NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 84, 3 January 1929, Page 8

NOTES OF THE DAY

Quite an interesting position has been reached m the Third Te.t cricket match. The quick dismissal of the tail of the English team has if anything left the position in favour of the Australians. The slight lead which Chapman and his men gained in the first inning, is more than counter-balanced by the probability that the visitors will have all the worst of the wicket for their second term of batting. The luck of winning the toss is a more important matter in matches played to a’ finish than in those played with a time-limit, for stonewalling by the team which loses the toss is not only, useless but is liable to prove prejudicial through the wearing of the pitch. ever so far as the present match is concerned most people probably would still prefer the prospects of the English team, even with the disadvantage of having to bat on a worn wicket. But at the present stage it is still either side’s match and looks like being a close finish. This is as those who love the game would-wish it to be. *i. * * China keeps creeping into the cable news, and for the most part nowadays this news relates to reform movements and national aspirations. Yet when the West first discovered China centtu es ago, she was little less civilised than she is to-day. When Oes was prowling round Britain China was startlingly advanced in her civilisation. In spite of the fact that she was an old country when the rest of the world was just growing up,. China has never been able to put her shoulder' to the wheel of national progress. Other younger nations learnt the trick in a mere century or two. onse quently whilst China marked time others, in spite of difficulties, have pressed past her. To-day we hear talk of a unified China. It has been the dream of many far-seeing Chinese before Britain as a nation had even been promoted from the perambulator. It is still a, dream. The task is not impossible, but it is stupendous.. It is a more difficult task than to unify Europe. Indeed, China, sprawled across four million square miles of land, good, bad, and indiffei ent, is larger than the whole of Europe. ♦ * * * You may travel 3100 miles by the most primitive and modern methods and still remain in China. You. may travel for over 5000 miles along her coasts and never leave China. You will hear more dialects in your journeying than you will ever hear in the tongues of Europe.. You will have before you- transport, facilities older than the stage coach and infinitely slower. You will dodge in. and out from the twentieth century to the fifteenth century, and, if indeed you travelled all your life, you would not have seen more than a fraction of the country or a tenth of the 400 million souls that collectively go to make the China we see so tidy upon the map. Her peoples have proved psychologically incapable of national unity. The idea of China as an entity, a power, a nation, a world force, has not yet permeated into the restricted outlook of the lives of millions of her peoples. They are content to crystallise round some local focus. Perhaps one day some series of genii will weld all this into something less unwieldy. But it will be slow work. * * * * To-day the eyes of the world are focused, upon the United States watching motor-cars, machinery, clocks radio sets and razors being produced by repetition work at incredible speed. These things a bit of metal one instant come tumbling down the avenues of trade like some mighty avalanche. When, however the world wants something as near perfect as man can make it she takes her eyes otr America and usually looks to Britain. It is a good sign. For, in spite of strikes and other tribulations, the British workman has not yet lost the secret of perfection in his work. Even such unspectacular things as'steel rails are better made in Britain than anywhere else. They last longer, aiid after all there is little else required of a steel rail. The best watches come from Britain. They cost more, but those who want good watches can get the very best in Britain. If you want a Rolls-Royce you go to Britain for one; if you want the best .motor-cycle the world can give you it is waiting for you in the factories of the Midlands.. It is pleasant to think of this. But Britain is not resting upon.her laurels. There is concrete proof that she has extended her activities as the need arises. From turbines and other steam methods of propulsion she has now captured the market for the new motor-ships. If figures prove anything, Britain leads the way here in an unmistakable manner. It is something of which to be proud to have produced more motor-ships than the next three countries combined. A country that, ,in spite of tremendous economic difficulties following on a devastating war, can continue to hold the markets where the world’s best is concerned can surely look to the future with confidence.