RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 146, 17 March 1934, Page 6

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events

(By

Kickshaws.)

When tear gas is ineffective, America, it i’s stated, uses sickening gas. This incessant playing on the emotions is getting rather futile.

Just how difficult it Is to get a line on high finance may be had from the fact that a Chinese railway in Manchuria owned by Russia, and paid for by France, has now been bought by Japan.

It has been stated that New Zealanders have the choice of two roads. Unless the Consolidated Fund returns that cash to the Highways Board they are certain to be bad

Regarding bottles thrown into the oceans of the world a reader says that during the war she cast a bottle into the sea at Lee-on-Sea, Essex. Inside the bottle was a note asking anyone who found it to reply to a given address. The bottle was placed in the sea on June 16. By August 1 it had arrived at a small island off the coast of North Denmark. The finder sent a letter in broken English stating that the bottle had been found and uskiog for further particulars. Evidently the censor considered that bottle drifting constituted an opening for illicit correspondence, because nothing further was heard on the subject. Incidentally thiS bottle seems to have broken all records as a high speed drifter. It travelled 800 miles in 16 days, wbmh work* out at the remarkable speed of 50 miletaday ’ * ... The controversy raging in South Africa regarding the title by which his Majesty King George V shall be called is a reminder that very few ot us could call the King by liis full title if we wished to do so. His Most Excellent Majesty George Frederick Ernest Albert of Windsor bears the title “George the Fifth, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the seas, King, Defender of the Faith. Emperor of India.” In addition to this title, which is really an abbreviated one. it would require nearly all this column to give a complete and full survey of his Majesty’s titles such as Admiral of the Fleet, D.C.L., LL.D., D.Lltt., F.R.C.S., F.R.S., and many other suffixes which most of us never realise are held by the King of England. One might perhaps add that his Majesty is, among others, an “Elder Brother of Trinity House,” “Ranger of Windsor Great Park,” and “Protector of the University of Wales.” ... But for the vicissitudes of history there is little doubt that the titles of the King of England would have become to-day. sufficiently unwieldy for the need for abbreviation to have become imperative. But for that unfortunate page of history dealing with the loss to Britain of the American States there is little doubt that the King of England would have become "Emperor of America” as well as India. The title of “King of France” which had been borne since the days of Edward II was dropped by George 111. Incidentally at one time the King of England was also entitled to style himself King of Hanover. William IV, in fact, styled himself in that manner. Salic law. however, made it Impossible for Queen Victoria to hold that title. It therefore dropped out of the list at her accession. The fifth son of George 111 occupied that position. The title subsequently died out completely in 1866 at the “fiat” of Prussia. The title “Defender of the Faith” correctly speaking should have died out when Henry VIII turned Protestant. The title, which had been granted by the Pope, was rescinded. Henry, not to be outdone, had it renewed by his own Parliament. ♦ » •

The recent discovery that the little place of Croixelles in the Sounds should be spelled Croisilles will doubtless have little effect on the general public, who will continue to spell the place exactly how it pleases. But Croisilles is not the only place concerning which there is some argument as to the correct method of spelling. At this very moment there is a heated argument as to whether the little place with the name of tangihangakoauatanenuirangikitanatahu should be spelled like that or tawhakatangihangakoauaotanenuiarangikitanatahu. Whether this point will ever be decided depends on the patience of the parties interested in a place which anyway has far too many letters. The trouble with most Maori names is that the pronunciation is Maori, or was, whereas the spelling is Pakeha. The Maori for lack of a written language wisely, spared themselves the pitfalls of spelling. » » »

Difficulties of discovering the correct way to spell place names, usually derived from natural features, undoubtedly is caused in many instances by the absurd number of names that quite obvious geographical formations have been given. In Scotland, for example, a river may be called just a river, more likelv it is a burn; It may even be a lon, an allt, or an abhuinn. To take a simple case a town beside a river might easily be called Lonburgh or Alltburgh or Rivertoun. As for hills a mountain might be a Meall, a spidean, a earn, or a torr. In addition to this keen Scots no doubt can recall several other names both for mountains and rivers. The foreigner who steps into the middle of a cour'v.v with all those names for two simple geographical features is almost certain to go astray if he tries to spell the names of towns correctly. In New Zealand, of course, the pakeha fixed the spelling of the Maori names for places at his own sweet will because there was no spelling before his arrival. In pronunciation the pakeha has blundered where linguists fear to tread. For that reason we have Whakarewarewa called Whaka, Ha-taitai turned into Hi-taitat. and Para-paraum—(u) silent—called Paraparam. *

“A short while ago you published In vour column the old conundrum, about the saying, “Brothers and sisters have I none, yet that man’s father is my father’s son,” and explained the reasoning. Well, the problem cropped up at work to-day and caused considerable confliction of opinions as to what the answer should be,” says “G.W.N. This puzzle must have been explained a good few times In this column. It has been due for explanation the last month or so. Here is the explanation once more. As there are no brothers or sisters “my father’s son’ must be the man who is speaking. This can be introduced into the original statement making it “that man’s father is myself.” The man he is indicating must therefore be his son.- —Kickshaws. • t •

Jot down the name of an insect, an organ, and a beverage, and you will flna a word meaning a umall piece, wer on Monday-