TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 122, 23 May 1908, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Last night's fire came very near to gaining the upper hand, in Gallant which case it musthavfe Fire-Fighters -taken rank among the , city's great disasters. That it did not do so, it is admitted by those who had an opportunity to judge, is due to the admirable discipline and the personal intrepidity of our local firefighters, not excepting those in charge of tho fire-extinguishing appliances of the Post and Telegraph Department. It _is twenty-one years since the la"st General Post Office was destroyed by fire, and the loss with which we were threatened last night would have been far greater. There were all the materials for a catastrophe. Tho fire originated in old and partly demolished wooden structures inflammable almost as matchwood, and was fanned to swift fury by a high wind; and more than once it seemed as if the Post Office was doomed. Happily, the protective iron shutters kept tho fire back long enough to allow of effective work within; while on the fiery parapets without the coolness and bravery of the firemen evoked the heartiest admiration of the spectators. Much of the riskiest work is done out of sight, as in the case of the brave men who scaled the staircase of the Post Ofijce tower through suffocating smoke and scorching blasts of heat; but some is in full view j and the bystanders held their breath when the branchmen forty feet above the pavement were suddenly lost to view in Billows of flame that burst from the shattered windows below, A few moments passed, and the men were seen cahnly directing powerful jets on the new source of danger. There is little glamour or "glory," and much self-sacrifice, in a fireman's vocation ; but last night's work, as good as any ever accomplished by a Wellington brigade, proves that we have men in our community of the true, heroic stamp— men wUo aro to be trusted at their posts in the hour of danger. \

A degenerate, of tho order l^nown toS ■r. ' .. tno police as , "criminal Protection lunatic," is in gaol for J from disgusting behaviour in Degenerates. Wellington's Botanical v j ••, . .Gardens. Although he had similarly offended previously he received only six months' imprisonment, instead of the indeterminate sentence which should be imposed on incorrigible I individuals of that class. Apparently the punishment meted out to that delinquent is not deterring other bestial persons from molesting waytarers in the domain. Complaints have been coming forward, and the nuisance" is likely to linger on till the reserve is thoroughly policed. The city's guardians have been doing their best to catch the evildoers, but until fresh arrangements are made a constable cannot be permanently attached to the grounds. .Sometimes two or three constables are on duty there, but there are times when their presence is required elsewhere. A police officer admits that the patrolling of the great park could fully occupy at least one energetic man. The need is there. Who is to bear the cost— the Government or the corporation? This is a detail which should not take long to settle. The gardens are worth the £150 a year that | would serve to scare off the degenerates. In the summer, too, such an officer would be a safeguard , against the mischievous small boy or tho careless smoker who have more than once endangered the pretty bush. When the men of [he Felix Faure were cast ashore on the' t For the Sake lonely Antipodes they of the found some comfort in Saflor Man. the stores left by the '" Government steamer, and they were grateful for the shelter of the little huts. But the accommodation and the provisions were planned for half-a-dozen castaways, and the French mariners numbered twenty-two. What were half a dozen suits o.f clothes and six pair of boots among so many? Captain Noel, with the ' traditional cour.tesy of his race, has been loth -to criticise anything done by a .Government whose hospitality has b?en extended to him, but 'the Wass of conflicting statements has forced him to speak. After having to crowd seventeen men by night into a hut about eighteen feet by twelve feet, he naturally believes that the shelter . should be enlarged. He considers also that the depot would bo more valuable to shipwrecked folk if the stores were more varied and more abundant. He emphasises his conviction that the stock oi clothing should be more extensive, .and that the stores generally should be examined carefully, at reasonable intervals f The visitation of' those faraway spots could be done more frequently by the restoration of the old order, under which a warship alternated regularly with the State steamer, so thai, the islands had a call about every three months. The foundering of the Felix Faure makes tho third disaster in the Southern Ocean within the past three years, and in each case the masters have had reason to blame- the imperfect charting. The day has come for a proper survey of those danger zones. The sad end of the Felix Faure will make New Zealanders more keenly regret 'the Nimrod's abandoned survey. Tho task is one in which New Zealand alone cannot be expected to bear all the burden. Great Britain and Australia are interested, and they are aware of the part they must take. It is trusted that no conflicting of authorities wiP result in leaving snares for the sailor in desolate rccioag. •

Should the doctor sue for fees which patients, well able to Doctors' Fees, pay, decline to disgorge? That is a question which is keenly interesting correspondents of the Christchurch press. Various writers have quoted examples of men who have boasted about getting cheap treatment from medical men. They take shelter behind the etiquette which forbids a doctor to go to court to recover money due to him. The Press believes that the medical profession would suffer no loss of dignity in the public eye if the members took the ordinary means of securing their just dues after the debtors had been deaf to private appeals. The public would indeed prefer to see the medical service placed on an ordinary business-like basis, free from some part of the etiquette which may be as embarrassing to the client as to tho practitioner. There is a widespread suspicion that the good marks pay for the bad, and that if the doctors were more sure about their emoluments they might be able to lower their fees Wellington's baker philanthropists never tire of saying just now that> only for the coupon system .citizens would be- paying 4d instead of o^d for the 21b loaf. Their cash, is more secure ; therefore they can to be | less exacting. It is a far cry from baking to mending humanity, but would it not be better for everybody if medical etiquette would permit an appeal Lo the Stipendiary Magistrate on behalf of men who, as, a class, are' undoubtedly good servants of the public?

Critics, probably unkindly, liay« said of , Blenheim that it is a place Triple fjrom which young manhood Exhibit, is trekking, leaving only the aged and the children to keep the town going. Blenheim has, indeed, rather fallen out out of the public £ye in recent years, but has' been suddenly lifted into that orb by three very desii'able immigrants — triplets. Blenheim Ls very proud- of the mother,' and dotes upon tho babies. The infants were exhibited in tho Town Hall there one day this week, and they were "viewed by a large number of people," says a Press Association telegram. The mother was given a purse of sovereigns, (subscribed by /the, public, and a prominent settler' who made the presentation "advocated that the State should give ai still larger measure of encouragement to parentage," The bonus system <has, of course, Tvoen often brought forward. Enthusiasts have jSubmitted scales of graduated payments, even beginning at No. 1, and others ha.ye stipulated for bounties after the third or fourth child has been. born. The "bonus for baby," however, involves a principle which would take Parliament more than a session to thoroughly discuss, even if no time was wasted on noxious weeds. The offer of prizes for triplets, twins, or even singles, ivill scarcely ' turn tho lamentations of humanitarians into jubilation. Still, Blenheim has set an excellent example. What will .Nelson <lo about it?