RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 225, 19 June 1929, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

SIDELIGHTS ON CURRENT EVENTS

LOCAL AND GENERAL

(By

Cosmos.)

Aviation advances despite aU disasters. Like truth, when crashed to earth, it rises again.

Regardless of how often we are told about It, the news that there is a Mrs. Mussolini always comes as a surprise.

One of the human interest touches at Buckingham Palace, during King George’s illness, was the distress of his pet terrier. The dog made persistent efforts to invade the sickroom. When repelled, It crouched beside the door and whined. Only Princess Mary could make it eat

The monkey’s share in the evolution of man, if any, has been discussed from so many angles, that the following opinion of a Congo Batangi chief at least has the virtue of being a new contribution to the thought on the subject. He says: “Many ages ago the ape’s ancestors were men. They got into debt and made many enemies. So they ran away to the forest and refused to speak. Ever since they have remained degenerate men. We are better and prouder than the apes. Therefore we eat them.”

It is stated that many would-be authors are now turning their attention to play-writing. When they learn that “The Trial of Mary Dugan,” which has appeared in New Zealand, netted its author £100,600 in royalties during the first year, they will probably be spurred on to greater efforts. Bayard Veiller, who wrote this successful melodrama, was once glad to collect his weekly pay envelope in return for his services as a police reporter.

As long ago as 1863 Wellington had an unenviable —and unwarranted —notoriety for earthquakes, and in 1863 this notoriety was used as an argument against the removal of the seat of Government from Auckland to Wellington, when members of the first NewZealand Parliament debated on a motion to select a more central position for the headquarters of the colony on the shores of Cook Strait. An Auckland newspaper of the day, in its editorial columns, referred in somewhat scathing manner to the type of buildings that could be expected to stand up to the frequent earthquakes experienced in Wellington. The article ran: “The centre must, of course, be Wellington, and, if so, the present House of Representatives has pledged the country’s faith to erect Parliament Houses, Governor’s House, and other public offices, or rather sheds—for in Wellington, where earthquakes have thrown down Government houses, public houses, and barracks into a shapeless ruin no more substantial materials than boards or lath plaster dare be employed.”

A traveller, who was either cynic or a very nervous individual, once remarked that New Zealand noted chiefly for its earthquakes. Many people, however, subscribe to tl erroneous belief that the Dominion receives more than its share vf earth disturbances. As a matter of fact, many countries are much worse off than New Zealand in this respect, particu'.- -ly the South American republics and Japan. In the latter country, about three shocks per day are recorded on the average, although many of tl em ar? too slight to be felt. Earthquakes arc also common in a belt which crosses Southern Europe and Asia. The presence o c active volcanoc ’ • New Zealand leads many people to believe that earth disturbances are always due to volcanic eruptions. While the rumblings which were heard rtalnly suggested that Monday’s quiverings were the outejme of some volcanic distr-b--ance, probably in the vicinity of Cook Strait, earthquakes are often due to a perfectly natural and simple cause. The rock formations of the earth, down to a great depth, sometimes break, nd the parts on opposite sides of the fracture slip up on one another. This slipping movement is known as a “fault.” The slip along a great fracture does not all take place at once. There is generally a repetition of small slips. Though the amount of slipping at one time is slight, the vibrations set up spread far and wide, and sometimes result in much destruction.

Ramsay MacDonald has created quite a stir with his recent newspaper article, presumably written since he became Prime Minister. Whatever may be the merits or otherwise of Prime Ministers contributing articles to the Press, the fact remains that Ramsay MacDonald has more writings to his credit than any other Prime Minister of Great Britain. Having once addressed envelopes as a living, he made his first start in life as a writer. Since then he has written short stories under the noin de plume of “James Ramsay." He has also written six or seven books, including a biography of his wife. Masterman, the well-known critic, once described this work as one of the most moving short biographies in the language. His newspaper articles were written mostly for the “Daily Chronicle” and a little-known paper called the “Glasgow Forward.” Ramsay MacDonald’s literary activities have not confined themselves only to the field of contributor, for he was for some time editor of the “Socialistic Review.” His books for the most part deal with serious subjects, embracing such varied themes as the “Awakening of India,” “National Defence,” and “Parliament and Revolution.”

America may be importing Old Masters galore, but it would seem from recent warnings of scientific experts that she has yet to learn the best method of keeping these paintings In a good state of preservation. The fact is the climate of America is so different from the natural home of these masterpieces that many of them are already showing signs of premature decay. For instance, the transportation of some Italian works of art, perhaps over four hundred years old, from the damp Italian climate to the steam-heated house of an American millionaire’s art collection, experience has shown makes the picture very liable to deteriorate rapidly. Many of these pictures have already been revarnished several times, but constant revarnishing leads to darkening and disintegration. Even recent paintings, some experts declare, will not last in the United States for more than half a century, or at the most a century. This is partly due to the prevalent habit of keeping the houses at the abnormal temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and partly due to the effect of the climate on inferior pigments. With the usual thoroughness of the United States, a corps of expert chemists are busily probing the problem of pigments and steam heat, so that every picture may have the best chance of attaining a grand old age of (out ox five centuries or mora.