TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14523, 27 November 1912, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A baro hill or plateau of eoniA cal shape, surrounded by deep Dead trenches thickly grown over City, with soft springy turf, is all that now meets the eye where the ancient city of Sarura once stooa Old Sarum, or Sorbiodunum as tno Romans called it, was a city with a history. Earliest authontio records reveal it in tho possession of tho Belgae. From them tho Romans wrested it and after tho Romans the Saxons held it for a time. It was the scene of great national councils convened by William the Conqueror, William Rufus and Henry I, and somo believe that the

-, British Parliament took its ris_ from , there. Tho transference of tho ! episcopal sco to Old Sarnm in tho , eleventh century marked tho zenith of its glory. Its importance as a city declined from the timo tho Cathedral was removed to New Sarum (tho present city of Salisbury), a mile away, this change being due" partly to disputes between the authorities of castlo and cathedral, and partly to tho lack of water and the exposed "position of tho cathedral. Not till tho timo of the passing of tho Reform Bill, did Old Saruni, which had still li ngeml on as a "rotten borough," become absolutely dead. And to-day the exhumation of the old grass-grown city is proceeding apace, under the auspices of the Society of Antiquaries. The citadel has been excavated, and its great walls and battlements exposed. The past summer has seen the partial uncoverin" of the old cathedral, tho cruciform walls of wmch aro now visible, and in particular of th-3 containing wall of tho old city, a curtain of tremendous proportions. The excavations havo brought to light, in addition to finds of pottery and coins, somo curious remains. A fine old coffin of Purbeck marble was unearthed, ar.d was found to contain the skeleton of a man of unusual stature. So much larger was the skeleton than the person for whom tho coffin was apparently intended that tho mnrblo sides had been chipped away to allow of tho insertion of tho body. Tho coffin, which is pronounced a unique specimen, is to bo placed in tho cloisters of the Salisbury Cathedral. An interesting botanical' phenomenon was observed during tho recent excavation of a well. Soon after it had been opened up, ferns wero observed sprouting from its solid stone sides, which aro now completely covered by a For many yoars tho spores had lain dormant,

till at last they germinated under tho magical, awakening touch of the sun's beams.

An astonishing caso of After restoration of sight after Twenty-five twenty-five years of Years. total blindness is reported from Molbouruc, where it has caused considerable interest in medical circles. In the year 1837 William Ilton. a butcher, aged __, was struck by lightning during a sovero thunderstorm, aud instantly deprived of sight, speech and hearing, as well as being afflicted with partial paralysis. For twenty-five years Ilton lay inanimate, unconscious of the doings of tho outer world, in a hospital for incurablos. Ho lived tho life of a plant, breathed, took nourishment, but did little more. And then, unexpectedly, | a week or two ago consciousness returned to this man, who to all intents and purposes had been dead. One day two visitors, paying a customary visit to tho wards, noticed that Ilton's eyes wero open aud fixed upon them. An alphabetical diagram was brought to tho pationt, who at onco spelt out upon it the words, "I don't know you." Told by tho secretary of tho hospital, who was present, that ho had been there for over twenty years, the patient, in bewilderment replied; "It is a long time." From that timo onward his sight and memory returned, and in a few days ho was able to sit Up in bed and chat with friends by the aid of the diagram. Various explanations have been given by medical men of this extraordinary recovery. One specialist suggests that he may not havo been really blind but only suffering from defective eyelids as a result of tho paralytic stroke, or on the other hand that the cause of blindness, if such it was, may have been cataract brought on directly by the stroke of lightning. Another doctor is of tho opinion that it is either a case of cataract, or of profound psychical blindness which has gradually worn off. Another specialist recalled a similar caso of restoration of sight, brought about by the patient, a woman, being thrown from a vehicle and rendered unconscious by a blow on her head. y In this case the violent shockhad evidently served to dislocate the obstructive cataract. But whatever a careful examination of William Ilton may reveal to havo been the likeliest cause of bis restoration to sight and consciousness, the extraordinary nature of his recovery remains tho same His sensations at the present time must, in some degreo, resemblo those of Rip Van Winklo, or of Graham > in Mr H. G. Wells's story, on awaking to look about him upon an altered world,

It is hardly necessary Pedestrians' to dwell upon the disPerjls. advantages of allowing oneself to get run over in tho street, Tho disadvantage seems, however, to bo particularly . apparent in Paris, whero tho law renders it extremely difficult for tho victims of vehicles to secure compensa-

tion for their injuries. As it is, the onus of proof in a Court case arising out of a streot accident lies not with tho driver but with the unfortunate pedestrian. The story is told that tho heirs of tho v»ctim of a motor-car accident wero actually sued by the owner of the vehicle for damages dono to a mudguard, and if not perfectly veracious, it at least shows tho tendency of the French law. Witnesses are needed to prove the validity of a claim for damages, and a person who is knocked down, and either seriously disabled or rendered unconscious, has no opportunity of enlisting tho services of passers-by ag witnesses, whereas the driver has amplo opportunity to give an account of the accident perfectly favourable to himself, to the constable and onlookers. To put tho pedestrian at a still greater disadvantage, thero exists in Paris a body of men known as "professional witnesses," who sell their evidence in return for a small consideration, to the motorist. Their existence was discovered in rather a curious way. A witness was giving his sworn evidence on behalf of a chauffeur who bad run over a pedestrian in the Place de la Bastille, when from a group of advocates came the indignant protest: "Your Lordship, this very witness gavo evidence nt an earlier sitting against ray client, who had been run over at the samo hour on tho samo day at tho Porto Maillot." Tho effect of these adverse conditions is that tho majority of people are deterred from obtaining legal redress for their injuries. Tho figures for tho Department of Seine for one year show that out of 7392 accidents, of which 310 proved fatal, only 922 cases of claims for damages were hoard in the Courts. Tho public of Paris, says the correspondent of tho London "Daily Telegraph," are beginning to wako up to the one-sidedncss of the law. It is now suggested, that the Courts, instead of compelling tho pedestrian to

prove culpable negligence on tho part of tho driver, should call upon tho latter to prove imprudence on tho part of his victim. A Bill embodying tho principle was drafted in 1906. ft con tamed the following important provision :-"Tlio proprietor of a motor vehicle is ,n nil cases, and independently of all personal faults, responsible for the damage caused by hfe vehicle, unless ho can directly provo grave negligenco on tho part of the victim " If French motors go on killing and maiming peoplo as they nro doinV this may pass into law before lon~ "'