TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 57, 4 September 1909, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

"He travels the fastest who travels alone," and Dr. Cook The Penalty of may be quoted as a th>3 Pioneer. typical example of the truth of Kipling's dictum. "Alono I did it" may be a brave boast, but it has its drawbacks. The solitary explorer can not burden himself with a laboratory of selfrecording instruments, and the battle to supply the primary needs of food, .varmth, and shelter greatly limits his power of making accurate notes at the time. His memory is the sole repository of many of his experiences, and, unless he is well provided with photographs—almost certain to be challenged by somebody as "faked" — his personal testimony has neither support nor corroboration. His record must of neces sity be ''bald," to quote the Daily Mail, but that does not make it "unconvincing." Judgment must be based on the explorer's past record, and also on the permanent discredit attaching to attempts at deception which must inevitably sooner or later be detected. We should not have been surprised to find more expression of scepticism than has been so far reported. The first form m which it appeared was the curious suggestion that it was only the magnetic pole that had been reached. On this point, at any rate, to-day's news is specific. At the polar axis, in the midst ( of "endless fields of purple snows," "the compass pointed to tho magnetic pole, and was as useful as ever." The "good astronomical observations" obtained daily will appeal no doubt as evidence to men of science ; but the "record" minimum temperature reported — twenty degrees F. lower than ever before recorded on the earth's surface — is already a point on which believers and sceptics are joining battle. It is in just such a point as this that an observer is not content till he has tested his own observations. The Daily Mail is dubious, and a United States rear-admiral says the discovery is "a farce." But history shows that it is always an explorer's genuine observations that are most discredited.. Such was Bruce's experience regarding the customs of the Abyssinians; Dv Chaillu in our own day vvas ridiculed, abused, and actually assaulted by sceptics who denied the existence of the gorilla. Dr. Knox, the distinguished ethnologist, denounced New Zealand cannibalism as a missionary lie, and asserted that no race of men ever practised anthropophagy. And in the matter of qualifications to judge, the average man will place some reliance on authorities like Lieutenant Shackleton and Professor David. Mr. Dinnie (Commissioner of Police) and _„ . , Mr. Cullen (inspector The Advantage at Auckland) have an of Bigness. interesting difference of opinion about the advantages of height in constables (according to a telegram from Auckland in The Post to-day). . The commissioner inclines to the belief that the people take more joy — and some of them, presumably, more fear — in the constable of mammoth proportions, the tower of blue, the imposing fortress of awesomeness ; but the inspector, who has been many years in the police service, does not set such store by gargantuan stature, and he can probably quote many cases of police, who were not giants in outward semblance, who proved themselves Hackenschmidts or Johnsons in a "rough-up" with the lawless. However, it is not so much a question of personal prowess in an actual scuffle as the effect of aweinspiring appearance that is now the topic of debate. A man of medium height, well trained, may work heavier havoc in quicker time among a gang of hoodlums than 'a giant who has neglected physical culture, but the large man has the. advantage that his length, breadth, and depth serve to deter peace-breakers from attempting a trial of strength with them. A referendum — among tho reasonably law-abid-iitiS—on the iuue would probably _vq-

duce an overwhelming volume of opinion in favour of physical bigness in the guardians of orderliness. The people may also get some aesthetic joy from the spectacle of an enormous policeman, of impressive cubic content. The grandeur may appeal to them, bufc tiieir chief comfort is in the consciousness that something 6ffc by 3ft by 2ft is eomewhere bandy to put dread into the law-breaker. Although the Hon. Dr. Findlay ad' yanced no new theorBemedies ies last night to solve for trie problem of unemUnemployment. ployment, he presented some , information, in a helpful form, about experiments tried in other countries. The Minister repeated a fact, which has been much discussed in England lately, that it is advantageous for the community as a whole to have a surplus of labour available for certain industries or for "unskilled " occupations, and he instanced the case of waterside work. Sudden demands, he said, arose for extra labour, which, if not promptly supplied, would not only result in great loss to shipowners and others, but would seriously dislocate and hamper wharf operations and accommodation. The obvious retort of the casual worker is : "That is very nice for society; but what about me?* Dr. JTindlay admitted that society had an obligation in the matter, but the difficulty was to- find practicable means of giving conjfort to the useful " surplus " at those times when it was actually a surplus, with temporarily diminished opportunities for breadwinning. He advocated the allotment of small holdings of land, on a plan which has been advocated by several New Zealand legislators, and haa been successfully tried in other countries. The idea is to enable the worker on those "off" days, when society does not require his services at his ordinary calling, to profitably employ his I time on a piece of ground. Another scheme is insurance against unemployment on the lines which the Imperial authorities have decided to adopt. This means that a portion of the product of | industry must be systematically set aside tj furnish sustenance for the worker during periods when circumstances compel him to be a non-producer. The subject of insurance against unemployment has not yet cofhe seriously before New Zealand s Parliament, but Dr. Findlay claims that in the other field — the granting of facilities to worker* to secure small holdings — the Government has not been negligent. We believe that this policy can be made much more far-reaching. Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P., has keenly interested himself in the question, and has announced his intention to bring the matter conspicuously under Parliament's notice next session.

Two boys were brought before Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., to-day, on a charge of stealing, at Newtown, on Thursday, two birds and a cage. Accused, who pleaded guilty, were convicted and disi barged. They were or dered to pay costs (ss). At last evening's meeting of the Petone School Committee, it was decided to recommend the appointment of Mr. Foster, headmaster of the Mount .Cook Boys' Schol, to the vacant headmasterbhip of the main school. Miss C. Ross, 8.A., was selected for the position of female assistant. A charge of assaulting a middle-aged woman named Hannah Saunders was made in the S.M. Court to-day against two men — Frank James Wailis and David Henry Lindsay Smart, The affair occurred in Taranaki-street last night. Accused pleaded not guilty. Sach was fined 40s, with costs (ss), penalty for default being fixed at fourteen days' imprisonment. Rather a mean theft was admitted to in the S.M. Conrt to-day by a young man named Walter Harold Mills. The charge was that he had stolen some wearing apparel out of a box belonging to a fellow-boarder. Mt. W. G. Riddell, S.M., at first proposed to extend leniency, but when it was pointed out to him that- accused had committed similar offences recently, he meted out a sentence of two months' imprisonment. Unusual buoyancy is shown in the Customs revenue for the week ending to-day, and the figures compare very favourably with those for the corresponding week of last year. The revenue for the vreek just closed reached the total of £20,323 3s 2d, while. the total for the same week of 1908 was £14,501 12s 6d. Beer duty for the week was £381 6s Bd, as againsb x 1224 17s 3d last year. To-day's takings were £1785 Is lid (£1732 15s 2d last year) Taranaki, as the starting point of officials who have attained distinction in the Public Service, has altogether a glad record, as outlined by the Account- | ant to the Treasury, Mr. R. B. Vincent, J during the presentation to Colonel Collins yesterday. The Secretary to the Treasury, the recipient of the presentation, hails from Taranaki, together with • the following : — Mr, Batkin, a former Secretary to the Treasury ; Mr. Gray, the late Secretary to the General Post Office ; Mr. Hursthouse, former Chief Engineer of Roads ; Mr. Blackett, former Engin-eer-in« Chief of the Public Works Department; and Mr. Percy Smith and Mr. Humphries, who have both occupied the office of Surveyor-General. From Messrs. Stone, -Son, and Co., Limited, Dunedin and Wellington, we have received the new volume of their Wellington, Hawkes Bay, and Taranaki Commercial, Municipal, and General • Directory, and New Zealand Annual for j 1909-10. When a book has, like this, | been nineteen years before the public, i and is known by every business man in the community — known in the most practical and intimate way, from daily use — there is little occasion for detailed description. Each succeeding year we have had to repeat an advance in magni- J tude and comprehensiveness on former i issues : its plan has long since been so j systematised as to leave little room for i improvement — and this time . the same ', report must be given, if in different words. It may be noted that in bulk the reference portions of the directory proper total exactly thirteen hundred pages, besides a hundred and fifty of the "Annual," including legal matter, Customs tariff, etc., v applying to the | whole of New Zealand, and there are . also the usual maps of the city and of the islands. The buyer will certainly have value for his money. People may step off ar tramcar into j the Magistrate's Court without being ■ as near the latter building as a city I official was on a recent well-known occa- ! sion. Patrons of the trams who meet ' with, accidents through attempting to ' board moving cars are obviously respon- \ sible for their own misfortunes, but j when accidents occur to people who are dismounting there is a prima facie ' case against the corporation, and in : many instances actions for damages , have been taken. The authorities are desirous of minimising this risk, and to this end a by-law has been made by j the council which constitutes an offence J of the act of boarding or dismounting | from moving tramcars. The first per- [ son caught offending was the city in- j spector, and he sued himself for the ; breach of the by-law and had himself j fined. Since then half a dozen wrong- i stepping citizens have been detected, and proceedings have been taken against | them by the Tramways Department, j Informations have been laid in the i Magistrate's Court against five offend- \ ing getters-off and one offending getter- j on. Three of the cases are to come up i for hearing on Friday next, and three on Friday, 17th September. Dissension among certain sections of the Waterside Workers' Association of Wellington has been evident for some time. Further evidence was afforded at Dr. Findlay's lecture on "Waste Labour " last evening, when several of the audience questioned the authority of Mr. M'Laren, secretary to the local union, to advertise that the lecture was given " at the invitation of the officers of the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Federation. Mr. M'Laren told a Post representative this morning that, learning that some individuals, without authority of their union or federation, bad communicated with Lyttelton for the purpose of stating that he had falsely represented the calling of the meeting for Dr. Findlay's lecture, he (Mr. M'Laren) wired to Mr. J. Reid, president of the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Federation, asking if Messrs. Voyce {secretary) and Lurch (treasurer) and himself had agreed that Dr. Findlay should be asked to give tho lecture. A telegram was received as follows from Mr. Reid: — "We did agree that you should invite Dr. Findlay to speak on waste labour. . . ." The vice-presi-dent of the Federation, Mr. Jackson (Greymouth) also wired: — "Fully endorse your action."