NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2201, 14 July 1914, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Europe has become accustomed as a .matter .of "course; to. sending missionaries. to 'the benighted heathen in China, and it comes as a shock to find a distinguished Chinese suggesting that Asia will have - to civilise the West over again. This is the argument of Wir- Ting-fang, for many years Chinese Minister to the United States, i- White people, he doclarcs, do not understand comfort because' they, have no leisure to enjoy 'contentment. They measure life by accumulation, and the people, of the East by morality. • Religion has -ap-. parently little influence on Western civilisation, 1 whereas it is the, cornerstone of 'society, in all Asiatic civilisations: - "From personal observation,". says Wu, "I have formed the opinion that tho Chinese are more contented than - Americans, and on the-whole happier." The chief difference 'betweeny-the twp points 1 :pf view, -. he , suggests,; is that i t-he..,Chin-ese do not expend so much, energy in trying to make other , people good, in trying to be good themselves. ■' .There is something wrong •with America,- he thinks,, and hor material triumphs over the forces-of Nature have been paid dearly for by a loss of insight into , her - pro'- . found' 'spiritualities... ■, -It is a; salutary: andi somewhat chastening address which -this .apostle of the East 'delivers', to those who : livc in outer: : darkness in the West. v ■'

. Probably fow of the general publio have anj- idea of what a popular race, meeting such as that which opens at -Trenthain to-morrow, means to a city .like:Wellirigt : 6h;N ';At l , ? the ".present iiioment .practically-all'the accommo-' ..datibh .oftHc idatiiiiir hotels"'is booked tip; and'thcl'toWn'firoViiiscs to .be full of,; visitors,^ -nyh i o, :> aWriile, '• spciidi nrorifeyf freelyiy with "the;'yaHoiis : ;busi-. ness houses and shops, and so give a fresh stimulus to the- commercial activity of. the community! ' Local, people ha,ydvbcen ; sbinewhiit apathetic regarding';the<working up l of ■&.car-: ,niva,l week>similar ; to that; held; in ; Ohristchurch, and-iir consequencatho local Racing Club, by the:, pruningjenife . of *, the'./ Racing. ' Comtnission;' lost one of: the -racing v days.attached to'this-meeting,:but tnore is evident-: ly sufficient left' to provide: adequate attractioA . for _tlie'.. large; number ;of, .visitors;who will: reach' our. city this evening, v The" Wellington Steeplechase, to be run to-morrow; promises to be one of the ; niost interesting .races ever held in Wellington.;'.-' The field, coitipiises .eighteen, of -the ; best, fencers in the country, the distance is'three miles and a quarter, and ; the stake 'is • £1000. .:, Rightly or wrongly, the people of Now Zealand take "an . enormous interest in horseracing, :and; if only: oli; account of-the high standard it has 1 in recent;years, aimed at,' the - Wellington', Racing, Club is. deserving of: any success'.it. may achieve. Oppononts of shortdistance . racingj. who- believo in tte. encouragoment • of weight-carrying horses,'.which caii. stay over a .. distance, and-there:' arc-many. th'rough- : out -New Zealand, should have little to, cavil ! . at. with ,to-niorrow's':'' '-p'ro,- , gramme.- - There is one racc of one niile and-a quarter, two-races of two : miles, ono race of. two'miles- and a half, and one of three miles and a quarter, with large fields in each.. : The successes: of. the, Wellington Racing ■Club, have- Hot' been confined: to catering for the snorting ''.community, alone;-for the Racinc Club Ball, ; which -is' asso'ciated : with the : Winter Race Meeting this week,'is now quite the, niost important social ".'event.- of; its kind held.here. . ....-

■' The fact that the opponents of the Bible-in-schools.; ■ movement have sought an alliajnce with the "Reel Federation'' may or may hot be re-, garded as.introducing party, politics into the Question.' -Tho point of interest is that the members of the "Red Federation" have not been approached as individuals, but as an organisation. ■, Professor, Hunter, when lie ; addressed the Federation Congress, presumably did ■so on behalf of the Defence League, and with the full approval of" the .League,' so that there can bot no doubt that the alliance decided on is an. official oriei That the "Red. Federation" should, be opposed to Bible lessons'will surprise no- one. > In its ranks are a great many Socialists frankly, admit their, disbelief' in 'the _ Bible' and in .the teachings of Christianity. But despite the fact that . the opponents of the Bible-in-schools movement have added the organisation Of the "Red Federation'' to their forces,. it is Open to doubt' whether they have strengthened themselves .with the general public by this step.'

The so-called Unity Congress of the Federation of -'Labour seems' to have-proved cV rather tiime affair. Last year - there, was quite a large muster of. delegates, and .the ings were of ,<a inbst militant ; nar ture. ' On the present occasion the attendance' wds comparatively small, and a much niilder note* Was struck.' It would sccnv thfl.t the Congress has deemed it advisable to-push into the background for the time being most of the rtoisy and aggressive gentle-, men who Were wont- to _ shout wild threats during strike'timftr -Quite a lot of familiar natMefi ai's. Musing' from official positions, -There ars

other changes, too, which appear to indicate'that the Federation is by no means so confident of its ability to bring about the revolution it had hoped for in the short space of time anticipated. Whether the lesson of its past failure will have any lasting, effect is perhaps doubtful, but for the present at least it seems disinclined to force the pace on tho old lines. . The people of Foxton .havo a real gri«vance in connection with tlie control: of their wharf. This ancieiit and unpretentious 1 structure is the property of tho Railway Departs ment, whichj according to the members of yesterday's deputation,, derives some £1400 in revenue from'it. The money goes into the Departmental colters, and the Foxton Har-. bou'r. Board -is left' to face, the problenVof maintaining the port on what revenlie } it can scrape up from other sources, amounting in all tb a-littlc over £aoo.per annum. : The wharf is a profitable, asset to' the Railway Department, .and the 'Minister :naturally desires to obtain a fair'.price for it before handing it'over to the local body.' The board -has offered ■to pay £20,000 on certain terms, but the Departmental valuation is £30,000. ; The actual value of the wharf/ itself is '.put by a member of .the boar d at £3000, "and it will .-probably require rebuilding before long. Nflthirig has been' spent on the harbour for a number of years, and the river; channel has got into such a state as to be almost;, unfit for navigation. The' position .'.is a difficult one, and the ; suggestion., of Mr. .Fishery that(.'.the points at j issue should be. referred to ■ independent, arbitration is' about the only way Out of . the impasse. , The members of the deputation acted wisely in accepting this-proposal, and it is to be hoped that some reasonable basis for handing over the property will be arrived.at.. To'lingcr. on in-tho world -.for ,'nearly. half a century after the friends of one's youth are dead and gone must be a tragical experience. Such was the. fate of Mrs. Bebecca Ci;ark, the oldest woman in England, whose death .at thfc age of 110 ■is ■ recorded • thisomorning. Mrs. Clark wis'probably' : a grandmother when, the; Indian, Mutiny,broke out, she was; a mature 1 woman of thirtysix- when New Zealand- was colonised, and she was' eleven years : old when - the Battle- of -Waterloo' was fought., . She had 1 just conic of age when the first railway was oponed. tho telegraph was still a- toy in her forties, and the arrival of the telephone saw: her a silver-haired oldlady- of.. seventy-four. Like a pathetic ghost from-another era she has seen ono generation after another run the gamut from infancy to age. and her • great-grandchildren may very well themselves! by this, time be grandparentSi - These things: Bound strange and unnatural almost, but Mrs.- Glark was a mere infant - in years , besides TnoMASi Parr;:;the 'Shropshire',peasant,''who 1 was'reputed ;to havo . attained the age of one: hun-dred-and fifty-three, years.. Careful -inquiry has .thrown much doubt on this oftenrquoted;,case, and in, few instancos has the duration of human • life for more than-a-few years over tho century been established beyond; ■qiicstiqii.■-*i'.'v;;:; ;