TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 148, 19 December 1907, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The world can not in any true sense "mourn the loss" of a A King great man at the aye of of Science, eighty-three, but it can honour his memory ; and it is safe to say that for ages to come it will revere the name of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Lavgs. In a list of "representative men," his name would almost certainly stand first on the roll of science; for of him it might truly be said, paraphrasing Johnson's epitaph on Goldsmith, that ne left no department of physical science untouched, and touched none that he did not adorn. The son of a distinguished mathematician, he was at the age of twenty-two Professor df Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University, and he held that position for fiftythree years. Accurate and methodical, he possessed in' an oxtraordinary degree the gift of scientific imagination, or rather insight, with a rare power of crystallising his disepveries into practical actualities. In tho whole realm of physics, notably in electro- and Ihermo-dy-namics, ho was supreme ; it was his practical genius that made possible more than forty years ago electric communication beneath the ocpnns, and incidentally gained him World-wide fame. His services to humanity in bringing natural forces under ordered control it would be impossible to estimate ; he has been the recipient of nearly every honour and decoration that the nations of the earth could bestow ; yet through all ho has maintained a humble and reverent mmd — so impressed with the greatness of those things of which, to use the phrase of Bacon, he felt himself | the "minister and interpreter," that lie | could confess, after fifty-five years of I scientific triumphs, to a sense of failure. ! Not the least part of his work has [ been ' the inspiring of younger minds with a measure of his own spirit and his noble ideals. No wonder tho sky was grey and heavy, I and the air was oppressive Gloom .this morning. There was : To-day, no further news about tho second innings of the A" s " tralians in the first test malch beyond a brief mention of a bald fact that rain I interfered with the. play all day-yester- | clay. A cricket contest between the | champions of England and Australia is like the New Zealand Cup, in which even some anti-gamblers take a passing interest. Newspaper offices always I know absolutely whon a test match is | on. The telephone tinkles night and day, and callers come in droves all eager to hear about Noble's latest cut and Armstrong's last "pull" for 5. The excitement is intense even here, over a thousand miles from the battle-fiold, and is still more feverish four thousand leagues away, in England, where the papers are issuing "many special editions." The hug© sun of cricket has completely paled out the moon of New Zealand's professional footballers. The people here have almost forgotten about tho "boys of the gold brigade." These invaders of the Old Country seem to be getting more coin than glory out of their march. They have been routed six or seven, times, and are likely to bite the mud of the cold North of England again, but they have their consolation. It is reported that the tour will probably net a profit of £10,--000; and for this the cash footballers will bo content to let New Zealanders 1 enthusiasm be monopolised by the cricket test matches. The sad case of little boy Barlow^ who •sought death in Sydney at Infant the ape df fourteen — apProdigies, parently walking into the sea after ho had stabbed himself with a' hat-pin, and being pre--1 scntly "found drowned" — emphasises the unfortunate lot of infant prodigies. The coroner's jury returned an open verdict ; , but only, it seems, to save the feelings | of the boy's friends, and not at all because there was any suspicion of foul j ploy. Little boy Barlow had no enemies but his friends. He had' displayed a talent for music, and; the talent was developed prematurety. He was a "grownup" child, rivalling men as n, band instrumentalist, and losing his bodily health in the process, till his life became a disaster — at fourteen ! His death might serve as a warning to fond parents, pressing precocious children beyond their etrength. The infant prodigy, generaPy speaking, is not only a public nuisance, but is a danger to him or herself. The story of Miss M'Carthy, who won London reputation as violinist while still a | girJ, and recently gave up her care&r and sought rest" in a profession of Theosophy, is another story in point. Miss M'Carthy was another victim of "nervous breakdown." You cannot over-stimulate a child's delicato nervous system without risking or ensuring break-down. Therefore, Tho ( Post enjoins New Zealand parents lirst of all to cultivate their children's bodies, and let their .minds and talents follow naturally after. "Genius ! genius !" said Charles Eeade, ''take care of your carcase!" The advice is the soundest. What does it profit a child to gam the whole world's applause and lose its own health in the struggle? 'It was once satirically said about Westland that it .was the Sad Days "gold co.ist," because it for got far more of the geneWostland. ral taxpayers' gold per head of population than any other province of New Zeaalnd. In the days of the late Mr. Scddon,' Westland rcstfully basked in tho sun, in the full confidence that the sun would shine on and on. Suddenly the sun set, and Westland is shivering now. It is. decreed that in the race for the survival of the fittest, Westland must work to live. It must drop the placard, "I am blind and paralysed," put its cap on its head, and hustle to earn its own living. ■Mr. Seddon, juhior, is not ' powerful enough to shower hirgesse upon Westland. The change has made the coast a triflo querulous. Hokitika is girding at the Government because it does not pay its general labourers 10s a day, and JKnmnra has quarrelled with Dr. Valintine, Inspector-General of Hospitals. There is a suspicion that at least one of Westlandjs public hospitals is an old age pensioners' home, which draws subsidies from the Government in virtue of the talisman "Hospital." However, the ■trouble in Kumara arose over tho desire- Dr. Vuelintine to discover whether the surgeon-superintendent of the local hospital was using it for private practice, and the trustees, it appears, sought safety under the doubtful cover of indignation. The inspector, who had not time to bandy vain words, retired, nnd thero the incident remains for the moment, but it is only the prelude to developments, which will bo awaited with interest by all the provinces except Westlnnd. ".Shall Scaloun suffer this?" exclaimed a dozen indignant resiChains and dents as they dodged Slavery ! under or hopped over the chain which' the Harbour Board has erected to curb the onset of promenaders on its celebrated wharves. "Never!" they answered each rebellious other; while the leader quoted Bruco's address before Bannockburn, as edited Tjy Burns, and urged his comrades to "lay the proud usurper Ferguson low !" It was nothing to Seatoun that far in the vestern distance other morhing perambulatois were being warned off another wharf. Seatoun, emerging from its breakfast boat, has been used to take not the straight, path i to the city, but ths more seductive way [ round tha .wa-ter-ed&e. Se&touu tauibled..

over the traffic and the traffic tumbled over Seatoun, while business passengers walked delicately between. So, a« formorly, tho Harbour Board has put its corporate foot down. The wharvos are for business, the wharves are for ( traffic, it says quite sensibly; and if for a promenade, then only when, there is no Business traffic to be delayed or impeded. And gates are being made to replace tho temporary chain of Seatoun's humiliation. But shall Seatoun he> enslaved at the wliim of an autocratic Harbour Board ? Again, never ! — it will ride on its new tram first. Matenga, tho Maori outlaw who enjoyed the freedom of the "The Wild Man bush for so long of the while he was "wantWoods." ed," is in bondage at last. Half-a-dozen years ago the authorities desired him to answer a charge of horse-stealing, but the accused preferred to stand bis trial in tho forest. There in winter and summer he_ has roamed, and when neod pressed him he helped himself to articles in the camps of bushmen. ' The law sot its teolh, and determined, to bring the fugitive before the duly constituted tribunal of society. Detectives went into the woods, ant] stayed there till their whiskers grew long and their toes were frost-bitten, but Matenga knew his haunt, and eluded his'pursuers. They were baffled, but not discouraged. The law said that tbo body of Matenga must be produced at court, and the search went on. This summer the campaign was to bo vigorously renewed, though it was prophesied that mosquitoes and other flies would never allow tho hunters" to snatch a wink of slesp. They sallied out, but ths wancleror was unexpectedly i*un lo earth in a pa, away from the bush that befriended him. Primitive man is now in the ha,nds of his highly-civilised brother, and the kinsmen of primitive man, whether Maori or pakeha, will realise that the law is a relentless engine. Tho seasons passed, and the leaves came and went in the bush, but Matenga w#s never forgotten. "Will the kinematographic faker reconstruct the whole of tho chase, for the perversion of youth? Will Matenga bo dramatised into a three-act play, with some such title as "The Majesty of Law or Order"?