TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13906, 3 December 1910, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Who says the epirit of The Hero knight-errantry is dead ? of a In speaking at a meeting Reform, called to give a testimonial to Mr C. D. Morel, who more than any other man was responsible for the reforms in the Congo, Sir A. Conan Doyle described the roman-

tic origin of that great movement. Ten years ago young Morel was employed by a Liverpool shipping firm, and was frequently sent over to Belgium in the interests of his employers. In Belgium he obtained his first insight into the horrors of the rubber trade, and tlw knowledge determined him to do all in his power to end the atrocity. He lodged a protest with his firm, and had an interview with one of his employers, who, seeing how dangerous an opponent his derk was, said: "Stop what you are dome, or 1 will smash you." The youii" clerk ivpHfd, " 6to P what - vo " 'are doing, or I "ill smash you." After that dramatic interview, the reformer of course lost his eituation, but he cither started or took over a little paper called the "African Ma.!,' m the columns of which he began his crusade He had the King of the Belgians one of the richest men in Europe, and a powerful .hipping firm ngmnst him. but he never faltered. Soon atterwards Roncr Casement, who was doing very much the same good work in Africa, sent him this message:—"Chuck up everything; devote your life to it. It is the most monstrous thins over done in this world." Casement further advocated the formation of a society, and his brother-reformer having: no money, Casement, though a poor man on half-pay at tho time, at once put down £100 on the table, saying to Mr Morel, "Take that." In that way thcCongo Reform Association was founded. Sir Conan Doyle called this meeting of the two men and the formation of the Association on £100 between them, one of the most dramatic scenes in modem history. In fighting his campaign against "the most astute and level-headed monarch in Europe." Mr Morel made himself an international force, and led directly to the downfall of the old regime. The other day Mr Morel was presented with £2000, subscribed by his English admirers—by no means a large sum when the value of his work is considered. Tho "London," in Our Hurrying its excellent number Age. for December, publishes an article upon the old question of nerve-strain, treated in a highly picturesque way. The writer returns from a week-end visit to one of the quietest and most secluded spots in England. Upon ears temporarily accustomed to the sweet lazy sounds of the countryside, there breaks all the tempest of a London terminus. "Thero was the never-ceasing hiss of steam, vague rumblings and thunderings, a faint incessant clamour of human voices, the vibration of slowly moving trains, the hoot and rattle of motor cars, the partly heard clatter of horse's hoofs. Men, flushed by anger and haste, fought their way into the crowd which surged round the luggage vans. An engine shrieked agonisingly. The scene, to my lately rested nerves, was like a nightmare." Proceeding on these lines to note and analyse all the present day results of speed-worship, the essayist finds, in all the human machines concerned with it, clear signs of nerve tension. The taxi-driver was lean-faced and bloodshot-eyed, his expression, "the embodiment of unrest." Even those taking the negative part of being driven luxuriously along the wide speed-way of traffic, "glanced always ahead a little anxiously/ showing tne strain on eyo and brain. In the great offices an "electrical atmosphere of purposeful rush" seemed to surround tne business man. This victim of overcivilisation wrinkled his brows as he read his letters, held, momentous interviews, and dealt out decisions, while the- intolerable "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle," of the telephone, interrupting everyone, appeared the last agency devised bj' some evil genius to drive toilers to destruction. In the streets again, friends met and parted with no more than a nervous handshake and a spasmodic question or two. Braving the perils of a street crossing writes- more wrinkles on suffering brows. "A mind-picture came to mc of the days when life was not a scientific saving of seconds, when one could cross a street with dignity, when pedestrians actually stopped to chat with each other before passing on their way." Long ago, opponents of the railway prophesied that it would bo the complete destruction of all quiet, comfort and homely joys; and to-day, contemplating aeronauts, tor-pedo-men, typewriters, telephone girls, and other daily eacrificers to speed, the alarmist darkly meditates on tho increasing suicide-list, and questions, "Can man stand the strain?" Many interesting suggesChoosing tions for a flag for United a South Africa were subFlag, mitted in response to a recent invitation. Naturally there were nvimbers of enthusiastic persons ready with designs depicting typical birds or animals, frequently highly idealised. Amongst these good folk the ostrich, tho elephant, and the springbok were in high favour; but, as the men to whom the selection had been left had no desire that the flag of the State should be mistaken for a replica of a mediceval lance pennant, or the battle standard of an Asiatic pirate, these designs were returned, courteously but definitely. The greatest difficulty that beset the competitors, and, indeed, the judges themselves, was the selecting of suitable emblems. The Southern Cross was already in use. The anchor, the chain, the diamond, and the plough, were all used in various designs. None of them found favour with the selectors. Finally, three of the four judges had no trouble in choosing a flag with, a plain blue field, exhibiting the British Ensign in the left upper corner, and, emblazoned across the field, a device in the likeness of a comet with a four-pointed nucleus— symbolic of the four colonies— with a "tail" of orange, green, blue, and scarlet bands. It is said that the judges based their award on the fact that the design excelled tho others in originality, whilst containing an equal recognition of all the provinces and marking the year of Union indelibly. Two of the adjudicators suggested as possible improvements the substitution of a red ground for the blue in the accepted design, and the adoption of white and dark blue as the colours representing Cape Colony and Natal respectively, "as their badges are on grounds of these colours." These suggestions, however, did not affect their award. The fourth judge dissented

from the finding of his colleagues, because the comet was a mere ephemeral thing, constituting a bad omen for the continuation of a Union that an Empire has prayed might be a lasting one. llus man would have preferred tho anchor as a symbol, connecting the State, as ho stated in a minority report, with "its sen' origin, tx>in£ the emblem of the oldest colony, from which all South Africa grew; in itself a happy and beautiful symbol." As an alternative, he favoured "a roat-of-arms quartering single- emblems ot the various States, rather than uniting the present arms of the provinces, though he himself preferred a chain of four links, in which a fifth link might bo inserted upon tho inclusion of Rhodesia in the Union." It was, however, pointed out that nn anchor, to all tho maritime world, denoted a dockyard. So this design was laid aside with the rest.