwater fever. Dr. Wenyon, in \ the plague-ridden bazaars of Baghdad, ; studying tho Oriental sore and trying j to discover the cause of dum-dum fever, I courts a similar fate. So does Dr. Bahr, whoso search for data if dysentery carries him to the wilds of Fiji. Yet there are numbers of qualified men at Home eager to go on I similar errands, but prevented from doi ing invaluable service in the aid of i humanity, simply by lack of funds.