TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 47, 25 February 1908, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

■-■«<». The oar is venerable indeed : its origin lost in the mibts of The tha past : ag-es Sculling elapsed before it was Championship, utilised as the medium of a graceful exercise. Ihe classical origin of sculling will not appeal Rveatly, if at all, to the excited aowd lining the banks of the Want;anui Uivcr to-day, awaiting; in feverish impatience and with straining ear the pistol's crack that will signal to thousands tho beginning of the mighty stiuggle between William Webb, tho holder of the World's Championship, and Richard Tresidder, of New South Wales, challenger. What a contest this 10115 journey over tho course of three miles and a quarter will be ! If either man could writs as well as he can low v,hat a 'thrilling narrative ifc would make ! It needs the pen of a Jack London to do even bare justice to such a struggle. The spirit which to-day grips Wanganui seems to permeate the whole country. These men, trained to the hour, both splendid although divergent Sypes of manhood, embody many excellent qualities. In them we see great physical strength and stamina dexterously controlled and directed with grace and skill. Is there any test like rowing for so thoroughly bringing into play the qualities of ' endurance, pluck, and grit? We cannot name one. Webb IS -A lth . e .' aclive > slight, in comparison with his sturdier and more stocky anj tagonist, and is a well-nigh perfect model of symmetry. Proportion is written all over his frame. Tresidder is his opposite. With his massy bulk square-cut chin, herculean shoulders, and bossy muscles ho appears the more powerful man. Yet the doughty New Zealander has youth on his side, and "the young twig bends, the easier." Trie wish of every true &iK>rtsnian is —may ths best man win At an Oddfellows' picnic at the "Sacred ' _ Isle" of Motutapu, tho Friendly Premier outlined the main Society provisions of the Friendly Reforms. Societies Bill which the Government intsnds to introduce next session. Fortunately, a largfe parf of the administrative work of Government lie 3 outside the sphere of party, and in this case wo think th& proposed Bill, so far as its principles are concerned, should have an easy passage. Three points were emphasised as requiring attention, two being necessary safeguards : ths insistence upon an adequate scale of contributions and tho securing of officienfc and independent audit. In times past unnecessary obstacles were raised by the societies themselves •to reform in these directions; now, tho representative men of the various bodies concerned aro themselves agitating for reform. As regards contribution's, the situation has been improving for years past, th& societies having taken cfie matter up in earnest on their own initiative, and having received every help from the department. As regards trusteeship and audit there is still a field for reform. It is desiiaule, 100, that tne relations of these self-reliant organisations with the public hospitals should be- more definitely defined. The proposed nistory oE iho friendly societies in New Zenlanu, which the Government intends to take in hand, should supply a missing chanter in the records, of the brave days of the early colonists. The ' news that the British Rugby Union football team Tho British will be sailing by the Rugby Team. Athenic^has not "come to hand at tho rightpsychological moment. For the present Rugby footb'^lf and test cricket, and the fall of empires and the crash of worlds, and all tho other minor affairs of life, are being subordinated to tha great event which is being decided on thp Wanganui River to-day. But in the < course of forty-eight hours human affairs will have resumed their normal perspective, and then the average New Zealander will realise tint yesterday's cabls message is something to bo thankful for. The sporting mania has certainly been carried to extravagant lengths in these colonies, but the despatch of a football team from England under the auspices of the Rugby Union is likely to check one of the least desirable of its developments. New Zealand sportsmen have watched with mingled feelings the progress of Iho "All Golds" in Great Britain, and, on tha whole, they have not been displeased with the result. For, while the team has a record which does credit to our prowess, its many defeats present a striking contrast to the brilliant success of "All Black" amateurs, and at the same time, it is hoped, the financial results have not been sufficiently encouraging to threaten us with the permanent establishment of the professional footballer in this colony. The arrival of the British team under amateur auspices should do much to promote tho popularity of one ot the manliest of sports under tho most wholesome conditions. Any impartial reader of the protest, published in another A Native column, prepared by the Protest. Arawa natives, tho original owners of the Rotorua lands, in which ■ they complain of alleged breaches of faith by the Government, must feel a certain amount of sympathy with them in their grievances. Their statement is a straightforward one; but only those who know a little of Maori life- and habit can realise how serious some of the grievances are. To newcomers the assertion of loyalty may not s&eni to amount to much ; but tnose who remember the native troubles of thirty to forty years ago, and East Coast residents in particular, know it is no idle boast, and are not likely to forget the sympathy and help of the Arawa chiefs and people, and their almost passionate devotion to the Queen. This is a sentimental matter, no doubt, with no very direct bearing on the rights involved — rights recognised in tho Treaty oi Waitangi, the Great Charter . of tho Maori, and confirmed implicitly I or explicitly by all subsequent legislation in which they are concerned. Of no clau&o have tho natives shown themselves more jealous than that guarding their "fisheries"— a prime necessity for their subsistence — for, as is truly set forth in the protest, the Maori never fishes for recreation. Yet, they say, they have- seen the native fishes exterminated by imported species, and are now charged a license feo for the privilege, of fishing in their own lakes. This grievance, at any rate, Is genuine, and requires redress. North Leitrim is one of the safest of Nationalist seats. DurThe North ing the last thirty years Leitrim it has consistently Election. returned a Nationalist candidate either unopposed or by a majority of about 4000 over his Conservative rival. Even when Pavncllile and AnlHPornellitc ■«ero fighting 0110 another more fiercely than they fought the common foe, the allegiance- of the constituency does not seem to have been seriously divided.

At the general election two years ago Mr. C. J. Dolan, a, young Irish schoolmaster, who was thin studying for tho bar in London, had the good fortune to secure tho nomination and to bs returned without a contest. But as tha 1 - Sinn Fein movement developed Mr. Dolan threw in his lot with it, and was tho only one of the Irish members so 10 do. As ono of the fundamental tenets of the Sinn Fein-era is that all Parliamentary action is useless, it was decidedly anomalous that they should have an M.P. among their number. BBi Mr. Dolan had tho courage of his c<ft{victions, and did not even shrink from resigning and seeking re-election in their defence. His challenge was, of course, taken up by the followers of Mr. Redmond, who h-ive elected their man by, tho crushing majority of 3103 to 1157. While one may regret that Mr. Dolan's gallantry has thus brought his Parhamantary career to a sudden end, the result must surely make for good. The ftar of Sinn Fein had evidently something to do with Mr. Redmond's change of front with regard to Mr. Birrell's Irish Council Bill. It is surely not by melodramatic defiance of so kindly and sympathetic a Minister tht.t thy reconciliation of the two races is to be effected, and Mr. Redmond will find it much easier to accept the millennium by instalments now that Sinn Fein has lost its only Parliamentary representative. The characteristics of a minister ara never so fully revealed! A Statistical as when he bids ' good* Parson. bye to a congregation^ In the most favourable circumstances he may be assumed to have fought a hard fight and to have faced ' discouragement. But if he be of truo nietal there will be regret at sundered ties, and his parting words will express goodwill. The man who, departing, shakes the dust from his feet as a testimony against his people does not theie* by evidence an apostolic spirit. It •is recorded of such a on© that, accepting * prison chaplaincy, he choss. for his parting text, "I go to prepare a. place for you." That one act revealed a, whole biography not only of malicd, but of irreverence. Few will think tho more of the Ballarat minister who, as our cable news recorded yesterday, in. parting from his congregation said that there were only five tnousand Christians in the city — about on& in nine of the population. It is a relief to know, even on a pessimist's authority, that Ballarat has not only the ten righteous men requisite for its salvation, but a fab margin over ten per cent. Among these the reverend gentleman surely ought to have found comfort and fellowship. But who shall test hia figures? A greater than ho —no other than Elijah — thought he waa the only man in Israel who retainod hie fidelity when there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Moreover, what is the Rev. Mr. Harry's standard — his "measure of a, man"? "Janet," said a candid Mend to a censorious old "Scotch body,' 1 "to hear you talk, one would think nobody would to saved except you and the ministe>f '"Doed," she retort-eel, "whiles I ha'e my doots aboot him !" To such as she, a heaven equipped for one only would be the ideal of bliss. Mr. Harry has not arrived at the irreducible minimuum. He would generously admit even five thous* and from Ballarat,