NOTES OP THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 588, 17 August 1909, Page 6

NOTES OP THE DAY.

According to a cable message printed to-day the London Times thinks that Lord Charles Beresfobd has slink in the Sublic's estimation' as the result of the abinot Committee's dissipation of the charges which he brought against the Admiralty.. Other Unionist newspapers cling fast to their anti-Admiralty opinions and are reminding the public that every member of the Committee is a member of the Government. That, however, is nothing to the point. The loading Unionist journals formally expressed thoir confidence in the Committee, as indeed did Lord Chaules Bekesford self. The first warning • that Lord Charles's campaign against ■ the Admiralty was failing appeared in thp Bless comiucttU,upon His speech ad tlw

final sitting of. the Press Conference. I The Times, for example, objected to the air of "I could an' 1 would" about his speech, and sharply reminded him that reticence as to the subjects of the Committee's inquiry would have been more becoming. A few days later he spoke to the London Chamber of Commerce, and he was again sharply taken to task in many different quarters. The Daily Mail, no friend of the Government of of, tho Admiralty, suddenly decided to cast Loud Charles into the outer darkness. The Standard, to be sure* swallowed his every word with delight, but many of the best Unionist papers, and all the Liberal papers, while admitting the great value of some of the retired Admiral's contentions, looked with new doubt-upon his more extreme assertions as to Admiralty misrule. It was really very interesting to note what the Westminster Gazelle called "the blunt refusal of important Unionist newspapers to commit their fortunes to Lonp Charles and his crusade." . There is no doubt about it: Bereskord stock has fallen very sharply indeed. But it was pleasant to noto that some of the Liberal newspapers, notably the Manchester Guardian and the Westminster Gazette, willingly gave ■ Loed Charles, credit for valuable service in respect, to many important points of naval organisation. Nobody of importance has disagreed with him—with the exception, of course, of Snt J. G. Ward—as to what is the best sort of colonial naval assistance. On this and other questions his views still command the respect, and receive tho assent, of all parties and of all persons whose opinion is worth anything. '

The contest for the. honour of representing Oxford University in tho British Parliament, consequent on the-impending resignation of Mil. J. C. Talbot, will bo watched with considerable interest, not only in England, but throughout the Empire. Some time ago tho candidature of Lord Hugh Cecil was announced, and now (according to a cablegram, which we publish in another column) another candidate has come forward in tho person of Dr. A. J. Evans. Both candidates are men of distinction. Lord Hugh Cecil has already made his mark in politics. He is a brilliant speaker and keen debater, a prominent educationist, a leading High Churchman, and a' man who has always had the courage of his opinions; but he is a'convinced and 1 impenitent Free-trader, whereas the'majority of his Conservative friends are committed • to tariff reform in one shape or another. Dr. Evans has won fame in a very different field. He is one of the most distinguished of British archaeologists, and his discoveries have been of the greatest value to more than one important branch •of learning. Processor Driver, ■in his recent Schweich Lectures, given under the auspices of the British Academy, makes special reference to Dr..Evans.as. follows;—"Tho excavations on the sites of ancient Troy, Mycenae, Olympia, and, more recently those in Crete, .which We owe to our distinguished countryman, Dr. A. J. Evans—not to mention other places—have revealed wonderful monuments of the art and civilisation which flourished in these localities, and of the charactor and extent of which wo had before no- conception." Hitherto, "Dr. Evans does not appear to havo taken a" prominent part in political affairs, and from this point of view his opponent certainly has stronger claims. The question is—will those claims outwoigh tho differonce between himself and njs party- on the critical question of tariff reform? Possibly they may, for the list of his supporters published in a recent University "Gazette ,, contains the names of Liberals and Conservatives, High and; Low Churchmen, Soman Catholics, and Nonconformists; v and tlie resolution asking' Lord Hugh to allow, himself to bo put forward as a candidate , was proposed by the Master of .University College (Dr. Macan) and seconded by the. Warden , of New College (Dr. . Svooner)—the one a Tariff Reformer and the' other' a Free: trader.. It must, of course, be remembcrod that the actual residents ; , in Oxford Univorsity area very small minority in the body of 6G70 of Convocation with whom the final decision will rest. The probable result of the olection is all the more difficult to forecast owing to the fact that many people consider that the. Universities should not ■in the choice, of their representatives be actuated by the same reasons as other constituencies, and that they should not be managed by the ordinary party machinery. . . ~.......■■

The fact that a dream is said to have pointed the way to the spot where tho body of Mks. Penney was found'in the vicinity of'Lowry Bay ■' on Sunday may serve as a reminder that the . so-called scientific explanations of dreams are by no means completely satisfactory. Fifty years,ago the majority of educated men treated the whole subject with contempt, and alleged verifications were, briishea aside as mere coincidences; but the , new science of psychology is, treating the mattor much, more seriously, and recognises that by a careful examination of , our dream experiences we may possibly get a fruitful glimpse into some of the mysterious abysses of the human mind. Dreams have played a great part in the history of humanity. As Shakespeare tells us!

,' Wβ are sueh stuff As dreams are made of, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. •.. , •

Some thinkers have , contended that man dreamed immortality into his soul, Professor Tylor, in his "Primitivo Oulture," states that primitive man got the idea that the soul continues to exist after the death of the body from his dreams. He wakes with the positive belief that he has visited distant, places in his . sleep, and yet those who saw his sleeping body are equally sure that it did not travel. From these two facts he'concludes that the soul must be separable from the body* and the one must have travelled while the othon remained still. He also dreams of dead friends, and their appearance to him in his sleep proves, that-they still exist, iOf course many'scholars pointout that this is not a complete or adequate account of tho origin of a belief in immortality. The ideji probably goes back beyond this; ■ and in any case the origin of a belief is one thing and its validity quite another. 'As a modern authority (Dr. Jevons) puts it, "the very risky path by which I have scrambled up a cliff does not make the top any less safe when I have.got there." The appearance of tho dead to the sleeping eye may beadequate to startthe intellectual belief in existence after death, but it would be foolish to say that it started' man's desire to see his departed friends once more. It would be more correct to say that the longing and tho desire "sots tho mind a-dreaming, and first gives the heart hope," Dr. Jevons contends with great force that "the basis of the belief is the desiro for continued existence; and that is why tho attempt to trace the origin of tho belief in immortality back to the belief in dreams and apparitions is ' one which is not perfectly satisfactory; it leaves out of Account tho dosire without which the belief would not be, and is not, operative." This desire seems to carry his baok to the very human existence. Enough has been said to show that dreams are not to be brushed aside as things of no importance. Following the example of our forefathers, though with other objects in viow, scientific men of the present day are treating them very seriously. In a world of law; and order, , that is to say in an intelligible. world, everything must havo a ■ meaning—oven dreams: and it is tho business of tho BcionUec to discover that moaning. .Wk?

do wo droam at all? Why-do wo dream about different things at different times? Why iivo 999 dreams in every thousand apparently absurd? And why docs the one in'the. thousand come true! ■

The very violent attack on tho Wellington Boxing Association by the Hev J. J. North w.ib quite unwarranted. It is of ■course open to any citizen to raiao hia voico in protest against tho use of the Town Hall for boxing contests, or for any other purpose. , borne people object to theatrical entertainments; there may be a brutalising effect in moving pictures of bull lights, or of conflicts between police and railway robbers; thoro may, in the minds of some, bo objection to a spiritualistic seance- being hold in the Town Hall. v Different people view these things from different standpoints; and they are entitled to their opinions. But when a minister of'tho Gospel attacks in a most violent manner the conduct of an organisation controlled by reputable citizens he should at least be sure of his'facts. Mr. North, in his very confident way, informed his congregation that it Was "mere pretence" to ; say that the contest which is to take place to-mor- : row evening would not bo as brutal as the Sydney contest which caused such an outcry. Mn. North, in making that assertion, did a grave injustice to those who control the sport of.boxing hero. The conduct which so disfigured the contest referred to would not be tolerated here for a single moment". Mb. Noktii cannot point, to a solitary instance of anything approaching tho behaviour of the principals in the Burns-Johnsox contest having ever occurred here since boxing was placed under tho control of the Wellington Boxing Association. Mr. North probably has never been at' a boxing match, and has obtained his information second-hand. The idea of a man being knocked senseless for a few seconds seems a very dreadful thing to him, but if he troubles.to consult a medical man ho will learn that the "knock out" blow of which he has such a horror is really a very harmless sort of '■ thing after all. .A man may be "knocked out," as it is called, and be quite himself again in a few minutes, and not iri the least,the worse for his experience. A man may box eix.or fifteen rounds through'and mi very much worse off than a man who is "knocked out".in the first or second round... In-stead-of being partial to the -"knock out" blow, as stated oy Mr. North, the spectators are quite the reverse. They like to see a clever and forceful contest, and are usually anxious to see it go the full nttmbor.of rounds. However, •Wβ have no intention of attempting ,to enlighten Mr; North on. this,matter, though ho is obviously in need of enlightenment. To his protest against the use of the Town Hall lor boxing contests we have nothing to say. Ho is entitled to his opinion. He is-not justified, however, in besmirching, on second-hand information, 'th« condi'ot locally of a sport which, probably, ia in cleaner and better hands -iiv.JNow z/euland than in any other part of the world. And in no part of New Zealand is it conducted on better lines than in Wellington. . .: . - .■ - ..i ' '