OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 292, 3 September 1908, Page 4

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER

■ 0 NEWS AND NOTES ON THE WEEK. WHO STOLE THE SPOONS? [FROM' OCR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Sydnoy, August 29. It was tho uniquo experience of Admiral Sporry, having invited a lot of people to a reception on his flagship, the Connecticut, on Saturday last, to discover when they had gone that they had helped thomselves to his spoons. For this reception, to which a couple of thousand guests wero invited, somo of the silver was brought from tho other ships of tho fleet; but when afterwards a tally was being made, so that these articles could bo returned, it was found that many of the spoons and forks were missing. The presumption, of course, is that the peoplo who thus committed theft did so in order to gratify their insatiable desiro. to possess souvenirs of the visit of the fleet to Sydney. Iho Admiral and his officers went to all kinds of trouble to make the afternoon pass pleasantly for those on board, 'and this is how their hospitality was. acknowledged. Ihese morbid souvenir-hunters did tho same sort of .thing when tho Ophir was.thrown open to the public during the visit of tho Duko and-Duchess of York to Sydney. The crowd, taking charge of tho ship, carried off all sorts of things as souvenirs, somo of them even tearing off buttons from the cushions in the, Btate rooms. People are suggesting in letters to tho newspapers that as tho thieves may have returned to repentant mood ero this, they ought to bo allowed the opportunity of sending back tho silver anony-, mously, so that it may bo transmitted to the' flagship before she leaves Australian waters. Moanwhile, possibly, some unhappy people on the-ships are eating, with their fingers. Ono of the officers of the Connecticut, who appears to bo a philosopher in his way, finds consolation in tho fact .that the visitors did not carry off tho ship's guns. THE PAGEANT OP THE SCHOOL CHILDREN. Picture eight thousand. children, from the public schools of the city and country, form-, ing two living flags, those of the UnitedStates and the Commonwealth, spread out / on_ the wide playing field at tho Sydney Cricket Ground, and crowned with tho words " Hail, Columbia!" and you have an idea of ono of tho most striking spectacles which charmed the eyo during Fleet Week in Sydney. Or imagine these eight thousand children waving a tiny flag in each, hand>at a given signal, and you will see' what tho, Cricket Ground looked like on Wednesday last at the schools demonstration. But oven then you will have missed another most picturesquo feature of tho great day—the enormous crowd who looked at. these children. There wero, it turus out, 58,000 people on tho ground, including children' and all, but the crowd looked like anything up to 100,000. All the; morning peoplo were coming from town and country, and the rush when the gates wero opened was terrific. Tho'record attendance for the ground, it appears, was 64,000, in Jubilee year, at the school gathering; but Wednesday's might'easily havo been a record, had.it not been decided to closo tho. gates after a certain number had passed through, as it was not considered well, in view of the presence of so many children, to fill-the-ground -to-its utmost capacity. The result was that thousands woro turned away, including many who had come down from the country to seo'their children in the-display. It was hard luck, but. there was no help for it.. It was better that a comparatively small number should suffer than that there should havo been the risk of a serious accident. Tliero wero 35, turnstiles in Use, and the rush : may bo imagined when-it is stated that through ono of theso 3083 persons' passed through, another 2840,-, a third-2743, and a fourth :2101.: Nest,.to--.the-forming ;of.the f,wo living flags,,-tho' most .picturesque eventof t-lio afternoon was the mjypole dancc, in: which 800 children, took part at 47 poles. Each little group had its white-robed- queen, and her followers-were arrayed m- ; all'rtho beautiful colours of the-rainbow, and in all varieties of .fancy, costume. / As, they-dancod-tho sight was beautiful. -. When' the danco was orer, a big ring was formed,'and from the. centre of it there' were liberated 5000 pigeons, which hovered fluttering above tho heads of tho gaily-clad children ero theyfinally flew away. • Tho -running maze, the wand and dumb-bell drill, and other, displays, helped to make-up a most interesting, day. The vast crowd was enthusiastic, and chceredagam and again, and the sailors from tho American warships. were amongst the most enthusiastic of all. THE LATE ME. CRICK; < ' .4:_ s ' ;,ra "So chapter in tho political history pf New South Wales was- brought suddenly ir a ? 011 S un day afternoon last, when Mr. W. P. Crick, ex-Minister -of Lands in Now South Wales, died at his house in Randwick. Mr. Crick was a remarkable man in respccts. He was one of .tho brainiest men in the State, and ono of the most unpolished. Ho was a man whoso private charity was so great that tho story of it will never be fully-known here, and yet ho was the man also who figured as ono of tho central persous in that extraordinary series of revelations known as tho land scandals! The worry of that business killed Peter Closo, and there is no doubt it affccted Crick's health also, though ho carricd himself with his accustomed jauntinoss and oven rough humour during tho timo; these revela-' tions wero being mado, and simply doiiicd tho story told by Close. Probably no man in the State had a sounder knowledge of the law than Mr. Crick. He matriculated at 18, qualified as a solicitor not long after, and built up one of tho best businesses m Sydney. At-length ho entered' public life as momber for West Macquarie, a seat he held for many years before ho sat for Blayncy. lio was Postmaster-General in tho L\no Administration, and afterwards Minister for Lands when Mr. (later on Sir John) Seo formed his Cabinet. In his- administration of the Lands Dopartment in the terviblo period of the_ great droughty Mr. Crick showed a wise judgment in certain respects, but all this was forgotten in .the liglit of what was revealed, unfortunately by the Lands Commission. Though* Mr. Crick went out of public life under this cloud, tho fact remains that behind his brusque manner, his explosive, peremptory speech, he concealed a big heart; and many a poor family to whom ho was a friend in need has cause to bless his name. MISS DULCIE DEAMER'S MAR- ' ' RIAGE.' On Wednesday; last, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Perthj West Australia, Miss Dulcio Doamer, who has acquired fame recently as tho writer of . certain short stories in "Lone Hand," was married to Mr. Albert Goldio, a well-known -journalist, who camo from America to bocomo theatrical agent for Mr. J. C. Williamson, and latterly was manager for Mr. Allan Hamilton in New Zealand. Miss Deamer, who is tho daughter of Dr. Doamer, of Featherston, New Zealand, and only 18 years of ago, has been commissioned to go to India to write a series of articles for "Lono Hand," and as Mr. Goldio was engaged by Mr. Hugh Ward as business manager for the tour of his newlyorganised company in India, China, iiiid Japan, tho two, who had been engaged) decided to marry, and travel together. . The bride's father,..having given his assont, sho wont to Perth .by the P..and -0. liner Macedonia, and she and Mr. Goldio wero thero married on Wednesday. SIGNED NEWSPAPER ARTICLES. Sir Thomas Bent, tho Premier of Victoria, is seeking, like Aloxandcr the Great, now worlds to conquor. Ho wants to mako newspaper writers sign their namo to their articles—at any-rate, to..those articles con- s taining references to politics.and politicians. He has had a Rill prepared with tn.it object, and he declares that Cabinet is getting on famously with it. Smarter men than tho Victorian Premier havo tried so often to - accomplish this end, and failed, that it will bo interesting • to see -how lie tackles the problem. "Tho Bill," he states, "will insist on tho Christian namo and surname ' being attached to the article and .printed !

in typo twice the size of the type used in printing the article." This ought to look well, from the printer's point of view. Perhaps Sir Thomas hopes to/prevent somebody from driving a coach and four through the Act, as was done irx a similar caso in San Francisco by Mr. J. A. Hart, the editor of the "Argonaut,", who; taking , the lino that the editor was responsible for the articles published in his newspaper, put his own signature to them all, and then all in one word, "jahart," in very small typo at tho foot of the articles, with the result that the new lav; was speedily mado to look ridiculous. _ Tho Victorian Bill is to contain a provision that the only defence in an action will bo that the statement complained of is true. _ It will also be stipulated that in certain cases corrections are to be inserted, and that they also aro to be s£pi;d,_and to be not more than twice the length of tile article they correct. The Bill is not yet ready for circulation.